Ward Eldredge, Anna Uremovich, Tammy Fishman, Alyson Mazzone, Bekah Piche, Allison Metzler
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
47050 Generals Highway
Three Rivers, CA 93271-9700
Phone: (559) 565-3133
Fax: (559) 565-3133
Email: Ward_Eldrege@nps.gov
URL: http://www.nps.gov/seki
© 2011
National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP. All rights reserved.
Finding aid for the Division of Business and Administrative Support Services Records
Collection number: SEKI 22365
Museum and Archives
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
Three Rivers, California
- Processed by:
- Ward Eldredge, Anna Uremovich, Tammy Fishman, Alyson Mazzone, Bekah Piche, Allison Metzler
- Date Completed:
- August 2011
- Encoded by:
- Tammy Fishman
© 2011 National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Division of Business and Administrative Support Services records
Dates: 1904-2005
Bulk Dates: 1969-2002
Collection number: SEKI 22365
Collector:
Sequoia National Park (Calif.). Division of Business and Administrative Support Services
Collection Size:
900 linear feet
Abstract: Records generated within the organizational divisions of Sequoia Kings
Canyon National Park concerning Park management, planning and development.
Repository:
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, Museum and Archives
Three Rivers, CA 93271-9700
Physical location: Sequoia Kings Canyon National Parks. Ash Mountain Headquarters, Archive.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
The collection is open for research by appointment.
Publication Rights
Many collections are former federal government records and are in the public domain. Other collections are from private sources;
copyright has been transferred to the NPS on most. Some collections have publication restrictions. Researchers are required
to properly credit all materials used. The researcher assumes responsibility for acquiring copyright permissions when needed.
Preferred Citation
Division of Business and Administrative Support Services records, SEKI 22365. Courtesy of the National Park Service, Sequoia
& Kings Canyon National Parks.
Biography / Administrative History
The Division of Business and Administrative Support Services was created in 2008 when two functions that previously reported
directly to the parks' superintendent, Safety and Concessions Management, were added to the Division of Administration. Following
the consolidation of these park functions into the expanded (and renamed) Division of Business and Administrative Support
Services, branch records were also consolidated. Records in this collection have been organized into series that reflect the
work functions of the contemporary division.
Since the establishment of the National Park Service in 1916, the office of the Parks' superintendent has been responsible
for the oversight of all park programs and the office remains the principal decision-making, contractual, and budgetary authority.
With the growth of the agency, a number of fundamental work functions have been transferred to various support offices. The
responsibility for tracking budgets and day-to-day bookkeeping has long been one of the primary duties of the Division of
Administration. By the late 1980s, the Division consisted of four branches: budget, information management, personnel, and
procurement. Budgetary records are well represented in this collection. The concessions office, responsible for the management
of the numerous contractual relationships between the parks and the various private businesses operating within its boundaries,
has moved several times over the past decades. At the outset of the Park era, the authority for signing contracts with concessioners
resided with the Parks' superintendent. By the 1960s, when Park superintendents began having management assistants, the work
fell largely to them. By the late 1980s, Sequoia and Kings Canyon's concessions office had grown to five permanent employees
with a branch chief reporting directly to the Parks' superintendent. In 1995, the branch became a division, the Division of
Planning and Concessions Management, under the leadership of William Tweed. By 1997, the office was dissolved as a freestanding
division and was moved back under the Office of the Superintendent. Until 2006, some special use permits, environmental compliance
and land issues were managed through the concessions office. With the expansion of environmental compliance workload and
increasing complexity and political sensitivity regarding land issues, those functions were moved under the newly established
Deputy Superintendent. For much of its history, the Parks' safety office has consisted of one employee reporting directly
to the Parks superintendent; from 1992-2002, Gary Bornholdt was the Parks' Safety Officer. Before its transfer to the current
Division of Business and Administrative Support Services, the Parks' safety office was part of the office of the Deputy Superintendent
or directly for the Superintendent.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of correspondence, permits, reports, legal documents, memoranda and analyses. The collection documents
the Parks' budget, permitted special use activities, the disposal of hazardous material, and workplace and employee safety.
Special use permits document activities which include the following: hydroelectric development and re-licensing, management
of private inholdings, grazing allotments, and proposed recreational development.
Arrangement
The collections is organized into three series: Series I Budget; Series II Concessions; and Series III Safety.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Sequoia National Park (Calif.). Division of Business and Administrative Support Services.
Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park (Calif.).
Conservation of natural resources.
Grazing--Environmental aspects.
Hydroelectric power plants--Kaweah River--History.
Accidents--Sequoia National Park (Calif.).
National parks and reserves--Law and legislation--United States.
Land ownership--California.
Sequoia National Park (Calif.)--Management.
Concessions (Amusements etc.)--Sequoia National Park (Calif.).
Folder 001-018
Series 1.
Budget
1986-2001
Extent: 18 folders
Series Scope and Content Summary
The series consists of correspondence and status reports concerning the annual budgets for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National
Parks and the Devils Postpile National Monument.
Arrangement
Chronological.
Folder 019-088
Series 2.
Concessions Records
1919-2002
Extent: 69 folders
Series Scope and Content Summary
The series consists of permits, correspondence, and plans. Important topics include the consultation with private landowners
within the Parks' boundaries, the legacy of hydroelectric development, cattle grazing, and recreational development.
Arrangement
The series is organized into five subseries: Subseries A, Private Lands; Subseries B, Utility Permits; Subseries C, Recreation
Permits; Subseries D, Grazing Permits; and Subseries E, Other Permits
Subseries A.
Private land
1929-2002
1977-1980
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
The subseries consists of correspondence and permits relating to the management of private lands or inholdings within the
boundaries of the Parks. The majority concerns building permits for properties in Wilsonia. A smaller set concerns Silver
City and the acquisition of tracts at Redwood Mountain.
Subseries B.
Utility permits
1919-1991
1977-1980
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
The subseries consists of correspondence and permits relating to the activities of public utility operators within the boundaries
of the Parks. The majority concern the re-licensing of Southern California's Kaweah No. 3 hydroelectric plant. A smaller number
concern Pacific Telephone.
Arrangement
The subseries is arranged by utility operator: Southern California Edison, followed by Pacific Telephone.
Subseries C.
Recreation permits.
1936,
1965-1977
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
The subseries consists of correspondence, plans, and compliance reports relating to permitted recreational use of the Parks.
The majority concern the proposed development of a large-scale recreational facility on the Sequoia National Forest. Beginning
in the late 1960s, the Walt Disney Corporation sought and obtained a special use permit to develop a ski resort in the Mineral
King Valley. The resulting battle ultimately led to the addition of the Valley to Sequoia National Park.
Arrangement
Chronological.
Subseries D.
Grazing permits.
1941-1995
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
The subseries consists of correspondence and reports relating to permitted grazing of cattle within and adjacent to the parks.
The majority concern the trespass of cattle from adjacent private and Forest Service lands.
Arrangement
Chronologically.
Folder 089-187
Series 3.
Safety records
1904-2002
1986-1999
Extent: 98 folders
Series Scope and Content Summary
The series consists of correspondence, legal documents, forms, inspections, and reports. Important topics include accidents
involving park employees, hazards to public safety, and hazardous waste disposal. Some of this material pertains to significant
events including the restoration of Giant Forest, the tort claim following a lightning fatality on Mount Whitney, the associated
health risks of prescribed fire (i.e., smoke), and tree hazards.
Arrangement
The series is organized into three subseries: Subseries A Accidents and Inspections; Subseries B Threats and Protection; and
Subseries C Hazardous Waste Disposal
Subseries A.
Accidents and inspections
1904-2002
1993-1999
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
The subseries consists of forms, statistics, and reporting of employee accidents (including fatalities). Also present are
inspection reports of park facilities.
Arrangement
Chronologically.
Subseries B.
Threats and protection
1957-2002
1985-1997
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
The subseries consists of correspondence, legal documents, and memoranda. The bulk of the material concerns the lightning-caused
death of a park visitor at the Mount Whitney shelter and the resulting tort claim. Additional material includes an inventory
of mines within the Parks' boundaries and material concerning the health risks of smoke. Also present are copies of the Superintendent's
Annual Report for 1985-1990.
Arrangement
The subseries is arranged by subject.
Subseries 3.
Hazardous waste disposal
1980-2002
Subseries Scope and Content Summary
The subseries consists of correspondence, contracts, and documentation concerning the disposal of hazardous waste. In additional
to routine reporting, the subseries also includes material concerning the disposal of waste generated by the demolition of
buildings and facilities during the restoration of Giant Forest.
Arrangement
The subseries is arranged by subject.