Bozeman, Mont. - Researchers at NASA's Stennis Space Center have signed an agreement with noted archeologist Ken Karsmizki to apply NASA remote sensing technology to the task of identifying and mapping sites along the trail of Lewis and Clark, who explored the uncharted territory west of the Mississippi River for the U.S. government 200 years ago. NASA will work with the archeologist to combine precision airborne and satellite imagery with detailed historic maps and Lewis and Clark journal entries to locate and preserve several sites along the trail of the Corps of Discovery from South Dakota to Oregon. The Montana State University TechLink Center and the NASA Earth Science Applications Directorate helped facilitate this unique partnership.

Ken Karsmizki, curator of history at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Wasco County Historical Museum in Oregon, is a leading Lewis and Clark archeologist. He has identified several sites where evidence of the 1804-1806 expedition's passage is likely to be found. These sites include the explorer's 1805 winter camp at Fort Mandan in North Dakota, the 1806 winter camp at Fort Clatsop on the Oregon coast, and the upper and lower portage camps at Great Falls, Montana, on the Missouri River.

In addition, Karsmizki is investigating the sites of two fur trading forts related to the Lewis and Clark expedition. Fort Remon was owned in part by Lewis and Clark and staffed by at least five former Corps of Discovery members. Fort Manuel, near the North and South Dakota border, is the site where Sacagawea, the only female and Native American member of the expedition, died and is buried.

Under the recently signed agreement, NASA researchers will examine the utility of using new commercial sources of satellite remote sensing data to determine if information can be extracted to aid the archaeological and historical investigations associated with the Lewis and Clark expedition and the subsequent settlement and colonization of the U.S. western territories. The researchers believe the data will help the archeologists by locating features in the imagery and correlating them to journal entries and historic documents. The meanderings of rivers, development and generations of farming have changed the landscape, but the researchers believe signs of these sites still remain. Karsmizki will provide to NASA the approximate locations of the sites based on historic documents and lead the archeology team on the ground to confirm the satellite findings.

The John C. Stennis Space Center is located in south Mississippi and houses NASA's lead Earth Science Applications center.

TechLink is located at Montana State University in Bozeman and funded by NASA and the Department of Defense to link companies in Montana and the surrounding region with federal laboratories for joint research and technology transfer. Its overriding purpose is to contribute to the success of both technology-based companies and key resource-based industries in the state and region.

CONTACTS:

Chandra Morris
MSU TechLink
(406) 994-7702
cmorris@montana.edu

Ken Karsmizki
Curator of History
Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Wasco County Historical Museum
(541) 296-8600 ext. 203
kkars@gorgediscovery.org

Lanee Cooksey
News Chief
NASA Public Affairs
Stennis Space Center
(228) 688-3341
lanee.cooksey@ssc.nasa.gov

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