Chapter Four South Denali Visitor Center Complex: Interpretive Master Plan Site Resources Tangible Natural Site Features 1. Granite outcroppings and erratic Resources are at the core of an boulders (glacial striations) interpretive experience. Tangible resources, those things that can be seen 2. Panoramic views of surrounding or touched, are important for connecting landscape visitors physically to a unique site. • Peaks of the Alaska Range Intangible resources, such as concepts, (include Denali/Mt. McKinley, values, and events, facilitate emotional Mt. Foraker, Mt. Hunter, Mt. and meaningful experiences for visitors. Huntington, Mt. Dickey, Moose’s Effective interpretation occurs when Erratic boulders on Curry Ridge. September, 2007 Tooth, Broken Tooth, Tokosha tangible resources are connected with Mountains) intangible meanings. • Peters Hills • Talkeetna Mountains The visitor center site on Curry Ridge maximizes access to resources that serve • Braided Chulitna River and valley as tangible connections to the natural and • Ruth Glacier cultural history of the region. • Curry Ridge The stunning views from the visitor center site reveal a plethora of tangible Mt. McKinley/Denali features that can be interpreted. This Mt. Foraker Mt. Hunter Moose’s Tooth shot from Google Earth shows some of the major ones. Tokosha Ruth Glacier Mountains Chulitna River Parks Highway Page 22 3. Diversity of habitats and uniquely 5. Unfettered views of the open sky adapted vegetation • Aurora Borealis/Northern Lights • Lake 1787 (alpine lake) • Storms, clouds, and other weather • Alpine Tundra (specially adapted patterns plants, stunted trees) • Sun halos and sun dogs • High Brush (scrub/shrub) • Spruce Forests • Numerous beaver ponds and streams Tangible Cultural Site Features • Sedge meadows and muskegs 1. Historic Curry Lookout and trail 4. Diversity of wildlife species (connection to Curry and the Alaska • Infrequent large mammals Railroad, artists) (include moose, black bears, grizzly bears) 2. Wreck of an Air Force C-47 plane on • Small mammals (including K’esugi Ridge (connection to bush beaver, mink, red fox, pine pilots) marten, weasels, snowshoe hare, 3. Panoramic views of surrounding porcupines, collared pika) landscape • Large birds (including trumpeter • Denali/Mt. McKinley and the swans, sandhill cranes, bald Ruth Glacier (connection to eagles, golden eagles, northern exploration, mountain climbing, harriers, gyrfalcons, hawk owls) and Alaska Native stories) • Water birds (including Pacific loons, common loons, horned • Peters Hills (connection to gold grebes, harlequin ducks, mining and settlement) buffleheads, lesser yellowlegs, • Chulitna River (connection to red-necked Arctic terns) early Dena’ina transportation and • Migratory birds (include northern settlement) flickers, white-crowned sparrows, • Parks Highway (connection to northern shrikes) development of interior access) Page 23 Themes and Messages Themes are the important ideas that organize the messages to be • A primary theme expresses the communicated at the South Denali main idea and unifying concepts Visitor Facility. They create a framework that tie together the stories of South for planning and help place resources Denali. To provide a cohesive visitor and events into meaningful contexts for experience, all interpretation at the visitors. Once these significant concepts facility complex should relate to this are identified, decisions can be made holistic theme. about what site resources and media are • Sub-themes split the primary most appropriate to tell these stories. theme into several more specific Compelling interpretive themes link and workable ideas. These broad a tangible resource to the interests of storylines guide visitors to discover visitors. deeper meanings and relationships with the resources of the site. A theme statement, the main idea of • Messages break down the broad sub- an interpretive opportunity, should themes into specific, discrete stories contain universal concepts. A universal that can be told with interpretive concept is an intangible meaning that media and programming. has significance to almost everyone, but may not mean the same thing to any two people. They are the ideas, values, challenges, relationships, needs, and emotions that speak to the human condition. Interpretation is most effective when media and other interpretive opportunities allow visitors to grasp the meanings expressed in themes and apply them to their own lives. Visitors may not parrot the themes we write—but if they are provoked, inspired, or can relate to something within themselves, we have been successful. Page 24 Primary Theme South Denali is a gateway to the Alaska wilderness, offering intimate experiences in tundra, taiga, and alpine lake