Funding the Natural Resource Challenge

FY 2009 Report to Congress

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Natural Resource Stewardship and Science
Cover: Endangered tidewater 

goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi) 

surveys in Tomales Bay, Golden 

Gate National Recreation Area, 

California. NPS photo by Mason 

Cummings.
Funding the Natural Resource Challenge

FY 2009 Report to Congress

Natural Resource Stewardship and Science

Washington, DC

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Washington, DC

Contents

Colorado’s Black Canyon of the 

Gunnison National Park received 

a water rights settlement in FY 

2009. NPS photo by Lisa Lynch.

Natural Resources and 

National Parks: A Decade of 

Accomplishments and Our 

Complex Challenges Ahead   1

Chapter 1: Natural Resource 

Challenge Funding and 

Progress   3

Natural Resource Challenge   3

Reporting and Measuring Progress   3

Chapter 2: Natural Resource 

Programs in the National Park 

Service   7

Park and Regional Natural Resource Programs   7

Network Programs   7

Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units   8

Exotic Plant Management Teams   8

Inventory and Monitoring Networks   10

Research Learning Centers   14

Servicewide Natural Resource Programs   14

Air Quality Program   15

Biological Resource Management Program   16

Geologic Resources Program   17

Water Resources Program   18

Environmental Quality Program   20

Natural Sounds Program   21

Social Science Program   21

Climate Change Response Program   22

Resource Protection Program   23

Natural Resource Preservation Program   23

Chapter 3: Progress Over 10 

Years   27

Protecting Native Species and Their Habitats   27

Invasive Species   27

Threatened and Endangered Species   27

Providing Leadership for a Healthy 

Environment   28

Air Quality   28

Water Resources   28

Connecting Parks to Protected Areas and Parks to 

People   28

The Full Picture   29

NPS Natural Resource Highlights: 1999–2009   30

Chapter 4: Alaska Region   33

Chapter 5: Intermountain 

Region   39

Chapter 6: Midwest Region   47

Chapter 7: National Capital 

Region   53

Chapter 8: Northeast Region   57

Chapter 9: Pacifi c West 

Region   63

Chapter 10: Southeast Region   69

Chapter 11: Servicewide   75

Appendixes

A Natural Resource Challenge Funding in

 Parks   81

B Natural Resource Program Funding–

 Servicewide Programs   82

C Biological Resource Management Competitive 

 Projects   87

D Water Resource Program Projects   88

E Resource Protection Projects   90

F Natural Resource Preservation Program 

 Projects   91

G Park-Oriented Biological Support Projects   102

Indexes

Park Index   103

State and Territory Index   106
iv Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress
 National Park Service 1

Today, we face a challenge of similar historical signifi cance in the form of global climate 

change, loss of biodiversity, and habitat fragmentation because of widespread humaninduced land and water-use changes. Conservation requires action, and action requires 

organization. Confronted by a rapidly increasing range of critical resource stewardship issues, 

the National Park Service must provide both 

tactical and long-term responses for addressing 

high-priority park needs.

In the coming decade, we will develop guiding 

principles and advance stewardship and science 

to meet the complex challenges we face in retaining the natural legacy that inspired the establishment of national parks over a century ago. 

With the creation of the Natural Resource Challenge in 1999, the National Park Service heeded 

the call of resource preservation and restoration 

through strong, science-based programs. Park 

managers at many levels have participated to 

improve natural resource management Servicewide. We have established a vital signs ecological 

monitoring program for all parks with signifi cant 

natural resources. Expertise has increased, and 

the knowledge of natural resources, ecosystem 

dynamics, and key species has expanded.

We must continue on the path toward increased 

knowledge and understanding to confront the 

challenges now faced by national parks. Park 

managers must build upon existing decisionmaking frameworks to include more robust 

science and increased comprehension of cause 

and eff ect relationships confronting heritage 

resources. The consequences of inaction are as 

severe as the complex challenges that lie ahead.

The National Park Service recognizes that issues 

transcend jurisdictions, and natural resource 

Natural Resources and National Parks: 

A Decade of Accomplishments and Our Complex 

Challenges Ahead

One hundred years ago, America faced the prospect of dramatic changes 

to our natural heritage because of the Industrial Revolution and the rush to 

develop natural resources. America met this challenge by establishing parks, 

refuges, forests, and other protected areas for the benefi t of all citizens. Our 

forebears also established a new generation of directives to manage federal 

lands for the protection of irreplaceable resources. 

Prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) 

in Pinnacles National Monument, California. NPS photo by 

Gavin Emmons.

management must move beyond the constraints 

of political boundaries to consider ecological ranges. With responsibility for so many of 

America’s most treasured landscapes, waters, 

and wildlife, the National Park Service must increase collaboration with federal agencies, states, 

tribes, landowners, and other partners to further these priorities. Coordination with broader 

scientifi c and environmental communities and 

international economic and social institutions 

must increase, along with transparency and accountability of how management decisions affect ecosystems. 

Park managers can transform how the 

National Park Service conserves nature in the 

21st century. Natural resource programs must 

eff ectively engage partners and the public. This 

commitment will ensure that America’s natural 

resources continue to fl ourish, leaving the nation’s natural heritage and legacy intact. Present park managers must lead the National Park 

Service toward an innovative course of action 

that builds upon the successes of the Natural 

Resource Challenge and helps us rise to the 

challenges of the future as we approach the 

National Park Service centennial in 2016.

Jonathan B. Jarvis

Director

National Park Service

Dr. Herbert C. Frost

Associate Director

Natural Resource Stewardship and Science

National Park Service
2 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress
 National Park Service 3

Chapter 1: Natural Resource Challenge Funding 

and Progress

Many of America’s most scenic and ecologically diverse lands are located within units of 

the National Park System. Mandated by the 

1916 Organic Act 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,” the National Park Service (NPS) has endeavored to 

protect these lands for nearly 100 years. We 

cannot protect what we do not understand, 

however, and so the Natural Resource Challenge was born in 1999 to improve our knowledge of natural resources across the National 

Park System. Ten years later, thanks to Natural 

Resource Challenge funding, park managers are better equipped to study, protect, and 

restore natural resources; share information; 

confront critical issues; and plan for the future. The National Park Service is rising to 

the challenge in a time of unprecedented 

complexity and rapid change aff ecting natural 

resources.

Natural Resource Challenge

On August 12, 1999, then-NPS Director Robert Stanton launched the Natural Resource 

Challenge (the “Challenge”) to “recommit 

ourselves to natural resource preservation and 

restoration” through “strong, eff ective sciencebased programs.” The goal of the Challenge 

was to understand, measure, and improve the 

health of park ecosystems. It addressed three 

main challenges:

• protecting native species and their habitats,

• providing leadership for a healthy environment, and

• connecting parks to protected areas and 

parks to people.

The Challenge included a series of natural 

resource funding requests developed by 

park superintendents and subject matter experts to meet natural resource management 

needs. Congress approved the fi rst funding 

increases in Fiscal Year (FY) 2000; subsequent 

increases followed for the next seven years, 

totaling $77,552,000 through FY 2007 (Table 

1-1). These increases have improved natural 

resource management in sites across the National Park System. While 36 parks benefi tted 

directly through base increases to natural resource programs, natural resource programs in 

other parks also benefi tted from the Challenge 

through the creation of regional and parkbased specialist positions designed to assist 

multiple parks with natural resources projects 

and through funding increases to 11 Servicewide natural resource programs (Table 1-2). 

Challenge funding has increased the professional expertise of natural resource managers; 

introduced and expanded research, protection, and restoration projects; improved education eff orts; and supported cooperative programs that engage partners in studying natural 

resources. 

Reporting and Measuring Progress

When the Challenge was fi rst funded in FY 

2000, Congress requested that the National 

Park Service report on Challenge-related expenditures and accomplishments. By providing fi nancial details for FY 2009, this report 

responds to that request. To provide a more 

complete picture of the state of natural resource funding and accomplishments across 

the National Park System, this report also 

includes information about expenditures for 

Servicewide natural resource stewardship 

programs that are not part of the Natural 

Resource Challenge (e.g., Natural Sounds Program, Environmental Quality Program).

To measure the eff ectiveness of its natural 

resource programs, the National Park Service 

uses the performance goals outlined in the 

Department of the Interior 2007–2012 Strategic 

Plan, which was established in accordance 

with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993. Table 1-3 lists strategic plan targets, FY 2009 results, and Servicewide natural resource programs supporting 

park performance. The table compares FY 

2009 actual performance to projected planned 

performance as set forth in the National Park 

Service’s FY 2010 Budget Justifi cation for all 

GPRA goals reported to Congress.

Surveying the leaves of cutleaf 

conefl ower (Rudbeckia lacianata) 

for injury caused by high levels 

of ozone, Rocky Mountain 

National Park, Colorado. NPS 

photo by Colleen Flanagan.
4 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Challenge Program 

Elements 

Funding increases by year (in thousands of dollars) Total 

increases 

through 

FY 2000 FY 2001 FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007 2007

Inventory and Monitor Resources

Basic inventories 

(except vegetation mapping)

7,309 1,987 9,296

Vegetation mapping 

(with USGS)

 1,746 2,235 3,981

Park air emissions inventory 200 200

Monitor vital signs in park networks 4,191 4,200 6,855 4,939 3,068 3,93111 1,000 28,184

Monitor water quality in park 

networks

 1,272 497 592 521 2,882

Watershed assessment 3,080 3,080

Expand air quality monitoring and 

related activities

 2,600 2,600

Make natural resources data usable 1,098 1,098

Fix Critical Problems

Natural Resource Preservation 

Program project funding

2,875 4,000 -3,93111 2,944

Alaska natural resource projects 497 497

Establish resource protection fund 300 300

Water resource protection and 

restoration/project funds

 823 823

Water resource protection and 

restoration/ fi eld specialists

 1,000 200 1,200

Native/nonnative species management 

and Exotic Plant Management Teams

3,449 2,400 2,136 7,985

Implement Resource Protection Act/

restore resources

 500 500

Protect geologic resources 696 696

Park invasive species control/

threatened and endangered species 

recovery 

 3,395 3,200 6,595

Attract Scientists

Establish Research Learning Centers 898 1,800 2,698

Establish Cooperative Ecosystem 

Studies Units

 1,596 397 1,993

ANNUAL INCREASE 14,329 15,219 20,000 17,884 5,531 3,589 0 1,000 77,552

TOTAL ANNUAL FUNDING 14,329 29,548 49,548 67,432 72,963 76,552 76,552 77,552 77,552

Table 1-1. Natural Resource Challenge funding increases, FY 2000–2007

1 Funding was shifted from the Natural Resource Preservation Program to vital signs monitoring in FY 2006.
 National Park Service 5

Funding (thousands of dollars)

Program components FY 1999 FY 2009 Change

Natural Resource Challenge-affected programs

Air Quality Program 6,285 8,784 2,499

Biological Resource Management Program 1 0 9,833 9,833

Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units 2 0 125 125

Geologic Resources Program 3 1,918 3,341 1,423

Inventory and Monitoring Program 5,787 45,039 39,252

Natural Resource Data and Information Program 1,424 1,911 487

Natural Resource Preservation Program 5,432 8,099 2,667

Research Learning Centers (20 centers total, 12 funded by the 

Challenge) 4

0

Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program 5 873 1,425 552

Resource Protection Fund 0 283 283

Water Resources Program 4,754 12,472 7,718

SUBTOTAL – Natural Resource Challenge-affected programs 26,473 91,312 64,839

Programs not affected by Natural Resource Challenge

Everglades—Comprehensive Restoration Plan (CERP) 0 4,699 4,699

Everglades—Critical Ecosystem 

Studies Initiative 6

12,000 3,849 -8,151

Everglades Task Force Support 800 1,303 503

Glen Canyon Adaptive Management Program 0 96 96

Natural Sounds Program 

(formerly Overfl ight Program) 2

200 3,132 2,932

Social Science Program 7 850 1,761 911

SUBTOTAL – Non-Natural Resource Challenge programs 13,850 14,840 990

SUBTOTAL – SERVICEWIDE NATURAL RESOURCE PROGRAMS 40,323 106,152 65,829

NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM UNITS, OTHER FIELD UNITS, AND 

CENTRAL OFFICE NATURAL RESOURCE STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMS

66,708 115,343 48,635

TOTAL NATURAL RESOURCE STEWARDSHIP 107,031 221,495 114,464

Table 1-2. Comparison of Natural Resource Stewardship Program funding in the National Park 

Service in FY 1999 (prior to the Natural Resource Challenge) and FY 2009

1

 Total includes avian fl u funding ($332,000). 2

 Total refl ects program funding after transfers to parks or regions. 3

 Total includes National Cave and Karst Research Institute funding ($323,000) transferred in FY 2008.

4

 Total refl ects funding after transfers to 12 Challenge-funded Research Learning Centers in FY 2001 ($898,000) 

and FY 2002 ($1,800,000). The remaining eight centers are funded by park base and partner funds. 

5

 Figures include Oil Spill Pollution Act.

6

 The FY 1999 fi gure is corrected from previous reports due to a printing error in the Everglades Critical 

Ecosystems Studies Initiative funding (correct FY 1999 funding was $12 million not $1.2 million).

