DOCUMENTATION

HOW TO COMPLETE A SHORT FORMAT REPORT

1. Choose a landscape. It can be a landscape that you have already researched. If you need ideas for a site in northern California, look at the inventory list. Sites with a blank in the HALS column of the inventory list have no HALS documentation. (Your landscape does not have to be on the inventory list.)
2. To avoid duplication of effort, Contact Us before you start to tell us which site you will be documenting.
3. Download the HALS Short Form Template and HALS Copyright Release Form.
4. Fill in the Short Form.
   • If you are uncertain about the site name, see Section 2.2 ("Assigning Names and Secondary Names to Landscapes") of the HALS History Guidelines.
   • Note that the latitude and longitude should be in decimal degree (dd), not degrees minutes seconds (dms) format. For example, the western end of Golden Gate Park has dd latitude 37.77082 and dd longitude -122.51090. (Do include the minus sign on the longitude.) If you do not have a GPS unit, you can use Microsoft Research Maps to obtain approximate dd latitude and longitude by 1) entering the street address and 2) selecting one of the available images. If you use Google Earth® to obtain the coordinates, you can use this converter to convert from dms format to dd format.
5. Submit the completed Short Format Report and copyright release form(s) to the National Park Service. See page 3 of the HALS Inventory Form for how to submit by e-mail, mail, or fax. Contact Us to tell us which site you have documented.