George Washington Carver National Monument

George Washington Carver

More than 200,000 volunteers provide invaluable time and energy to the National Park Service. Meet the people and groups being honored with a 2013 Hartzog Award.

The types of aquatic invertebrates living in a stream can tell us about stream water quality conditions. Some invertebrates can live in poor-quality water, while others need cleaner water to survive. We monitor aquatic invertebrates at streams in George Washington Carver National Monument to understand status and trends in water quality.

We have recorded 100 bird species in the park over the last 13 years, and 97 of these have the potential to breed in the park. About 28% of these breeding birds are in decline in the region and six species are species of conservation concern. We measure changes in birds and their habitats to determine the health of bird communities and park ecosystems.

Behind the scenes at every NPS memorial site, a team of preservation professionals works to plan, design, and specify the type of treatment that is needed to preserve the physical place and the associated memories. Here are just a few examples of commemorative landscapes in the Midwest Region along with their treatment documents.

Although the abolition of slavery emerged as a dominant objective of the Union war effort, most Northerners embraced abolition as a practical measure rather than a moral cause. The war resolved legally and constitutionally the single most important moral question that afflicted the nascent republic, an issue that prevented the country from coalescing around a shared vision of freedom, equality, morality, and nationhood.

Route 66 and the National Park Service have always had an important historical connection. Route 66 was known as the great road west and after World War II families on vacation took to the road in great numbers to visit the many National Park Service sites in the Southwest and beyond. That connection remains very alive and present today. Take a trip down Route 66 and Find Your Park today!

Archeologists found the location of George Washington Carver's birthplace home in Diamond Grove, Missouri. There, as a boy, George formed the basis of his interests that became his lifelong passion. Later in his life he said, “From a child I had an inordinate desire for knowledge, and especially music, painting, flowers, and the sciences.” Through archeology, we can visit the precise place where his extraordinary achievements have their roots.

Agriculture and urban land use affect water quality of streams and the animals that live in them. Many fish are sensitive to poor habitat and water quality conditions and serve as good indicators of stream health.