Resource Management Plan, Nez Perce National Historical Park, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington
National Park Service. 1999. Resource Management Plan, Nez Perce National Historical Park, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. National Park Service, Pacific West Region. Seattle, WA
The purpose of Nez Perce National Historical Park as stated in the enabling legislation of 1965, and amended in 1992, is "to protect and interpret sites in the Nez Perce country of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming that have exceptional value in commemorating the history of the nation." Specifically mentioned are sites relating to, "early Nez Perce culture, the Lewis and Clark Expedition through the area, the fur trade, missionaries, gold mining and logging, the Nez Perce War of 1877, and such other sites as will depict the role of the Nez Perce country in the westward expansion of the nation". The park, like the story it tells, is complex. Scattered over north-central Idaho, eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, and parts of Montana (fig. 1, park map), its sites have diverse themes tied by the thread of Nez Perce history and culture. Nez Perce NHP provides all Americans with an important perspective about our history as a people. Its significant features are mostly derived from its resources, especially its record of the past as preserved in archeology, collections, structures, landscapes, and natural resources and their traditional cultural uses.