Issue 7: Future of the NPS Operational (Administrative) Facilities On The Mainland

It is surprising that this document makes no specific reference to the future of the Apostle Islands museum collection, in light of proposals currently under discussion to transfer most of the park’s artifacts to an out-of-state central storage facility at Keweenaw National Historic Park.

This issue certainly rises to a General Management Plan level of significance, and unquestionably merits the same degree of public scrutiny and input as the location of the park’s administrative offices or maintenance shop.

Many of the items in the park’s rich collection were donated to the NPS by members of the local community, with the clear expectation that their family treasures would be used to convey the stories of the islands’ people to future park visitors. Only a fraction of the roughly 13,000-item collection is on display at one time; removal of the remainder to a distant warehouse would make rotation of exhibits virtually impossible. For all intents and purposes, these tangible objects that hold precious and poignant memories would be consigned to dusty oblivion.

Raspberry Island Lighthouse clock,
donated to NPS in 2003.

Moreover, the proposal runs counter to explicit NPS policy. Director’s Order #24,  NPS Museum Collections Management, makes this clear:

NPS museum collections are key resources for educators, students, researchers, park managers, park neighbors, and the general public. Accessibility of museum collections is a prime component of museum management.

Transfer of the park’s collection to an out-of-the-way repository might or might not improve accessibility for a small cadre of academic researchers as some proponents claim (though even this is difficult to believe) but it would without doubt reduce the availability of the artifacts to Apostle Islands visitors and staff effectively to zero.

If is determined that improvements deemed necessary to the existing museum storage facilities are economically impractical, the park would be far better advised to develop a partnership with the community’s other well-run museums- the State Historical Society Museum at LaPointe, the Bayfield Heritage Association, and the Bayfield Maritime Museum- to develop a centralized storage facility that will not deprive the Chequamegon area of its tangible heritage.

Continue to: Questions of Ways and Means

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The Document Under Review:

Options For Future Management
(PDF format; 2.8 Mb)