The ranger naturalists were chosen for their training in the natural sciences and their ability to present information to the public. Their duties included conducting field trips, delivering lectures, dispensing information, and serving in the park museum. Provision was made for employment of volunteer assistants to conduct special studies and undertake other projects in support of the park’s educational activities.
The plan detailed the level of existing educational activities for the public at Crater Lake. There were four guided field trips: Watchman Trail (1-1/2 hours), Trail to Lake Shore (2-1/2 hours), Garfield Peak (3 hours), and Bell Canyon (2-1/2 hours). Lectures were presented at the Community House and Crater Lake Lodge each night except Sunday. The museum and general information office at the Community House was open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Rim information service was provided daily (noon to 5 p.m.) by a ranger naturalist. Other educational activities included maintenance of the wildflower garden and the sale and distribution of park publications.
In addition the plan listed six new permanent projects which would form the nucleus of park educational efforts during the next several years. These were:
1. Collection and installation of exhibits in the museum.
2. Installation of view finders, exhibits, and information data in lookout stations at Victor Rock and on Watchman Trail.
3. Labeling and maintenance of nature trails–Rim Trail, Trail to Lake, Bell Canyon Trail to Wild Flower Garden, and Garfield Trail.
4. Development, labeling, and maintenance of wildflower gardens–Castle Crest Garden and Rim Garden.
5. Educational staff publications–Nature Notes (monthly), Natural History Leaflets, Park Manual of Information (cumulative), and Manual of Instruction for Educational Workers.
6. Establishment and maintenance of a park library. [9]
The position of park naturalist was made permanent by the 1931 fiscal year appropriation act. Homuth, who had served as acting park naturalist on a seasonal basis since 1928, was named to fill that position. [10] Because of illness, however, he was forced to resign suddenly in July 1930. F. Lyle Wynd, ranger naturalist, was appointed to assume temporary charge of the park’s educational activities. In an effort to help the fledgling program Dr. Harold C. Bryant, assistant NPS director for educational activities, visited the park that summer.
Increasing numbers of visitors participated in the park educational programs during 1930. Some 107 evening lectures were presented to 10,310 people at the lodge and Community House. The lectures at the latter were illustrated with lantern slides and moving pictures. Some 2,330 persons participated in 112 field trips, two of which were taken to various sections of the park each day.
The building formerly occupied by Kiser’s Studio at the rim was converted for use as a visitor contact/information station in 1930. The structure, which became generally referred to as the Information Building, had been sold to the Crater Lake National Park Company, and the park concessioner agreed to permit government use of the structure without remuneration. It was estimated that about 90 percent of the park visitors came into contact with the park naturalist staff at this facility. Sales of government publications increased markedly during the year, the number of National Park Portfoliossold, for instance, rising from 54 to 1,000. Some 2,000 copies of the park “Nature Notes” were distributed. [11]
The Crater Lake National Park educational program was greatly expanded during the summer of 1931. Setting the philosophical basis for the program was a “Memorandum Regarding Relation of Aesthetic to Scientific Study in an Educational Program at Crater Lake,” prepared by John C. Merriam, president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington on June 14, 1931. In the memorandum Merriam discussed four features of nature appreciation which were incorporated in the park’s educational program. These aspects were:
