Bandelier Administrative History

After the Second World War, local use became an important factor in visitation at the monument. Frank Pinkley designed the physical plant for needs of the 1930s. The canyon area was limited, and its resources confined. There was a small parking area, and overnight guests and daytime users shared the combined picnic area and campground. But residents of Los Alamos began to see Bandelier as an outlet for their recreational needs. The staff at the monument had to address new forms of use.

The first indications of impending changes in visitor use occurred after the Second World War. Project "Y", the portion of the Manhattan Project for which the Los Alamos installation was created, was the catalyst for the explosion of the atomic bomb. The name "Los Alamos" became synonymous with atomic weaponry, and the wartime installation became permanent. The Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory became the major employer on the Pajarito Plateau. By 1950, the surrounding communities grew to a population of 14,000.

Local residents quickly developed a view of the monument that was different from what Park Service personnel envisioned when they designed the site. After a few initial trips to the ruins, area residents became far more interested in the picnic and campground areas than they were in the ruins. Day-use trips to Bandelier became prevalent. On weekends, locals picnicking near Frijoles Creek filled the campground.

The existence of Bandelier offered residents of Los Alamos a release from the stress of life during the Cold War. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a race to develop superior weapons. Los Alamos was the focus of American efforts. The pressure was overwhelming, and Los Alamos itself offered few opportunities to relax. Its residents turned to the serenity of Frijoles Canyon. Superintendent Fred Binnewies recalled that he could "feel them being renewed physically and mentally" during their visits. [22]

Interpretation of the prehistory of the region has always been an important part of the responsibilities of the Park Service. The spectacular backdrop of Frijoles Canyon and the ruins it contains have intrigued generations of visitors.

Visitation also increased exponentially at most Park Service area after the war. Serious management problems throughout the system were the result. Americans had more money, better mobility, and more leisure time. They flocked to see their national park system in droves. Park facilities were quickly overwhelmed and overcrowding became common. Conditions at many parks deteriorated so badly that author Bernard DeVoto suggested closing the national parks if they were not properly maintained.

Bandelier was among the parks where overcrowding became a problem. Visitation rose from 9,312 in 1945 to 45,524 in 1950. The combination of local use and visitors from all over the nation aggravated the problem of facilities at Bandelier. It faced an enlarged traditional constituency and the new local one. The facilities designed during the 1930s could not comfortably handle the new levels of visitation.

The larger numbers posed a different kind of problem at Bandelier than at many other parks. Locals and visitors engaged in competition for the use of limited space and facilities. People from all over the world wanted to see the ruins. Accommodations in the vicinity were scarce, and many visitors expected to camp at the monument. These visitors were the original constituency of the agency, the ones for whom Frank Pinkley built the facilities. They were forced to compete for limited campground space with picnickers from Los Alamos and White Rock, who wanted to use the shaded campground/picnic area next to the creek. The CCC development, constructed to fill the needs of an earlier era, quickly became inadequate.

The Park Service, however, was in a difficult situation. Frijoles Canyon was an extremely small area, and the concentration of facilities at the southeast end of the canyon made expansion in that direction impossible. The campground/picnic area bordered the canyon wall on one side and the creek on the other. Its northwestern most point was within 650 feet of Tyuonyi, leaving little room for expansion in that direction. Ruins and trails covered much of the remaining area. With limited space available and users already overwhelming the existing facilities, Frijoles Canyon was becoming a major management problem.

When appointed Director of the National Park Service in late 1951, Conrad L. Wirth initiated a program to revise existing master plans at all agency park areas. He had been an advocate of visitor-service developments since he became involved with the Park Service in the early 1930s. Wirth orchestrated the planning and execution of extensive developments, including the Mission 66 capital development program, during his thirteen years as agency director. [23] The impact of his programs on Bandelier ultimately changed the administration of the monument.

Park Service personnel began from scratch. The existing Bandelier master plan preceded the Second World War. The issues confronting park managers were no longer the same. By the early 1950s, Bandelier was overwhelmed. It had acquired many of the characteristics of a city park. Residents of nearby communities accounted for more than half the annual visits, an eventuality that Frank Pinkley and the others who designed the site in 1930s could not have foreseen. The facilities at Bandelier were not constructed to accommodate the conditions that came to exist at the monument. Recreational day use was simply not an issue during the 1930s. The new master plan had to address the realities of the moment. Planning for the future had to be delayed.

