Outdoor Visitor Center 2021

Park rangers visit with a baby black-tailed prairie dog from Wildlife Encounters in Gretna, NE.

Photo: NPS

About this article: This article was originally published in the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail 2021 Annual Report.

Adapting to Serve the Public

Impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 saw visitor center operations moved outside for a time, allowing rangers to provide in-person visitor services while maintaining staff and visitor safety. Employing an NPS-branded tent to shield them from the sultry summer sun, rangers installed both temporary exhibits and information libraries and provided interactive Junior Ranger programming and area orientation.

—Sarah Stannard | Visitor Center Operations Manager

Photo: NPS

Meeting Visitors Outside

Ranger Baylea and Teacher Ranger Teacher (TRT) Jerrold stand ready to meet the public outside. A local middle school teacher, Jerrold worked with the Lewis and Clark Trail through the TRT program which partners teachers with the National Park Service.

Location

Lewis and Clark Trail Headquarters Visitor Center. Omaha, NE.

Ranger inducts a group of Lewis and Clark Trail Junior Rangers on the riverfront in Omaha, NE.

Photo: NPS

By the Numbers

In the summer of 2021, Lewis and Clark Trail Headquarters Outdoor Visitor Center staff,

• Contacted 15,723 people

• Inducted 891 Lewis and Clark Trail Junior Rangers

• Sent out 419 Lewis and Clark Trail information packets to meet email and phone requests

Photo: NPS

New Friends

The outdoor visitor center gave rangers a chance to engage with a whole new set of visitors and their humans! Ranger Shannon loves to tell tales about Captain Lewis’ Newfoundland dog Seaman and inspire pups and people alike to have adventures of their own along the Lewis and Clark Trail.