Where to start.....

In order to better understand current vista challenges and conditions, I have conducted several site visits within the Park and researched numerous documents relating to the history of vistas, the National Park Service (NPS), the relationship between man and nature, and the aesthetic experience associated with landscape. To organize my thoughts, I've decided to make a storyboard to determine where the gaps are and what work has already been done.  Several deficiencies were very evident, while other issues would need further investigation.  Important questions include but are not limited to:

- What are vistas and why are they important?
- How has vista management changed over time?
- What do other people have to stay about vistas?
- How do other Parks deal with vistas?
- What is the conflict in current vista management?

In the process of addressing these questions, I have gained a working knowledge of the challenges and benefits of maintaining natural places for the enjoyment of people.  To better understand the successes and failures of vista management, I have examined plans used by:

- Yosemite National Park
- Shenandoah National Park
- Blue Ridge Parkway
- and Glacier National Park

 These plans reveal many challenges of maintaining vistas within Parks including vegetation, topography, and climate.  The Blue Ridge Parkway is the closest to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and experiences many of the same challenges in vista management.

In addition to review NPS documents, I have read several books including:

- Ethan Carr's Wilderness by Design
- Richard Seller's Preserving Nature in the National Parks
- and Linda McClelland's Building the National Parks: Historic Landscape Design and Construction.


These three books have been immensely helpful in understanding what vistas are, why they were initially constructed in Parks, and how they still play an intricate role in the visitor's experience. 


Through my research (and with the help of Park employees Mark Schotters and Annette Hartigan) I discovered 2 documents that referred to past vista management at Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The first document was created in the early 1940s and refers to the intended viewpoints, general vista locations and management, and brief comments.  The second document is basically a summary of vista clearing work completed in the 1990s.  This report briefly details select vistas and provides before and after pictures.  Even though each plan had good ideas, both of these documents are very outdated and incomplete.  Neither of these documents ever provided enough information about site specific conditions or make clearing detailed recommendations for each vista.  In order to develop vista clearing recommendations that would meet the current needs of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its visitors, I would have to understand:


- What can I propose that the Park that is different from traditional management?
- What do I have to do to ensure that my vista management alternative the best?

Hopefully I will be able to answer those questions soon.