Visitor Perceptions of Cultural Resource Management at Three National Park Service Sites

The goals for interpretive programs in many parks and protected areas include conveying resource management topics in addition to the seminal goal of connecting visitors to natural and cultural heritage. Although desirable from an agency standpoint, the integration of management topics is likely to be heterogeneous and their detection within programs difficult. The challenge is to differentiate goals and gather visitor perspectives. This study assessed the effectiveness of heritage interpretation in conveying cultural resource management (CRM) topics embedded in public tours. A qualitative multiple case study examined cultural topics and, specifically, staff and visitor notions of the phrase cultural resource management at 3 National Park Service sites interpreting indigenous people. The study found that the topic of preservation was frequently cited by visitors to describe CRM. Furthermore, the topic of consultation suggests that programs offered visitors an opportunity to learn about agency efforts to incorporate indigenous views into sites’ resource management goals.