GEOHAZARDS INTERPRETATION AT MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK--A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH BY THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AND THE US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Since the mid-1990s the US Geological Survey (USGS) and National Park Service (NPS) have collaborated on a series of measures designed to address geohazards at Mount Rainier National Park, including rockfall, debris flows, floods and volcanic unrest. Both agencies have committed substantial staffing and financial resources towards educating Park visitors and staff, and developing emergency response measures. Through frequent interaction and sharing of skills, staffs at USGS and NPS collaborate to provide consistent and complementary information about Mount Rainier's geologic history, hazards, and safety.

Park interpretive staff are presently implementing a "Geohazards Awareness Campaign" that educates visitors and advises them to use caution while in the Park. Working jointly with the USGS and other geoscientists, NPS has developed a variety of in-park interpretive programs, staff training, bulletin board messages and park literature, as well as Visitor Center exhibits and wayside signage that provide in-depth explanations about Mount Rainier. NPS sponsors a Summer Speaker Series that brings geoscientists to the Park where they make presentations about Mount Rainier geology. NPS and the USGS offer an annual workshop for school educators where curriculum and educational poster developed with the help of local teachers are utilized. Additionally, the two agencies share costs for the development, reprinting and distribution of USGS volcano fact sheets and bookmarks. At the in-Park theatre, NPS staff show the USGS-produced film "Perilous Beauty", which discusses hazards issues at Mount Rainier.

For those embarking on similar programs, the authors offer the following advice: There should be (1) frequent contact between scientists and interpreters; (2) development of concise and consistent interpretive themes or a hierarchy of interpretive themes; (3) multiple approaches that support long-term awareness of geohazards; (4) frequent and collaborative training for all staff regarding hazard issues; (5) cost sharing and co-production of interpretive products and services; and (6) disclosure and discussion of the inevitable refinements to scientific understanding.