Wyoming Centennial United States Department of Scenic Byway Agriculture Forest Service Region 2 June 2005 Interpretive Plan Prepared by the USDA Forest Service Center for Design and Interpretation Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway Interpretive Plan March 2005 Cheryl Hazlitt Date Interpretive Planner, CDI Terry Wong Date Manager, CDI Karin Lancaster Date Shoshone NF, Forest Engineer Vaughn Hintze Date Shoshone NF, Forest Landscape Architect Rick Metzger Date Shoshone NF, Wind River District Ranger Becky Aus Date Shoshone NF, Forest Supervisor Darin Martens Date WYDOT Liaison for Bridger-Teton NF Kniffy Hamilton Date Bridger-Teton NF, Forest Supervisor Cover photo courtesy of the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum [1958.23.42.0001] Spine photo of boots and gloves courtesy of the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Musuem, Latham Jenkins Collection. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To fi le a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250, or call 1-800-245-6340 (voice) or 202-720-1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity employer. CONTENTS I INTRODUCTION 1 PURPOSE AND NEED 1 PARAMETERS AND PLANNING ASSUMPTIONS 2 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 3 MANAGEMENT GOALS 3 MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES 3 VISITOR EXPERIENCE GOALS 4 VISITOR EXPERIENCE OBJECTIVES 5 VISITOR USE AND ANALYSIS 6 6 BYWAY THEME, SUBTHEMES, AND STORYLINES 7 THEME 7 SUBTHEMES AND STORYLINES 7 Subtheme A – Orientation and Information 7 Subtheme B - Geology 8 Subtheme C - Human and Landscape Infl uences on History and Culture of Area 8 Subtheme D - Diversity of Plant and Animal Life 8 Subtheme E - Land Use and Management 8 EXISTING AND PROPOSED FACILITIES AND SERVICES 10 TABLE 1 - CENTENNIAL SCENIC BYWAY INTERPRETIVE SITES 11 FIGURE 1 - MAP OF CURRENT AND PROPOSED INTERPRETIVE SITES (2005) 15 CRITERIA FOR PRIORITIZATION OF SITES AND MEDIA 16 Table 2 – Priority Sites Identifi ed for Site Design Work 17 Table 3 – Priority Sites Identifi ed for Interpretive Panels 17 PORTAL DESCRIPTIONS AND COST ESTIMATES (INFORMATION/INTERPRETIVE KIOSKS) 18 Figure 2 – Portal Conceptual Design Guidelines 20 Figure 3 – Interpretive Panel Design Recommendations 21 Figure 4 – Map of Portal Locations 24 Portal Descriptions 18 Primary Portal Locations 21 Secondary Portal Locations 21 Table 4 - Portal Cost Estimates 21 HERITAGE RESOURCES INTERPRETATION 24 Figure 5 - Map of National Register of Historic Places 27 Table 5 – National Register of Historic Places within Ten Miles of the Byway 24 MARKETING AND INTERPRETIVE MEDIA RECOMMENDATIONS, PRIORITIES, AND COST ESTIMATES 28 INTERPRETATION, INFORMATION, AND ORIENTATION - HIGH PRIORITIES 28 Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway Website 28 NATIONAL SCENIC BYWAYS WEBSITE 28 Audio/CD/DVD Tour of the Byway 29 INTERPRETATION, INFORMATION, AND ORIENTATION - OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS 29 Byway Family of Brochures 29 Conservation Education 30 Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway Interpretive Plan INTERPRETIVE PROGRAMS/RESORT NATURALIST PROGRAMS 30 Concession Operated Opportunities 31 Conducted Interpretive Activities 31 On-Site Programs 31 Orientation/Intro evening programs at lodging facilities 30 Other 32 MARKETING RECOMMENDATIONS 32 Highway Approach Signing 33 Printed Media 32 Tours 33 Training APPENDICES APPENDIX A: SITE INVENTORY FORMS APPENDIX B: AREA-SPECIFIC SUBTHEMES AND STORYLINES APPENDIX C: CONCEPTUAL SITE PLANS (RESERVED) APPENDIX D: EVALUATION STRATEGIES APPENDIX E: SMITHSONIAN ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES APPENDIX F: VISITOR DATA APPENDIX G: ESTIMATE AND DESIGN CONCERNS FOR AUDIO AND WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT APPENDIX H: COMMUNITY EVENTS AND SPECIAL FESTIVALS APPENDIX I: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Page 1 Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway Interpretive Plan INTRODUCTION PURPOSE AND NEED The Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway traverses one hundred and sixty-two miles through what National Geographic refers to as “one of the fi nest drives in the Rockies.” The byway spans two national forests, a national park, US Fish and Wildlife lands, Bureau of Land Management lands, three counties, and historic, recreation and scenic areas. It includes several major visitor centers, numerous visitor contact locations, traces four river corridors and accesses wilderness trailheads. It connects the communities of Dubois, Jackson, and Pinedale, each town having unique museums, galleries, events, and activities adding to the adventure and experiences of both visitors and residents. Many visitors drive portions of the byway on their way