Dear Friends,

I am pleased to announce that the National Park Service is planning

for the future of Effigy Mounds National Monument. A general management plan will be developed to establish a general framework to

guide future management decision making. This will be based on a

vision of what people think the monument should be like in the next

20 years.

The planning team will work closely with federal, state, and local

agencies, interested parties, and the public. We want you to participate in this planning process. 

As a part of the national park system, Effigy Mounds National

Monument is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the prehistoric, historic, and natural resources associated with the ancient

moundbuilders of the region. 

The purpose of the general management plan is to ensure that park

managers have a clearly defined direction for protecting resources

and providing appropriate public access. Together, the National Park

Service, the public, other agencies, and interested groups will explore

ways to answer this question: What range of resources conditions and

visitor experiences should be provided, and where?

You are invited to share your ideas about these and other questions

with the planning team by participating in this process. Thank you

for taking the time to help us plan for the future. 

Sincerely,

Phyllis Ewing

Superintendent

Effigy Mounds National Monument

General Management Plan

Newsletter 1

November 2005

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Effigy Mounds National Monument

Iowa

MINNESOTA

WISCONSIN

ILLINOIS

IOWA

Effigy Mounds

National Monument

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Please plan to attend 

one of our Public Scoping Meetings

November 15, Tuesday

7:00 P.M.

Prairie du Chien City Hall

(Use parking lot door)

214 E. Blackhawk Avenue

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin 

November 14, Monday

7:00 P.M.

McGregor Public Library

334 Main Street

McGregor, Iowa 
Park planning is an ongoing process, and general management planning is the broadest level of

decision making for national parks. General management plans are required for all units in the

national park system and are intended to set management direction for the national monument for

15 to 20 years. 

The general management plan for Effigy

Mounds National Monument is being developed

by the park staff and NPS planning professionals

with participation by park partners, neighbors,

and the general public to address the following

questions:

• What actions must we take to ensure that the

monument’s resources are protected and

preserved in good condition?

• What actions must we take to ensure that

visitors understand and appreciate the monument’s resources? 

• What levels and types of visitor use are

appropriate for various areas of the monument? 

• How can we work effectively with partners

(other interested groups and individuals) to

protect the resources and increase support

for the monument? 

Several possible visions for the monument’s

future (called management alternatives) will be

developed and analyzed before a preferred direction is selected. Evaluating a set of alternatives

enables the planning team to compare the advantages and disadvantages of the various courses of

action.

As a long-term vision for management of the

monument, the general management plan will

provide “big picture” guidance. The plan will not

include specific facility designs, resolve all issues,

or guarantee funding for actions being proposed.

Planning Timeframe

Effigy Mounds National Monument’s general

management plan process is expected to take

three to five years to complete. A summary of the

process and anticipated timeframe is presented

below. You will have opportunities to share ideas

and comments throughout the process.

STEP TIMEFRAME PLANNING ACTIVITY HOW YOU CAN BE INVOLVED

1 Spring 2005 Initiate Project

The planning team assembles and begins to identify the project’s scope,

customize the planning process, and establish contacts with participants.

2

We Are

Here

Fall 2005 Define Planning Context and Foundation

The team affirms the monument’s purpose, significance, interpretive

themes, and fundamental resources. Team members collect and analyze

relevant data and public comments.

Review newsletter

Send us your ideas and comments

Participate in public meetings

3 Winter 2005 –

Fall 2006

Develop and Evaluate Alternatives

Based on staff and public input, the team explores what the future of the

national monument should look like and proposes a range of reasonable

alternatives.

Review newsletter

Send us your ideas and comments

4 Winter 2006 –

Spring 2008

Prepare a Draft Document

A draft general management plan and environmental impact statement is

published. The draft document describes the alternatives and impacts of

implementing each. Based on the impacts and public input, a preferred

alternative is identified in the document.

Review draft plan

Send us your ideas and comments

Participate in public meetings

5 Spring 2008 – 

Spring 2009

Publish Final Document

Based on review by the National Park Service and the public, the team

revises the general management plan and distributes a final plan. The

plan is approved in a published Record of Decision.

Review the final plan, including NPS responses

to substantive public comments and official

letters.

6 Summer 2009 and

beyond

Implement the Approved Plan

After the Record of Decision is issued, and as funding allows, the general

management plan is implemented.

Work with the monument to implement plan

GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLANNING

Monument boundary

Towns

0 1 2 Miles

North

Sny Magill Unit

Prairie 

du Chien

McGregor

Yellow RiverYellow River

IOWA WISCONSIN

76

76

Marquette

Heritage 

Addition

Visitor Center and

Monument Headquarters

REGION

EFFIGY MOUNDS NATIONAL MONUMENT

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

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South

Unit

North

Unit
American Indians built mounds at various times

and places throughout the Americas. The earthen

mounds in northeastern Iowa, southern

Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, and northern Illinois were built beginning approximately

500 B.C. and continued through 1200 A.D. The

monument contains four distinct types of

mounds: conical, linear, compound, and effigy. 

In the upper Midwest there was a unique “effigy mound” culture that built numerous mounds

in the shapes of the animals. The building of effigy, or animal-shaped, mounds began around 650

A.D. These effigy mounds and the other mounds

are a physical expression of the moundbuilder

culture and continue to have significance to many

modern peoples as a sacred place. 

Later, European exploration, the role of the

military, and settlement of the upper Mississippi

River Valley significantly impacted Indian cultures and history, including a spiritual and geographical association with the modern descendents of the moundbuilders. 

