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Guide to the Nature Notes Collection

This finding aid describes the Nature Notes Collection, part of the NPS History Collection. To search this guide for names, places, key words, or phrases enter Ctrl + F on your keyboard (command key + F key on a Mac). Request an in-person research appointment or get more information by contacting the archivist.

Hand-colored drawing of a moose in front of mountains

Hand-colored cover from Yellowstone National Park's "Nature Notes," July 1, 1924. (NPS photo)

Collection Overview

Collection Number: HFCA 1645 (Series IV.I)

Creator: National Park Service

Title: Nature Notes Collection

Dates: 1922-1997 (bulk dates: 1927-1957)

Volume of Collection: 7.92 LF

Language of Materials: English

Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. However, digitized issues in park museum collections or other archival collections are available. See "Related Collections" below for links to some available digital copies.

Conditions Governing Access: This collection is open to research use.

Conditions Governing Use: Nature Notes are in the public domain; however, some supplemental materials as well as all Nature Notes produced by the Grand Canyon Association are protected by copyright. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/ and http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/. See also the NPS general archives copyright & restrictions information.

Provenance: The collection was assembled from copies sent to the NPS History Collection from various park sources.

Processing Note: This collection was processed and described by Lloyd Williams in 2012 and Mikaela Wilson in September 2026. The finding aid was updated by Nancy Russell in March 2025 and Mikaela Wilson in September 2026.

Rights Statements for Archival Description: This guide is in the public domain.

Preferred Citation: Nature Notes Collection (HFCA 1645), NPS History Collection

Location of Repository: NPS History Collection, Harpers Ferry Center, PO Box 50, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425

Related Collections:

Administrative History Note

From June to September 1920, Yellowstone National Park naturalist Milton P. Skinner started a new monthly natural history newsletter to share notes on flowers, geology, animals, and birds with the public. These simple, typed three- or four-page documents continued monthly during the summer of 1921. The next year they were professionally printed as two-page leaflets. Although not yet called Nature Notes, Skinner’s newsletter established a format, tone, and direction for what would become a decades-long initiative throughout the NPS.

In July 1922 Yosemite National Park’s Chief Naturalist Ansel F. Hall and his staff began publishing Yosemite Nature Notes, which grew out of a popular series of weekly articles Hall and ranger Enid Michael published in the Stockton Register. The expanded publication provided visitors with information about plants, animals, museum activities, the nature guide service, special guests, and other topics of interest. Within a few years, and using professional printing services, high-quality drawings, cover art, and photographs illustrated the publication which was also available through a subscription service. Twelve issues were published each year through 1960, with one issue each in 1961 and 1962. “Nature Notes” was removed from the cover in 1958, and Yosemite Nature Notes officially became Yosemite in 1961. The publication run ended in 1962.

Sequoia National Park’s Nature Guide Service, represented by Walter Fry, began publishing a bulletin in June 1922. Sometimes titled Sequoia Nature News Notes, it was simpler and shorter than the Yosemite publication, usually focusing on a single species in each bulletin. It was also issued less regularly until its final issue in 1937. Mount Rainier National Park published its Nature Notes series from 1923 through 1939. Mount Rainier National Park began publication under the title Nature News Notes, however the name changed to Nature Notes in volume 7 of 1929. Publication frequency varied from bi-weekly to quarterly depending on season and staffing levels. It was available at the park and to subscribers around the country.

Although Yellowstone didn’t produce its "notes" series in 1923, it began publishing Yellowstone Nature Notes in June 1924. Described as a “series of bulletins to be issued from time to time for the information of those interested in the natural history and scientific features of Yellowstone National Park and unmatched educational opportunities offered by this region,” it was available free of charge to park visitors and anyone who added their name to the mailing list. Charming illustrations, including hand-colored covers, were quickly added, furthering the publication’s appeal. Most years the staff created six or 12 issues. The May-June 1942 issue starts with a special notice stating that it will be the last issue until after World War II. The Yellowstone Nature Notes returned with the January-February 1946 issue, which primarily described what happened in the park during the war years. Over time, the articles became longer and photographs were added. Yellowstone Nature Notes ended with the November/December 1958 issue.