habitats, showcasing sweeping vistas of the Alaska Range and Chulitna River Valley, and revealing the natural and cultural forces that have shaped this rugged landscape. Page 25 Sub-theme 1 Curry and K’esugi Ridges are the d. Tundra plants are specially backbone of Denali State Park, adapted to the harsh conditions of harboring dynamic ecosystems of high elevation. Dark colors absorb specially adapted wildlife and plants. more heat. Many leaves are small, needle shaped, or silver colored to reduce stress from intense Messages for Sub-theme 1: alpine sunshine. Some plants 1.1 Alpine Tundra, found in the higher have hairs, which allow them to elevations of Curry and K’esugi trap heat and diffuse the harmful Ridges, is a miniature world of solar radiation. Hairy undersides plants adapted to harsh conditions of leaves may also trap and retain of sunlight, wind, cold, drought, and moisture, such as those found on a short growing season. Labrador tea. Other plants, like mountain cranberry, store water a. Alpine environments are in their waxy leaves, which also characterized by short, cold, and prevents desiccation from drying unpredictable growing seasons. winds. Rainbow over Curry Ridge. September, 2007 Soils are thin, nutrient poor, and dry out quickly. e. Most alpine plants are matted against the earth, away from the b. The principle characteristic of an harmful wind. They cling to rocks alpine environment is its lack of which retain warmth better than trees which allows high wind and the soil. Many have renewal buds intense solar penetration into the close to the ground where they ground vegetation and soil. are protected from cold and wind. c. Alpine plants are usually slow- f. Crowberry, dwarf blueberry, growing, long-lived perennials. and low-bush cranberry attract They store energy in a good a variety of animals, including year to make it through a bad black and grizzly bears. Other year. They often reproduce wildlife species that inhabit vegetatively rather than sexually. this association at some time Many are evergreen; they don’t during the year are ptarmigan, grow stems, leaves, flowers and fox, coyote, ground squirrel and Alpine bearberry and lichen. November, 2007 fruit each season. moose. Page 26 g. Many “trees” in the tundra species are willow and alder, grow stunted and horizontally intermixed with a groundcover instead of standing upright. This of berry plants (blueberry, alpine phenomenon is termed soapberry, lingonberry, “krummholz,” or twisted wood. thimbleberry, salmonberry, currant) and devil’s club. h. Hardy alpine trees often demonstrate “flagging”— b. High Brush systems provide branches only grow on the important browse and cover leeward side of the trunk and for large mammals in the park. point the wind direction. The large number of berries supports black and brown bear i. Lichens are well adapted to the populations. rocky substrate and proliferate. They initiate the process of soil 1.3 Upland Spruce/Hardwood Forests accumulation that will allow are fairly dense forest systems that other pioneer plant species to provide cover for many of the larger succeed them. mammals in the park. High Brush habitat near visitor center j. The alpine tundra association site. September, 2007 a. This forest type is a mixture of is fragile—it is easily damaged white spruce, Alaska paper birch, and recovers very slowly. Thin quaking aspen, black cottonwood, soils, short growing seasons, and balsam poplar. It covers most high winds, and low moisture of the lower elevations within contribute to the sensitivity of this Denali State Park. habitat. b. Understory species provide 1.2 The High Brush (scrub/shrub) browse for moose and cover for system is a transition zone between larger mammals found within the treeline and alpine tundra that park. provides significant browse and cover for large mammals. 1.4 Bottomland Spruce/Poplar Forests are productive, dense forest systems a. Vegetation cover in this found on level floodplains, low river association ranges from very terraces, and thawed south-facing Spruce Forest habitat near beaver dense to open with widely slopes. ponds east of the visitor center site. scattered spruce trees. Dominant September, 2007 Page 27 a. The dominant species of these moss are the dominant species. forests are white spruce mixed c. The Chulitna, Susitna, and with black cottonwood and Tokositna Rivers provide essential balsam poplar. Large cottonwood habitat for bald eagles, trumpeter trees are located in areas adjacent swans, and other waterfowl. to river channels or less active These rivers and associated creeks flood plain zones. are essential habitat for several b. This association provides species of anadromous fish. understory brush used as d. A scenic chain of still ponds browse by moose.