Post on 01-Jan-2016
Terrestrial Scoping Workshop26 -28 April 2005
Westmark Hotel, Fairbanks, AK
ARCTIC NETWORKNational Park Service
National Park Service’s Organic Act of 1916 states that NPS lands will be managed:
“... to promote and regulate the use of Federal areas known as national parks, monuments and reservations.... which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein 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.”
“... If this agency [NPS] is to meet the scientific and resource management challenges of the twenty-first century, a fundamental metamorphosis must occur…”
National Academy of Science 1992
“… A major part of protecting those resources is knowing what they are, where they are, how they interact with their environment and what condition they are in. This involves a serious commitment from the leadership of the National Park Service to insist that the superintendents carry out a systematic, consistent, professional inventory and monitoring program along with scientific activities, that is regularly updated to ensure that that the Service makes sound resource decisions based on sound scientific data”
Appropriations Bill, 2000
Natural Resource Challenge
Goal: Revitalize and expand the natural resource program within the park service and improve park management
through greater reliance on scientific knowledge.
Inventory and Monitoring are two of the Challenge’s key strategies…
Congress listened: 20 million dollar program nationally!!!
Inventory
• Provide consistent database of information about our natural resources, including species diversity, distribution and abundance.
(12 Basic Inventories)
• Natural resource bibliography• Base cartographic data• Geology map• Soils map• Weather data• Air quality• Location of air quality monitoring stations• Water body location and classification• Water quality data• Vegetation map• Species list of vertebrates and vascular plants• Species dist. and status of verts. and vasc. plants
12 Basic Inventories
BiologicalInventories
… and Monitoring
• Determine the current condition of our resources and how they change over time.
(Monitoring Vital Signs)
Ecological Monitoring
• Long-term Ecological Monitoring (“Vital Signs” Monitoring)
– 270 parks with significant natural resources
– 32 park “networks” within NPS
– Creation of “minimum infrastructure”
– Share funding, information and staff, and facilitate collaboration
• Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
• Kobuk Valley National Park
• Noatak National Preserve
• Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
• Cape Krusenstern National Monument
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (GAAR)
Walker Lake
Noatak River
Central Killik River Valley
GATES OF THE ARCTIC PARK AND PRESERVE
Established: 1980, under ANILCA
• Maintain the wild and undeveloped character of the area, including opportunities for visitors to experience solitude, and the natural environmental integrity and scenic beauty of the mountains, forelands, rivers, lakes, and other natural features;
• Provide continued opportunities including reasonable access for mountain climbing, mountaineering, and other wilderness recreational activities;
• Protect habitat for and populations of fish and wildlife, including, but not limited to, caribou, grizzly bears, Dall sheep, moose, wolves, and raptorial birds.
Noatak National Preserve (NOAT)
Wildfires in the Preserve
Caribou migrations (Rangifer tarandus)
Lower Nimiuktuk River Valley
NOATAK NATIONAL PRESERVE
Established: 1980, under ANILCA
• Maintain the environmental integrity of the Noatak River and adjacent uplands to assure the continuation of geological and biological processes, unimpaired by adverse human activity;
• Protect habitat for, and populations of, fish and wildlife, including but not limited to caribou, grizzly bears, Dall sheep, moose, wolves, and for waterfowl, raptors, and other species of birds;
• Protect archeological resources;
• Provide opportunities for scientific research.
The Noatak River Basin is an The Noatak River Basin is an international “biosphere reserve” international “biosphere reserve”
as recognized by the United as recognized by the United Nations (UNESCO) in 1976.Nations (UNESCO) in 1976.
Kobuk Valley National Park (KOVA)
Great Kobuk Sand Dunes
Central Kobuk River Valley
Siberian aster (Aster sibericus)
KOBUK VALLEY NATIONAL PARK
Established: 1980, under ANILCA
• Maintain the environmental integrity of the natural features of the Kobuk River Valley, including the Kobuk, Salmon, and other rivers, the boreal forest, and Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, in an undeveloped state;
• Protect and interpret, in cooperation with Native Alaskans, archeological sites associated with Native cultures;
• Protect migration routes for the Arctic caribou herd;
• Protect habitat for, and populations of, fish and wildlife including but not limited to caribou, moose, black and grizzly bears, wolves, and waterfowl;
• Protect the viability of subsistence resources.
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA)
Serpentine Hot Springs Area
Maar Lake
Bering Land Bridge Tors
BERING LAND BRIDGE NATIONAL PRESERVE
Established: 1980, under ANILCA
• Protect and interpret examples of arctic plant communities, volcanic lava flows, ash explosions, coastal formations, and other geologic processes;
• Protect habitat for internationally significant populations of migratory birds;
• Provide for archeological and paleontological study, in cooperation with Native Alaskans, of the process of plant and animal migration between North America and the Asian Continent;
• Protect habitat for, and populations of fish and wildlife including, marine mammals, brown/grizzly bears, moose, and wolves;
• Continue reindeer grazing use;
• Provide for outdoor recreation and environmental education activities at Serpentine Hot Springs
CAPE KRUSENSTERN NATIONAL MONUMENT
Established: 1980, under ANILCA
• Protect and interpret a series of archeological sites depicting every known cultural period in arctic Alaska;
• Provide for scientific study of the process of human population of the area from the Asian Continent;
• Preserve and interpret evidence of prehistoric and historic Native cultures, in cooperation with Native Alaskans;
• Protect habitat for seals and other marine mammals;
• Protect habitat for, and populations of, birds other wildlife, and fish;
• Protect the viability of subsistence resources.