Monument Purpose

Effigy Mounds National Monument’s purpose

is to preserve outstanding representative examples of significant phases of prehistoric Indian

moundbuilding cultures in the American

Midwest; to protect wildlife and natural values

within the monument; and to provide for scientific study and appreciation of its features for the

benefit of this and future generations.

Significance Statements

Significance statements capture the essence of the

national monument’s importance to our country’s

natural and cultural heritage. Significance statements do not inventory resources; rather, they

describe the national monument’s distinctiveness

and help to place the monument within its regional,

national, and international contexts. Defining the

national monument’s significance helps managers

make decisions that preserve the resources and values necessary to accomplish the monument’s purpose.

The monument contains nationally significant

archeological resources comprising one of the

largest concentrations of American Indian

mounds including some of the finest and best

preserved examples of effigy mounds in their

original forms. These earthworks provide a

glimpse into the social, spiritual and ceremonial

life of prehistoric moundbuilding cultures.

The monument’s varied land forms and habitats, characteristic of the unglaciated “driftless”

area, provide an exceptional diversity of plant and

animal species. Attributes of this unique landscape attracted the moundbuilders and led to

preservation of their mounds.

The monument contains historic resources that

represent the dichotomy of this country’s

attempts at both American Indian cultural

destruction and preservation. A road built by the

military in 1840 that connected Fort Crawford,

Wisconsin, with Fort Atkinson, Iowa, and the

Jefferson Davis sawmill are some of the few visible reminders in the monument of how early 19th

century American Indian treaties involved the

military in resolving the “Indian question” and

opened up the territories for United States expansion and settlement before the Mexican War. 

The monument is one of the earliest sites of

methodical archeological investigations of the

moundbuilding cultures.

Fundamental Resources

Fundamental resources and values are those that

are critical to achieving the monument’s purpose

and maintaining its significance.

The general management planning team has

identified the prehistoric Indian mounds as a fundamental resource. Other resources under preliminary consideration for inclusion in the list of

fundamental resources are key elements of the

natural setting (the flora, fauna, and topography

that attracted the moundbuilders and have helped

to preserve the mounds) and the historic

resources that document the time of military

involvement in relocating American Indian tribes

of the upper Midwest (1840 military road and

Jefferson Davis sawmill).

Effigy Mounds contains other resources considered important for planning purposes. These

important resources are water resources (the

Yellow River is on the Nationwide Rivers 

Inventory) and the monument’s museum collections that include material from one of the earliest methodical investigations of the mounds.

Interpretive Themes 

During this planning process we will develop a

set of primary interpretive themes based on these

statements of purpose and significance. These

themes are the major messages, or stories, that

visitors should receive during their visit. They will

also assist in the development of a long-range

interpretive plan that will guide park managers as

they enhance and expand future visitor opportunities. Park rangers can develop new programs

that increase visitor enjoyment and lead to

improved park stewardship and resource preservation from these themes.

HERITAGE ADDITION

EFFIGY MOUNDS NATIONAL MONUMENT

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

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76

76

Y E L L O W R I V E R

M I S

S I S

S I P

P I R I V

E

R Buffalo Pond

Bluegill

Pond

FOUNDERS POND

Founders Pond

Overlook

Fire

Point

Third Scenic

View

Hanging Rock

Eagle

Rock

Nezekaw Point

Overlook

Twin Views

Visitor Center

Heritage Addition

North

Unit

South

Unit

Little Bear Mound Group

Compound Mp

ound Group

Yellow River Mound Group

Marching Bear Group

Great Bear Mound Group

Old

Military

Road

Hiking trail

Parking

Boat launch

North 0

0

0.5 Mile

0.5 Kilometer

PRELIMINARY FOUNDATION STATEMENTS FOR EFFIGY MOUNDS NATIONAL MONUMENT
FIRST-CLASS MAIL

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

PERMIT NO. G-83

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

DENVER SERVICE CENTER - MATTHEW SAFFORD

12795 WEST ALAMEDA PARKWAY

P.O. BOX 25287

DENVER, CO 80225-0287

______________________

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE, $300

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The current public comment period for this

newsletter will continue to the end of this year. In

the meantime, the planning team is collecting and

analyzing information about resources, learning

more about opportunities and obstacles to fulfilling goals of the national monument, and identifying the diversity of resources and visitor experiences available in the area.

After we gather data and receive your comments, we will begin to identify the desired

resource conditions and visitor experiences at

Effigy Mounds National Monument. These broad

descriptions will form the basis for the development of future alternative management strategies. 

Public participation is crucial to a good general

management plan. Throughout the planning

process, you will have several opportunities to

express your thoughts and concerns about the

future of the monument, comment on preliminary management alternatives, and review draft

documents. In this phase of the process, we are

asking what you value about the monument and

what you think are the issues (problems, concerns, or opportunities) facing management. We

are also asking for your visions — how do you

think the monument should look and operate 20

years from now? 

You may tell us your thoughts and suggestions

in several ways. You can fill out and mail the

enclosed prepaid comment card; you can send a

letter to Effigy Mounds National Monument

GMP, 151 Highway 76, Harpers Ferry, IA, 52146-

7519; you can visit the NPS planning website

(http://parkplanning.nps.gov); or you can attend

our public meetings, the first of which are shown

on page 1 of this newsletter. All comments must

be received by December 30, 2005.

HOW CAN I BE A PART OF THE PLANNING PROCESS?

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