Death Valley National Park
At 5,475 feet, Dantes View in Death Valley National Park is one of the most panoramic vistas in the venerated park, towering above Badwater Basin, the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below sea level. The overlook was temporarily closed in 2018 to address safety and erosion concerns.
Each year, a half-million visitors venture up to Dantes View, located on the north side of Coffin Peak along the crest of the Black Mountains in the Eastern Sierras. Named after the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, the site was established in 1926 and did not have a formal observation platform. The park is legendary because it boasts the hottest and driest ecosystem on the continent, with an average of 2.36 inches of rain per year.
The overlook reopened in May 2018 after the project was completed by S.T. Rhoades Construction Inc., of Redding, California. The company also had completed a similar stabilization project reusing historical wall stones at nearby Zabriskie Point.
"The site was in desperate need of stabilization and now provides a much better visitor experience," said Mike Reynolds, National Park Service Superintendent. "We were very excited to work with a contractor so familiar with Death Valley's unique needs and landscape."

 
Decades of visitor use had resulted in crumbling sidewalks, and the site was dangerous because it had no railing or barrier. Potholes were evident in the road to the top and the parking lot, and erosion was occurring where the parking lot met the hillside, causing the native landscape to be endangered. "Erosion from wind is a big issue there," says Steve Rhoades, co-owner and president of S.T. Rhoades.
Because the site lacked a formal observation platform or railing, safe access was another top issue for park officials. "The western side of the view is steep, and there was a drop off at the edge of the pavement, where the erosion was evident," says Abby Wines, a management professional for the park. "Many visitors were uncomfortable due to a fear of heights. There also were no railings or curbs to prevent visitors from falling down the mountain. Now that the wall is in place, visitors can confidently walk up and take their photos from this impressive view of the park."
The solution included a new paved road and parking lot as well as the observation platform and sidewalks. "For the observation platform wall, the park wanted to maintain a historical look," said Rhoades. "We found that the VERSA-LOK Mosaic wall system was a great choice for that."
The Weathered Mosaic retaining wall system has a rough-hewn, weathered face. The overlook wall was designed as back-to-back structure with the face visible on both sides for safety, stability and aesthetics. VERSA-Grid was used between courses for the stabilization needed for the parking lot surcharge.
Semi-trucks delivered the wall units to a parking lot below the site and the final switchback at the top. "We transferred the block to pickups and dump trailers to haul to the top," Rhoades said. Cast concrete caps were secured on top of the parapet created with the retaining wall to serve as a base for the railing and to protect visitors. "We installed PVC pipe and weep holes in the wall so that if it does rain, the water strategically drains from behind the wall," said Rhoades. "This project went very well as we used the right materials for the job."
A large plaza for walking and parking was reconstructed and repaved, and seating was installed. A tactile map made of bronze, designed by artist Bridget Keimel, was a new addition to the site's interpretive signage.
The site is popular for beautiful sunrises and sunsets as well as being an International Dark Sky Park for visitors with telescopes. With a diverse landscape from salt flats to mountain tops, the site was included in the 1977 movie, "Star Wars: A New Hope."
"The new overlook will serve millions of visitors for many years to come," Superintendent Reynolds said.

Yellowstone National Park
Back in 2001, Landscape Architects were hired by the Wyoming Department of Transportation to create an erosion control solution just outside of Yellowstone National Park. Highway 14 travels adjacent to the North Fork Shoshone River and forms the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park near Cody Peak. Reconstruction specific to 16.50 km (10.25 miles) of Highway 14 just outside the park's boundary, in Shoshone National Forest, left a significant amount of the area's characteristically dry, rocky volcanic soils unvegetated. It was desirable to quickly re-vegetate these bare roadside slopes and channels before any serious soil erosion took place. This was considered a difficult task because of the relatively infertile soil and the fact that the area only receives 38 cm (15 in) of rain per year. Thus, any erosion control/revegetation product used must do much more than provide excellent erosion control and be 100% biodegradable. It was imperative for the material to possess excellent mulching capabilities which would regulate soil surface temperatures and effectively retain moisture at the seed bed in order to quickly promote seed germination and early plant growth.
After reviewing several proposals and various products, the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) elected to use a biodegradable netting to fulfill their erosion control and revegetation needs. At the time, WYDOT agronomist John Samson noted that it was a revegetation job to meet the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service criteria, along with Environmental Impact Statement Requirements (EIS). With these requirements in mind the Wyoming DOT specified the blanket like netting made of biodegradable organic jute and woven with straw fiber for use on the roadside slopes, and for the drainage swales alongside the road, a different netting woven with coconut fiber was specified. Because the matrix of the first netting features a mixture of 70% straw and 30% coconut fiber, the blanket has a significantly greater functional longevity than most 100% straw blankets - an increase in functionality desperately needed in this dry western climate where vegetation often requires two growing seasons to achieve full maturity. The second netting, with its dense 100% coconut fiber matrix, provided increased shear stress resistance for the small drainage swales alongside the roadway. This increased ability to resist shear stress would be very important when spring snow melt from the high mountain slopes concentrates in the narrow roadside channels.
Aside from an occasional curious bison or bull elk, installation of the erosion control blankets went smoothly; no animals were harmed by the area's human activities, thanks in part to the netting's unique construction. Altogether over 146,400 m2 (175,093 yd2) of erosion control blankets were installed along Highway 14 to re-establish vegetation and prevent soil from washing into Shoshone River. Observing the site just one year after seeding and blanket installation, it is indisputable how well the blankets performed in controlling erosion and enhancing seed germination. Native seed planted under the blankets has sprouted and matured (in one growing season) into a thick mat of brown, green, and red grasses, further exemplifying the moisture retention abilities of the erosion control blankets. Moreover, there are no visible signs of erosion occurring on the site.