Purpose of the ARCN Monitoring Program
1. Determine status and trends in selected indicators of the condition of the park ecosystems.
2. Provide early warning of abnormal conditions of selected resources to help develop effective mitigation measures and reduce costs of management.
3. Provide data to better understand the dynamic nature and condition of park ecosystems and provide reference points for comparisons with other, altered environments.
4. Provide data to meet certain legal and congressional mandates related to natural resource protection and visitor enjoyment.
5. Provide a means of measuring progress towards performance goals.
Thinking outside the box…
NPS LANDS IN THE ARCTIC (ARCN)
ARCN Watershed Dynamics/ Landscape InteractionsARCN Watershed Dynamics/ Landscape Interactions
Land-water-air linkages
Wetland/ RiparianEcosystems
TerrestrialEcosystems
FreshwaterEcosystems
Coastal Ecosystems
ARCN Watershed Dynamics/ Landscape Interactions
The Arctic (Circumpolar Dynamics)
Wetland/ RiparianEcosystems
TerrestrialEcosystems
FreshwaterEcosystems
Coastal Ecosystems
Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Key Partnerships/ TEK/ Integrated Network
Land-water-air linkages
National & Global Politics and Economics
At the end of the three year period it is my hope that:
The National Park Service’s Arctic Network (ARCN) will create a long-term monitoring program that:
• deepens the understanding of the boreal and arctic ecosystems represented in the parks;
• integrates knowledge of the park ecosystems with the circumpolar North and the world in general; and
• informs wise management decisions and the preservation of park values.
Goals for Monitoring in the ARCN
• Determine baseline trends in ecosystems of significance in the parks.
• Determine long-term changes in select biological, chemical or physical components or processes in park ecosystems.
• Understand human interactions with ecosystems in the parks, and their effects on those ecosystems.
Key features of this program…
• Design an integrated monitoring program
• Emphasis on making information useable
• Building a core program
• High accountability standards
• Based on park priorities and needs (but not “crisis of the day”)
How do we build a long-term monitoring program for ARCN?
• National Guidelines & Recommended Strategy
• Define the scope and purpose of monitoring
• Compile and summarize existing data
• Develop conceptual models of relevant ecosystem components
• Select indicators and monitoring objectives
• Determine appropriate sample design and protocols
Scientific Expert Panel
AquaticsWorking Group
TerrestrialWorking Group
Technical Committee
Admin. SteeringCommittee
National guidance
Land-Water-AirWorking Group
Data Management Steering Comm.
CoastalWorking Group
Board of Directors
NPS Natural Resource Staff
ARCN EcosystemNetwork Structure and Function
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” E. Odum
ARCN Monitoring Timeline
Phase 1 (2005)
Phase 3 (2007)
Phase 2 (2006)
Background data
Develop conceptual model of the ecosystem
Define preliminary objectives
Refine Model
Select and refine “vital signs”
Sample design
Develop protocolsfor monitoring
Data managementplan
Monitoring plan Complete
Final Monitoring Plan
Phase 3 Report
Draft Conceptual Models & Framework for Monitoring
Phase 1 Report
Land-Water-Air Linkages
Coastal-InfluencedEcosystemsWorkshop
Multidisciplinary WorkshopModel Refinement, Vital Signs, Sampling Design
Draft Monitoring PlanPhase 2 Report
ARCN Framework and Timeline
FreshwaterEcosystemsWorkshop
TerrestrialEcosystemsWorkshop
June2004
Fall2004
Spring2005
Summer2005
September2005
Winter2006
September2006
December2007
Final Monitoring Plan
Phase 3 Report
Draft Conceptual Models & Framework for Monitoring
Phase 1 Report
Land-Water-Air Linkages
Coastal-InfluencedEcosystemsWorkshop
Multidisciplinary WorkshopModel Refinement, Vital Signs, Sampling Design
Draft Monitoring PlanPhase 2 Report
ARCN Framework and Timeline
FreshwaterEcosystemsWorkshop
TerrestrialEcosystemsWorkshop
June2004
Fall2004
Spring2005
Summer2005
September2005
Winter2006
September2006
December2007
Progress!!!
Terrestrial Ecosystems Workshop Goals
• Create conceptual ecosystem models and comment on general monitoring framework for terrestrial ecosystems of ARCN.
• Develop list of highest priority questions for monitoring terrestrial ecosystems in ARCN.
• Identify potential attributes (components and/or processes) for “high priority” monitoring.
Terrestrial Working Group:•Jim Lawler•Jennifer Allen•Lois Dalle-Molle•Peter Neitlich•Brad Shults•Scott Miller
Conceptual Models and Notebook:•Jefferson Jacobs•Torre Jorgenson•Steve Young•Jennifer Mitchell•Chris McKee
Meeting Organization and Facilitation:•ARCUS (especially Birte Horn-Hanssen)•Facilitator & Guru (April Crosby)
Support of ARCN:•Board of Directors•Technical Committee•Park Staff•Workshop Participants