Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation

Thermopolis, Wyoming

WORK ON PARK FACILITY PROGRESSING BEHIND THE SCENES

A great deal of work is going on behind the scenes on the proposed interpretive center in the park, according Dr. Guy Drake, president of Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation, which is spearheading the building project.

“This project has been designed to make a significant economic impact on the entire Big Horn Basin region,” Drake said. “We’ve met with Governor Freudenthal for his input. We’ve been working with Milward Simpson, director of Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, and with Diane Shober, director of Wyoming Travel & Tourism. And our own county commissioners have been very supportive.

“We’re very excited that Lorraine Quarberg, our local state representative, is supporting it and will make a presentation to the state legislature for financial support for the building construction,” he said.

The project was named Project of the Year earlier this year by the Wyoming Resource Conservation & Development Councils. It draws on numerous projects that have served as models for rural development through what is called “asset-based economic development.”

“The assets are usually the natural resources of the region -- the people and their skills,” said Sue Blakey, Foundation director. “We took the asset-based model and combined successful tourism, education and arts programs to create a unique project unlike anything else in the state.”

#1 Asset – Wildlife, Natural Resources

According to Randall Marketing, which works closely with Wyoming Travel & Tourism, our natural resources really are our strongest asset. “Judy Randall told us back in 2005 that wildlife was our biggest strength – that and the hot springs,” said Toddi Darlington, secretary-treasurer of the Foundation. “It’s the number one reason people go to Yellowstone. We have more than 400 species in the Basin – that’s an incredible resource. But how do we tell people that? If we have a way to stop visitors and provide them better information, we can encourage people to view wildlife out in the field – not just here, but in the Basin as well. That’s what a new building can do.”

Taking Randall’s advice as a cue, the Foundation put an award-winning photographer in the field starting in 2006 to document wildlife and birds in the Basin, using both photography and sound.

Mark Whitlock, Wildlife Creations, Worland, is coordinating efforts on the wildlife exhibits components. “When the Wyoming Game & Fish Department closed their Cheyenne exhibit area, most of the life-sized mounts and interpretive materials were given to the Foundation,” he said. “The U.S. Fish & Wildlife, Wyoming Game & Fish, and a lot of individual hunters have donated specimens. As part of the Wyoming Game & Fish bird flu testing program, we have acquired migratory bird specimens that might not otherwise have been available. We’ve also purchased a few hard-to-come-by items, such as a newborn mountain lion.”

Whitlock is working with a number of other wildlife taxidermy artists in the Basin. “It will take more than one or two of us to put the wildlife exhibits together,” he said, “and several people in the region have specialties – such as birds or fish.”

The Foundation is working on a prototype sound and activation system for the exhibits. “We’ve been informally testing the field recordings on schoolchildren in Worland,” Whitlock said, “and it’s gone over like gangbusters.”

Art students in classes with Worland teacher R.J. Christensen are currently doing conceptual drawings of possible exhibits as a class project. “We’ve been serving almost like an off-site lab for art students,” he said. “We’ve brought students in to show them how the animals are sculpted and how much work is actually involved in getting them right. They are fascinated with the little details -- like how we create the illusion of muscles and veins.”

The wildlife exhibits are a great ‘wow’ factor for tourism, but they are only part of the building, according to Blakey. “Outdoor education is another big component. There’s an international movement called ‘No Child Left Inside,’ which shows the importance of getting children outdoors and learning about nature. Wyoming State Parks & Cultural Resources has endorsed this concept and is developing programs in all state parks to help children learn more about the outdoors.”

Last summer, the Foundation and Hot Springs State Park held a prototype day camp for kids, partnering with Central Wyoming College, Wyoming Audubon, Wyoming Game & Fish, U.S. Forest Service, and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. The camp included handicapped children.

“We wanted to see how the groups could work together,” Blakey said. “Our goal is to develop an entire series of day-camps and outdoor activities – what is now termed ‘nature-based education.’

“We are hoping to work with Hot Springs County schools and Central Wyoming College to build curriculum and teacher programs. This has great potential for Thermopolis and the region, and it plays on our strengths.”

