Federal public lands in the U.S. provide excellent birding, particularly in National Wildlife Refuges and National Parks. A less heralded category is National Historical Parks, which are exactly as they sound: sites of historical significance that generally have a museum or visitor center with an educational or interpretative component. Many of these sites provide a happy confluence of learning and birding.
In the Pacific Northwest, one example is the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, which contains Fort Clatsop, the winter encampment for the Corps of Discovery Expedition (also known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition) from December 1805 to March 1806. Here is the (lightly edited) Wikipedia entry for the Expedition:
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select group of U.S. Army and civilian volunteers under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark. Starting in St. Charles, Missouri, the expedition crossed the Continental Divide, eventually coming to the Columbia River, and the Pacific Ocean in 1805. The return voyage began on March 23, 1806, at Fort Clatsop, Oregon, ending on September 23 of that year.
President Thomas Jefferson commissioned the expedition, after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, to explore and detail as much of the new territory as possible. Furthermore, he wished to find a practical travel route across the western half of the continent and to establish an American presence in the new lands before European powers attempted to establish claims. The campaign’s secondary objectives were scientific, economical and humanitarian, i.e., to document the West’s biodiversity, topography and geography and to establish positive trade relations with Native American tribes.
Located on the Columbia River near the Pacific Ocean not far from Astoria, Oregon, the Park has a splendid visitor center with a museum and a replica of Fort Clatsop itself (built in 2006). It is very much worth a visit if you are in the area.
The museum is interesting and has numerous artifacts and interpretive displays. Lewis and Clark scientifically described numerous species of birds, including the Varied Thrush, which is indeed a “beautiful little bird.”
Several bird species are named after Lewis or Clark, including the Lewis’s Woodpecker and Clark’s Nutcracker, both pictured below. As one of the signs indicates, although usually associated with the arid southwest, Lewis and Clark also encountered California Condors along the Columbia River, and there are plans to reintroduce them to the region.
The replica of Fort Clatsop provides a sense of how the Corps of Discovery lived during the winter of 1805-06. The structure is based on sketches in the journals of William Clark.
The Park includes a number of trails, including one along the river. There are a number of eBird hotspots, including Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Fort Clatsop National Memorial, and Fort Clatsop National Memorial–Netul River Trail.
However, most checklists are from the Fort Clatsop National Memorial hotspot and the eBird bar chart is here. As of March 2025, there were 143 species observed, 275 checklists submitted by 223 birders.
The eBird checklist for my visit in March 2025 is here.
As almost always in the USA, excellent visitor centres with outstanding explanations, exhibits, artefacts and such.
But probably not for much longer, given Trump’s policies.
Recent policies under President Trump’s administration have introduced significant changes impacting National Historical Parks and other units within the National Park Service (NPS):
Office Closures and Lease Terminations
The administration has announced plans to terminate leases and close 34 NPS offices, including facilities integral to park operations. In Texas, for example, closures are slated for the main office of the Lake Meredith National Recreation Area and the law enforcement facility at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. These closures, effective August 31, 2025, are part of broader cost-cutting measures. The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) warns that these actions could severely impact vital park staff and operations, including public safety and artifact preservation.
Staff Reductions
The NPS has experienced significant staffing cuts, with approximately 1,000 employees laid off and 700 accepting buyouts, resulting in a 9% reduction in staff. These reductions have affected various parks, including Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, which lost nearly two dozen workers. Other affected sites in Pennsylvania include Gettysburg, Valley Forge, and Steamtown.