7

 The Public Use Statistics program became part of the Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate in 

FY 2003, with $264,000 in base funding. The change includes the added Public Use Statistics funding.
6 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Webcam image of federally 

threatened Canada lynx (Lynx 

canadensis), Voyageurs National 

Park, Minnesota.

Measuring water quality in Redoubt Creek near Redoubt Volcano, which erupted in March and 

April 2009, Lake Clark National 

Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Goals related to strategies to restore, maintain, sustain, 

and protect resources

Servicewide natural resource 

program supporting park 

performance

BUR Ia3A Visibility: Visibility in 95% of NPS reporting parks has 

remained stable or improved. Actual: 95.5% (147 of 154 parks). 

(met)

Air Quality

BUR Ia3B Ozone: Ozone in 86% of NPS reporting parks has 

remained stable or improved. Actual: 100% (161 of 161 parks). 

(exceeded)

BUR Ia3C Atmospheric Deposition: Atmospheric deposition in 76% 

of NPS reporting parks has remained stable or improved. Actual: 

92.5% (49 of 53 parks) remained stable or improved. (exceeded)

BUR Ia1B Invasive Plants: 0.6% (9,650 of 1,609,565) of acres infested 

with invasive plants being maintained as free of invasive plants and 

2.7% of acres (42,986 of 1,609,565 acres) treated. Actual: 0.71% 

(11,409.9 of 1,609,565) of acres controlled and 5.3% (85,849 acres) 

of acres treated. (exceeded)

Biological Resources Management

BUR Ia2A Threatened and Endangered Species: 33.9% (335 of 986) 

of federally listed species in parks making progress toward recovery. 

Actual: 35.09% (346 of 986). (exceeded)

BUR Ia2B Species of Management Concern: 12.24% (584 of 4,770) 

of park populations of native species of management concern 

are managed to desired condition. Actual: 13.58% (648 of 4,770). 

(exceeded)

BUR Ia2C Invasive Animals: 13.85% (114 of 823) of park populations 

of exotic (i.e., non-native) invasive animal species are effectively 

controlled. Actual: 14.46% (119 of 823). (exceeded)

BUR Ia1A Disturbed Lands Restoration: 2.78% (7,112 of 255,787) 

of disturbed parkland acres targeted in a park plan for restoration 

have been treated for restoration. Actual: 4.26% (10,909 of 255,787) 

(exceeded)

Geologic Resources

BUR Ia9 Paleontological Sites: 40.7% (1,742 of 4,280) of 

paleontological localities in good condition. Actual: 42.78% (1,831 

of 4,280). (exceeded)

BUR Ia4A Water Quality Miles: 99% (146,000 of 147,470) of surface 

water stream miles in parks meet state and federal water quality 

standards as defi ned by the Clean Water Act. Actual: 99% (146,000 

of 147,470). (met)

Water Resources

BUR Ia4B Water Quality Acres: 74.2% (3,339,000 of 4,502,650) of 

surface water acres in parks meet state and federal water quality 

standards as defi ned by the Clean Water Act. Actual: 74.2% 

(3,339,000 of 4,502,650). (met)

Table 1-3. NPS Strategic Plan targets and results for FY 2009
 National Park Service 7

Chapter 2: Natural Resource Programs in the 

National Park Service

The natural resource program in the National Park Service operates on 

park, region, network, and Servicewide levels. The Natural Resource Challenge improved the capacity of programs at every level to deal with complex issues that aff ect our ability to preserve natural resources in units of 

the National Park System. This chapter describes those programs and how 

they are better equipped to deal with resource issues today thanks to the 

Challenge. Brief FY 2009 accomplishments are included here; detailed accomplishments can be found in Chapters 4–11. Chapter 3 includes progress over the 10 years of the Challenge.

Park and Regional Natural Resource 

Programs

Natural resource programs in parks are central 

to the NPS eff ort to preserve resources. The 

Challenge provided base increases to 36 parks 

to be used for basic natural resource capability 

in small parks, invasive species control, threatened and endangered species recovery, and 

native species eff orts. These parks continue to 

benefi t from Challenge funding today with an 

increased capacity for dealing with threats to 

natural resources (see Appendix A for natural 

resource funding in parks receiving Challenge 

increases).

Regional programs also benefi ted from the 

Challenge, which provided funding to establish specialist positions with focused knowledge and skills, such as aquatic resource 

professionals, to assist multiple parks with 

resource management issues. 

While funding from the Challenge remains 

today, some parks and regions report an erosion of these funds as fi xed costs, such as 

salaries, rise. This leaves less money to fund 

both natural resource projects in parks and 

park-based positions funded by the Challenge 

(e.g., annual funding transfers for the aquatic 

resource specialist positions established by 

the Challenge are now less than the full cost). 

To help compensate, parks leverage Challenge 

funding through partnerships, project funding such as the Natural Resource Preservation 

Program, and Flexible Base Increases. In FY 

2009 Servicewide funding to off set annual cost 

of living increases helped take some pressure 

off regional offi ces and park units. 

Along with the many accomplishments detailed in Chapters 4–11, parks and regional 

offi ces reported some challenges in FY 2009. 

Many park resource managers had increased 

workloads due to the need to address natural 

resource concerns associated with park projects funded by the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Continued erosion 

of funding resulted in lapsed positions and 

limited funding for travel to professional meetings and, for regional staff , to parks to provide 

technical assistance. In some parks, particularly small parks where natural resource staff 

juggle duties outside resource management, 

limited staff struggle to provide adequate protection for resources.

Network Programs

Increasingly complex and challenging natural resource issues require park managers to 

obtain a broad-based understanding of the 

status and trends in natural resource conditions, work with other agencies, and communicate with the public. In recognition of 

this, the Challenge funded four programs that 

link parks into biogeographic networks across 

the country: Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units, Exotic Plant Management Teams, 

Inventory and Monitoring Networks, and Research Learning Centers. These network programs allow parks to accomplish much more 

together than they could individually—and the 

networks save on costs by consolidating efforts and leveraging limited funding with partners. Working side-by-side with park resource 

programs, the NPS Natural Resource Program 

Center, federal and state agencies, universities, 

nonprofi t organizations, and other partners 
8 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

that share similar resource protection goals, 

these networks were established as four separate entities to remain accountable for meeting 

their individual goals and objectives.

Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units 

(CESU)

Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units are 

multiagency partnerships between universities, federal agencies, and other institutions. 

The National Park Service is one of 13 federal 

agencies within the CESU network, which was 

established in FY 1999 with leadership from 

the National Park Service, U.S. Geological 

Survey, and other federal agencies. In FY 2009 

a total of 200 universities (including 43 minority institutions) and 50 non-federal research 

partners participated in the CESU network. 

Participation in CESUs enables the National 

Park Service to obtain high-quality science, 

usable knowledge for resource managers, responsive technical assistance, continuing education, and cost-eff ective research programs. 

CESUs operate within all regions of the National Park Service. In FY 2009 Challenge 

funding supported NPS participation in 12 

CESUs. The funds, allocated through base 

transfers to NPS regions, are used to station 

a coordinator at the CESU host university. 

Remaining funds support research, technical 

assistance, and educational activities as well as 

operating expenses. Host universities provide 

offi ce space and administrative support to the 

coordinators as well as access to university 

faculty, students, staff , and resources. Host 

universities may off er adjunct or affi liate status 

to the coordinators. NPS coordinators are 

“brokers,” working with NPS park and program managers to identify research, technical 

assistance, and education needs and to provide specialized expertise and assistance available from the universities and other federal 

agency partners. In FY 2009 NPS coordinators 

were stationed at 15 CESU host universities. 

Five CESUs do not receive Challenge funding. 

Instead, NPS regional offi ces support these 

CESUs through funding, collateral duties of 

regional offi ce staff , and/or assignment of duties to coordinators of other CESU networks. 

An equal level of funding ($154,920) is allocated to the 12 CESUs supported by the 

Challenge; the rest of the funding ($125,960) 

provided administrative support and coordination activities at the NPS and Department 

of the Interior levels. In FY 2009 CESUs facilitated 806 projects across the country and 

supported a diverse range of funding sources 

that totaled nearly $38 million (Table 2-1). 

Since FY 2001 the CESU network has initiated 

5,624 projects totaling more than $268 million 

(Table 2-2).

Major themes within the CESU network in FY 

2009 include:

• New partners: Individual CESUs continue 

to add new partners, including the Department of Defense and the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Rocky Mountain CESU); 

U.S. Forest Service, St. Mary’s University, 

and Winona State University (Great Rivers 

CESU); and Bat Conservation International 

and the University of West Florida (Gulf 

Coast CESU).

• Opportunities for interagency and interuniversity projects: Many projects, such as the 

pilot project on the San Juan River on the 

Colorado Plateau, involve ecosystem-level 

research.

• Climate change projects: CESUs continue 

to focus on climate change issues, working with the Servicewide climate change 

coordinator to carry out scenario planning 

workshops and serving as a partner on joint 

meetings and workshops.

• Key services for the Inventory and Monitoring Network: Coordinators help locate 

expertise and facilitate projects for conducting inventories, developing conceptual 

models and monitoring protocols, and 

peer-reviewing reports and papers. 

• Student involvement: Undergraduate and 

graduate students at participating CESU 

institutions participate in NPS CESU projects through project activities, internships, 

fellowships, and student career positions, 

providing fi eld experience for future researchers.

Exotic Plant Management Teams (EPMT)

Native communities of plants and animals and 

landscapes across the National Park System 

are threatened by invasive plant species. Exotic Plant Management Teams were established 

to respond to the expanding invasive plant 

problem across the country. They contribute 

to invasive plant control goals Servicewide by 

working closely with other NPS programs and 

Montana-Yellowstone Archaeological Project students working 

through the Rocky Mountain 

CESU excavate test units at a 

large prehistoric stone ring.

National Capital Region Exotic 

Plant Management Team crew 

member treating Japanese hops 

(Humulus joponicus) along the 

Shenandoah River in Harpers 

Ferry National Historical Park, 

West Virginia. NPS photo by 

Geoff Clark.
 National Park Service 9

Region CESU

Total partners, projects, and funding from all 

sources, FY 2009

Partners 1 Projects Funding ($)

Alaska North and West Alaska 2 12 29 937,000 

Intermountain Colorado Plateau 29 169 5,156,674 

 Desert Southwest 20 56 1,890,448

 Rocky Mountains 20 186 10,714,835 

Midwest Great Lakes-Northern Forest 39 59 1,325,540 

Great Plains 24 14 337,699

 Great Rivers 2 24 7 629,617 

National Capital Chesapeake Watershed 18 33 1,470,922

Northeast North Atlantic Coast 15 22 1,450,000 

Pacifi c West Californian 2 26 27 1,235,679

 Great Basin 21 25 1,462,415

 Hawaii-Pacifi c Islands 2 17 21 1,814,420

 Pacifi c Northwest 28 54 2,467,971 

Southeast Gulf Coast 39 27 1,514,728

 Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast 2 25 24 1,207,233

 South Florida/Caribbean 19 39 3,700,000

 Southern Appalachian 

Mountains

21 14 632,007

 TOTAL 806 37,947,188

Table 2-1. Project activity and funding by region and individual Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit 

(CESU), FY 2009

Table 2-2. Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU) projects and funding, FY 2001–FY 2009

Fiscal year CESUs in network Projects initiated Total funding ($)

2001 8 260 10 million

2002 12 380 15 million

2003 16 540 19 million

2004 17 650 27 million

2005 17 635 32 million

2006 17 728 39 million

2007 17 848 43 million

2008 17 777 45 million

2009 17 806 38 million

TOTAL 5,624 268 million

through cooperation and collaboration with 

other agencies, adjacent landowners, and academic institutions. Exotic Plant Management 

Teams participate in all aspects of invasive 

plant management including prevention, inventory, monitoring, and treatment.

Sixteen teams serve more than 200 parks 

across the country, providing a framework 

and fi rst response to exotic plant invasions. 

The teams are headquartered in a region or 

park unit and operate over a wide geographic 

area, serving as many as 28 parks per team. 

Staff ed by highly trained individuals with expertise in plant identifi cation, plant ecology, 

invasive plant management, and pesticide use, 

the teams have emerged as local and regional 

invasive plant experts.

In FY 2009 EPMTs inventoried 402,627 acres, 

located 102,651 acres infested with invasive 

plants, and treated more than 250 species on 

16,006 acres. In addition, 8,007,831 acres were 

inventoried under a joint project with the 

State of Florida.

1

 Because some agencies partner with more than one CESU, total would equal more than the total listed in text.

2

 Five CESUs are not funded by the Natural Resource Challenge.
10 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Inventory and Monitoring Networks (I&M)

The Inventory and Monitoring Program is 

an essential part of the National Park Service’s eff ort to revitalize the natural resource 

program and to improve park management 

through greater reliance on scientifi c information. At the start of the Challenge in FY 

2000, the National Park Service organized 270 

parks with signifi cant natural resources into a 

system of 32 bioregional networks that share 

core funding and a professional staff . For 

most parks, the I&M Program provides the 

primary means of measuring the status and 

trends in the condition of park resources and 

is a central component of an eff ective natural 

resource management program. The I&M networks have become a key source and supplier 

of reliable, organized, and retrievable information about park natural resources. Two factors 

have been key to the I&M Program’s success: 

1) leveraging limited funding and staffi ng 

through partnerships with other programs and 

agencies and 2) linking to park management 

and planning.

