Reflections on 20 Years of The Midden

This article was originally published in The Midden – Great Basin National Park: Vol. 20, No. 2, Winter 2020.

While The Midden may not be as old as bristlecones or the Milky Way, it’s reached a major milestone with its 20th year.

Gretchen Baker

By Gretchen Baker, Editor
It’s hard to believe, but you are reading the 40th issue of The Midden, the Resource Management Newsletter of Great Basin National Park. The publication started in 2001, published biannually. As the name hints, The Midden, just like packrat middens, has become a treasure trove of information for those who want to learn about the past. Reading through the issues, it is apparent how the Resource Management division has grown and evolved over 20 years, taking on more complicated and varied projects.

The Park has benefited by strong partnerships with local agencies, researchers coming from all over the world, and talented seasonal and permanent staff. Although staff in many parks move every few years, over seven resource management staff have been in the park over 10 years, with three of them over 20 years! The institutional knowledge has really benefited the Park, and the strong team values and willingness to help on various projects is obvious.

The Park has also been fortunate to have good funding sources, in particular the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA). Great ideas need funding in order to happen.

Back to The Midden, here’s an overall breakdown of articles by subject and number of articles:
• Caves - 45
• Wildlife – 36
• Vegetation/Forest Health/ Invasive Plants – 28
• Bonneville cutthroat trout/ Fish – 27
• Other – 23
• Cultural – 21
• Water/Snow/Springs – 20
• Restoration – 16
• Microfauna/Invertebrates – 14
• Weather/Climate – 12
• BioBlitzes - 12
• Physical Science (Geology, Paleontology, Soils) – 10
• Birds – 10
• Reptiles and Amphibians – 9
• Fire - 9

Thanks for reading!