National Park Service 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve 

Curatorial Responsibilities 

for Researchers 

Introduction If you are issued a research permit that allows collecting on National Park Service (NPS) lands, your 

signature on the permit indicates that you agree to comply with the NPS policies as well as park- and 

project-specifc conditions of your research permit. One Service-wide stipulation for researchers is that 

they follow standard protocols for the curation of collections generated during research on park lands. Any 

collections from park lands regardless of where they are stored, remain the property of the NPS and 

subject to curatorial regulations, which may include feld notes, photographs, forms or any other 

original items. This document is a checklist that can lead you through the processing of collections. *The 

curatorial requirements outlined in this document apply to both NPS and non-NPS researchers. Parkgenerated research projects and specimens collected by park staf are not exempt from these requirements. 

Your Application Before your research begins describe in your describe your intentions for analysis and what 

application and study plan the kind of collections arrangements you will make for the fnal disposition 

you would like to make (be specifc about size of the collections. 

or number of specimens to be collected). Also 

If specimens will be •	

on a long-term loan or 

temporarily reside in a 

place other than a National 

Park Service facility: •	

Please note that the NPS does not loan •	

specimens to individuals—institutional 

sponsorship is required. Arrange for shortor long-term loan to another institution 

(even for just during your study) 

Contact the other institution and discuss 

the loan with that institution’s museum •	

curator or person in a similar role 

Print a copy of your NPS research 

application (at the bottom is a signature 

line that needs to be signed by the 

curator of the institution agreeing to the 

curatorial responsibility while the 

specimens are on loan) 

Return the signed copy to the park 

Research Administrator. 

When you are collecting: The following pieces of information are required 

felds in the NPS collections database and need 

to be recorded for each specimen collected (in 

addition to any other information you wish to 

document). It is highly recommended that you 

review these felds prior to collection. 

• Classification

• Habitat (for biology)

• Collector

• Identified By and Date

• Collection Date

• Locale (general geographic description)

• Collection Number

• Period/System (geology & paleontology)

• Collection Site

• Phylum/Division (for biology)

• Condition

• Preservation and/or preparation

• Description

• Quantity or item count (keep track while

 collecting) 

• Elevation

• Specimen name (scientific and common)

• Family (for biology)

• Lat./Long. (with reference datum

• Formation (for geology)	

• Type (if designated)

* Note the diferences by discipline. For further 

clarifcation refer to cataloging details. 

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When you are fnished 

collecting but before you 

leave the park: 

•	 Obtain an accession number for your 

collection from the park curator (see contact 

information below). This accession number 

must eventually appear on the label of 

each specimen collected. Specimens may 

not leave the park/headquarters until they

are accessioned and park staf records the 

accession number. Please plan sufcient time 

to complete this step. If you cannot meet this 

requirement, please call the park curator at 

907-822-5234 to make other arrangements for 

getting accession numbers. 

•	 Report to park staf the number of specimens 

that were collected. Estimates are acceptable

(though not encouraged) for large collections, 

provided that an actual number is reported 

as soon as possible. Museum staf will assign 

you a block of catalog numbers—one number 

for each specimen that will be permanently 

retained (not destroyed). 

•	 Obtain an NPS Outgoing Loan Agreement form,

to be signed by the individual responsible for the 

loan. (All specimens, as well as their derivatives 

and byproducts, remain the property of the 

United States). NPS policy requires that longterm loans be renewed every 10 years. As part of 

this agreement the designated institution will be 

responsible for assisting NPS staf in conducting 

periodic inventories. 

•	 Obtain from park staf: 

* Cataloging instructions (including the list 

of required felds and the proper format 

provided as an Excel spreadsheet template)

Soon after leaving the 

park: 

Call in your specimen count to the Park Museum 

Program staf (if you did not know this when you 

left the park), so you can get your catalog numbers 

over the phone. When you call, please have the 

following information ready: 

•	 your permit number and accession

number 

•	 dates collecting began and ended

• number of specimens collected (Specimens

that are consumed in the course of research 

need not be cataloged.) 

•	 the name of the repository/institution in

which the specimens will be housed, 

and the name, title and contact information 

of the individual who will be responsible 

for the specimens 

Labeling Specimens Specimens must be labeled with NPS accession and 

catalog numbers, either directly on the specimen 

or on a label that can be reliably associated with a 

specimen. If you use ICMS labels can be generated 

electronically. 

Labels should be printed on archival quality (acidfree) paper or Tyvek using permanent ink. LaserJet

printing is recommended. All labels must contain 

park accession and catalog numbers in permanent 

ink. Archival ink and labeling materials may be 

obtained from the park. 

Wrangell-St. Elias numbers begin with WRST, as in

the following example: 

WRST-01234 [10 characters total for the accession 

number—including the hyphen] 

WRST 99999 [12 characters total for the catalog 

number—include spaces as necessary] 

* The hyphen placement is necessary to 

distinguish the accession number from the 

catalog number. The curator will provide an 

example specifc to the collection. 

Within one year of the fnal 

date of collecting: 

Submit at least one of the following to the park 

curator: 

•	 Completed NPS cataloging worksheets or

cataloging spreadsheets. 

•	 A printout of your institution’s catalog

records, including felds showing park 

accession and catalog numbers; and the 

institution’s catalog or tracking number. 

If requested as part of your permit, please send 

copies of all of project feld records (notes, maps, 

recordings, etc.) to the park at the address below. 

Please copy notes, maps and other written or printed 

matter onto acid-free paper. This requirement is a 

safeguard, in case original materials are accidentally 

destroyed or lost in the future. 

Submit a copy of any associated reports which result 

from analysis of the collections to the park Curator 

regardless of where the collection is to be stored. 

As soon as practical: Submit any specimens along with your labels 

and associated documentation to the park (if 

they are to be permanently retained there) OR 

to the repository where they are to be stored (on 

loan). Original feld records must be retained 

permanently in association with the collection. 

If you fnd that you will have trouble meeting these 

deadlines, call or write the museum curator at the 

address below to make other arrangements. 

Please feel free to contact the curator during this 

process with any questions. 

Attn: Museum Curator 

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve

PO Box 434, Mile 106.8 Richardson Hwy

Copper Center, AK 99573-0434 

telephone: 907-822-5234 

e-mail us: wrst_tweet@nps.gov 

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