TULELAKE — The National Park Service will hold three more public meetings to share the general management plan for the Tule Lake Unit.
Virtual meetings will be held online on Tuesday, Jan. 10, and Wednesday, Jan. 18. The Jan. 18 meeting will also be hosted by the Japanese American Association of New York. In addition, a final public meeting will be held on Jan. 18 in Tulelake, Siskiyou County. See below for more information.
These meetings are an opportunity to talk with NPS staff working on the Tule Lake Unit and to discuss the plan. These meetings represent the “public review” stage for the plan. All interested in attending are welcome. The public comment period will close on Friday, Feb. 10.
A series of meetings held last month included two Southern California locations, the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Little Tokyo and the CSU Dominguez Hills Library in Carson.
The Tule Lake Unit General Management Plan and Environmental Assessment provides long-term guidance for how the NPS will develop and manage the unit, and how the stories of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II will be told at Tule Lake.
The Tule Lake Unit preserves the site of the Tule Lake Segregation Center, which was one of 10 camps where 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. Designated in 2008 by President George W. Bush, the purpose of the Tule Lake Unit is to preserve, study, and interpret the history and setting of the incarceration of Japanese Americans at Tule Lake. Between 1942 and 1946, over 29,000 people of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of them U.S. citizens, were incarcerated there.
“The National Park Service is thrilled to be presenting the plan to the public, and especially to those who experienced the World War II incarceration at Tule Lake and the local Klamath Basin community,” says Lawrence Whalon, superintendent of the Tule Lake Unit and Lava Beds National Monuments. “This moment changes the narrative for Tule Lake; it pivots us to the future of what the site will look like and the lessons visitors will learn regarding Tule Lake’s unique and long contested history.
“We’re eager to hear what the public thinks about the National Park Service’s plan for the Tule Lake Unit, and we hope people will attend the meetings and engage in the discussion about Tule Lake’s future.”
Current information relevant to the plan and the Tule Lake Unit is available at www.nps.gov/tule. Comments may be submitted online or may be sent to tule_superintendent@nps.gov.
Schedule of January Meetings
• Virtual Meeting 1 on Tuesday, Jan. 10, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (PST). Follow this link to join: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/485246109. Phone (toll-free): 1-877-309-2070. Access code: 485-246-109.
• Virtual Meeting 2 on Wednesday, Jan. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. (EST) / 3 to 5 p.m. (PST). Follow this link to join: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/521476477. Phone (toll-free): 1-877-568-4106. Access code: 521-476-477. This meeting will also be hosted by the Japanese American Association of New York, 49 W. 45th St., 11th Floor
• In-Person Meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. (PST) at Tulelake City Hall, 591 Main St., Tulelake.