Idaho National Laboratory Cultural Resource Management Plan

INL CRM Office staff have also developed
many effective tools to enhance knowledge of INL
resources and promote cultural resource
protection. Forums for such discussions include
national, regional, and local professional meetings
and conferences where facility history,
archaeological research, and management
strategies and tools are explained and shared. In
addition, in 1999, a public history was prepared to
commemorate INL’s 50 th anniversary. This book,
titled Proving the Principle: A History of Idaho
National Engineering and Environmental
Laboratory, 1949–1999, was widely distributed to
INL employees, libraries, and schools and is
provided to others by request. A follow-on
publication will cover 2000–2010.
Other efforts are oriented toward members of
the general public in communities surrounding
INL. Tours of INL cultural resource sites have
proven to be an especially popular and effective
means of educating and communicating with the
public (see Figure 26). Signs at the public rest
area, located adjacent to Highway 20 on the banks
of the Big Lost River, describe the area geology,
flora, fauna, and historic, present, and future INL
activities.
Figure 26. Tour of archeological and historical
sites at INL.
Throughout the year, INL CRM Office staff
also visit many local schools and civic groups to
give presentations on a wide variety of topics.
Presentations are tailored specifically for different
audiences and have included regional prehistory
and history, nuclear history, careers in archaeology
and history, cultural resource management and
compliance, archaeological resource protection,
artifact illustration, and American Indian resources
and sensitivities.
Partnerships with local museums, interpretive
societies, historical societies, and the Idaho State
Tourism Office have resulted in an expansion of
the Public Education and Interpretation Program at
the EBR-I Visitor’s Center. The center includes
interactive displays, educational videos, traveling
exhibits, and outdoor classrooms. The INL CRM
Office plans to continue this expansion at EBR-1
with additional interpretive and educational tools,
such as a nature trail. These and other partnerships
will continue to educate residents and visitors
about INL history; they will also be the driving
force behind the nomination of Highway 20 from
Idaho Falls to Arco and Highways 22 and 33 along
INL’s north and west boundaries as scenic and
historic byways. A final outreach-related goal is to
continue to improve the ongoing oral history
program to capture important first-hand stories
about INL land use and history.
Future Activities and Priorities
In addition to the general cultural resource
management goals described throughout the
preceding text, a number of specific activities
could be enhanced or initiated to achieve those
goals. Proposed future activities will be prioritized
in the INL CRM Office annual work plan based on
input from the Idaho SHPO, Advisory Council,
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and other stakeholders.
A list of recurring activities and proposed future
activities is provided in Appendix K.
NHPA Section 106 Process
Timely and consistent consideration of
cultural resources in the day-to-day operation of
INL is one of the most basic goals of cultural
resource management at the Laboratory. It is also
a requirement of NHPA Section 106, which
requires federal agencies to consider the impact
their activities will have on properties that are
either listed on or eligible for listing on the
National Register, and to afford the Advisory
Council ample opportunity to comment on the
proposed activities. Such consideration and
comment are to be completed prior to initiation of
the activities.
The NHPA Section 106 process is the legal
mechanism used to determine if adverse effects to
historic properties will occur and, if so, the nature
and extent of the adverse effects, and to consult
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