Rocky Mountain National Park began publishing its Nature News Notes in 1924; it began using the more standard Nature Notes title in 1928. Six volumes were published by the time the series ended in 1933.

Grand Canyon Nature Notes began in March 1926 and were issued monthly until 1935. In 1931 the Grand Canyon Natural History Association assumed publication of the Grand Canyon Nature Notes. Special editions called Natural History Bulletins were released from 1935 to 1937. These publications presented articles on animals, plants, fossils, Native Americans, geology, astrology, and other topics. Park staff, in cooperation with the Grand Canyon Association, produced a new version of Nature Notes from 1994-2008.

In January 1927 Glacier Park Nature Notes debuted. Only two issues are known from that year and none from 1928. In 1929, however, Nature Notes from Glacier National Park returned with drawings and longer articles featuring original essays, wildlife observations, poetry, and musings by park staff. In 1931 it was renamed Glacial Drift: Notes from Glacier National Park, after the most popular section of the earlier publication, because the bulletin’s scope had become much broader than natural history. Only a single issue was published in 1938, its final year.

Nature Notes from Crater Lake began in July 1928. It continued to be published three or four times a year through 1938. Nature Notes stopped all production during World War II and resumed publication in 1946 for another decade. Its contents were described as “original articles, notes, digests, poems, sketches, bits of park life, comments and opinions of interested parties.” Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks published a single bulletin for both parks from 1929 through 1934. Mesa Verde (1930-1937), Hawai’i (1931-1934), Acadia (1932-1939), Lassen Volcanic (1932-1936), Hot Springs (1934-1936), and Grand Teton (1935-1939) national parks were relative latecomers to the Nature Notes phenomenon.

In 1937 and 1938 the NPS Western Museum Laboratories used Works Progress Administration funding to create an index to the series. Created under the direction of Hazel Hunt Voth, the index reflects the popularity and usefulness of Nature Notes at the time.

Although the "Nature Notes" name has been repurposed by some parks for later publications and different formats through the early 2000s, the heyday of the original Nature Notes series ended after the 1930s in most parks.

Scope and Content Note

Nature Notes for Acadia, Crater Lake, Devil’s Postpile, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Teton, Hawai'i (now Hawai’i Volcanoes), Hot Springs, Lassen Volcanic, Mesa Verde, Mount Rainier, Petrified Forest, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia, Shenandoah, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion & Bryce Canyon national parks. Complete runs of Nature Notes from Mount Rainier volume 2-15, Acadia volume 1-4, Yosemite volume 2-39, and all of Zion & Bryce and Mesa Verde are present. There is an almost complete run of Crater Lake Nature Notes excepting volume 14. Topics include plants, wildlife, road and trail conditions, park regulations, safety, and historical notes. Poems, illustrations, and anecdotes are also included. Copies have been retained when they differ in edition, format, or printing (e.g., bound and unbound versions or reprints). Indexes are present for some parks. The 1938 Index to ‘Nature Notes’ of National Parks encompasses all publications through that date, including some not represented in this collection.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by park name, and thereunder by volume number. When indexes are present for specific parks, they precede the volumes. Bound volumes are arranged after loose volumes.

Container List

BOX 01

Folder 01: Acadia National Park, Index, 1933-1936

Folder 02: Acadia National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 1-3, 1932-1934

Folder 03: Acadia National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 4-5, 1935-1939

Folder 04: Acadia National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 1-4, 1932-1935

Folder 05: Crater Lake National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 1-3, 1928-1930

Folder 06: Crater Lake National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 4-6, 1931-1933

Folder 07: Crater Lake National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 7-8, 1934-1935

Folder 08: Crater Lake National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 9-13, 1936-1947

BOX 02

Folder 01: Crater Lake National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 15-22, 1949-1956

Folder 02: Crater Lake National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 23-26, 1992-1995

