Mount Shuksan, Anne Braaten, NPS
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Parks For Science
It is an exciting time for our national parks
thanks to a renewed enthusiasm for science. National parks are public
treasures that offer us a chance to explore significant places
throughout the country. Their natural aspects and long-term protection
also make them ideal for scientific research. Park managers realize that
this research is needed to confront increasingly complex environmental
issues and decide how to best preserve these places for the enjoyment of
future generations.
A multiyear plan called the Natural Resource
Challenge began in 1999 and continues to expand and revitalize National
Park Service (NPS) natural resource management through a greater
reliance on scientific knowledge. The foundation of this plan is to
acquire basic information about the natural resources and conditions in
the parks by compiling:
- species lists of vertebrates (mammals, birds, fish) and plants
- information on the distribution and status of these vertebrates and
plants
- geology, soil and vegetation maps
- data on air quality
- information on the location and classification of bodies of
water
- data on water quality
- a natural resource bibliography
- basic data for generating maps
As information is compiled, it becomes
apparent that some natural resources need ongoing attention. For these,
monitoring is the next step of the Natural Resource Challenge. To study
trends and pressures on resources, parks are working out long-term
monitoring strategies adapted to specific kinds of resources and factors
that may threaten them.
Overall, the Natural Resource Challenge is the
Park Service's strategy to:
- inventory and monitor natural resources
- restore natural ecosystems degraded by non-native plants and
animals
- encourage independent research studies by scientists
- build working partnerships among parks, universities, researchers
and other agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Geological
Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- share new findings and knowledge with the public
www.nps.gov/noca/nat.htm
www.nature.nps.gov
look for links to web-based resources
throughout Natural Notes
Inventory And Monitoring In The North Coast
And Cascades Network: Partnership For The Future
The goal of the Natural Resource Challenge and
its Inventory and Monitoring Program is to better meet the mission given
to the National Park Service (NPS) by Congress when the agency was
created in 1916: "... to conserve the scenery and the natural and
historic objects and the wildlife and to provide for the enjoyment of
the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired
for the enjoyment of future generations".
For North Cascades National Park Service
Complex (NCNPSC) to become a library, laboratory and classroom, it must
work with other parks and other agencies to compile databases and
conduct research. Across the NPS, Vital Signs Monitoring Networks have
been established. A total of 32 regional networks are
planned.
These networks allow parks within similar
regions to share information and findings on common natural resources
and ecosystem health. In the Pacific Northwest we have the North Coast
and Cascades Network (NCCN) comprised of seven NPS units:
- North Cascades NPSC
- Olympic National Park
- Mount Rainier National Park
- San Juan Island National Historical Park
- Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve
- Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
- Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
The NCCN is a cooperative effort to increase
our knowledge of this amazing region to ensure the long-term protection
of these significant NPS units.
Lupine, Anne Braaten, NPS
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In all things of nature there is something
of the marvelous.—Aristotle
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North Cascades National Park Service
Complex
This part of the National Park System embodies
the very idea of diversity. The mountainous park includes the north and
south units of the national park, as well as Lake Chelan and Ross Lake
National Recreation Areas. With 684,320 acres, of which over 93% is
managed as the Stephen Mather Wilderness, the park sees around 400,000
recreational visits each year.
The park's vast range of elevations, climates
and life zones provides for a variety of wildlife. Over 700 glaciers and
a sea of peaks and valleys form the unique Cascades ecosystem. This
newsletter, the second edition of Natural Notes, highlights
scientific findings and showcases current research in the
park.
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