to Yellowstone or Grand Teton National Parks. The Wyoming Centennial Corridor Management Plan, completed in 1999, identifi ed the need for an Interpretive Plan for the Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway. In addition, the various land and wildlife management agencies intersected by the byway are required to develop general and interpretive plans to address visitor recreation experiences and management issues on these lands. The local communities and counties also recognize the need to develop strategies managing the intensive visitation and recreation use within their borders. This Wyoming Centennial Byway Interpretive Plan will guide the development and implementation of interpretive exhibits, products and services. The plan establishes interpretive goals, objectives, themes, exhibit and program recommendations, and design guidelines for interpretive efforts within the forests and along the byway. The recommendations for media are detailed on the Site Inventory Forms (Appendix A), which defi ne the type of media, size of exhibits, and recommendations useful in developing exhibit plans. Future development of interpretive media will be consistent with this plan and evaluated against the goals and objectives presented in this document. The recommendations and priority projects in this plan will be implemented through partnerships between various byway partners including Shoshone National Forest and Bridger-Teton National Forests as part of annual work planning objectives and capital investment process. It is our hope to develop innovative tools to evaluate the success Page 1 Rocky Mountain Region, Center for Design and Interpretation Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway Interpretive Plan of this planning effort by determining measurable visitor behavior changes, and the success of the media alternatives using formative and summative tools. These kinds of evaluative processes will require long-term thinking and budgeting. PARAMETERS AND PLANNING ASSUMPTIONS This plan is based on a number of assumptions about the current and anticipated future use and projected Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management agency management. Signifi cant changes in visitor use, partners, or agency policies may require modifi cations to this plan. The following assumptions serve as a foundation for this plan: § The development of an interpretive plan is consistent with the Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan. § The Wyoming Centennial Byway Steering Committee primary partners consist of: o Shoshone National Forest o Bridger-Teton National Forests o Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum o Bureau of Land Management in Pinedale o Communities of Dubois, Jackson and Pinedale o Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale This steering committee will continue to work cooperatively with other federal and state land management agencies, local interpretive associations, State Historic Preservation offi ces, Native American Tribes, business organizations, special use permittees, and other partners. § Interpretive services will focus on providing quality interpretive opportunities, meeting identifi ed demand, resolving impacts to cultural, historical resources and natural resources, and helping to diversify local economies. § The partners working cooperatively along the byway will work to fi nd consistent and reliable funding sources to insure that byway interpretive facilities and services are quality products, well maintained, and updated for the traveling public. § The current waysides are popular stops for tourists en route to Yellowstone National Park. § Specifi c site plans may need to be developed for each portal and proposed wayside, as is the case with the Tie Hack Memorial. Consideration will be given to universal accessibility, winter access, fencing needs, and highway site distances. § The overall interpretive opportunities and objectives are based on the Wyoming Page 2 Page 3 Rocky Mountain Region, Center for Design and Interpretation Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway Interpretive Plan Centennial Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan. The portals will provide overall visitor information and orientation with interpretation recommendations specifi c to each portal location. § There is a need to strengthen agency image and professionalism through greater design consistency in signs and facilities. § The Forest will continue to utilize TEA 21 and the Scenic Byway grants for funding to ensure that the portals and wayside exhibits will provide the necessary information, orientation, and interpretive products to serve the traveling public. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The overall goal of this interpretive