NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Foundation Document Guadalupe Mountains National Park Texas August 2017 Foundation Document Dog Canyon L I N C O L N N A T I O N A L F O R E S T 137 NEW MEXICO NEW MEXICO TEXAS TEXAS S Wilderness Ridge N McKittrick Canyon I Pratt Cabin day use only A Marcus McKittrick T Ridge N Grotto U O M Blue Ridge Mescalero WILDERNESS AREA E Tejas P 62 Salt Basin Dunes 180 Bush U day use only Mountain L Nickel Creek Pine Top A D GYPSUM Frijole Ranch SAND A History Museum GUADALUPEDUNES MOUNTAINS U GYPSUM SAND G DUNES Guadalupe Peak The Pinery Butterfield Stage NATIONAL PARK Station Ruins Shumard Pine Bu Springs tt Canyon er fie Guadalupe Peak ld backcountry Sta Pine Springs ge campground R Visitor Center ou te Williams Ranch Parking Picnic area Campground Backcounty Campground Ranger station S A L T Horse and hiking trail B A S I N Hiking trail North Unpaved road 62 180 Paved road 54 Unpaved road (4-wheel-drive, 0 2 Kilometers high-clearance vehicles only) 0 2 Miles Guadalupe Mountains National Park Contents Mission of the National Park Service 1 Introduction 2 Part 1: Core Components 3 Brief Description of the Park 3 Park Purpose 5 Park Significance 6 Fundamental Resources and Values 7 Other Important Resources and Values 8 Interpretive Themes 9 Part 2: Dynamic Components 10 Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments 10 Special Mandates 10 Administrative Commitments 10 Assessment of Planning and Data Needs 11 Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values 11 Analysis of Other Important Resources and Values 25 Identification of Key Issues and Associated Planning and Data Needs 31 Planning and Data Needs 34 Part 3: Contributors 42 Guadalupe Mountains National Park 42 NPS Intermountain Region 42 Other NPS Staff 42 Partners 42 Photo Credits 42 Appendixes 43 Appendix A: Enabling Legislation and Legislative Acts for Guadalupe Mountains National Park 43 Appendix B: Traditionally Associated Tribes 49 Appendix C: Inventory of Administrative Commitments 50 Appendix D: Basics for Wilderness Stewardship 52 Foundation Document Guadalupe Mountains National Park Mission of the National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world. The NPS core values are a framework in which the National Park Service accomplishes its mission. They express the manner in which, both individually and collectively, the National Park Service pursues its mission. The NPS core values are: · Shared stewardship: We share a commitment to resource stewardship with the global preservation community. · Excellence: We strive continually to learn and improve so that we may achieve the highest ideals of public service. · Integrity: We deal honestly and fairly with the public and one another. · Tradition: We are proud of it; we learn from it; we are not bound by it. · Respect: We embrace each other’s differences so that we may enrich the well- being of everyone. The National Park Service is a bureau within the Department of the Interior. While numerous national park system units were created prior to 1916, it was not until August 25, 1916, that President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act formally establishing the National Park Service. The national park system continues to grow and comprises more than 400 park units covering more than 84 million acres in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These units include, but are not limited to, national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House. The variety and diversity of park units throughout the nation require a strong commitment to resource stewardship and management to ensure both the protection and enjoyment of these resources for future generations. The arrowhead was authorized as the official National Park Service emblem by the Secretary of the Interior on July 20, 1951. The sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water represent scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead represents historical and archeological values. 1 Foundation Document Introduction Every unit of the national park system will have a foundational document to provide basic guidance for planning and management decisions—a foundation for planning and management. The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park as well as the park’s purpose, significance, fundamental resources and values, other important resources and values, and interpretive themes. The foundation document also includes special mandates and administrative commitments, an assessment of planning and data needs that identifies planning issues, planning products to be developed, and the associated studies and data required for park planning. Along with the core components, the assessment provides a focus for park planning activities and establishes a baseline from which planning documents are developed. A primary benefit of developing a foundation document is the opportunity to integrate and coordinate all kinds and levels of planning from a single, shared understanding of what is most important about the park. The process of developing a foundation document begins with gathering and integrating information about the park. Next, this information is refined and focused to determine what the most important attributes of the park are. The process of preparing a foundation document aids park managers, staff, and the public in identifying and clearly stating in one document the essential information that is necessary for park management to consider when determining future planning efforts, outlining key planning issues, and protecting resources and values that are integral to park purpose and identity. While not included in this document, a park atlas is also part of a foundation project. The atlas is a series of maps compiled from available geographic information system (GIS) data on natural and cultural resources, visitor use patterns, facilities, and other topics. It serves as a GIS-based support tool for planning and park operations. The atlas is published as a (hard copy) paper product and as geospatial data for use in a web mapping environment. The park atlas for Guadalupe Mountains National Park can be accessed online at: http://insideparkatlas.nps.gov/. 2 Guadalupe Mountains National Park Part 1: Core Components The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park, park purpose, significance statements, fundamental resources and values, other important resources and values, and interpretive themes. These components are core because they typically do not change over time. Core components are expected to be used in future planning and management efforts. Brief Description of the Park Guadalupe Mountains National Park was authorized by an act of Congress (Public Law 89-667) in 1966 to preserve “an area possessing outstanding geological values together with scenic and other natural values of great significance.” The park was formally established in 1972 with an area of 76,293 acres. Today, Guadalupe Mountains National Park includes 86,416 acres in west Texas, just south of the New Mexico state line and north of U.S. Highway 62/180. The Guadalupe Mountains rise more than 3,000 feet above the arid Chihuahuan Desert that surrounds them. El Capitan, the park’s most striking feature, is a 1,000-foot-high limestone cliff. Nearby Guadalupe Peak, 8,749 feet above sea level, is the highest point in Texas. The Guadalupe Mountains are part of a mostly buried 400-mile-long U-shaped fossil reef complex, Capitan Reef, which extends through a large area of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The longest exposed stretch of Capitan Reef, 12 miles of which is in the park, extends from Guadalupe Mountains National Park northeast almost to the city of Carlsbad, New Mexico, a distance of almost 40 miles. This 260-million- to 270-million-year-old reef is one of the world’s finest examples of an ancient reef system. The fossil- bearing strata of the park are also associated with the rich “oil patch” of the Delaware Basin of west Texas. Three internationally significant geological stratotype sections and points and numerous type sections of rock are present in the park. In 1977, the park was designated a Class I air quality area under the Clean Air Act. As a result, the park receives the highest level of protection under the act, and the National Park Service has “an affirmative responsibility” to protect sensitive air quality resources in the park, including vegetation, soils, waters, wildlife, and visibility [42 USC 7475(d)(2)(B)]. Air pollution sources with the potential to affect park resources must meet stringent emission control standards, and only a very small additional amount of pollution is permitted in the area. The act also sets a goal of preventing any future impairment in Class I areas and remedying any existing impairment of visibility from manmade air pollution. 3 Foundation Document In 1978, 46,850 acres of the park’s backcountry were formally designated by Congress as wilderness. This action was authorized by Public Law 95-625, the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978. On October 28, 1988, Congress passed legislation (Public Law 100- 541, 102 Stat. 2720) that enlarged the park by 10,123 acres. The new land includes gypsum and quartzose dunes in an area west of and adjacent to the park boundary. All of the land identified in the 1988 legislation has been deeded to the National Park Service.