GeomorphIS Team to Support USFS Pikes Peak Ethnographic Resources and Traditional Use Study

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) tasked a GeomorphIS-Algonquin-EEC team to support the ongoing Pikes Peak Ethnographic Resources and Traditional Use Study. The team will identify, and document ethnographic resources and places used by members of Tribal communities that have historical or cultural association with Pikes Peak. The team will build upon previously completed works (e.g., reports, studies, etc.) and will document traditional, historic, and on-going community use of, natural and/or cultural resources and places of cultural significance (i.e., specific locations, plant/mineral/animal species, specific cultural resource sites, etc.). The purpose of this project will be to document the specific uses of traditional resources associated Pikes Peak, but also to document the contemporary cultural basis for these uses.

GeomorphIS to Conduct Ethnographic Survey at Great Basin National Park

The National Park Service (NPS), Great Basin National Park (GRBA), has tasked a GeomorphIS-Algonquin team to compile ethnographic information about associated tribal peoples in the study area, document traditional associations between these peoples and the Park, and provide direction for future ethnographic research. The team will also provide information that can be used to develop and enhance consultative and collaborative relationships between the Park and its associated communities. It is anticipated that the study will identify culturally specific uses of park resources and culturally or historically significant sites, places, or objects within the park related to cave resources. It will provide important information about the extent to which natural and cultural resources are considered to be heritage resources in the context of the history and cultural traditions and practices of the contemporary communities or groups. The research will examine traditional uses of plant and animal communities, geographic features, and structures, and identify those places and resources significant to associated groups as relates to caves. The results of the project will be used to provide the salient ethnohistorical and ethnographic context of park resources as baseline ethnographic documentation. Among other applications, the information will help managers identify and emplace historical and traditional (ongoing) uses of natural and cultural resources within the park, serve as the basis for dialogue and conversations with park neighbors about the heritage values of the Park to local communities and groups, and enhance park resource management decision-making and interpretation.

BLM-CA Tasks GeomorphIS Team to Conduct Route Condition Assessment

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ukiah Field Office (UKFO) manages the Knoxville Management Area (KMA), located east of Lower Lake, CA in Lake, Yolo, and Napa counties, as an Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) area. The BLM has contracted with a GeomorphIS-Bargas team to complete a trail condition assessment of the KMA’s approximately 52 miles of designated OHV routes, and provide BLM with a report based on the route condition assessment findings and recommendations as part of a Recommended Assessment, Monitoring and Maintenance Plan, which will provide the BLM with the framework to develop a comprehensive maintenance and monitoring schedule.