FACT SHEETS–AIDING INTERPRETATION OF GEOLOGIC FEATURES IN NATIONAL PARKS

An experiment to make the latest scientific information accessible to the public was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Park Service (NPS) at Lassen Volcanic National Park (LVNP). Because NPS staff often lack expertise in Earth science, they typically rely on information from the scientific or popular literature. Unfortunately much of this information is overly technical, biased, incorrect, or out of date. One solution to this problem is to combine USGS science with NPS interpretation and jointly create “Fact Sheets”– concise 2- or 4-page well-illustrated interpretations and explanations of specific park features. To date, USGS and NPS personnel have produced four Fact Sheets on geologic topics relevant to LVNP. Park staff chose the topics, and USGS geologists produced drafts that were then jointly reviewed and edited. Careful review and editing are especially important with Fact Sheets because they must present a clear, unambiguous, and reader friendly-message to the visitor. The Fact Sheets, which are published under a joint USGS-NPS banner, have proven to be an effective and popular way of disseminating quality up-to-date science to the public through NPS interpretation.