The I&M Program provides funding, technical assistance, and coordination for parks to 

complete 12 basic natural resource inventories 

and to monitor the condition, or “health,” of 

park natural resources based on key vital sign 

parameters. The I&M Program has also led the 

development of the Integrated Resource Management Applications data system, which is 

transforming the way the National Park Service 

manages and delivers natural resource information to parks, partners, and the public.

The purpose of the basic natural resource inventories is to assess and document the current 

condition and knowledge of natural resources 

in the parks and to establish a solid baseline for 

making scientifi cally sound management decisions and long-term monitoring plans that ensure the future health of the parks. The natural 

resource inventories being conducted as part 

of the Challenge are revealing many new and 

exciting insights into the natural resources 

contained in parks. The investigations are both 

increasing our knowledge and understanding 

about park resources and providing information to address a wide variety of resource management issues and activities. 

Challenge increases have allowed the National Park Service to increase signifi cantly the 

number of basic natural resource inventories 

completed. In FY 2009 the I&M Program 

completed 2,455 data sets (88.7 percent), 

exceeding the goal set for FY 2009 (2,450 of 

2,767 data sets complete). See Table 2-3 for 

more information. 

While the I&M Program continues to deliver 

an impressive number of high-quality data sets 

and other inventory products to parks each 

year, the delivery of the initially defi ned inventory data sets and products to the 270 I&M 

parks will require at least another fi ve years 

at current funding levels, and even longer for 

some of the large Alaska parks because of 

budget shortfalls and increased costs.

Vital signs monitoring provides scientifi cally 

sound information on park natural resources 

to support management decision making, 

park planning, research, education, and public understanding of park resources. More 

than 1,000 scientists, resource specialists, 

park managers, and data managers actively 

contributed to the design and implementation 

of this long-term program. This collaborative 

eff ort developed an integrative, park-based 

program with a strong link between inventory 

and monitoring information and management 

needs. Each network developed a monitoring 

program tailored to the highest needs of their 

parks by defi ning network goals and objectives, identifying and prioritizing potential 

vital signs, and selecting a modest set of vital 

signs for long-term monitoring. 

As of September 30, 2009, all 270 I&M parks 

(100 percent) have identifi ed their vital signs, 

developed a state-of-the-art monitoring plan, 

and implemented operational monitoring of 

priority resources; 253 (94 percent) have completed at least one year of fi eld data collection 

and are able to estimate current condition for 

specifi c vital signs. As a direct result of the 

effi ciencies gained through the network approach, the majority of parks can now provide 

“current condition” estimates for key measurements of the condition of high-priority 

natural resources (Table 2-4). The National 

Park Service’s performance goals for vital 

signs monitoring have been met or exceeded 

every year.

The intent of vital signs monitoring is to track 

a subset of physical, chemical, and biological 
 National Park Service 11

Table 2-3. Number of Inventory and Monitoring Program parks, out of the total 270 parks in the program, that received the minimal 

set of inventory products identifi ed in 1992, FY 2001–FY 2009

Inventory

Fiscal year

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Natural resource 

bibliography

257 263 270 270 270 270 270 270 270

Base cartography data 248 260 270 270 270 270 270 270 270

Air quality data 250 250 250 270 270 270 270 270 270

Air quality related values 0 0 0 48 100 150 175 210 240

Climate inventory 0 197 270 270 270 270 270 270 270

Geologic resources 

inventory

2 14 17 52 68 92 117 138 164

Soil resources inventory 37 57 57 59 70 100 141 171 190

Water body classifi cation 0 220 270 270 270 270 270 270 270

Baseline water quality 

data

225 270 270 270 270 270 270 270 270

Vegetation inventory 22 27 36 51 62 80 127 155 173

Species lists 210 270 270 270 270 270 270 270 270

Species status/distribution 0 0 0 3 44 100 200 270 270

TOTAL 1,251 1,828 1,982 2,103 2,234 2,412 2,650 2,834 2,928

Completed before 2001 473 473 473 473 473 473 473 473 473

elements and processes of park ecosystems 

that are selected to represent the overall health 

or condition of park resources, known or 

hypothesized eff ects of stressors, or elements 

that have important human values. Because of 

funding restrictions, only the highest priority 

vital signs, or those that are already funded by 

some other source, can be monitored initially. 

However, parks have augmented Challenge 

funds with personnel and funding from other 

sources and have established partnerships to 

leverage funds. In addition, it is often possible 

to monitor several vital signs and parameters 

together. The number of networks and parks 

that expect to monitor a vital sign in various 

categories with currently available funding is 

summarized in Table 2-5. The number of networks and parks for each vital sign category 

will change as each network completes the 

fi nal design and testing of their sampling protocols and negotiates with partners on options 

for implementing monitoring in as many sites 

as possible.

Periodic program reviews are an essential 

component of quality assurance for any longTable 2-4. Annual accomplishments of the 270 Inventory and Monitoring Program parks in completing the planning and design 

of their long-term monitoring programs and implementing operational monitoring of vital signs, FY 2006–FY 2009, and projected 

completion, FY 2010–FY 2011. Data and expertise provided by the I&M networks are a key source of data for park Natural Resource

Condition Assessments, Resource Stewardship Strategies, and other park planning and management efforts.

Actual and projected accomplishments 

for vital signs monitoring and resource 

assessments

Number of parks completed by 

end of fi scal year

Number of parks 

projected

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Planning and 

design phase

Identify and synthesize existing information 270 270 270 270 270 270

Prioritize and select vital signs 250 270 270 270 270 270

Monitoring plan completed, peer-reviewed, and 

approved—operational monitoring begun

157 197 253 270 270 270

“Current condition” values available for specifi c 

vital signs—operational monitoring ongoing

104 157 197 253 253 270

Monitoring and 

assessments 

completed

Park Natural Resource Condition Assessments 

Completed

0 0 1 8 20 40

Park Resource Stewardship Strategy plans 

completed that incorporate results from vital 

signs monitoring and Natural Resource Condition 

Assessments

1 1 2 4 10 14
12 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

term monitoring program. The I&M Program 

has now completed reviews of 18 of the 32 

networks to help them get off to a good start 

in developing a practical, sustainable monitoring program that provides parks with timely, 

relevant information. Based on an anonymous 

survey sent out prior to the review meeting for 

each network, 90 percent of the park superintendents, park resource chiefs, and other park 

and network staff who responded to the survey agreed or strongly agreed with the question “I think the network is off to a good start, 

and I’m confi dent that the network will deliver 

relevant, useful data and information that will 

help us understand and manage the natural 

resources of the parks in our network.” The 

percentage of “happy customers” increased 

to about 98 percent based on informal “exit 

surveys” conducted after the park managers 

and other key participants met to review the 

network’s progress.

Two of the goals of the I&M Program, namely 

“integrate natural resource inventory and 

monitoring information into National Park 

Service planning, management, and decision 

making” and “share National Park Service accomplishments and information with other 

natural resource organizations and form 

partnerships for attaining common goals and 

objectives,” can only be achieved through 

the development of a modern information 

management infrastructure (e.g., staffi ng, 

hardware, software) and procedures to ensure 

that relevant natural resource data collected 

by NPS staff , cooperators, researchers, and 

others are entered, quality-checked, analyzed, 

reported, archived, documented, cataloged, 

and made available to others for management 

decision-making, research, and education. 

The I&M Program made signifi cant progress 

in FY 2009 with the integration of what was 

previously fi ve separate data systems into the 

Integrated Resource Management Applications (IRMA) data system. The IRMA system 

is based on service-oriented architecture, the 

Department of Interior (DOI) and industry 

standard and “best practice,” that will allow 

data exchange and integration among diff erent 

data systems within and external to DOI agencies. As part of DOI eff orts to address climate 

change, pilot projects with the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey 

were done this year to demonstrate how the 

department can use service-oriented architecture to develop eff ective and effi cient means of 

fi nding, retrieving, using, and sharing the best 

available data and information to address the 

signifi cant challenges posed by climate change.

The results of inventories and monitoring are 

used in Natural Resource Condition Assessments and park planning documents and are 

provided to managers, planners, interpreters, scientists, and the general public through 

numerous approaches. Combined with an 

eff ective education program, inventory and 

monitoring results can contribute not only to 

solving park issues, but also larger quality-oflife issues that aff ect surrounding communities 

and to the environmental health of the nation. 

As a direct result of Challenge funding, the 

I&M Program has become a signifi cant component of the overall scientifi c and information management infrastructure and expertise 

of the National Park Service. 

Identifying wetland plants, Devils Postpile National Monument, 

California. NPS photo by Linda 

Mutch.

Fish monitoring crew conducting snorkeling survey, Olympic 

National Park, Washington. NPS 

photo by Sam Brenkman.
 National Park Service 13

Table 2-5. Number of parks in the Inventory and Monitoring Program that will monitor each vital sign category using existing funding 

(including partnerships with others where the networks will deliver data summaries to park managers and planners). Vital signs that 

will be monitored in fewer than 30 parks are not listed.

Vital sign category Example measures (varies by network)

Number of 

parks

Weather and climate Temperature, precipitation, wind speed, ice on/off 246

Water chemistry pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity 211

Land cover and use Area in each land cover and use type; patch size and pattern 203

Invasive/exotic plants Early detection, presence/absence, area 200

Birds Species composition, distribution, abundance 189

Surface water dynamics Discharge/fl ow rates (cfs), gauge/stage height, lake elevation, spring/seep volume, sea level rise 158

Ozone Ozone concentration, damage to sensitive vegetation 140

Wet and dry deposition Wet deposition chemistry, sulfur dioxide concentrations 114

Visibility and particulate matter IMPROVE network; visibility and fi ne particles 113

Fire and fuel dynamics Long-term trend of fi re frequency, average fi re size, average burn severity, total area affected 

by fi re

105

Vegetation complexes Plant community diversity, relative species/guild abundance, structure/age class, incidence of 

disease

101

Mammals Species composition, distribution, abundance 93

Forest/woodland communities Community diversity, coverage and abundance, condition and vigor classes, regeneration 93

Soil function and dynamics Soil nutrients, cover and composition of biological soil crust communities, soil aggregate 

stability

91

Stream/river channel characteristics Channel width, depth, and gradient, sinuosity, channel cross-section, pool frequency and depth, 

particle size

89

Aquatic macroinvertebrates Species composition and abundance 86

Threatened and endangered species 

and communities

Population estimates, distribution, sex and age ratios 85

Air contaminants Concentrations of SOCs, PCBs, DDT, Hg 71

Groundwater dynamics Flow rate, depth to ground water, withdrawal rates, recharge rates, volume in aquifer 69

Amphibians and reptiles Species distribution and abundance, population age/size structure, species diversity, percent 

area occupied

54

Grassland/herb communities Composition, structure, abundance, changes in treeline 51

Fishes Community composition, abundance, distribution, age classes, occupancy, invasive species 50

Insect pests Extent of insect-related mortality, distribution and extent of standing dead/stressed/diseased 

trees, early detection

50

Riparian communities Species composition and percent cover, distribution and density of selected plants, canopy 

height

45

Nutrient dynamics Nitrate, ammonia, DON, nitrite, orthophosphate, total K 45

Primary production Normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI), change in length of growing season, carbon 

fi xation

41

Wetland communities Species composition and percent cover, distribution and density of selected plants, canopy 

height, aerial extent

40

Microorganisms Fecal coliform, E. coli, cyanobacteria 30

Water toxics Organic and inorganic toxics, heavy metals 30

Invasive/exotic animals Invasive species present, distribution, vegetation types invaded, early detection at invasion 

points

29

Coastal/oceanographic features 

and processes

Rate of shoreline change, sea surface elevations, area and degree of subsidence through 

relative elevation data

29
14 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Research Learning Centers (RLC)

Beginning in FY 2001 under the Challenge, 

the National Park Service created 20 Research 

Learning Centers to foster new and cuttingedge knowledge about park resources through 

research, education, and public engagement. 

Challenge funding supports 12 RLCs; eight 

RLCs are funded through partner support and 

existing park base funds. Centers are typically 

park-based but generally provide research and 

educational services to a network of parks. 

The mission of the RLCs is to increase the effectiveness of both research and communication of science results in the national parks by

• facilitating the use of parks for scientifi c 

inquiry,

• supporting science-informed decision 

making,

• communicating the relevance of and 

providing access to research knowledge, and

• promoting resource stewardship through 

partnerships.

Partnerships are the key to RLC success. RLCs 

engage hundreds of park partners including 

universities; schools; non-profi t organizations; community groups; federal, state, and 

tribal agencies; and NPS programs. They 

implemented and pioneered multiple citizen 

science programs, including “BioBlitzes” and 

longer-term programs to monitor the health of 

a species or ecosystem. Adaptable and skilled 

professional staff and numerous partnerships 

allow RLC programs to respond quickly when 

unforeseen park information needs arise.

