The 9th edition of Wilderness Graphics' Catalog of Standard and Custom Products is available. Since 1984, Wilderness Graphics has published a catalog of standard products developed to meet the wayside exhibit needs of parks, refuges, nature centers and museums.
 
The catalog features standard panels, frames, mounting systems, trail signs and kiosk kits. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please call or e-mail us with your mailing address.
 
And, please remember, we are available for custom design and fabrication projects too! We can provide creative and practical programs to support public use, outreach, and indoor and outdoor exhibits.

For more information or to receive our catalog containing a complete listing of all our products and sign topics please e-mail us at wildernessgraphics@nettally.com

Well-known as a cost-effective source for outdoor wayside exhibits, kiosks and signs, Wilderness Graphics, Inc. is also an excellent partner for parks, wildlife refuges, museums and conservation organizations in developing a variety of indoor exhibits.

As a full service company, Wilderness Graphics can provide all the services needed for a project without extensive use of subcontractors. Marvin Cook, who founded the company in 1975, says, “We like being able to produce what we design, within a fixed price. And having the in-house ability to both design and build allows us to back up what we promise with confidence.” Lee Cook, co-owner and Vice President, adds, “Our fundamental approach is to work with our clients as a partner in planning a program and then working through design and fabrication phases to implement the concept.”

With a successful track record, Wilderness Graphics has aided the production of thousands of outdoor projects and hundreds of visitor center and museum exhibits throughout the United States and Caribbean. Wilderness Graphics is a dependable, trusted partner that clients can rely on with comfort and assurance. Consequently, Wilderness Graphics is in high demand. Clients repeatedly come back for additional projects, and even with a busy schedule, Wilderness Graphics is dedicated to each new project.

Wilderness Graphics is always looking for the opportunity to make positive contributions to public enjoyment and education of natural and cultural history. Richard S. Boardman, Curator Emeritis of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, says, “Perhaps the most important aspect of the exhibit work of Wilderness Graphics is their sensitivity to the kind of exhibit that is both exciting and easily understood by the general public."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uses innovative, progressive outreach strategies in the Great Lakes and Big Rivers region to deliver messages to the public. Several major midwest airport projects are providing travelers with information on the National Wildlife Refuge System and the laws regarding illegal import and export of wildlife products. Following an overwhelmingly positive response to the Chicago O'Hare exhibit in 2000, new exhibits have been added at the McNamara Terminal in Detroit and the Lindbergh Terminal at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.

The Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport exhibit is the most creative airport project yet. The exhibit provides travelers with information about the National Wildlife Refuge System and displays illegal wildlife items, alerting travelers to the problems surrounding the illegal trafficking of endangered wildlife products. Exhibit components include touchscreen computer programs, an engaging plasma screen video display, and an interactive fiberoptic map of bird migration routes and the National Wildlife Refuge System. Converted from a Law Enforcement office, the exhibit space has since attracted a diversity of visitors, successfully connecting them with an important wildlife message.

Not limited to large terminals, Wilderness Graphics has helped Refuges in Alaska stage exhibits at the Bethel, Kenai and Anchorage Airports.  

The Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation of the Bahamas, the autonomous government corporation in charge of heritage site management, selected Wilderness Graphics to assist with the development of new public use programs and renovation of facilities in Nassau and the family islands. Exhibit and signage concept planning and program implementation to enhance visitor enjoyment of Bahamas’ cultural heritage are rewarding challenges for Wilderness Graphics. Corporation Director Dr. Keith Tinker says,

“Without reservation the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation both endorses and encourages its partnership fostered with Wilderness Graphics in advancing the development of heritage site management in these islands. Wilderness Graphics has proven to be sensitive to the socio-economic and cultural dynamics of The Bahamas, and has demonstrated a desire to cooperate at all levels of the planning and implementation processes with expressions of genuine concern for the stated country needs. This is unusual in a global environment, where the engines of most businesses are solely profit driven. On behalf of the Government of The Bahamas, and the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation, I salute Marvin and Lee Cook of Wilderness Graphics, and encourage them to continue with the fine example of partnership in nation-building from which The Bahamas now richly benefits from.”

Wilderness Graphics initiated the Everglades Trail public service project to create an innovative ecosystem-wide outreach and education program. Along with the outstanding support of U.S. Senator Bob Graham, various local, state and federal agencies have also joined in creating a 300-mile auto tour route that connects people with the nature and history of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. The Trail connects twenty sites offering accessible opportunities for people to explore the natural wonders of their public lands.

Each site features a gateway kiosk and interpretive signs created and donated by Wilderness Graphics. A growing list of media is available to support the project, including rack cards, brochures, a Web site and a half-hour television program. In addition to providing the interpretive signs, Wilderness Graphics contributed planning, wayside exhibit and kiosk design, CD program development and publication development.

Other organizations have joined to contribute direct and indirect support, including the Florida Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Office of Greenways and Trails, the Florida Department of Transportation, and the South Florida Water Management District. The Friends of Loxahatchee Refuge was awarded a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant to help implement the Trail enhancements.

Upon learning of the declining visitation to Everglades National Park, Marvin and Lee Cook, owners of Wilderness Graphics, wanted to help connect more people with the region’s natural resources and public lands. They developed the Everglades Trail concept to be patterned after the successful Charles Kuralt Trail - on the Refuge Road, which Wilderness Graphics initiated and co-sponsored in coastal North Carolina and Virginia in 1999. The Everglades Trail is intended to promote awareness of and encourage long-term investment in the conservation and restoration of a precious ecosystem.

An interesting aspect of the project is the creative strategy to fund the costs of literature reprinting and trail maintenance needs. Proceeds from the sale of an educational and entertaining 2-disc enhanced CD set will be used to support Trail expenses. One CD features interesting stories narrated by CBS Sunday Morning anchor Charles Osgood, as well as interviews with people who live and work in the region. Jimmy Buffett and eleven other talented Florida musicians contributed songs for the second CD, providing diverse musical interpretations of the Everglades. The music CD is also enhanced with several interactive activities that can be enjoyed by playing the CD in a computer.

To meet the challenge of organizing the participation of diverse agencies in the Everglades Trail project, Senator Bob Graham, a longtime Everglades conservation leader, was invited to propose and sponsor the Trail.

Wilderness Graphics is proud to have planned, designed and produced interpretive and public use projects for clients across the country—from Alaska to the Caribbean. Furthermore, Wilderness Graphics takes pride in the commitment to create and sponsor worthwhile innovative public service projects such as the Everglades Trail.

Visit www.evergladestrail.com for more information.

Through a 60/40% cost share program, several Florida State Park citizen support organizations have partnered with Wilderness Graphics to rehabilitate aged visitor center exhibits and turn them into new state-of-the-art facilities. Starting with a concept plan and budgeting prospectus, usually costing under $5000, old spaces can be remodeled into visitor centers with interpretive exhibits. Park managers first work with volunteer groups to renovate the physical spaces, then Wilderness Graphics is contracted to complete the exhibit program. This creative partnership has provided workable, cost-effective solutions to install new facilities in Wakulla Springs State Park, Hontoon Island State Park and Oscar Scherer State Park. Although the process seems daunting at the outset, volunteers and park managers find the facility facelifts rewarding as visitors enjoy the new park exhibits.