Cathlapotle
Plankhouse Project Education and Interpretive Plan, Interpretive
Program Scripts and Volunteer Training
Client: Lewis and Clark Bicentennial
Committee Vancouver/Clark County and Ridgefield National Wildlife
Refuge, Ridgefield, WA
Site: Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge,
located north of Vancouver, WA, is a 5,000-acre+ unit of the
National Wildlife Refuge System managed by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. Established in 1965 to protect habitat for
the Dusky Canada Goose, it now provides vital wintering habitat
for a variety of birds, waterfowl and other wildlife on the
Columbia River floodplain. In 1991, the ancient remains of the
native village of Cathlapotle were located and excavated on
the Refuge by a team of archaeologists. This village site was
visited by the Lewis and Clark Expedition and documented in
their journals.
Issue: The Lewis and Clark Bicentennial presented
a unique opportunity to interpret the story of the Expedition
along with the cultural stories of the native peoples who originally
inhabited this area. The Cathlapotle Plankhouse Project was
organized to raise private funds for the development and construction
of a replica Chinookan-style Native American plankhouse on Refuge
lands to focus interpretive and educational efforts on this
story. Refuge resources, however, could not provide staff to
guide visitors through the site to interpret this amazing story.
Solution: Volunteers were recruited and trained
to guide tours, lead school groups and provide general information
for the site.
Role: An Education and Interpretive Plan, reviewed
by the agency with tribal interests and partners, was developed
to guide the project and ensure partner support for interpretation
of the site. Five different themed interpretive scripts were
developed to cover the key stories of the site. A corps of dedicated
volunteers was trained in basic interpretive skills and in use
of the scripts.
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