Introduction

Since the institution of monthly NOTES by Ansel F. Hall in Yosemite in 1922, the idea of publication has grown until nearly all of the major parks produce mimeographed leaflets, reports or bulletins which appear regularly and are distributed throughout the Service and to friends of the National Parks not connected with the Service.

In same instances the original NOTES have been adopted by cooperating organizations, such as the Yosemite Natural History Association, and the mimeographed series has been converted to printed form. In most instances, however, the "publications" have continued as mimeographed pamphlets produced as a part of the routine work of the Park Naturalist or other local executive. Whether printed, multilithed or mimeographed the information which these little journals carry has been seized upon by park workers and public alike. A purpose is served.

THE REGIONAL REVIEW of Region One seeks to join the ranks of useful publications produced in the Service. It . . . cannot take the place of any existing journal sent out from a National Park. It can, we believe, aid in the coordination of the varied program of work engaged in by the army of specialists who plan and direct the activities of Region One.

It is approximately 2,000 miles from Acadia National Park, on Mount Desert Island in Maine; to Fort Jefferson National Monument, on the Dry Tortugas of Florida, and it is at least half that distance from the Perry Peace Memorial, in Put-in-Hay, Ohio, to Chalmette National Battlefield Site, on the Mississippi River below New Orleans. Those four areas represent extremes of the geographical composition of Region One but they serve to illustrate how widely distributed are its activities and its staff members.

In recognition of those needs, we are beginning, with this first number of THE REGIONAL REVIEW, the distribution of a simple periodical record which will be designed primarily to convey general information concerning major developments throughout the Region. It will contain articles describing our various conservation-recreation programs, brief notices on personnel assignments, publication items which have particular reference to the Region, and other materials likely to prove useful to employees in camp and office. . . .

Carl P. Russell, Regional Director,
The Regional Review, Vol. 1, No. 1

CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) enrollees engaged in archeological investigation, Morristown NHP, 1938. National Park Service Historic Photograph Collection

Thus launched "The Regional Review" in July 1938. Edited by Hugh R. Awtrey, this publication lasted just four short years (1938-1941), however it contained an exceptional array of articles of historical interest by the likes of noted historians such as Herb Kahler, Roy Appleman, and Charles Potter. The quality of these articles resulted in repeated requests to Region One for reprints of past issues, which prompted the staff to seek funds to reprint selected articles in 1940-1941 under the NPS series title: the Popular Study Series. Fourteen titles were originally published in this series, with a fifteenth published in 1943 in a style different from the original ( No. 15 was later re-issued as No. 2 in the Interpretive Series ).

The "Notes" (or more commonly referred to as "Nature Notes") referenced above, also served as a regular means by the Park Service to help extend the interpretive efforts of early ranger-naturalists beyond the boundaries of many western parks to schools, libraries, and interested park friends. Past issues of Nature Notes have been converted to the Web for Mount Rainier and Crater Lake National Parks, the later still being produced annually as of 2002.

For your reading pleasure, long out-of-print, presented herein are online editions of all issues of The Regional Review.