Finding aid of the Central Files

© 2017 National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP. All rights reserved.

Title: Central files

Dates: 1935-2001

Bulk Dates: 1975-1996

Collection number: SEKI 22570

Creator: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park (Calif.)

Collection Size: 69 linear feet 46 boxes

Repository: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, Museum and Archives.

Abstract: Records generated within the organizational divisions of Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park ranging from 1935-2001.

Physical location: Sequoia Kings Canyon National Parks. Ash Mountain Headquarters, Archive.

Languages: Languages represented in the collection: 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. Staff will assist researchers in determining copyright status of selected materials. Researchers are required to properly credit all materials used. The researcher assumes responsibility for acquiring copyright permissions when needed.

Central files , SEKI 22570. Courtesy of the National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks.

This collection came from the central files of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park for the years 1935-2001 with the bulk of the files dating from 1975-1996.

Since the establishment of the National Park Service in 1916, the office of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park's superintendent and its support divisions have been responsible for all park programs and functions supporting the mission of resource management for natural, cultural, and recreational areas. During the bulk of its history, Kings Canyon National Park, created in 1940, has been administered jointly with Sequoia National Park. The central records of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, created by all offices and divisions within the park, document the park's mission and ensure accountability to the public and Congress. Over the course of the twentieth century, the emphasis of park management changed from visitation to conservation. Originally, the organization of the parks consisted of Ranger, Maintenance, and Administration divisions. During the latter part of the twentieth century, the Ranger Division's functions of interpretation and natural resource management expanded into the divisions of Interpretation and Natural Resources Management reflecting this change. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park's central files contain records for the years 1935-2001 with the bulk of the files dating from 1975-1996. The divisions of Administration, Planning and Concessions Management, and Science and Natural Resources Management created major portions of the records in the course of their activities. During this period, challenges facing the park included air pollution, inadequate facilities, mandates from environmental legislation, and visitor impact on developed areas. Major initiatives during this period include planning and implementing the restoration of the Giant Forest, the development of the prescribed burn program, and requirements for environmental impact studies. The 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) required evaluation and mitigation of environmental consequences for all major federal actions with public input as part of the evaluation process. NEPA led to an increase in environmental impact statements/studies with public feedback recorded. NEPA, as well as the 1963 Leopold report and the 1964 Wilderness Act, recommended more scientifically based resource management. Resource management duties now included activities such as monitoring of air quality, fires, mineral mining activity, nonnative species, and wildlife with an increase in records to document these activities. Between 1953 and 2009, the National Park Service (NPS) used the NPS-19 Records Disposition Schedule system of file codes to organize and manage records. This method of organization was an alphanumeric system, which consisted of primary key letters (ranging from A to Y) representing major functional categories and secondary numbers representing the type of records being filed. Records already created and received under the old system need not be re-organized and, as such, are organized by NPS-19 file code and then by dates within each file code. Records created prior to 1953 were later filed according to the NPS-19 codes by the division and remained part of the records until they were closed and transferred to the archive.

The collection consists of park records encompassing analyses, correspondence, licenses, permits, reports, legal documents, memoranda, photographs, and slides. The collection documents the park's administration and management; concessions; planning; fiscal matters; history and archeology; interpretation and information; land and recreation; natural and social sciences; supplies, procurement and property; lands and legal matters; and fire management and forestry. The records detail the resource management mission of the park related to the acquisition, planning, management, and protection of lands and natural and cultural resources under the stewardship of the National Park Service (NPS).

Organized into XI series following the alphanumeric NPS- 19 disposition schedule file code: Series I: A series - Administration and Management; Series II: C series - Concessions; Series III: D series - Development and Maintenance (Planning); Series IV: F series - Fiscal; Series V: H series - History and Archeology; Series VI: K series - Interpretation and Information; Series VII: L series - Land and Recreation; Series VIII: N series - Natural and Social Sciences; Series IX: S series - Supplies, Procurement, and Property; Series X: W series - Lands and Legal Matters; and Series XI: Y series - Fire Management and Forestry. All series are arranged by NPS-19 file code and then by dates within each file code.

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

No.