In FY 2009 RLC research coordinators helped 

establish and implement more than 1,000 

research projects through collaboration with 

researchers; many of these projects directly 

informed park management decisions. Cumulative RLC eff orts helped produce more 

than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and 

involved more than 450 university students in 

park research. Eff orts to communicate science 

included on-line multi-media products, publications, and exhibits; workshops and seminars 

on topics such as invasive species, mercury, 

and wildlife conservation; and hands-on science activities. 

Climate change continues to be a focal point 

for RLCs. Because they are at the nexus of 

research, education, and outreach programs, 

RLCs foster collaboration and partnerships 

to increase parks’ capacity to assess resource 

conditions and vulnerabilities to climate 

change. RLCs increase the National Park Service’s ability to plan for and adapt to climate 

change at the local, regional, and landscape 

scales; implement appropriate responses; and 

assist with internal and external communication of climate change issues.

Servicewide Natural Resource Programs

Servicewide natural resource programs provide invaluable services to units of the National Park Service. Within each discipline, 

program staff off er policy and regulatory 

expertise, provide technical assistance and 

advice, help develop plans and proposals, and 

guide education and outreach eff orts. The 

Challenge enhanced these Servicewide eff orts 

by strengthening four basic program areas:

• Air Quality

• Biological Resource Management

• Geologic Resources

• Water Resources

National Park Service natural resource management includes a number of other programs 

outside of the Challenge that provide Servicewide leadership in specialized areas:

• Environmental Quality 

• Natural Sounds 

• Social Sciences

• Climate Change Response 

Total FY 2009 funding for each program is included in Appendix B.

The eff orts of these Servicewide programs, as 

well as park and regional programs, are supported by two natural resource project funding sources. The Resource Protection Program 

off ers project funding for resources at risk. 

Natural Resource Preservation Program 

(NRPP) funding allows parks to undertake 

natural resource management projects beyond 

the scope of park budgets. 

Note: Within this chapter, each program name 

is followed by an abbreviation, which will be 

used to indicate program leads for the accomplishments listed in Chapters 4–11. 

2009 BioBlitz at the Schoodic 

Education and Research Center, 

Acadia National Park’s Research 

Learning Center in Maine. NPS 

photo by David Manski.
 National Park Service 15

Air Quality Program (AQ)

The Air Quality Program is responsible for 

preserving, protecting, and enhancing air 

quality and air quality-related values in the 

National Park System in accordance with 

the NPS Organic Act and the Clean Air Act. 

Working in regulatory and policy arenas to 

accomplish this goal, the Air Quality Program 

emphasizes the collection and analysis of 

credible air quality information to support 

scientifi cally sound resource management decisions in parks and pursues collaborative efforts with regulators, the scientifi c community, 

and other stakeholders to improve air quality 

in parks. The Air Quality Program has six main 

focus areas:

• Collaborations: The program coordinates 

with states, the Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA), and other stakeholders to 

help develop air policies and strategies that 

are consistent with preserving and protecting air quality in parks. In FY 2009 in 

collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service 

and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, staff 

reviewed 23 state regional haze plans and 

consulted with many other states in an effort to reduce visibility-impairing pollutants. 

Visibility in parks will be signifi cantly improved once these plans are implemented.

• Prevention of Signifi cant Deterioration and 

the National Environmental Policy Act: The 

Prevention of Signifi cant Deterioration 

program established by the Clean Air Act 

gives federal land managers and park superintendents an affi rmative responsibility to 

protect air quality related values (AQRVs), 

including visibility, of Class I areas. To help 

assess whether emissions would cause or 

contribute to an adverse impact on AQRVs, 

staff review source applications for projects 

proposing to locate near NPS-managed 

areas and routinely suggest better pollution 

control technology to minimize emissions, 

and thereby impacts, on NPS areas. Staff 

also conduct independent air quality impact assessments and review and comment 

on environmental impact statements issued 

by other federal agencies for projects that 

may impact air quality resources in NPS 

units (e.g., oil and gas development activities in the West). In FY 2009 staff reviewed 

20 new source permit applications.

• Regulatory Review: Staff review proposed 

EPA standards, strategies, and regulations 

relating to air quality, such as the EPA’s 

proposed ozone monitoring strategy and 

standards for oxides of nitrogen and oxides 

of sulfur in FY 2009.

• Interpretation and Outreach: The program’s 

outreach eff orts promote public knowledge 

and appreciation of air quality conditions 

and eff ects in NPS areas. Such eff orts include synthesizing data from NPS air quality monitoring programs, disseminating this 

information to parks, and facilitating air 

quality-related interpretive projects and activities. The program operates an air quality web camera network consisting of 16 

digital cameras (“web cameras”) at 15 park 

areas; these popular websites had more 

than fi ve million “visits” in FY 2009. Staff 

assisted several park areas (e.g., Acadia National Park (ME), Great Smoky Mountains National Park (NC, TN), Mammoth 

Cave National Park (KY), Rocky Mountain National Park (CO), Sequoia and 

Kings Canyon National Parks (CA), and

 Yosemite National Park (CA) with ozone 

and fi ne particle health advisory programs 

used to alert visitors and employees when 

concentrations have the potential to reach 

unhealthy levels. 

• Monitoring and Analysis: Staff provide air 

quality assessments for most park units 

with signifi cant natural resources, respond 

to park-specifi c monitoring issues, and 

identify the status and trends of ambient air quality conditions in national park 

units. Identifying the state of air quality 

and AQRVs in the parks is crucial to determine the strategies necessary to protect 

the resource and visitor health and enjoyment. Because air quality is an ecosystem 

health indicator, I&M networks rely on 

the program for guidance and support for 

air quality monitoring. Staff also cooperate 

with other national and state programs that 

monitor ambient gases, meteorology, deposition chemistry, particulate matter, and visibility. In FY 2009 staff deployed portable 

ozone monitoring systems in several parks 

and conducted a study in Rocky Mountain 

National Park (CO) to measure nitrogen 

oxides that are precursors to ozone formation and to determine the spatial distribution of ozone within the park. 

• Ecosystem Eff ects Projects: The Air Quality 

Program has identifi ed natural resources 

sensitive to air pollutants in more than 200 

View from web camera at 

Purchase Knob, Great Smoky 

Mountains National Park, North 

Carolina, on a good visibility day.

Air quality monitoring equipment in Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Alaska.
16 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

parks. In FY 2009 staff continued to assist 

parks in setting appropriate resource and 

air quality management goals by coordinating projects that identify pollutant thresholds for specifi c ecosystem responses such 

as aquatic and terrestrial indicators. The results can be used to establish park management goals, report and communicate more 

eff ectively on resource trends and condition, and ultimately help protect sensitive 

resources in parks. 

Biological Resource Management Program 

(BRM)

The Biological Resource Management Program provides professional, science-based 

support to protect, preserve, and manage 

biological resources and related ecosystem 

processes in the National Park System. In addition to supporting Exotic Plant Management 

Teams, the Biological Resource Management 

Program focuses its eff orts in nine areas:

• Ecosystem Management and Restoration: 

The program supports ecosystem approaches to management and consistency 

to policy and practices in parks. In FY 

2009 staff participated in the NPS Climate 

Change Science and Stewardship Working 

Group to develop strategic approaches to 

fi lling park needs in response to climate 

change, participated in a collaborative effort to develop guidelines for the implementation of the Western Governor’s Association’s goals for wildlife corridors, and 

engaged with the Department of Homeland 

Security on border issues.

• Human Dimensions of Biological Resource 

Management: The focus of the Human 

Dimensions Program is to improve the capacity of regions, support offi ces, and parks 

to integrate social science into biological 

decision making. Systematic understanding 

of visitor and stakeholder perceptions of 

biological resources and management actions improves the National Park Service’s 

ability to protect resources while providing 

for enjoyment, ensures that diverse views 

are represented in the planning process, 

identifi es potential partners, and ensures 

that parks remain relevant. In FY 2009 staff 

coordinated the Human-Wildlife Habituation Steering Committee, which is developing a Systemwide strategy to reduce wildlife 

habituation and food conditioning in parks 

while providing visitors with outstanding opportunities for wildlife-dependent 

recreation, and the Biodiversity Discovery 

Steering Committee, working with parks 

involved in All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventories, BioBlitzes, and related activities that 

typically involve citizens in data collection.

• Integrated Pest Management (IPM): The 

National Park Service implements a nationwide IPM program to reduce risk 

from pests and pest-related management 

activities aff ecting the public, employees, 

park resources, and the environment. The 

use of IPM strategies was noted in the 

October 2009 Executive Order on Federal 

Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and 

Economic Performance. Servicewide, staff 

reviewed 2,590 pesticide use proposals in 

FY 2009, responded to approximately 225 

technical assistance requests, and held two 

IPM training sessions for 55 employees. 

• Invasive Species: This program focuses on 

expanding NPS technical expertise and 

the ability to respond to an increasing 

invasive species presence in parks. In FY 

2009, 823 populations of invasive animals 

were reported; 119 of those populations 

were considered to be controlled. Staff 

contributed to regional plans to minimize 

the introduction and spread of a variety of 

invasive species through interagency cooperative eff orts, including python and other 

exotic reptiles in the Everglades and south 

Florida; viral hemorrhagic septicemia in 

the Great Lakes; forest insects and diseases, 

addressing their spread through transportation of fi rewood in parks; quagga mussels 

across the western United States; and lionfi sh at Biscayne National Park (FL).

• Migratory Birds: The Park Flight program 

works to protect shared migratory bird 

species and their habitats in U.S. national 

parks. The program develops bird conservation and education projects and creates opportunities for technical exchange 

and cooperation between U.S. national 

parks and protected areas in Canada, Latin 

America, and the Caribbean. Sixteen international interns from eight Latin American 

countries contributed to bird monitoring 

and education eff orts at nine NPS units, 

contributing 6,927 hours.

• Threatened and Endangered Species: This 

program works to restore and stabilize 

threatened and endangered (T&E) species 

Gray wolves. USFWS photo.

Wildlife Health Team member 

and cooperators taking blood 

samples from an elk in Rocky 

Mountain National Park, Colorado.
 National Park Service 17

that are listed under the Endangered Species Act and species considered by parks as 

Species of Management Concern (SOMC). 

The program provides compliance, consultation, and funding for T&E projects and 

technical expertise for SOMC projects. In 

FY 2009 staff coordinated placement of 14 

Chicago Botanic Garden interns in parks 

to work on T&E, pest, and exotic plant 

management projects and led the Department of the Interior Bison Conservation 

Initiative. 

• Vegetation Inventory: This program is 

tasked with developing vegetation inventory products such as taxonomic classifi -

cation, vegetation keys, digital maps and 

associated databases, accuracy assessment 

reports and contingency tables, and project 

reports for the 270 NPS sites in the I&M 

Program. This information fi lls and complements a wide variety of resource assessment, park management, and conservation 

needs. The program provided vegetation 

inventory products for 18 additional parks 

in FY 2009 and has ongoing projects in 166 

national parks.

• Wildlife Health: The Wildlife Health Team 

provides professional veterinary and wildlife management support on the policy and 

technical aspects of wildlife diseases and 

their management, preventive health actions, fertility control, fi eld anesthesia, and 

animal welfare issues. In FY 2009 they collaborated with NPS Offi ce of Public Health 

to implement a joint Disease Outbreak 

Investigation Team, prepared a guidance 

memo for parks and regions titled Interim 

Guidance on White-nose Syndrome in Bats, 

convened a workshop to develop Servicewide guidance on plague management, provided technical support to the development 

of elk management plans at Wind Cave 

National Park (SD) and Theodore Roosevelt National Park (ND), and consulted 

on bird management to avoid airline-bird 

strikes in two regions. 

• Project Support: Biological Resource 

Management competitive funds are used 

for park projects that address resource 

management issues regarding aquatic and 

terrestrial plants and animals throughout 

the National Park System. In FY 2009, 21 

projects were funded in 19 parks for a total 

of $624,545 (see Appendix C for a list of FY 

2009 projects).

Geologic Resources Program (GR)

The Geologic Resources Program provides 

leadership and guidance for the protection 

and management of the geologic and interdependent ecosystem resources of the National 

Park System. The program carries out an array 

of activities under six categories:

• Geologic Features, Landscapes, and Processes: This program provides parks with assistance related to paleontological resources, 

cave and karst resources, coastal geology, 

and active geological processes. In FY 2009 

staff worked with partners and contractors 

to complete fi ve new paleontological resource I&M network reports encompassing 

63 parks. They assisted with the development of several cave and karst management 

plans, organized a workshop to develop 

cave monitoring protocols, and led the 

federal partnership with the National Cave 

and Karst Research Institute. Staff completed and delivered digital geologic maps to 30 

parks, held scoping meetings for 17 parks 

to discuss mapping needs and geologic 

resource management issues, completed 

geologic reports for 16 parks, and worked 

with the Natural Resources Conservation 

Service and the National Cooperative Soil 

Survey to complete soil resource inventories for 21 parks. Coastal geology staff 

assisted park staff with such issues as hurricane and storm impacts, restoration, and 

coastal resource inventory and monitoring 

and continued to provide Servicewide support on climate change topics such as sea 

level rise and coastal adaptation.

