COOPERATIVE ECOSYSTEM STUDIES UNIT (CESU) NETWORK
REQUEST FOR STATEMENT OF INTEREST & QUALIFICATIONS
PROJECT TITLE:
AMERICAN INDIAN TRADITIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY STUDY
AT CRANE FLAT, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
PROJECT TO BE INITIATED IN 2010
Reply to:
Jennifer Hardin, Park Cultural Anthropologist
National Park Service, Yosemite National Park
Phone: 209-379-1232
Email: Jennifer_Hardin@nps.gov
Reply Due:
June 14, 2010
The National Park Service (NPS) is requesting information on the interest and qualifications of potential
partner(s) to assist with a project to complete a formal National Register Determination of Eligibility
(DOE) for the Crane Flat Area in Yosemite National Park (YOSE) as an American Indian Traditional
Cultural Property (TCP). Responses to this Request for Statement of Interest and Qualifications will be
used to identify potential collaborators for a project funded by the National Park Service (NPS). The
project may draw upon expertise from the fields of cultural anthropology/ethnography, ethnobotany,
ethnohistory, and resource management.
The NPS is requesting information on your interest and qualifications to provide expertise through a
collaborative approach where all parties directly benefit from the collaborative process.
Based on interest and responses received, the NPS will select partner(s) to assist with developing a study
plan and formal agreement. Written Statements of Interest are due by June 14, 2010. The NPS hopes to
select partner(s) in June 2010, finalize a full statement of work by early July 2010, initiate project around
September 2010, and finish project in 2011.
For additional information, please contact Jennifer Hardin at (209) 379-1232, or by email at
Jennifer_Hardin@nps.gov.
Project Goals
This project will result in a formal evaluation of the Crane Flat area in Yosemite National Park as an
American Indian Traditional Cultural Property (TCP). In consultation with park associated American
Indian tribes and groups, the study will determine the area’s National Register eligibility as a TCP
according to guidelines and criteria outlined in National Register Bulletin 38 Guidelines for Documenting
and Evaluating Traditional Cultural Properties (Parker & King 1990). The project scope is
comprehensive and holistic in that a wide range of cultural and natural resources and interactions will be
considered. The project will result in a detailed report and GIS files that:

Identify the American Indian tribes and groups that ascribe traditional cultural significance to the
Crane Flat area as a TCP

Establish that the entity being evaluated for National Register eligibility is a tangible “property”
(i.e., a district, site, building, structure, or object) and define the property’s boundaries in
consideration of the traditional cultural uses to which the property is put
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
Discuss the qualities of the property’s visual, auditory, and atmospheric setting that contribute to
its significance

Demonstrate associations between the “property” and cultural practices and/or beliefs that are
rooted in the community’s or communities’ history and are important in maintaining continuing
cultural identity of the group or groups

Identify and document culturally significant resources within and adjacent to the property

Assess the property’s integrity of relationship and integrity of condition

Evaluate the property with reference to National Register eligibility criteria and criteria
considerations

Document American Indian concerns and preferred management actions for protecting historic
properties and culturally significant resources in the Crane Flat area
Materials Requested for Statement of Interest/Qualifications
Please prepare a not to exceed 3 page summary of how you would envision such a collaborative project.
Include your name, organization, and contact information, as well as a brief description of your
organization’s capabilities and relevant experience, including GIS expertise, applied ethnographic and
ethnohistory research experience, past projects, and information about staff, faculty, or students who
would be available to work on the project. Also, you may include, in addition to the summary,
supplemental materials such as descriptions or examples of past projects, reports and/or client names and
references. Please submit electronic Statements of Interest and supporting material to
Jennifer_Hardin@nps.gov by June 14, 2010. Note: A proposed budget is NOT requested at this
time.
Background and Overview
The Crane Flat area is located in the central-west portion of Yosemite National Park, about eight miles
from the Big Oak Flat Entrance Station and at an approximate elevation of 6200 feet above sea level. The
overall climate is temperate, with hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters. Precipitation at Crane Flat
usually occurs as snow, which melts more slowly and sustains surface water flows during the spring and
early summer. In terms of park development, Crane Flat is a minor service area that provides
opportunities for quiet, camping in the summer, and cross-country skiing and other snow-play activities in
the winter. The Crane Flat area is also the current home of the Yosemite Institute Environmental
Education Campus and the park’s main fire aviation facility at the Crane Flat Lookout.
Vegetation in the vicinity of Crane Flat consists of Sierra mixed coniferous forest, white fir mixed
coniferous forest, and giant sequoia mixed coniferous forest. Wetlands within the vicinity are broadly
classified as palustrine in nature and include palustrine emergent (montane meadow) habitat, palustrine
scrub shrub communities (e.g., willow dominated), and unvegetated intermittent streams. The Crane Flat
area contains one of the largest mid-elevation meadow systems in Yosemite National Park. Meadow
vegetation in this area is dependent on relatively high water table levels.
The area has been a locus of human activity throughout the prehistoric and historic periods. The Crane
Flat Archaeological District, which is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places,
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contains eight prehistoric sites that date between ca. 2000 B.C. to A.D. 1850. Historic period sites also
provide important information about human interaction and activity at Crane Flat.
The Crane Flat area has generally been culturally associated with the Central Sierra Miwok, Southern
Sierra Miwok, and possibly the Northern Paiute and Washoe. In 2006, an Ethnographic Overview &
Limited Oral History Study noted the continuing importance of Crane Flat to American Indian tribes and
groups associated with the park and recommended a formal evaluation of Crane Flat as an American
Indian TCP. This collaborative TCP study will specifically address concerns raised by park associated
American Indians for protecting this potential TCP in the context of a planned utility project, as well as
provide information to inform any future planning or management activities in the area.
.
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