Science for our National Parks' second century: a view from the top

The importance of scientific information and long-term data sets for understanding and managing park and other protected area resources has long been recognized by the National Park Service (NPS) and many other organizations (NPS 1980, 1992, Sellars 1997). Indeed, numerous independent evaluations have highlighted the need for investments in research and monitoring by the NPS in the last few decades (e.g., NPCA 1988, NRC 1992, National Parks Science Committee of the NPS Advisory Board 2009). In 1999, the NPS launched the Natural Resource Challenge, designed in large part to help address these concerns. The Natural Resource Challenge represented an unprecedented funding commitment to bolster NPS natural resource scientific capabilities, ultimately resulting in a permanent funding increase of $77.6 million over six years for the agency. At about the same time, legislation was passed that formally recognized the role of science in the NPS and mandated the NPS to use scientific information to inform its decision-making process (National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998, PL 105-391; 54 USC 5931-5937). Among the accomplishments of the Natural Resource Challenge was the creation of 32 inventory and monitoring networks encompassing all national park units with significant natural resources (Fancy et al. 2009). Within each network, parks facilitated comprehensive workshops involving NPS staff, university and agency scientists, and other experts to identify key natural resource indicators that could be monitored over the long term to assess the status and trends of NPS resources. These so-called vital signs of ecosystem condition were envisioned to provide key information for park scientists and managers to understand and address potential threats to national park resources. In addition, the added knowledge from ecological monitoring would enhance scientific communication and interpretation of national park resources to the public. Strict adherence to the tenets of scientific excellence, credibility, and objectivity has been critical to the success of the Natural Resource Challenge and the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. Carefully designed inventory plans and monitoring protocols were created, peer-reviewed, and revised, and ultimately implemented in individual park units or park networks. Significant investments in data management, appropriate statistical design, and collaborations with recognized disciplinary experts were also instrumental in creating a robust and reliable scientific inventory and monitoring program. Today, nearly 20 years after the Natural Resource Challenge began, NPS scientists, resource managers, and many other partners can proudly report on the results of these efforts, many of which are highlighted in this volume. As the breadth and diversity of the papers here attest, the long-term monitoring efforts of the NPS address many wide-ranging and critically important ecosystem issues key to understanding, managing, and protecting national park resources. Knowledge of the distribution and abundance of sensitive species and communities such as bats, forests, intertidal invertebrates, and wetland vegetation allows park managers to craft management actions necessary to properly manage park resources. By understanding nitrogen and sulfur atmospheric deposition, water quality and quantity, and landscape-scale changes in and around parks, scientists help park managers engage with other agencies, landowners, and jurisdictions to improve park resource conditions. Data from the monitoring of advancing threats such as non-native invasive grasses and aquatic nuisance species help park managers to develop policies and on-the-ground actions to reduce or eliminate such threats. As park ecosystems react to increasingly rapid climate change, ecosystem monitoring will be crucial for adaptation and mitigation amid unprecedented change. As many papers here confirm, important climate change monitoring and research that is critical for confronting this challenge is well underway. The work highlighted in these papers of course does not represent all of the science and monitoring occurring in national parks, and it most certainly does not represent all that is needed both now and in the future. Rather, this volume should serve as a catalyst for continued investment and offer a testament to the crucial value of long-term monitoring and scientific inquiry in our national parks. With environmental changes accelerating and increasing awareness of the importance of national parks for protecting our shared natural heritage, scientific research and monitoring in parks remains essential. As we enter our second century, key opportunities for the NPS include building upon and enhancing the investments already made in park ecosystem monitoring; leveraging these investments and monitoring data to extend the relevance and application of results at wider scales; enhancing access and promoting communication of findings to managers, decision makers, and the public; and, of course, retaining fidelity to the highest standards of scientific credibility and excellence. Indeed, the future of the National Park System and the NPS ability to adapt, restore, and protect resources it is entrusted to conserve depends on quality science, properly conducted and effectively applied.

Abstract licence: CC BY

3 more references, whose wording the paper’s licence keeps private.

A person counts once a day per paper. We keep no cookie and no address: a reader is a hash that changes every day. Any month under five reads shows no number.