NATURAL NOTES
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
North Cascades National Park Service Complex

WHAT'S NEXT?

Possible Future Research Projects

Along with ongoing research and monitoring, North Cascades National Park Resource Managers are always thinking about the next step. What starts as a general area of study, becomes a research question and eventually turns into a plan to study specific natural resources. The following are two projects to look at the status of resources for which there is limited information. These studies could begin within the next few years.

North Cascades National Park is a last chance habitat for a handful of federally listed animal species. Of these species, the Marbled Murrelet is one for which baseline inventories have not been conducted to determine the presence and status of the species within the park. For the park to participate in recovery efforts, it must first assess the condition of the species. Marbled Murrelets are seabirds that nest in the canopy of mature, old-growth forests up to 50 miles (80 km) or more inland. In Washington State, much of the remaining Marbled Murrelet nesting habitat is on national park lands in the North Coast and Cascades National Parks. As suitable habitat outside parks continue to be lost or altered, habitat within parks become more valuable. This proposal suggests a 3 year study to gather information on the status of the Marbled Murrelet in North Cascades National Park to insure that management decisions are made with the protection of this species in mind.

Pollinator busy at work

Insect pollinator species are important in providing ecosystem function. In the subalpine and alpine zones of North Cascades National Park, pollinators play a key role in these fragile ecosystems. Many species of birds and mammals depend on plant production for foraging in high elevation zones and the insects themselves provide a significant food source for foraging vertebrate and invertebrate species. While these pollinators are threatened by many sources, climate change is potentially the most severe threat to pollinator diversity. Mounting evidence demonstrates that there have already been biotic responses to relatively small climate changes. This proposal suggests a 2 year study to collect baseline information to assess the diversity and abundance of pollinator species and their relationships to vegetation in the subalpine/ alpine zone of the park. This would allow for the tracking of future trends in insect pollinators.

Two Skagit River Stewards take stream measurements during a program coordinated by the North Cascades Institute. Volunteer monitoring programs often teach valuable skills and offer participants a hands-on approach to learning about local ecosystems and community stewardship.

What Can You Do?

One of the easiest ways for you to help protect our natural resources is to respect the environment when you visit a National Park like North Cascades. The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and inspiring responsible outdoor recreation through education, research and partnerships. Their principles are:

• Plan ahead and prepare.
• Travel and camp on durable surfaces.
• Dispose of waste properly.
• Leave what you find.
• Minimize campfire impacts.
• Respect wildlife.
• Be considerate of other visitors.

For more information on Leave No Trace and these ideas visit these web based resources:

www.lnt.org
www.nps.gov/noca/lnt.htm

Helping to protect natural resources may be easier than you think. By reading this newsletter, you are already more aware of issues involving the environment. Learning is a great way to start. To further your involvement, join us for the 2005 Science Days in the North Cascades where researchers present their projects. For the 2004 Science Days Abstracts visit:

www.nps.gov/noca/sd2004a.htm

With a little more effort, you can help a great deal, learn a lot and have fun by volunteering your time. Volunteers are key partners in many natural resource projects. North Cascades Institute assists both the Park and Forest Service with educational volunteer programs like Eagle Watchers and Skagit River Stewards: www.ncascades.org

For information on the Skagit Stream Team and Watershed Masters volunteer programs visit:

www.skagitcd.org

For North Cascades NPSC sponsored volunteer opportunities e-mail Volunteer Coordinator Charles Beall at:

Charles_Beall@nps.gov

NPS Environmental Educator Paula Ogden-Muse involves students in a web of life activity.

Web Based Resources

National Park Service
www.nps.gov

NPS Nature and Science
www.nature.nps.gov

North Cascades National Park
www.nps.gov/noca

North Cascades Natural and Cultural Resources
www.nps.gov/noca/nat.htm

Natural Notes (First Edition)
www.nps.gov/noca/NatNotes/nn2002.htm

Current Research
www.nps.gov/nwresearch

Homeward Bound
www.nps.gov/noca/journey/home.htm

Natural Notes 2005

Produced and Published by
North Cascades National Park Service Complex, U.S. Dept. of the Interior

Writing, Editing
Cindy Bjorklund, Steve Hahn, Paula Ogden-Muse, Tim Manns, Andrew Pringle, Regina Rochefort

Desktop Publishing
Andrew Pringle

Contributing Resource Staff
Michael Brondi, Rob Burrows, Mignonne Bivin, Kelly Cahill, Roger Christopherson, Robert Kuntz, Jesse Kennedy, Bob Mierendorf, Jack Oelfke, Jon Riedel

Photography
Anne Braaten, Robert Kuntz, Andrew Pringle

Web Edition
RD Payne