• Energy and Mineral Development: Staff 

provide park managers, including the NPS 

Director’s Offi ce, with assistance in addressing energy and mineral development 

issues both inside and adjacent to park 

boundaries through expertise in mining, 

petroleum geology, petroleum engineering, regulations, policy, reclamation, and 

impact mitigation. Staff also coordinate 

with experts in other disciplines to ensure 

that park issues are being comprehensively 

identifi ed and addressed. In FY 2009 the 

Geologic Resources Program spearheaded 

eff orts across the National Park Service to 

elevate attention to and address park protection concerns with conventional and renewable energy development outside park 

boundaries. This entailed establishing a 
18 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

network of energy contacts across the National Park Service and initiating dialogues 

and engagement with a number of counterparts in other agencies responsible for permitting energy projects on lands adjacent 

to parks. In addition, the program provided 

assistance on energy- and mineral-related 

issues to more than 100 parks in six regions. 

At present, more than 200 parks could be 

impacted by conventional and renewable 

energy development outside park boundaries. Thirty-two parks contain nearly 750 

active private mineral or oil and gas operations within their boundaries. 

• Restoration—Disturbed Lands and Abandoned Mineral Lands: Staff prepare technical guidance, review park work plans for 

technical adequacy, and provide oversight 

on cost accounting and accomplishments 

reporting for the NRPP–Disturbed Lands 

Restoration. In FY 2009 the program disbursed $790,335 to 14 park projects, seven 

of which were completed in FY 2009. Staff 

oversee the implementation of the Department of the Interior Inspector General’s 

recommendations for dealing with human 

health and safety issues at abandoned mineral lands (AML) on NPS sites. Staff also 

coordinated the development of a Servicewide list containing $28.4 million in AML 

projects, of which $22.4 million was funded 

by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 

• Geologic Resource Information for Park 

Planning Documents: Staff provide geoscience data for individual planning documents and nonfederal oil and gas planning 

eff orts in parks, and off er resource-specifi c 

technical assistance and data (e.g., paleontology, coastal, geohazards, and oil and 

gas development) and technical reviews 

of park planning documents. In FY 2009 

planning activities centered on the continuation of NRPP projects started in FY 

2008. Staff contributed to at least 18 NPS 

planning documents in 17 parks; provided 

geoscience information for and comments 

on specifi c projects, such as environmental 

assessments for well plugging at Big South 

Fork National River and Recreation 

Area (KY, TN) and for a trails management 

plan at Chattahoochee River National 

Recreation Area (GA); and participated 

in the Planning Technical Advisory Group 

(PTAG), working with PTAG members and 

the NPS Natural Resource Program Center 

(NRPC) staff to address NRPC-wide planning issues.

• Climate Change Impacts and Vulnerabilities: 

The Geologic Resources Program helps 

parks face the challenge of managing resources with respect to climate change (e.g., 

rates of shoreline erosion in parks are increasing as sea level rises, storms intensify, 

and storm surges reach further inland). In 

FY 2009 staff coordinated a storm hazard 

project and completed storm vulnerability 

assessments at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park and Pu’ukohola 

Heiau National Historic Site (HI) and

 George Washington Birthplace National 

Monument (VA).

• Active Geological Processes and Hazards: 

Staff help parks assess and evaluate active 

geological processes such as erosion, landslides, rock falls, and tsunamis, which helps 

parks develop appropriate restoration plans 

for disturbed lands and protect park visitors and infrastructure from the eff ects of 

these active processes. In FY 2009 staff provided incident-related technical assistance 

for nine projects in seven parks across fi ve 

NPS regions. 

Water Resources Program (WR)

The Water Resources Program provides leadership for the preservation, protection, and 

management of the water and aquatic resources in NPS units. Water resource issues include 

policy, planning, and regulatory review; water 

quality; water rights; fl oodplain management; 

erosion and sediment control; fi sheries management; protection of wetland and riparian 

habitats; and ocean and coastal resources. The 

Water Resources Program helps parks address 

these issues through seven main programmatic 

areas:

• Water Resource Protection Projects: With an 

increase of $832,000 in the water resource 

protection project budget beginning in 

FY 2001, Challenge funding expanded the 

National Park Service’s ability to fund data 

collection and analyses to describe surface 

and ground water fl ow regimes and the 

dependence of park resources upon water. 

Results are used to help support federal 

regulatory, state water rights, and federal 

or state court process documents and may 

support settlement negotiations or impleDirectional well outside Aztec 

Ruins National Monument, New 

Mexico.
 National Park Service 19

mentation. FY 2009 funds were used to 

develop modeling capabilities for predicting eff ects of large-scale development in 

regional ground water fl ow systems in the 

West and to perform hydrologic studies on 

the eff ects of impoundments on surface river systems in the East. In addition, projects 

studied water-dependent resources such as 

riparian/wetland vegetation, fi sh migration, 

water-related fi sh habitat requirements, anchialine ponds, and geomorphology. 

• Water Quality Monitoring: Challenge funding of more than $2.5 million helps track 

and support the attainment of water quality standards in the National Park System 

and monitor long-term status and trends 

in the nation’s most pristine watersheds. 

Because water quality is a key vital sign 

in determining overall aquatic ecosystem 

health, planning and design of the program 

is implemented in full integration with the 

NPS Park Vital Signs Monitoring Program; 

full program funding was allocated to all 32 

I&M networks in FY 2009 (see Appendix 

B, Table B-8). The program provides national program administration and reporting, establishes baseline inventories and 

analyses of available water quality data, 

supports digitization of legacy data from 

analog reports and other archival materials, 

maintains a Servicewide STORET water 

quality database, and enhances the transfer 

of physical, chemical, and biological data 

from the networks into STORET. In FY 

2009 staff enhanced NPSTORET, adding 

the ability to compare water quality data to 

user-defi ned, state, or national water quality standards and the ability to display the 

results of water quality analyses spatially 

using Google Earth.

• Natural Resource Condition Assessments: 

This program works toward the goal of 

funding a “Natural Resource Condition 

Assessment” project for each of the 270 

parks in the NPS Vital Signs Monitoring 

Program. Relying on existing data from 

multiple sources and best professional 

judgment, each assessment provides an 

interdisciplinary synthesis and report on 

current condition status, critical data gaps, 

and existing or emerging vulnerability/risk 

factors for important park natural resources and strives to develop overall condition 

ratings for park areas. Parks receiving these 

assessments will be in an enhanced position to defi ne natural resource conservation 

indicators and targets via park planning and 

report to land health goals in the Department of Interior’s Strategic Plan. The program includes coastal park natural resource 

assessments for Great Lakes and coastal 

parks, initiating 47 assessments and completing 29 reports since 2003. In FY 2009 

the program provided funding to support 

50 new or ongoing park condition assessments.

• Ocean and Coastal Resources: This program 

increases the National Park Service’s organizational and scientifi c capacity to protect 

the biological and recreational values of 

74 ocean and Great Lakes parks across 26 

states. Eff orts include performing condition assessments that measure the status of 

marine, estuarine, and Great Lakes natural 

resources and identify threats to watershed 

health; mapping submerged habitats; addressing critical science and management 

needs related to storm hazards and coastal 

vulnerability; and evaluating “no-take” 

marine reserves in NPS areas. In FY 2009 

in partnership with the I&M Program, 

staff initiated habitat mapping projects for 

submerged resources in two parks and 

completed habitat maps for three parks. 

Gap analyses were initiated for eight parks 

to obtain and evaluate available ecological, 

oceanographic, socioeconomic, cultural, 

and remote sensing datasets; synthesize 

relevant available datasets into a common 

integrated system; and provide a custom 

web portal to access data and metadata resources.

• Water Resource Protection—Aquatic Resource Professionals: Aquatic resource 

specialists provide park managers with 

expertise to address high-priority aquatic 

resource needs, including fi sheries biology, 

hydrology, and marine and aquatic ecology. 

Of the 15 specialists, 12 are duty-stationed 

in parks; the remaining three are located 

in the Sonoran Desert Network offi ce, the 

Center for Urban Ecology in the National 

Capital Region, and the Utah State Offi ce.

• Water Resource Protection—Water Resource 

Technical Assistance: The Water Resources 

Program provides direct assistance to parks 

on high-priority needs, using a combination of its own staff and expertise acquired 

through cooperative agreements. Technical assistance is provided for such things 

Water quality monitoring at Old 

Bates Wilson Spring, Canyonlands National Park, Utah. NPS 

photo by Dusty Perkins.

California’s Point Reyes National 

Seashore, one of 74 ocean and 

Great Lakes parks. NPS photo by 

Lynn Davison.
20 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

as wetland and fl oodplain compliance and 

restoration, surface and ground water hydrology, fi sheries protection, water rights 

protection, park-based planning, water 

quality monitoring and compliance, and 

marine resource protection. More than 160 

parks obtained technical assistance from 

the Water Resources Program in FY 2009. 

• Water Resource Protection Project Support: 

The Water Resources Program provides 

funding for projects benefi tting water resources across the National Park System. In 

FY 2009 the program distributed $817,700 

for water resource protection projects in 

nine parks within eight states and for Servicewide support and assistance (see Appendix D for a list of FY 2009 projects).

Environmental Quality Program (EQ)

The 1916 Organic Act and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) require 

that the National Park Service make informed 

decisions that promote the conservation of 

park resources unimpaired for current and 

future enjoyment. Further, NEPA requires 

that all federal agencies prepare studies of the 

impacts of and alternatives to proposed actions, use those studies in deciding whether to 

proceed with those actions, and diligently attempt to involve the aff ected public before any 

decision is made. The Environmental Quality 

Program helps parks fulfi ll this requirement 

through its Environmental Compliance Program, Resource Protection Program (formerly 

called the Environmental Response, Damage 

Assessment, and Restoration Program), and 

External Review Program. Many of the projects are multi-year eff orts that involve other 

agencies at the federal and state levels.

• Environmental Planning and Compliance: 

This program provides policy development, 

technical assistance, training, and project 

management to parks in the areas of impact 

analysis and conservation planning under 

NEPA and related statutes. Staff help parks 

with complex, controversial, and potentially 

precedent-setting NEPA analyses and decisions and provide assistance that is generally not available at the park or regional levels. 

In FY 2009 the Environmental Compliance 

Program managed more than $4 million of 

environmental planning work in 25 parks. 

Projects supported include the Off -Road Vehicle Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement for Cape Hatteras National 

Seashore (NC), Plan for Protecting and 

Restoring Native Ecosystems by Managing 

Non-Native Ungulates at Hawaii Volcanoes 

National Park (HI), Cultural Landscape 

Report/Environmental Assessment for Vicksburg National Military Park (MS), and 

the Elk Management Plan/Environmental 

Impact Statement for Theodore Roosevelt 

National Park (ND).

• Resource Protection Program: This program 

provides technical assistance, training, 

case management, and restoration project 

management to help parks address incident-caused injuries to resources. Under 

the Park System Resource Protection Act; 

Oil Pollution Act; Park System Resources 

Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 19jj); and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, the National 

Park Service is authorized to take actions 

to prevent or minimize injuries, assess and 

seek recovery of compensatory damages, 

and restore injured resources associated 

with discharges of oil, releases of hazardous 

substances, and other incidents that injure 

NPS resources. In FY 2009 the program 

recovered more than $1.5 million in damages for 18 parks and managed more than 

$2.8 million of restoration project work. 

FY 2009 highlights included the Palmerton 

Zinc Superfund settlement, coral reef restoration at Biscayne National Park (FL), and 

initiation of planning for the Grand Ditch 

Breach Restoration in Rocky Mountain 

National Park (CO), the settlement for 

which is the largest ever achieved under the 

Park System Resource Protection Act

• External Review: This program is the focal point for NPS external environmental 

reviews. Program responsibilities include 

the operation, management, review, and 

tracking of environmental documents having shared interests or concerns. The program is responsible for the distribution of 

non-NPS documents to appropriate NPS 

professionals as a source of information 

pertaining to signifi cant environmental developments. External Review Program staff 

facilitate NPS reviews and comments on 

the potential impacts of applicants’ proposals on NPS resources and values. These reviews help applicants avoid or mitigate impacts to NPS resources and values as well 

as to NPS programs administered under 

Placing sediment bags for seagrass restoration and evaluating 

injuries to a coral reef caused by 

a grounding at Biscayne National 

Park, Florida. 
 National Park Service 21

statutory or administrative authorities. Program functions also include coordinating 

NPS comments for each external environmental review and consolidating comments 

into one response. Each year the program 

manages between 1,400 and 1,800 external 

reviews. 

Natural Sounds Program (NSP)

The Natural Sounds Program was established 

in 2000 to provide parks with assistance, guidance, and a Servicewide consistent approach 

to managing acoustic environments (soundscapes) in a way that balances the diverse 

expectations of park visitors with the protection of park resources and values. The Natural 

Sounds Program protects, maintains, and 

restores soundscape resources and values by 

working in partnership with parks and others 

to increase scientifi c and public understanding of the value and character of park soundscapes. 

