REMARKS BY JOHN J. REYNOLDS

REGIONAL DIRE

Signing Ceremony For

UC MERCED AND YOSEMITE, SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON PARTNERSHIP

May 13, 1999

It is an honor to be here today, on behalf of the National Park Service. As we join hands in a unique partnership CTOR PACIFIC WEST REGION, NPS for research and education - a partnership between the University of California, one of the nation's premier research and education institutions, and Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, this state's and nation's most cherished of lands.

We are also here to celebrate the creation of the University of California's 10th campus, UC - Merced. For the National Park Service it is an opportunity, to be one of the entities that works with a university as it builds from the ground up, as it develops its research identity, its curriculum, its future, and its relationships with other entities.

And, I would like to thank the Yosemite Fund for helping to sponsor this event today. Your support has been and continues to be so very important to the National Park Service.

Like Carol, I am fascinated by the historic association between the National Park Service and the University of California.

Before there was a National Park Service, the University of California played host, in 1915, to a conference on national parks.

The National Park Service was created by an Act of Congress in 1916, and as Carol mentioned - the first and second directors of the National Park Service - Stephen Mather and Horace Albright - were both graduates of the University of California. Under their leadership and with their vision, the traditions of the National Park Service were started.

Another UC graduate was a fellow named George Wright, who worked for Mather and set up the precursor to today's park science and resource management programs.

And, again (in reference to Carols remarks), the first systematic survey of the fauna of the Sierra parks was conducted between 1914 and 1920, by Joseph Grinnel, head of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at UC Berkeley and proponent of scientifically-based management of the national parks. Grinnel was also George Wright's mentor.

The UCs Museum of Vertebrate Zoology also organized and extensive survey of the Kings Canyon region, from Minkler in the valley all the way to Kearsarge Pass, in 1916. This survey, oddly called the "Sequoia Survey," was conducted by Joseph Dixon, H.S. Swarth, and Halstead White and produced more than a thousand specimens of vertebrates assessioned to the MVZ collection; about 300 of these were from the area now included in SEKI. The ensuing cooperative investigations by park naturalists, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff, and MVZ staff ultimately led to the UC Press book (1953), "Birds and Mammals of the Sierra Nevada, with Records from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks," by Lowell Summer and Joseph S. Dixon.

In the early years of the National Park Service, UC Berkeley was a center of activity and base for NPS programs in education, forestry, landscape architecture and wildlife biology. Several service-wide branches were based at the University of California, including the Branch of Research and Education.

Where is the National Park Service heading today and why is this partnership so important?

In April of 1998, we began a series of conversations with the University of California, about the future UC Merced and the need for Sierra Nevada and San Joaquin Valley research. Those discussions have taken us to where we are today. In the time since we began those discussions, the National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998 or Thomas Bill was enacted. The Thomas Bill directs the National Park Service to utilize "a broad program of the highest quality science and information" in support of its management decisions. In addition, it directs us to enter partnerships with universities and other federal and state agencies to establish "cooperative study units," to conduct research in the parks and in their larger regions. Thus, the Thomas Bill reaffirms our direction in establishing this partnership.

For Yosemite, Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks a partnership with the University of California is not only the appropriate thing to do, it is the wise and exciting thing to do. Appropriate, in that the University of California is one of this nation's premier research institutions and especially appropriate since the "Sierra Nevada and San Joaquin" is part of the research identity for UC Merced. Wise because there is no institution more revered and respected than the UC system. Exciting because there will be no end to the good that results.

So, how specifically, will these national parks and the National Park Service benefit from this partnership?

First, we will benefit when we know more about Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon... and we will know more about these parks when we know more about the Sierra Nevada and the San Joaquin Valley. These parks are not ecosystems unto themselves. They are part of the same larger ecosystem - an ecosystem with many interrelationships...between not just the flora and fauna of the Sierra, but also the economies and cultures of man. We cannot seek to study these parks in isolation and still hope to understand them. We cannot protect these parks for the enjoyment of this and future generations without that knowledge and understanding.

The parks have much to offer as well. They represent the best semblance of baseline conditions in the Sierra Nevada...because they are the most pristine and protected lands in the Sierra. These parks can give us all a basis for understanding change...and, thus, they offer the opportunity to understand how various courses could effect the Sierra and Central Valley in the future.

What I am getting to is this - using the parks and other lands - as "living laboratories." We envision having research stations in Yosemite and Sequoia/ King's Canyon National Parks, to draw and host UC, national and international researchers. This will increase research activity, introduce us to new sources of knowledge and expertise, and foster a culture of interdependency between the NPS and the research community. These research stations will be satellites to and part of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute at UC Merced.

But, this partnership is not just about research. It is also about education. This partnership will meld many of the educational outreach efforts of two organizations that have responsibilities beyond their traditional roles of providing for either college students or park visitors. It is to our advantage to help young people find their opportunities to drink from the founts of knowledge and inspiration.

We believe that the parks are appropriate places to learn the sciences and other foundations for life...it is appropriate to see the parks as "living classrooms." We, the National Park Service, are confident that giving students a greater knowledge of the sciences will lead them to support the continued existence and preservation of this nation's national parks, and a more protective attitude toward the environment in general.

Our agencys interpretive activities will be nourished by a growing body of knowledge, gained through research. This will give the American public programs that are dynamic and reach new levels in enriching their experiences in Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Finally, this is about people. The UC System has never shied away from societys responsibilities to the full diversity of our people. As Californias population changes, so will the nations. The National Park Service is facing up to these challenges today as well. Our relationship together can strengthen the relevancy of both of us to the full diversity of our people.

I would like to conclude with this note. Earlier, Carol and I both mentioned Joseph Grinnels survey. Unfortunately, that first survey by the University of California was also the last complete survey for the Sierra parks. Thus, as we look to do a better job of managing Yosemite and Sequoia/Kings Canyons in the future, we find ourselves looking to reestablish an old relationship... with the University of California, an institution that has contributed much, through its graduates, to the beginnings and traditions of the National Park Service. But it is also a new relationship - with UC Merced - that will bring many new contributions to all of us in this very wonderful Region.

It is an exciting day, full of promise for the new millenium! Thank you one and all!