Folder 03: Crater Lake National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 1-6, 1928-1933

Folder 04: Devil’s Postpile National Monument, Vol. 31-33, 1952, 1954, undated

Folder 05: Glacier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 1-2, 1927-1929

Folder 06: Glacier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 3, 1930

Folder 07: Glacier National Park, Glacial Drift, Vol. 4, 1931

Folder 08: Glacier National Park, Glacial Drift, Vol. 5-7, 1932-1934

BOX 03

Folder 01: Glacier National Park, Glacial Drift, Vol. 8-11, 1935-1938

Folder 02: Grand Canyon National Park, A General Index to Grand Canyon Nature Notes 1926-1935, 1938

Folder 03: Grand Canyon National Park, Natural History Bulletin No. 1-8 [Bound], 1935-1937

Folder 04: Grand Canyon National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 3 and 4, 1929-1932

Folder 05: Grand Canyon National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 5 and 6, 1931-1932

Folder 06: Grand Canyon National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 7-9, 1932-1934

Folder 07: Grand Canyon National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 12-13, 1996, 1997

Folder 08: Grand Canyon National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 1-3, 1926-1929

BOX 04

Folder 01: Grand Canyon National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 7, 1932

Folder 02: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 1956

Folder 03: Grand Teton National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 1-2, 4-7, 1935-1941

Folder 04: Hawai’i National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 1-4, 1931-1933, 1952

Folder 05: Hawai’i National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 1-3, 1931-1933

Folder 06: Hot Springs National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 1, 1934

Folder 07: Hot Springs National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 2, 1935 [1 of 2]

Folder 08: Hot Springs National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 2, 1935 [2 of 2]

BOX 05

Folder 01: Hot Springs National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 3-4, 1936-1937

Folder 02: Hot Springs National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 1-4, 1934-1937

BOX 06

Folder 01: Index to ‘Nature Notes’ of National Parks 1920-1936, [Bound] 1937-1938

Folder 02: Lassen Volcanic National Park, Ranger Notes, Vol. 1 and 3, 1932, 1934

Folder 03: Lassen Volcanic National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 1-6, 1932-1939

Folder 04: Mesa Verde National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 1-3, 1930-1932

Folder 05: Mesa Verde National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 4-9, 1933-1939

BOX 07

Folder 01: Mesa Verde National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 1-7, 1930-1937

Folder 02: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 2, 1924-1925

Folder 03: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 3, 1925-1926

Folder 04: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 4-5, 1926-1927

Folder 05: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 6, 1928

Folder 06: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 7, 1929

BOX 08

Folder 01: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 8, 1930

Folder 02: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 9, 1931

Folder 03: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 10, 1932

Folder 04: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 11, 1933

Folder 05: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 12, 1934

Folder 06: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 13, 1935

Folder 07: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 14-15, 1936-1937

Folder 08: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 16-17, 1938-1939

Folder 09: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 2-5, 1924-1927

BOX 09

Folder 01: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 6-7, 1928-1929

Folder 02: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 8-10, 1930-1932

Folder 03: Mount Rainier National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 11-15, 1933-1937

Folder 04: Petrified Forest National Park, Notes on Geology and Paleontology, 1936

Folder 05: Rocky Mountain National Park, A General Index to Rocky Mountain Nature Notes 1928-1936, 1938

Folder 06: Rocky Mountain National Park, Index, Vol. 1-8, 1933, undated

Folder 07: Rocky Mountain National Park, Nature News Notes, 1924

BOX 10

Folder 01: Rocky Mountain National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 1-2, 1928-1929

Folder 02: Rocky Mountain National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 3-4, 1930-1931

Folder 03: Rocky Mountain National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 5-9, 1932-1936

Folder 04: Sequoia National Park, A General Index to the Sequoia Nature Guide Service Bulletins June 1922 – November 1937, 1938

Folder 05: Sequoia National Park, Nature Guide Service Bulletins, 1925-1931

Folder 06: Shenandoah National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 1, 1936-1937

