Tumacácori National Historical Park

Eusebio Francisco Kino

Frank "Boss" Pinkley

Rosa Maria Bezerra Nieto

Sallie Pierce Brewer Van Valkenburg Harris

Participants will initiate a correspondence with Tumacácori just as the viceroys and leaders back in Europe corresponded with missionary priests on the frontier. They will receive updates about how things are going, what challenges and successes have been encountered, and what additional feedback could be useful. Enrichment activities and materials are included as well. A mailed response to the writing prompt triggers the next pack to be sent out.

Each National Park Service (NPS) employee has a unique story. We can't tell them all, but sometimes there's a personal account—like that of Sallie Pierce Brewer Van Valkenburg Harris—that speaks to common experiences. Although her NPS connections ran from 1933 to 1971, many of her joys, challenges, and frustrations can still be recognized in the NPS today. Sallie's story resonates regardless of era, gender, or position. How will it speak to you?

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) did for National Park Service (NPS) education programs what the better-known Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) did for park roads, trails, and buildings. Many artists—including a large number of women—were hired with WPA funding to create art and exhibits in parks around the country. Natasha D. Smith was one of those women. She led a life dedicated to art, wildlife, and environmental conservation.

When the climate changes enough, the vegetation communities growing in any given place will also change. Under an expanded bimodal climate zone, some plant communities in western national parks are more likely to change than others. National Park Service ecologists and partners investigated the future conditions that may force some of this change. Having this information can help park managers decide whether to resist, direct, or accept the change.

Tumacácori National Historical Park is testing new materials and innovative techniques for preserving earthen architecture. This article summarizes the procedures and outcomes of laboratory and in-situ evaluations on the effectiveness of these new methods since 2014. While the generated information is primarily for earthen architecture, the methodology is equally valuable for rendered masonry. NPS Intermountain Park Science, 2025

First in a series of three "In Focus" articles that share insights into the near-universal and far-reaching effects of soils on the ecology, management, and enjoyment of our national parks.

Most women with disabilities hired by the National Park Service (NPS) in the 1970s and early 1980s had temporary jobs. Some built long-term careers with the bureau. Starting before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, these women experienced the opportunities and changes the law brought. It was their hard work and dedication to the NPS mission, however, that continued to change attitudes and educate coworkers and visitors alike.

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.