1. Dan Servian Graduate Student West Virginia University

2. Introduction  The best way to learn about a region’s people is to see what its citizens have protected and preserved.  Can open a window into a culture’s: heritage, intellectual philosophy, triumphs, and sorrow.  Preservation is not a small undertaking; it takes extensive planning, vast economic resources, and most importantly agreement in the significance of the resource

3. Purpose of Research  The purpose of this study is to begin the investigation for my research into the National Park designation process.  The use of Exploratory Data Analysis as well as Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis will direct future research.  Final goal of the future research is to find what the measure of a places importance is.

4. The Yellowstone Act  The first designated National Park unit occured in 1872.  Yellowstone Act brought the federal government into the tourism industry. “To set apart a certain tract of land lying near the head- waters of the Yellowstone River as a public park.”

5. Designation Process Congress  Special Resource Study  Consider NPS recommendation  Put the location up for a vote President  Antiquity Act of 1906  Only Monuments  Anywhere on already on federal lands  WY and AK must get congress approval if enlarging preexisting monument ***** NPS has no authority in the designation process

6. National Parks today  392 National Park Units  36 Unit types  84,000,000 acres  11,700,000,000 visitors

7. NPS through time

13. Do politics influence designation? 224 designations Dem. 94 designations Rep.

14. Do politics influence designation? 212 designations Dem. 82 designations Rep.

15. Does income influence designation?

16. Nearest Neighbor

18. Global Moran’s I North-East Region Correlated with senate 46 out of 63 Dem. 15 out of 63 Rep. 2 out of 63 mix

19. Global Moran’s I North-East Region Correlated with Date 42 out of 63 parks share dates 2 in WV 1988 3 in VA 1930 2 in VA 1978 2 in VA 1926 2 in NJ 1962

20. Local Indicator of Spatial Autocorrelation (LISA) Cluster of Low Income and no NPS Sites Cluster of High Income and NPS Sites

21. Conclusion  These findings along with the other findings don’t answer questions. They produce more.  Using EDA and ESDA creates a robust starting point to begin research. It allows researchers to focus their time on exploring definitive abnormalities, trends, and unique details.

22. Thank You