Learning about the Past

The Foundation has also been working with humanities scholar Dr. Sharon Kahin, Dubois, on an ‘ethnogeography’ of the region -- how people from earliest times have lived on the land in the Basin and how the geography has affected their lives. “There’s a wealth of data in the Basin,” she said.

In the 1980s Kahin conducted a base study of the Big Horn Basin, gathering data on prehistoric sites and early settlers. Much of that work is now located in the research library at Northwest College in Powell. “We hope to build on that early material, digitize appropriate portions and use it for the Center in the park exhibits and as an educational resource,” she said.

The Foundation has also received a grant from the Glade Edwards Foundation to gather photographs of Hot Springs State Park for the interpretive exhibits in the building. “We have been working with the Wyoming State Museum and the Bureau of Reclamation as well as other family and museum collections,” said Kahin.

Arts as an Economic Asset

This year, the Foundation received a Community Arts Partners grant to help develop the arts as a basis for economic growth in the region. “We are in the initial stages of organizing a Big Horn Basin Arts Alliance to connect cultural and educational institutions, coordinate events and develop joint projects,” said Blakey.

“Our first step was to create a regional calendar of events of interest to visitors on our website. Now we are working with the Meeteetse Museum on an exhibit that will open in February. After that, it will be available to travel around the Basin. It uses a Thermopolis collection, but Meeteetse will help generate the interpretive materials.”

The Basin has a solid core of artists and craftsmen as well as “agri-cultural” or “agri-tourist” working ranches, dude ranches and small farmers who sell specialty crops, like organic produce and livestock. “But they have not had a means to work together in the past,” said Blakey. As part of the grant, the Foundation will develop a database of these groups in the Big Horn Basin and region. “This includes people with agricultural or ranch skills, fine arts, folk arts, musicians, and skilled tradesmen,” Blakey added. “We identify them and their strengths as assets in our regional destination plans. Then we help develop activities and programs that let more people know about the off-the-beaten track sites, studios, shops and agricultural attractions.

“If we help people improve their skills, that should, in turn, improve their business and foster new businesses,” said Blakey. “We also plan to showcase regional artists on our website next year.”

Technology, Marketing Key

The key to growth will be how well the program is marketed outside the area. “In today’s world, that means using state-of-the-art technology to deliver our message, services and products,” said Blakey. “This has to be a 21st century project. Technology is driving everything from politics to education to tourism today.

“What we’re doing is creating an infrastructure around which we can strengthen our region and the entire state. With technology we can link sites and people throughout the state. We can help existing businesses identify new products and new markets. We can use it to foster efforts of young entrepreneurs. We can enhance and expand educational resources.”

Generating Income for the Community

The Foundation estimates that the work on the building in the park has created the equivalent of eight full-time jobs the last three years. “The Foundation is a good corporate citizen,” said Toddi Darlington. “Like any business, we purchase services in town and in our region. We buy newspaper and radio advertising, printing, supplies, equipment and professional services -- many of those dollars were raised through grants outside the community.

“But our impact is broader than that. We generate activities and programs that bring people into the area -- like the Wyoming Oldtime Fiddle Contest. When you bring even a hundred people from out of town to stay for three days, they will spend a minimum of $100 a day. That’s $30,000 in the community. The impact of those dollars is about 6-7 times that figure, so it’s significant. When there’s a building that attracts visitors to such events, and you can hold more events because you have the space, then you begin to make a difference not just to the local community but to the region that people travel through to get here and back.”

Community Support Needed

“Some people say we should back off because of the downturn in the economy,” said Guy Drake. “But now is the time to invest in our infrastructure. It may even cost less to build. But the longer it takes to complete the building, the longer it will take before it makes a difference. If it takes another five years, then we’ll miss five years of helping young people develop new skills and improving visitation here. That’s a lot of missed opportunity.

“But what if we can build it in 16 months? We’ll be creating probably 20 construction jobs while we’re building it – and creating the infrastructure for the future.

“We need to show the state legislature that we’re serious,” Drake said. “A lot of time, effort and dollars have gone into this project already. Now we need the community to pitch in. A hundred years ago, every one in town would have gotten together, brought their hammers and saws and built it themselves,” he said. “It takes more than that now. But the principle is the same.

“Volunteer your help. Let your commissioners and legislators know you support the building project. Make a pledge to the building fund. It will only happen if we work together.”