An important element of this mission is working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement the National Parks 

Air Tour Management Act of 2000, which 

comprises approximately 65–75 percent of 

the program’s budget and staff resources. 

Specifi cally, the program provides technical 

assistance to parks by monitoring acoustic 

conditions, collecting and analyzing data, 

developing ambient acoustic baseline information, and providing planning assistance 

including drafting and reviewing park plans 

and NEPA documents. In FY 2009 the Natural 

Sounds Program, working with the FAA and 

Department of Transportation’s Volpe Center, continued work on six existing Air Tour 

Management Plans and initiated six new plans 

(Acadia National Park [ME], Death Valley 

National Park [CA, NV], Governors Island 

National Monument [NY], Mount Rainier 

National Park [WA], Petrifi ed Forest National Park [AZ], and Statue of Liberty National Monument [NY]). 

Emerging issues relative to acoustic environments in NPS units include impacts from energy development projects in and near parks, 

impacts to soundscapes as species adapt to 

changes in climate, cultural and historic soundscapes, and noise impacts underwater (oceans/

coastal parks). To help address these issues, 

program staff assisted more than 62 parks with 

89 projects related to the protection of park resources and values and completed 27 acoustic 

reports characterizing park soundscapes in FY 

2009. Acoustic monitoring has now been completed for more than 150 park units. Staff also 

published six papers in peer-reviewed journals and spearheaded social science research 

relative to visitor responses to noise in Rocky 

Mountain National Park (CO), Sequoia and 

Kings Canyon National Parks (CA), and 

Yosemite National Park (CA). 

Outreach and education eff orts increase 

awareness of the importance of natural 

soundscapes in parks. In FY 2009 program 

staff completed development of an online interactive acoustic toolbox for use by park staff , 

concessionaires, and partners to help reduce 

noise footprints in and around park units; 

provided acoustic equipment and interpretive materials to Global Explorers (Connecting Kids to Parks), a non-profi t organization; 

completed development of a Key Resource 

Information and Issues Handbook for park 

interpreters as part of an interpretive toolbox; 

and completed development of a soundscape 

module as part of a wilderness training course 

for the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness 

Training Center. 

Social Science Program (SS)

The Social Science Program conducts and 

facilitates research that provides public input 

into park planning and management; investigates economic interactions between parks 

and nearby communities; develops methods 

and techniques to improve management 

of visitor use; and supports improved NPS 

management. The National Park Service uses 

this information to improve visitor services, 

enhance civic engagement, protect natural and 

cultural resources, and manage parks more effectively. Staff focus their eff orts in the following program areas: 

• Comprehensive Survey: Through its periodic Comprehensive Survey of the American 

Public, the program provides key insights 

into public opinions, knowledge, and behavior regarding parks.

• Money Generation Model (MGM2): MGM2 

helps estimate the economic impacts of 

NPS visitor spending on a local region. Like 

the original Money Generation Model, 

MGM2 estimates the impacts that park 

Natural Sounds Program staff 

setting up sound monitoring 

equipment at Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, Colorado. NPS photo by Theresa Ely.
22 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

visitors have on the local economy in terms 

of their contribution to sales, income, and 

jobs in the area. The Money Generation 

Model produces quantifi able measures of 

park economic benefi ts that can be used for 

planning, concessions management, budget 

justifi cations, policy analysis, and marketing. The National Park Visitor Spending and 

Payroll Impacts 2008 report, issued in FY 

2009, reported that visitor spending in local 

gateway regions surrounding all parks supported 205,000 jobs, $4.4 billion in labor 

income, and $6.9 billion in value added. 

• Public Use Statistics: The Public Use Statistics Offi ce coordinates visitor counting 

protocols Servicewide and provides visitation statistics and forecasts for areas administered by the National Park Service. In FY 

2009 the offi ce issued its Statistical Abstract 

2008, which reported a total of almost 275 

million recreation visitors to all units of the 

National Park System.

• Social Science Studies Collection: This 

collection is part of the eff ort to conduct 

and promote state-of-the-art social science 

related to the mission of the National Park 

Service and deliver usable knowledge to 

NPS managers and the public. It refl ects a 

growing demand by park managers for information on the relationship between people and parks. Currently, it includes more 

than 260 records including study reports, 

images, and other documents produced by 

or for the National Park Service from disciplines such as recreation resource management, economics, geography, psychology, political science, and sociology. The 

electronic version of the collection is now 

available on the NPS Focus Digital Library 

& Research Station website 

(http://npsfocus.nps.gov/).

• Technical Assistance: The Social Science 

Program provides technical assistance, 

ranging from technical advice on survey 

design and implementation to developing 

social science research plans and training, 

to parks and regions, the Department of the 

Interior, and NPS partners. The program is 

also responsible for working with parks and 

regions to help them obtain Offi ce of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for 

surveys, following Paperwork Reduction 

Act requirements; in FY 2009, 33 survey approvals were obtained from OMB.

• Visitor Survey Card: Visitor Survey Cards 

are mail-back customer satisfaction cards 

similar to surveys successfully used by major U.S. corporations. The survey is used 

annually by all NPS units to systematically 

measure and report performance related to 

the Government Performance and Results 

Act (GPRA) goals IIa1 (visitor satisfaction) 

and IIb1 (visitor understanding and appreciation). Results for 13 indicators (including park facilities, visitor services, and 

recreational opportunities) are reported at 

the park, regional, and national levels. 

• Visitor Services Project (VSP): The VSP 

conducts in-depth visitor studies, off ers 

technical assistance to parks, develops new 

evaluation tools, and provides Servicewide 

training. Customized VSP studies provide 

managers and planners with valuable and 

otherwise unavailable information about 

visitors: who they are, what they do, and 

their needs and opinions. Park managers 

use these data to improve operations, protect resources, and better serve the public. 

In FY 2009 the Social Science Program 

completed 12 VSP studies and reports in 10 

parks and published the annual Serving the 

Visitor publication, which reports summary 

results from both the VSP and Visitor Survey Card eff orts. 

Climate Change Response Program (CCRP)

The Climate Change Response Program was 

established in 2008 to provide guidance, scientifi c information, and recommendations that 

support NPS actions to protect our natural 

and cultural heritage from detrimental impacts 

due to rapid climate change. The program collaborates with partners in other agencies and 

organizations, integrates across the National 

Park Service to build understanding, synthesizes information, and coordinates landscapescale adaptation and mitigation actions. The 

NPS Climate Change Response Program has 

played a key role in the Department of Interior’s climate change initiative.

Servicewide working groups were established 

to foster communication, explore the needs 

and issues of parks, and begin to defi ne both 

strategies and actions for moving forward 

on this critical issue. Representatives from 

parks, regions, and national programs have 

participated in these working groups. In early 

2009 a Servicewide Climate Change Response 

Steering Committee was created to serve as 

Visitors at Yavapai Point in 

Grand Canyon National Park, 

Arizona, and along the Eberhart 

Trail in Little River Canyon National Preserve, Alabama. NPS 

photos by Patrick Gregerson 

(top) and Larry Beane (bottom).
 National Park Service 23

an advisory body to the NPS director and 

the National Leadership Council. The steering committee is in the process of developing 

a Climate Change Response Strategy that 

outlines key goals and objectives under four 

broad components: science, mitigation, adaptation, and communication. Once fi nalized, 

the strategy will serve as the framework for 

a detailed implementation plan to guide the 

National Park Service in understanding, communicating, and coping with the eff ects of 

climate change on park resources and infrastructure. Congress approved the request for 

new funding to support the program, which 

will receive its fi rst year of full funding in FY 

2010.

Resource Protection Program (RP)

The Resource Protection Program supports 

projects that propose innovative approaches 

involving natural resource specialists, protection rangers, researchers, and partners from 

other agencies to focus on resources at risk. 

In FY 2009 the Resource Protection Program 

distributed $283,000 for such projects. A list 

of all Resource Protection projects active in 

FY 2009 is included in Appendix E.

Natural Resource Preservation Program 

(NRPP)

The Natural Resource Preservation Program 

provides funding to parks for natural resource 

management projects beyond the scope of 

park budgets. The NRPP supports diverse activities in areas such as wildlife, fi sheries, and 

vegetation management; specialized inventories; planning; mitigation actions; and restoration activities. 

Challenge funding has had a signifi cant impact on the program. Funding increased from 

$5,432,000 in FY 2000 to $12,693,000 in FY 

2003. Budget cuts, however, have decreased 

NRPP funding: since 2003, the NRPP has 

lost $4,594,000. These reductions translate 

into 20–25 fewer on-the-ground projects in 

parks per year—and reduced performance 

outcomes.

Despite this, the NRPP continues to serve as 

a comprehensive, accountable funding source 

for resource management projects. Pre-panel 

technical reviews, professional cost estimates, 

and new Servicewide Comprehensive Call 

(SCC) guidance continue to increase the accountability and effi ciency of this funding 

source. Nearly half of NRPP funds are available for general park-level natural resource 

management projects; the balance target 

specifi c needs such as small park projects, 

disturbed lands restoration, threatened and 

endangered species, and funds that are distributed to the regions for their use for natural resource projects in parks (Table 2-7). A 

list of FY 2009 NRPP projects in all categories 

is included in Appendix F.

Alaska Special Projects (NRPP–AK) funding 

was established to allow the National Park 

Service to undertake projects that improve 

the protection and management of NPS units 

in Alaska, which are managed under the 

Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 

Act and other Alaska-specifi c requirements. 

Funding focuses on the highest priority 

natural resource projects that lack adequate 

funding from other sources. New projects 

initiated in FY 2009 included studies to monitor subsistence fi sheries, caribou habitat, wolf 

distributions and predation, paleontological 

inventories, and lake disappearance in areas 

of continuous permafrost.

Table 2-7. Natural Resource Preservation Program (NRPP) project totals and funding by category, 

FY 2009

NRPP funding categories Number of projects FY 2009 funding ($)

Alaska Special Projects 12 467,000

Disturbed Lands Restoration 14 790,000

Natural Resource Management 31 3,139,000

Regional Block Allocation 70 1,303,000

Small Park Block Allocation 60 933,000

Servicewide Projects 21 764,000

Threatened and Endangered Species 9 467,000

Park-Oriented Biological Support 18 236,000

TOTAL 217 8,099,000
24 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Disturbed Lands Restoration (NRPP–DLR) 

provides funding for parks to restore disturbed lands—lands where the natural conditions and processes have been degraded, 

damaged, or destroyed by development (e.g., 

facilities, roads, mines, dams) and/or by agricultural practices. The land disturbances and 

human safety hazards at abandoned mineral 

lands (AML) sites continued to be major issues on NPS lands in FY 2009; approximately 

3,100 AML sites with 8,400 individual features 

are estimated to exist in 126 units of the National Park System. Restoration is the process 

of assisting the recovery of these disturbed areas through direct manipulation of degraded 

ecosystem components. In FY 2009 the DLR 

program funded 14 park projects in fi ve NPS 

regions. The seven DLR projects completed in 

FY 2009 restored approximately 457 acres of 

severely disturbed land.

Natural Resource Management (NRPP–NRM) 

projects make up the largest segment of the 

NRPP. Projects eligible for funding through 

this source include resource management actions; tactical biological studies; development 

of new physical science theory, management 

approaches, and protocols; and combined research and follow-up resource management or 

mitigation actions. In FY 2009 NRM funding 

was distributed to 31 projects in 23 states in 

seven NPS regions.

NRPP funding is provided to regions to distribute between Regional Block Allocation 

and Small Park Block Allocation projects. 

Regional Block Allocation (NRPP–RB) projects 

improve natural resource knowledge and condition, including projects such as specialized 

inventories currently outside the scope of the 

Servicewide I&M Program and mitigation actions (e.g., fossil inventories and invasive plant 

or invasive animal control). In FY 2009 Regional Block Allocation funding was allocated 

to 70 projects in 54 parks (Table 2-8). 

Small Park Block Allocation (NRPP–SP) funding provides project funds for parks that fall 

in the lower third of funding for all parks and 

helps small parks achieve their natural resource goals. In FY 2009 the program funded 

61 projects in at least 54 parks (Table 2-9).

Servicewide (NRPP–SW) projects address 

the needs of Servicewide programs (e.g., 

Air Quality, Water Resources, etc.) that are 

not met within the budgets of the programs. 

Table 2-9. Natural Resource Preservation Program–Small Park Block Allocation projects by region, 

FY 2009

Region Number of parks Number of projects Funding ($)

Alaska 2 2 19,000

Intermountain 12 14 242,000

Midwest 11 13 170,000

National Capital 2 2 19,000

Northeast 9 10 116,000

Pacifi c West 7 9 161,000

Southeast 11 11 206,000

Total 54 61 933,000

Table 2-8. Natural Resource Preservation Program–Regional Block Allocation projects by region, 

FY 2009

Region Number of parks Number of projects Funding ($)

Alaska 4 11 187,000

Intermountain 9 9 186,000

Midwest 10 10 186,000

National Capital 8 12 186,000

Northeast 8 12 186,000

Pacifi c West 6 7 186,000

Southeast 9 9 186,000

TOTAL 54 70 1,303,000
 National Park Service 25

Some projects are designed to provide tools 

or capacity that will benefi t many programs 

and components of the National Park Service, 

while others respond to issues that are beyond 

the capacity of the base programs to fund, 

such as assessing the vulnerability of coastal 

parks to climate change. These special projects 

are often interdisciplinary in nature and may 

include activities with professional organizations, publications, or Servicewide databases. 

