National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior National Trails Intermountain Region 17 National Trails Intermountain Region FY2017 SUPERINTENDENT’S ANNUAL REPORT Black White Light blue C 23 M 0 Y 0 K 0 Dark blue C 94 M 65 Y 2 K 0 Gray C 26 M 20 Y 20 K 0 AL E D N I S OF R E A H T O L P L E N O I S T I A S R A R M T A R E D A S C J I T A L L L S O E TM TM TM N L NA IL NA L AT AI TI RA TI AI ION TR ONA C T ONA TR AL HISTORIC L HISTORI L HISTORIC Contents Acronym List .......................................................................................................................... 4 Executive Summary of Fiscal Year 2017.................................................................................. 6 Administration and Staffing ................................................................................................... 9 Organization and Purpose .......................................................................................................9 Budgets ....................................................................................................................................9 Staff Changes ........................................................................................................................11 Core Operations ................................................................................................................... 12 Partnerships and Programs ....................................................................................................12 Trail Studies and Planning .....................................................................................................12 Trail Administration .............................................................................................................. 14 California National Historic Trail ...........................................................................................14 El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail ................................................................18 El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail ......................................................20 Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail ................................................................................22 Old Spanish National Historic Trail ........................................................................................23 Oregon National Historic Trail ...............................................................................................26 Pony Express National Historic Trail ......................................................................................29 Santa Fe National Historic Trail .............................................................................................31 Trail of Tears National Historic Trail .......................................................................................34 NTIR Trails Project Summary ............................................................................................... 38 Trail Websites .........................................................................................................................39 Volunteers-in-Parks (VIP) Program ........................................................................................40 University-Based Partnerships ...............................................................................................40 Geographic Information Systems ..........................................................................................41 Resource Advocacy and Protection .......................................................................................42 Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program ..............................................................................44 ELCA El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail ELCAT El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association ELTE El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail FLAP Federal Lands Access Program GIS Geographic Information Systems GPO Government Printing Office IAWC Interpretive Association of Western Colorado IMR Intermountain Region (National Park Service) INAH Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (Mexico) MOPI Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail NHT National Historic Trail NPF National Park Foundation Acronym List NPS National Park Service NTIR National Trails BLM Bureau of Land Management Intermountain Region CALI California National Historic Trail OCTA Oregon-California CESU Cooperative Ecosystem Trails Association Studies Unit OLSP Old Spanish National Historic Trail CTTP Connect Trails to Parks OREG Oregon National Historic Trail DCP Developmental Concept Plan PECO Pecos National Historical Park DIGIT Digitally Integrated Geographic POEX Pony Express National Information Technologies Historic Trail DOT Department of Transportation RIM Resources Information Management ROSI Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program NATIONAL TRAILS INTERMOUNTAIN REGION 4 FY2017 SUPERINTENDENT’S ANNUAL REPORT Wagon wheels, Oregon Trail RTCA Rivers Trails and Conservation VIP Volunteers-in-Parks Assistance program (NPS program) SAFE Santa Fe National Historic Trail WACC Western Archeological and SFTA Santa Fe Trail Association Conservation Center SWBRPP Southwest Border Resource Protection Program TOTA Trail of Tears Association TRTE Trail of Tears National Historic Trail UNM University of New Mexico USFS United States Forest Service USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service NATIONAL TRAILS INTERMOUNTAIN REGION 475 FY2017 SUPERINTENDENT’S ANNUAL REPORT SECTION ONE Executive Summary of Fiscal Year 2017 OCTOBER 1, 2016 – SEPTEMBER 30, 2017 Pony Express Station in This document enumerates a considerable number of trail-specific Gothenburg, Nebraska. Staff, accomplishments. This summary includes the following sampling of in recent years, inventoried the significant staff accomplishments that have impacted most of the trails that various stations and sites all the National Trails Intermountain Region (NTIR) administers: along the Pony Express National • To address different treatments of high potential sites and segments Historic Trail among the various national historic trails, a working group with several NTIR staff was formed on this subject. The group met several times in 2017 to develop standard eligibility criteria, and to re- evaluate resources along the various trails in relation to those criteria. Efforts plan to be completed during the next fiscal year (FY) with implementation anticipated by FY 2019. NATIONAL TRAILS INTERMOUNTAIN REGION 6 FY2017 SUPERINTENDENT’S ANNUAL REPORT • In preparation for upcoming office moves in Hoffnagle, spent the summer working on both Santa Fe, NM and Salt Lake City, UT, the project. In mid-August, they completed the National Trails Intermountain Region a draft of the 2017 Business Plan. teamed with the Western Archeological and • The National Park Service entered into Conservation Center (WACC) to examine 25 new partnership certifications with and inventory all trail-related permanent non-federal property owners during the records. WACC staff visited both offices and year. Seven of these certifications took inventoried a broad range of common user place on the California National Historic files, along with records from individual Trail (CALI); six on the Mormon Pioneer staff offices. At the Santa Fe office, a National Historic Trail (MOPI); four on the Records Management task force, led by Oregon National Historic Trail (OREG); the administrative officer, worked towards three on both El Camino Real de los creating a standard file naming system and a Tejas National Historic Trail and the Pony common-user file structure. Express National Historic Trail (POEX); • In preparation for the 50th anniversary and one each on the Old Spanish and Santa of the passage of the 1968 National Trails Fe national historic trails (OLSP and SAFE). System Act, the NTIR staff, in all three • The NTIR’s Cultural Resources Team offices, formed a working group and represented the National Park Service contacted colleagues in various partnership in 186 compliance reviews for external associations and other entities to plan undertakings with potential to affect one anniversary-related events. or more of NTIR’s national historic trails. • The NTIR team engaged, for the first Federal Partners in the compliance effort time, with the agency’s Southwest Border comprise the various land management Resource Protection Program (SWBRPP), agencies, primarily the Bureau of Land which provides financial and technical Management, Tennessee Valley Authority, assistance to parks and partners along the US Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife United States (US)-Mexico border. NTIR Service, and the US Army Corps of staff and partners submitted three FY 2017 Engineers, along with members of various proposals, two of which were funded. partnership associations. • The office collaborated with the agency’s • NTIR staff prepared and presented a Business Management Group for an NTIR keynote presentation on the evolution business plan. Two Harvard University of North American trails for the Applied interns, Katherine Donato and Elena Preservation Technology Association in March 2017. NATIONAL TRAILS INTERMOUNTAIN REGION 477 FY2017 SUPERINTENDENT’S ANNUAL REPORT • NTIR staff prepared and presented a paper • The production of rack cards and posters, (later published in the Overland Journal) which were developed for the Find Your on the development of the transcontinental Park campaign