Folder 07: Yellowstone National Park, A General Index to Yellowstone Nature Notes 1937-1951, 1952

Folder 08: Yellowstone National Park, Index, Vol. 1-11, 1924-1930

Folder 09: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 1-2, 1924-1925

Folder 10: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 3, 1926

BOX 11

Folder 01: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 4, 1927

Folder 02: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 5, 1928

Folder 03: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 6-7, 1929-1930

Folder 04: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 8, 1931

Folder 05: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 9-11, 1932-1934

Folder 06: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 12, 1935

Folder 07: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 13-15, 1936-1938

BOX 12

Folder 01: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 16-19, 1939-1942

Folder 02: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 20-21, 1946-1947

Folder 03: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 22-23, 1948-1949

Folder 04: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 24-26, 1950-1952

Folder 05: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 27-29, 1953-1955

Folder 06: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 30, 1956

BOX 13

Folder 01: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 31-33, 1950-1956, undated

Folder 02: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 1, 1922

Folder 03: Yellowstone National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 14-15, 1937-1938

Folder 04: Yosemite National Park, A General Index to Yosemite Nature Notes 1922-1936, 1937

Folder 05: Yosemite National Park, Junior Ranger Notes, Vol. 1, 1934

Folder 06: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 1-2, 1922-1923

Folder 07: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 5-7, 1926-1928

Folder 08: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 8-9, 1929-1930

BOX 14

Folder 01: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 10-12, 1931-1933

Folder 02: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 13-15, 1934-1936

Folder 03: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 17, 1938

Folder 04: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 18, 1939

Folder 05: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 19, 1940

Folder 06: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 20-22, 1941-1943

BOX 15

Folder 01: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 23-25, 1944-1946

Folder 02: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 26-29, 1947-1950

Folder 03: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 30-32, 1951-1953

Folder 04: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 33, 1954

Folder 05: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 34-35, 1955-1956

Folder 06: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 36-37, 1957-1958

BOX 16

Folder 01: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. 38-39, 1959-1960

Folder 02: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 2, 1923

Folder 03: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 3, 1924

Folder 04: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 4, 1925

Folder 05: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 5-6, 1926-1927

Folder 06: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 7, 1928

Folder 07: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 8, 1929

Folder 08: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 9, 1930

Folder 09: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 10, 1931

Folder 10: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 11, 1932

Folder 11: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 12, 1933

Folder 12: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 13, 1934

Folder 13: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 14, 1935

BOX 17

Folder 01: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 15, 1936

Folder 02: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 16, 1937

Folder 03: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 17, 1938

Folder 04: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 18, 1939

Folder 05: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 19, 1940

Folder 06: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 20, 1941

Folder 07: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 21, 1942

Folder 08: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 22, 1943

Folder 09: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 23, 1944

Folder 10: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 24, 1945

Folder 11: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 25, 1946

Folder 12: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 26, 1947

BOX 18

Folder 01: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 27, 1948

Folder 02: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 28, 1949

Folder 03: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 29, 1950

Folder 04: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 30, 1951

Folder 05: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 31, 1952

Folder 06: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 32, 1953

Folder 07: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 33, 1954

Folder 08: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 34, 1955

Folder 09: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 35, 1956

Folder 10: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 36, 1957

Folder 11: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 37, 1958

Folder 12: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 38, 1959

BOX 19

Folder 01: Yosemite National Park, Nature Notes, Vol. [Bound] 39, 1960

Folder 03: Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, Vol. 1-4, 1929-1932

Folder 04: Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, Vol. 5-6, 1933-1934

Folder 05: Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, Vol. 7-8, 1935-1936

Folder 06: Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, Vol. [Bound] 1-6, 1929-1934

Folder 07: Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, Vol. [Bound] 1-8, 1929-1936

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Where this belongs

  • Acadia National Park
  • Bryce Canyon National Park
  • Crater Lake National Park
  • Glacier National Park
  • Grand Canyon National Park
  • Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park

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