DeBenedetti Slide Collection
Finding aid created by Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks staff using RecordEXPRESS
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
2019
47050 Generals Highway
Three Rivers, California 93271
(559) 565-3133
http://www.nps.gov/seki
Title: DeBenedetti Slide Collection
Dates: 1972-1976
Collection Number: SEKI 24401
Creator/Collector:
Steven DeBenedetti
Extent: 1 binder of 25 slide sleeves
Repository:
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Three Rivers, California 93271
Abstract: The DeBenedetti slide collection is comprised of color slide photographs taken between 1972 and 1976 during the first meadow
restoration survey in Sequoia Kings Canyon National Parks, led by research Steven DeBenedetti and his colleagues. The meadow
restoration project focused on stock grazing and trampling impacts in subalpine meadows, and was one of the first formal research
projects in Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park.
Language of Material: English
Collection is open for research by appointment.
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.
DeBenedetti Slide Collection. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Steven DeBenedetti’s widow, Jolene Wright/DeBenedetti, mailed the boxed slides to Sequoia Kings Canyon Park and delivered
to David Graber. Graber gave the collection to the Sequoia Kings Canyon Museum and Archive before 2013. Documentation of the
original boxes were captured by the processing archivist before the individual slides were placed into archival sleeves.
Biography/Administrative History
Steven DeBenedetti earned his masters degree at UC Berkeley in the early 1970s and was hired in Sequoia Kings Canyon National
Park as a biological technician in 1975. In his position at SEKI, he managed a meadows restoration survey project that focused
on the impacts of grazing and trampling by stock usage. In 1983, he moved on to become the first natural resources specialist
at Pinnacles National Monument. In 1968, the first formal science research program was established in Sequoia Kings Canyon
National Park. Bruce Kilgore was hired as the first Research Scientist, and in 1973, Dave Parsons was hired as a Research
Biologist. Among the first research projects in the park, back country visitor impact, foothill wildfire ecology, and meadow
restoration took priority. The slides in this collection were created in conjunction with the meadow restoration project and
focused on the impacts of stock usage in alpine meadows. These studies provided the basis for implementing a grazing management
plan that included opening dates and limits on animal number for different meadow types. The work provided the basis for the
meadow monitoring program that the park continues to support.
Scope and Content of Collection
The DeBenedetti slide collection is comprised of Technicolor and Kodachrome color slide photographs from 1972-1976. The photographic
subjects include meadow scenery, trailworkers, and subalpine mountain landscapes. Points of interest include Big Arroyo, Little
Bearpaw Meadow, Spring Lake, Glacier Pass, Precipice Lake, Baxter Creek, Dragon Peak.
Restoration monitoring (Ecology)
Restoration ecology
Sequoia National Park (Calif.)