Chickasaw National Recreation Area

Rangers in leggings? It may not sound very practical or professional, but leggings were part of National Park Service (NPS) uniforms for decades. They weren’t the leggings we think of today though! Practical for protecting the legs, leather puttees or leggings were part of the "ranger look" from the earliest NPS uniforms. As the NPS evolved and the National Park System expanded, however, they became unfashionable and unnecessary.

One of the highlights of the National Park Service (NPS) History Collection is the leather hatband that belonged to Horace M. Albright. There was never any doubt that it would be the subject of a 50 Nifty Finds article. When we sat down to write it, however, we quickly found we had more questions than answers. Follow our staff on a research journey that goes from a one-of-a-kind hatband attributed to a former NPS director to a forgotten chapter of NPS uniform history.

There is the prevailing misconception that African Americans do not participate in outdoor recreation; however, this misconception is far from reality. While racially exclusionary practices attempted to impose limits on African American participation in outdoor recreation, African Americans participated in opportunities offered by the larger society and also carved out spaces of their own.

Antelope and Buffalo Springs are part of a historic, designed landscape located on the far eastern portion of the Platt National Park National Historic Landmark District. The area is primarily used for passive recreation such as hiking, walking, and nature study. The creation of the Nature Center building and its site in the 1960s is significant for its association with Mission 66, a nationwide National Park Service effort to modernize its facilities.

The 59-acre Bromide Springs and Bromide Hill landscape is located in the western edge of the Platt National Park National Historic Landmark District. In addition to the springs, the landscape contains a large picnic area and entry landscape located on a flat terrace to the north of Rock Creek. Formerly used as a campground and gathering area, the area south of Rock Creek is a park-like landscape of grass and canopy trees, used primarily for picnicking.

The 392-acre Buffalo Pasture and Prairie Uplands landscape is located in the central portion of the Platt National Park National Historic Landmark District. In general, the area is primarily a natural landscape, with few visitor facilities. Today, the area is still important as a repository of early park history, as exemplified by the buffalo herd, which has been a feature in the park since 1920.

The 15-acre Central Campground is the smallest of the three campground developments within the Platt National Park National Historic Landmark District. Features of the campground include Travertine Creek, which winds through the landscape, as does the Perimeter Road of the park. Panther Falls is also located nearby. The area is used for camping and associated recreational activities, including bathing in Travertine Creek.

Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad scale. But not all areas experience the same climate in the same way, even within the boundaries of a single national park. A new dataset gives park managers a valuable tool for understanding why vegetation has changed and how it might change in the future under different climate-change scenarios.