During the summer of 1947 the National Park Service cooperated with the University of Oregon in sponsoring a Crater Lake Field School of Nature Appreciation as part of the park’s educational program. The director of the school was Dr. R.W. Leighton, chairman of the Advisory Board on Educational Problems of Parks in Oregon. The school, held from July 14 to August 16, offered opportunity for study for eight units of college credit in the field of nature study and appreciation. Instruction covered the geologic and physiographic features and flora and fauna of the Crater Lake region and emphasized “an interpretive understanding of the laws of nature and of their importance to man’s understanding of his environment.” The program was designed to be of service to teachers and others who worked with groups of young people or other age groups in nature study programs. Headquarters and living quarters for the 25 students of the school were located at the Union Creek Resort just outside the park. The school included extensive field trips in the park and surrounding region. [37]
During the postwar years Park Naturalist Ruhle undertook efforts to ensure the continuing professionalism of the ranger-naturalists at Crater Lake. In January 1948 Ruhle prepared a memorandum, entitled “Information on the Application for a Ranger Naturalist Position,” that was approved by Superintendent Leavitt. According to the memorandum, applicants should be college graduates with sound training in natural history, particularly botany, zoology, and geology. This knowledge was to be coupled with enthusiasm, keen observation, ability to impart information, and ease in mixing spontaneously with park visitors. Resourcefulness and initiative were necessities since work must be done without close supervision. Ranger naturalists were to be in good physical condition since they were expected to aid in fire fighting and rescue work in emergencies. Research and specimen collection were encouraged, but such work was to be done outside scheduled work hours which consisted of five eight-hour days per week. Work schedules permitted little time for lecture preparation and study. [38]
During the 1950s the park interpretive program at Crater Lake continued to emphasize the activities that had been initiated both before and immediately after World War II.[39] In 1952 a recorded lecture synchronized with automatically projected slides was installed in the Information Building to improve park visitor orientation services. [40] The Crater Lake Natural History Association also continued its efforts to promote park interpretation, printing “Nature Notes,” selling various publications, and sponsoring special studies such as “The Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel” by Dr. R.R. Huestis and “The Birds of Crater Lake” by Dr. Donald S. Farner in 1952. [41]
The draft museum prospectus prepared in 1947 underwent considerable discussion during the 1950s. Finally in October 1957 a museum prospectus for the park was approved. A new site was selected for the central museum which would also serve as a visitor and information center and the hub of naturalist activities, such as guided field trips, orientation talks, and lectures, on the rim. The site was near the entrance to the campground on the south side of the plaza near the junction of the approach roads from Medford and Klamath Falls. As contemplated the building would house an entrance lobby and reception room, two exhibit rooms, an auditorium with a seating capacity of 500, and space for office, exhibit preparation, and storage. The primary objective of the museum would be to impart to the visitor a conception of what Crater Lake signified by its aesthetic qualities and values as well as to demonstrate that behind its beauty lay a scientific story that provided meaning. The outline of exhibit content provided that the central theme would be geology supported by the subthemes of biology, history, prehistory, forest protection, and sequence of seasonal phenomena. Woven into all exhibits would be the idea of aesthetics. The prospectus recommended roadside exhibits for at least seventeen locations along park roads, most of them along Rim Drive, and some twenty roadside markers to point out sites of interest. [42]
Research continued to be emphasized as an adjunct to the park interpretive program during the late 1950s. One such study that resulted in a popular publication was Grant and Wenonah Sharpe’s 101 Wildflowers of Crater Lake National Park in 1959. [43]
The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey conducted a hydrographic survey of Crater Lake in 1959. The data obtained by the survey was used to prepare a new map of the lake bottom, hence contributing to further understanding of the lake and enriching park interpretation. Measured from an assumed surface elevation of 6,176 feet, the greatest depth was found to be 1,932 feet, or 64 feet less than the depth of 1,996 feet recorded during the 1886 survey. Two submerged volcanic cones and other evidence of post-collapse volcanic activity were identified. Later in February 1961 the American Journal of Science published an article, “The Floor of Crater Lake, Oregon,” by Dr. Howel Williams interpreting the survey. [44]