In FY 2009 NRPP–SW funding supported 21 

projects, including evaluation of the carbon 

storage potential for NPS ecosystems, implementation of the emergency response program, and activities of the Night Sky Program.

Threatened and Endangered Species (NRPP–

T&E) projects are on-the-ground conservation eff orts that contribute to the long-term 

goal of the NPS Threatened and Endangered 

Species Program to increase the number of 

park populations of listed species that are 

making progress toward recovery and to restore these species when they have been extirpated from parks. FY 2009 projects addressed 

endangered species in Coronado National 

Memorial (AZ) and Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (CA).

The NPS Natural Resource Preservation Program and the U.S. Geological Survey–Biological Resources Discipline jointly fund USGS 

biological projects that provide exploratory 

research and technical assistance for parks. 

In FY 2009 the National Park Service contributed $236,000 and the USGS Biological 

Resources Discipline contributed $320,750 

to funding these projects, which collectively 

are termed Park-Oriented Biological Support 

(POBS) projects. Information on topics and 

accomplishments of projects active in FY 2009 

is found in Appendix G.
26 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress
 National Park Service 27

Island fox (Urocyon littoralis) 

captured during trapping for 

annual population monitoring 

on Santa Rosa Island, Channel 

Islands National Park, California. 

NPS photo by Tim Coonan.

Chapter 3: Progress Over 10 Years

In FY 2000 when the Natural Resource Challenge received its fi rst funding 

from Congress, resource managers were realizing the need to manage natural 

resources instead of assuming that natural systems and processes would take 

care of them. The 1999 Natural Resource Challenge: The National Park Service’s Action Plan for Preserving Natural Resources (“the action plan”) called 

for active and informed management to save natural resources from threats 

such as nonnative species, pollution, and incompatible uses of resources. 

Ten years later, with more than $77 million 

in increases from the Challenge, the National 

Park Service has made signifi cant progress 

in addressing the three major challenges outlined in the plan (protecting native species 

and their habitats, providing leadership for a 

healthy environment, and connecting parks 

to protected areas and parks to people), placing us in a better position to protect natural 

resources in parks and to confront emerging 

issues that threaten our resources.

Protecting Native Species and Their 

Habitats

Changes to the American landscape threaten 

the survival of native species. National parks 

serve as refuges for these species, where they 

are protected from development and other 

threats. However, some of these threats, such 

as invasive species, don’t respect borders. 

The Challenge provided funding both to 

fi ght invasive species and to restore threatened and endangered species. In the years 

since the Challenge began, the National Park 

Service has made substantial progress on 

both fronts.

Invasive Species

The Challenge provided funding directly to 

some parks to expand their invasive species 

control eff orts. Sequoia and Kings Canyon 

National Parks (CA), for example, established an exotic plant management program 

in 2002 using their Challenge increase. Since 

that time, they have surveyed almost 62,000 

acres, treated 11 million invasive plants, controlled more than 150 acres, and expanded 

outreach eff orts with park neighbors and visitors. In FY 2009 Acadia National Park (ME)

reported that purple loosestrife (Lythrum 

salicaria), an invasive plant that has invaded 

wetlands throughout the United States, was 

not recorded in the park for the fi rst time in 

20 years, representing a major milestone in 

protecting native communities. 

Servicewide programs received Challenge 

funding to assist in the eff ort to protect native 

species—and their accomplishments refl ect 

the value of that funding. Over the past seven 

years, Exotic Plant Management Teams inventoried more than 11,500,000 acres and 

recorded information on more than 600 invasive plant species. In FY 2000 with only a 

few teams in operation, only 17 species were 

treated; that number increased to more than 

250 in FY 2009 with 16 teams in operation. 

Vegetation inventory products provide upto-date habitat information, helping locate 

invasive species and assisting in the management of native species; 173 of the 270 I&M 

parks have a completed vegetation inventory, 

up from 22 in FY 2001. 

Threatened and Endangered Species

The Challenge also provided funding to protect and restore threatened and endangered 

species. The success of the island fox and 

Kemp’s ridley turtle restoration programs 

demonstrate the impact of Challenge funding 

on this eff ort.

Island foxes (Urocyon littoralis) on San 

Miguel, Santa Rosa, and Santa Cruz islands in 

Channel Islands National Park (CA) were 

listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service in 2004 after catastrophic 

declines in their populations. In 2008 only 

four years after the listing and well before 

the release of an offi cial recovery plan, island foxes on the northern Channel Islands 

numbered more than 1,500 and are close to 

meeting biological criteria for de-listing. This 

represents one of the fastest recoveries of 

any listed species, due to a successful captive 

breeding program and live-capture and re-
28 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

moval of golden eagles, the primary predator 

of island foxes. Additional eff orts to remove 

feral pigs (a major food source for golden 

eagles) from Santa Cruz Island and to restore 

bald eagles to the island ecosystem will help 

ensure that golden eagles do not become reestablished. The Challenge has funded island 

fox recovery eff orts since FY 2005.

Padre Island National Seashore (TX) received a Challenge increase targeted to recovery of endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles 

(Lepidochelys kempii). Since 2002 Challenge 

funding has helped fund staff to work with 

the Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Monitoring 

Program, enhancing sea turtle monitoring and 

science eff orts and expanding community and 

partner participation. The number of Kemp’s 

ridley turtle nests found in the seashore continues to increase, with 117 found in FY 2009. 

These nests constitute 59.3 percent of the 

nests found in Texas and 57.1 percent of the 

nests documented in the United States. Numbers recorded during FY 2009 and recent 

years indicate that nesting by this endangered 

species is becoming reestablished at the seashore, which is the most important Kemp’s 

ridley nesting beach in the United States. 

Providing Leadership for a Healthy 

Environment

The natural resources within national parks—

as well as the quality of visitor experiences—

depend upon clean air and water. The Challenge, therefore, expanded NPS programs 

that maintain and restore air quality and water resources.

Air Quality

Challenge funding expanded the air quality 

monitoring network, focusing on parks most 

threatened by air pollution or most vulnerable to degradation caused by air pollution. 

By FY 2009 all I&M 270 parks had received 

their baseline air quality data inventory; 240 

had received their air quality related values 

inventory. In many cases enhanced analytical capacity and scientifi c research allowed 

baseline information to be generated using 

interpolation or risk assessments. Signifi cant 

accomplishments include:

• Air quality conditions and trends are now 

being reported for 228 park units (147 for 

visibility, 148 for ozone, and 58 for atmospheric deposition), compared to around 

30 parks in 2000. 

• Monitoring for toxic air pollutants has 

been done in 20 parks, with surprising results that garnered worldwide interest (e.g., 

monitoring found 70 of the 100 contaminants examined; bioaccumulation of some 

toxins exceeded thresholds for consumption by wildlife and/or humans; and intersex fi sh were discovered in remote parks).

• The National Park Service has been actively involved in the development of new 

pollution control programs to protect visibility in national parks in all 50 states. 

Water Resources

The Challenge expanded water resources 

protection by providing funding for water 

quality monitoring and water resource protection project funds and fi eld specialists. 

Prior to the Challenge, there was no Servicewide water quality monitoring program; water 

quality monitoring is now routinely occurring 

in parks in all 32 I&M networks. Challengefunded water resource protection projects 

have contributed to the successful quantifi cation, acquisition, and protection of park water 

rights such as those at Black Canyon of the 

Gunnison National Park (CO), Great Sand 

Dunes National Park and Preserve (CO), 

and Death Valley National Park (CA, NV). 

The 15 park-based aquatic resource protection positions funded by the Challenge serve 

multiple parks in their respective regions, 

thereby substantially enhancing access to 

parks for specialized technical assistance.

Connecting Parks to Protected Areas and 

Parks to People

Managing natural resources fi rst requires 

understanding them. The action plan proposed to do this through the establishment of 

a biogeographic network of parks that could 

facilitate collaboration and information sharing among parks, federal agencies, nonprofi t 

organizations, the scientifi c community, and 

the public. Each network would perform vital 

inventory and monitoring tasks to increase 

knowledge of natural resources in parks and 

monitor changes. NPS research eff orts would 

be enhanced and information shared through 

the establishment of Cooperative Ecosystem 

Studies Units and Research Learning Centers.
 National Park Service 29

Today, due to Challenge funding, that collaborative system is a reality. Thirty-two I&M 

networks collect basic inventory data and 

monitor vital signs for 270 parks with signifi -

cant natural resources. Before FY 2001 only 

473 of the basic inventory products were 

complete; by FY 2009, 2,928 were complete. 

Of the 270 parks, 253 have at least one year of 

fi eld data collection and are able to estimate 

current condition for specifi c vital signs; by 

2011, the monitoring eff ort is projected to be 

fully implemented for all parks.

Challenge funding enabled NPS participation 

in Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units 

(CESUs) and staffi ng of Research Learning 

Centers (RLCs) as they work to expand research eff orts and share knowledge gained. In 

FY 2001, eight CESUs facilitated 260 projects 

totaling $10 million; in FY 2009, 17 CESUs 

facilitated 804 projects totaling $38 million. 

The Challenge supports 12 of these CESUs. 

Four RLCs were funded by the Challenge in 

FY 2001; in FY 2009, 12 Challenge-funded 

RLCs are in operation, engaging researchers, 

students, and the public in NPS science.

The Full Picture

The progress the National Park Service has 

made toward these three challenges provides 

only a partial picture of the accomplishments 

since the Challenge was fi rst funded. In reality, the accomplishments are much broader, 

improving all aspects of natural resource 

management in the National Park Service. 

The timeline on the following pages showcases natural resource accomplishments over 

the life of the Challenge, and the FY 2009 

accomplishments listed in Chapters 4–11 

provide examples from parks, regions, and 

Servicewide programs, demonstrating how 

far the National Park Service has come in improving science-based management of natural 

resources.

Locating a rare Minuartia groenlandica population on Old Rag 

Mountain, Shenandoah National 

Park, Virginia. These plants of 

special concern are monitored 

in the park’s I&M Program. NPS 

photo by Wendy Hochstedler.
30 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

National Park 

Service Director 

Robert G. Stanton 

launches the 

Natural Resource 

Challenge to create 

an expanding 

source of scientifi c 

knowledge and 

information.

Congress 

authorizes the fi rst 

Natural Resource 

Challenge funding 

increases. National 

Park Service sites 

are organized 

into 32 Inventory 

and Monitoring 

Networks, linking 

270 parks with 

signifi cant natural 

resources by 

ecoregion.

The fi rst Cooperative Ecosystem 

Studies Units and 

Research Learning 

Centers facilitate 

cutting-edge research in national 

parks.

Twenty additional 

national park 

units receive base 

increases through 

Natural Resource 

Challenge funding.

The Natural 

Resource Condition Assessment 

Program begins 

to assess existing 

conditions for ecological resources in 

national parks.

Funding increases 

support 22 of 32 

Inventory and Monitoring Networks 

to initiate longterm park vital 

signs monitoring. 

Together these 22 

networks represent 

76 percent of parks 

with signifi cant 

natural resources. 

“This Action Plan 

represents our 

strong commitment 

to preserving our 

country’s precious 

natural heritage 

for this and future 

generations. . . 

. Preserving our 

natural resources 

far into the future 

now requires active 

and informed 

management based 

on sound science.”

—Robert G. Stanton

NPS Director, 1999

The fi rst Oil and 

Gas Management 

Plan helps guide 

decision making 

for nonfederal oil 

and gas operations 

in national parks.

New and historic 

photographs 

at Lake Clark 

National Park and 

Preserve document 

retreating glaciers.

A Wildlife Health 

Program is initiated 

to provide professional veterinary 

consultation and 

technical assistance 

to help parks conserve wildlife.

Sixteen parks 

receive base 

increases to fi ght 

nonnative species 

and increase 

threatened and 

endangered 

species recovery.

Rapid response 

Exotic Plant Management Teams 

are established to 

help parks control 

invasive plant 

species. 

The Air Quality 

Program expands 

to monitor conditions at more 

national parks. 

Collaboration with 

states and tribes 

begins for improving visibility in 

national parks and 

wilderness areas.

The fi rst California 

condor chick to 

fl edge in the wild 

since 1982 takes 

to the skies over 

Grand Canyon 

National Park.

Sixteen fi eld-based 

aquatic resource 

specialists are 

funded to provide 

parks expertise in 

fi sheries biology, 

marine and freshwater ecology, 

and hydrology.

An Alaska special 

projects category 

is established to 

fund activities 

that protect and 

manage Alaska’s 

natural resources.

National Park 

Service Director’s 

Order 14, “Resource 

Damage Assessment 

and Restoration,” is 

published.

The fi rst National 

Park Service Comprehensive Survey 

of the American 

Public is completed to provide 

information on 

both park visitors 

and non-visitors.