Recognizing the problems and getting something done about them were two completely different tasks. In 1952, Superintendent Fred W. Binnewies carved out a master plan that identified the minute size of the concentrated headquarters area and the overcrowding of the canyon floor as the two most important problems facing the monument. But there was little funding available for development until the advent of the Mission 66 program in 1956. Binnewies's program was approved and began to gather dust. [24]

The photograph suggests the frustration of visitors who arrived at Bandelier only to find the campground full. The growth of visitation inspired the development of a campground on top of Frijoles Mesa. This converted the old area to day-use and allowed the Park Service to accommodate larger numbers of visitors.

In 1955, Binnewies's successor, Superintendent Paul Judge, began to compile a prospectus for Mission 66 at Bandelier. Following the guidelines set out in the master plan of 1952, Judge began to look for ways to address the perennial problem at the monument: its "urbanization" and the consequent overcrowding of the canyon floor.

Judge's solution suggested ways to shift the focus of visitors to the monument away from Frijoles Canyon. He advocated bringing the portion of Frijoles Mesa between Highway 4 and the existing boundary into the monument, as well as terminating additional development within the Frijoles Canyon. He also proposed a contact and information station on Highway 4, near the Los Alamos "Y", as well as a development in the Otowi section that included a museum, campground, ranger station, and employee residence as an additional part of a "gradual pulling back." [25] Judge attempted to interest the public in more than the cultural resources of Frijoles Canyon.

Mid-level agency response was sympathetic to Judge's plan, but opinions differed on how to achieve his goals. Robert G. Hall, Acting Chief of the Branch of Design and Construction of the Western Office, concurred with the principal recommendations. He questioned the need for the dual development in the Otowi section and suggested changing the fee structure in order to discourage picnicking as a quick way to alleviate overcrowding in Frijoles Canyon. [26] Acting Regional Chief of Operations Jerome Miller believed that if camping were eliminated, overnight lodging in the Canyon could also be removed. Oscar T. Carlson, Superintendent of Mesa Verde, agreed, as did K. M. Saunders of the Regional Office, who wrote: "Bandelier should be used as an archeological area, not a playground." [27]

Agency executives were less impressed. Regional Director Hugh M. Miller passed the proposals to Director Wirth. Miller agreed with Hall that the Otowi contact station and museum ought to be combined in one unit, but he did not believe that any other improvements in the detached portion were necessary. Although he concurred with the proposed addition of the Frijoles Mesa area, he questioned the need for campgrounds atop the mesa. Instead of restricting camping in Frijoles Canyon, Miller endorsed Hall's proposal to change the fee structure in order to discourage picnicking. [28]

After the necessary revisions, Judge submitted the Mission 66 prospectus for approval. The document reflected Acting Regional Director Miller's beliefs as much as those of the superintendent. The prospectus offered fee adjustments and reservations as the means of controlling day-use in Frijoles Canyon, and the detached Otowi section was slated for development. The campground, however, would remain in the canyon.

The prospectus also included substantive development of the physical plant. Seven housing units were included in the program, providing living space at the monument for the families of the entire permanent staff. Judge also proposed additional housing for seasonal employees. Other programs for Frijoles Canyon included 17.9 miles of trails, a new telephone system, and boundary fencing on the north side of the monument. The total cost was projected at $510,000, of which $347,000 was earmarked for building new quarters. Improvements at Otowi were expected to cost another $450,200.

Mission 66 for Bandelier also proposed dramatic increases in the number of staff members employed at the monument. The permanent administrative and protective staff was to be increased from the four existing members in 1956 to nine by 1966, seasonal staff, from eight to fifteen. Two additional positions in the maintenance division and one on the road and trail crew were also included in the plan.

Judge erroneously believed that the Mission 66 program for Bandelier would solve the problems of the monument once and for all. After the completion of the program, Judge contemplated no more major development. If everything in the prospectus became reality, he believed that facilities at the monument would be capable of handling the projected increases in visitation well into the 1970s. [29]

On March 8, 1957, Associate Director E. T. Scoyen approved the document with one reservation. He recommended additional study of the camping/picnicking issue. Scoyen believed recreational uses at Bandelier ought to be provided only as a convenience for visitors. He requested a study to determine the feasibility of separating camping and picnicking facilities, as well as an assessment of the potential of lands outside the monument that might be developed into parks for local residents.