NPS Natural Resource Highlights: 1999–2009
 National Park Service 31

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

The Gulf Coast 

Network acquires 

new imagery and 

lidar (light distance 

and ranging) 

data shortly after 

Hurricane Katrina 

for use in natural 

resource studies 

and to plan 

reconstruction of 

park infra structure.

Working with 

state and federal 

partners, the 

National Park Service 

begins adaptive 

management of 

marine reserves in 

four ocean parks to 

restore the integrity, 

stability, and beauty 

of depleted ocean 

park resources.

Quagga mussels, a 

close relative of the 

zebra mussel and 

an exotic species, 

are discovered in 

Lake Mead, the fi rst 

detection of this 

species in the western 

U.S., leading to an 

im mediate response 

by the National Park 

Service. 

A new Human 

Dimensions Program 

is initiated to 

provide Servicewide 

policy guidance, 

technical assistance, 

and consultation 

for integrating 

social science into 

biological decision 

making.

The Climate Change 

Response Program 

is established 

to provide 

guidance, scientifi c 

information, and 

recommendations 

for protecting our 

natural and cultural 

heritage from the 

detrimental impacts 

of global climate 

change.

A new protocol 

is developed 

for constructing 

wildland fuel 

load maps to help 

minimize wildfi re 

risk to people 

living within and 

next to parks.

The Ocean and 

Coastal Resources Branch of the 

Water Resources 

Program forms to 

coordinate NPS 

ocean responsibilities and policies.

“Climate change is 

potentially the most 

far-reaching and 

consequential challenge 

to our mission than any 

previously encountered 

in the entire history 

of the National Park 

Service.”

—Jonathan B. Jarvis

NPS Director, 2009

The Night Sky 

Program advances 

stewardship of 

park natural lightscapes with guidelines to mitigate 

light pollution.

A multiagency reef 

fi sh monitoring 

protocol published 

for the Florida 

Keys Coral 

Reef Ecosystem 

provides regional 

data extending 

to Dry Tortugas 

National Park.

PHOTO: NOAA

BACKGROUND: GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK

©JERRY MEGENITY

A climate change 

coordinator position is established 

to foster communication and 

defi ne strategies 

and actions for 

addressing this 

critical issue.

The Natural 

Sounds Program 

assists 39 parks 

with acoustic data 

collection and 

analysis, monitoring, and planning 

to develop plans 

for mitigating 

noise impacts.

Great Sand Dunes 

National Park and 

Preserve receives a 

water right decree 

that protects 

groundwater 

within the park.

Nine BioBlitzes

are offered by 

the Appalachian 

Highlands Science 

Learning Center 

and numerous 

partners to assist 

in national park 

fi eld research.

After nine years, a 

captive breeding 

program for the 

endangered island 

fox in Channel 

Islands National 

Park ceases due to 

excellent survival 

and reproduction 

rates in the wild.

PHOTO: ©RUSS FINLEY / FINLEY-HOLIDAY FILMS
32 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress
 National Park Service 33

Chapter 4: Alaska Region Accomplishments

Alaska is expansive and diverse. Its magnitude is diffi cult to comprehend, 

but its rewards are many and apparent. Its climate and topography 

constitute a virtual subcontinent. The state’s National Park Service areas 

protect representative natural, cultural, and historic features of this immense landscape. Ten were created by the 1980 Alaska National Interest 

Lands Conservation Act.

The NPS Alaska Regional Science Strategy 2006 and Beyond outlined fi ve 

primary resource management challenges identifi ed by NPS managers and 

scientists in Alaska: climate change, global and local contaminants, exotic 

species, increasing human use, and development within and surrounding 

parks. Science, resource management, and partnership building activities 

were underway in all of these areas in FY 2009.

Accomplishments

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve: In 

April 2009 two Arctic Network staff were 

trained in the production of podcasts and 

produced a short podcast highlighting the 

scope and objectives of the I&M Program 

(www.nps.gov/bela/photosmultimedia/

multimedia.htm). The Arctic Network plans 

to work with park interpretive staff to produce 

one to two podcasts per year that highlight 

diff erent monitoring programs. (I&M, RLC)

Denali National Park and Preserve: In FY 

2009 Geological Society of America (GSA) 

GeoCorps volunteers documented 33 “new” 

paleo sites within the Cantwell Formation, 

discovering additional ornithopod, pterosaur, 

hadrosaur, and invertebrate trace fossils and 

freshwater bivalves and crayfi sh burrows. The 

information will contribute to a paleontological resource management plan for the park 

and can help researchers understand Cretaceous ecosystems in North America. Outreach 

eff orts include a journal article, posters and 

papers presented at the annual GSA conference, and several talks for park staff and the 

public. (NRPP–AK)

Moose are a species of management concern 

in Denali because they are harvested by sport 

and subsistence users and because they may 

be vulnerable to habitat changes resulting 

from changing climate. Surveys were performed in FY 2009 in two areas of the park. 

Compared to 2005 surveys, moose numbers 

are stable or increasing. The recent survey 

ALASKA

ANCHORAGE

ALASKA

0 100

0 100 200 Miles

200 Kilometers North

National Park Service Alaska Region: 54.65 million acres (gross), 23 units *

Sampling sockeye salmon in 

Telaquana Lake, Kuskokwim 

River watershed, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska. 

NPS photo by Dan Young. *

 Regional acreage and unit totals from NPS Land Resources Division “Listing of Acreage as of 9/30/2009”
34 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

will be valuable in evaluating general and 

subsistence hunting opportunities in Denali 

National Preserve and designing appropriate 

regulations. (BRM)

Off -road vehicle (ORV) use can damage soils, 

vegetation, and water resources and create 

confl icts with other user groups. To protect 

park resources from this damage, Denali staff 

initiated a project to develop a spatial and 

condition baseline for all current illegal ORV 

use in the park and train park rangers in the 

use of GIS and GPS. Staff mapped 28.5 miles 

of illegal trails, developed GIS data layers 

showing these locations, and trained three 

park rangers in the use of equipment. The results will help law enforcement rangers prosecute illegal ORV use in the park. (RP)

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve: Park staff continued to work with other 

state and federal agencies to study caribou. A 

project with the Alaska Department of Fish 

and Game included purchasing and deploying 

collars for some of the Western Arctic Herd. A 

project with the Bureau of Land Management 

involves habitat assessments on key winter 

range, as well as work with the University of 

Alaska–Fairbanks to look at climate changedriven changes in fi re ecology. The park’s 

wildlife biologist, a member of the technical 

committee for the Western Arctic Herd Working Group, developed the protocol for caribou 

work for the Arctic Network. 

Through a cooperative agreement with the 

University of Alaska–Fairbanks, a graduate 

student was funded to analyze changes of ice 

volume in glaciers in Gates of the Arctic. By 

comparing U.S. Geological Survey maps from 

1976 and 2001, the student determined 123 

glaciers lost extent at a rate of roughly 50 cm/

year when averaged over the glacier surface 

for the 15-year time period. A peer-reviewed 

paper will be submitted in FY 2010. 

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve: 

Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) are an important apex predator and the most numerous 

marine mammal in the park; however, they 

have declined by up to 75 percent in the park 

since 1992. Working with San Jose State University and the University of Alaska, park staff 

examined possible reasons for this decline. 

Researchers collected data to quantify the 

vessel disturbance regime, determine behavioral response and bioenergetic consequences 

of this disturbance, identify habitat use and 

movements, and assess disease status and contaminant loads of harbor seals. Data collection 

and analysis are ongoing. (NRPP–NRM)

Park staff launched a project to protect black 

and brown bears, species of management 

concern, within Glacier Bay National Park 

and Preserve. Preliminary results of an interdivisional bear management and research fi eld 

study in the park indicate that brown bears 

range farther south in the bay than was previously known and that brown bears did not appear to change their overt behavior as vessels 

approach until a close distance was reached 

(20–50 meters). Eff orts to reduce bear-human 

confl ict in the preserve included a two-day 

bear/people management training for resource 

management and protection staff , investigations of reports of bear-human confl icts, an 

educational outreach event for all preserve 

residents demonstrating tools to minimize 

bear problems, and repeated individual contact with residents by park rangers and biologists to discuss food/trash storage and bear 

activity. (RP)

Katmai National Park and Preserve: A globally endangered lichen, Erioderma pedicellatum, known from only two populations in 

North America, was recently discovered at a 

single site in the park. The other known population from western North America occurs on 

the south side of the Alaska Range, in Denali 

National Park and Preserve and Denali State 

Park. In addition, Hypogymnia pulverata, a 

lichen known from the southern hemisphere 

but rare in North America, was found in several locations in the park. (I&M)

Sea otters that reside along the Katmai National Park and Preserve coastline are part of 

the southwest Alaska stock of northern sea 

otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 

2005. As part of a larger, multi-year research 

program funded by the National Pacifi c Research Board and the U.S. Geological Survey, 

the Southwest Alaska Network’s marine 

ecologist participated in a study to document the spatial extent of sea otter decline in 

southwest Alaska and to assess the potential 

causes of this decline. During July and August 
 National Park Service 35

2009, researchers collected information on 

body condition and health profi les from 65 

individuals (30 from Katmai) along the coast. 

Survey results are currently being analyzed 

to approximate the boundary of the decline. 

Data on overall body condition and other 

health-related variables will be examined for 

evidence of disease and other factors potentially infl uencing their decline. A fi nal report 

will be submitted in spring 2010. (I&M)

Kenai Fjords National Park: In May 2009 

staff from Kenai Fjords and the Southwest 

Alaska Network conducted the fi rst systematic survey of bald eagle nests along the park 

coastline since 2002 and the fi rst helicopter 

survey since 1995. Observers detected 44 active nests with incubating adults or eggs and 

36 empty nests. Information gathered during 

this pilot survey will be used to design a longterm, sustainable program for monitoring nest 

occupancy and productivity of bald eagles in 

the park. (I&M)

The Ocean Alaska Science & Learning Center 

at Kenai Fjords National Park collaborates 

with partners to present daily climate change 

presentations to visitors at the Alaska SeaLife 

Center and on tour vessels. The learning center 

also develops podcasts and hosts a Research 

Seminar Series where visiting scientists 

present their studies and fi ndings on climate 

change and the eff ects of changing climate on 

landscapes, plants, and animals. (RLC)

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park: A 1998–1999 pilot study indicated 

that the Klondike Gold Rush-Skagway area 

exceeded lichen tissue air pollution indicator 

thresholds for heavy metals, sulfur, and other 

elements. Increasing visitation and associated transportation needs indicated a need to 

repeat the methodology in the original study 

and in all NPS areas in Southeast Alaska. Researchers used passive sensors to measure ambient concentration and deposition of various 

oxides of nitrogen and sulfur and collected 

lichen for elemental analysis. The results will 

be available in spring 2010. (NRPP–SP)

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve: 

Staff began a project to collar and track wolves 

to learn about their numbers, ecology, and 

distribution. Two capture operations were 

conducted in winter 2008–2009; eight wolves 

from four packs were outfi tted with satellite 

tracking collars. Preliminary results from satellite collars show that all collared packs travel 

outside the park and preserve. Packs along the 

coast are subject to intensive management on 

the northeastern side, and additional intensive management is being discussed along the 

western edge of the preserve. 

Noatak National Preserve: Results of a lake 

coring project highlight two important features of tundra fi re regimes. First, fi re-history 

records indicate that tundra vegetation has 

burned consistently over the past 6,000 years, 

Harbor seal fi tted with headmounted VHF tag and backmounted time depth recorder in 

Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. Photo by Jamie N. Womble.
36 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

with return intervals in some cases as short 

as around 150 years. Analysis of tundra fi res 

from the past 60 years indicates that tundra 

fi res occur most often in regions with warm 

and/or dry climates and during summers with 

unusually warm August temperatures. Second, 

the average rate of burning at closely spaced 

sites has varied through time, and not necessarily in unison, as would be expected if largescale climate variability was the only factor determining tundra fi re regimes. Rather, changes 

in the rate of burning are linked with changes 

in local vegetation, suggesting that vegetation 

composition and/or structure is tightly linked 

to tundra fi re regimes. These results emphasize the importance of considering changes in 

tundra fi re regimes as both climate and vegetation in arctic and subarctic regions change in 

the future. (I&M)

Sitka National Historic Park: Rapid urban 

development has occurred recently in the 

Indian River Basin. Inexpensive, accurate, 

and scientifi cally robust protocols need to be 

developed to monitor water quality, detect 

changes over time, and provide information that would allow managers to work with 

other stakeholders to assure the protection of 

the Indian River ecosystem. Park staff tested 

the ability of macroinvertebrate- and algaesampling protocols to analyze stream health 

through sampling, applying water quality indexes, and comparing results with established 

index streams in the area. The results indicate 

outstanding water quality. (NRPP–SP)

Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve: 

As of 2002 an average of 10 wolf packs lived 

within the preserve; nothing was known, 

however, about their genetic composition. 

A two-year project funded the development 

of a working wolf-genetics database that can 

be updated with additional samples and reanalyzed to generate updated baseline genetics 

information on the wolf population. Genetic 

information allows managers to assess and 

manage the “natural and healthy” levels of 

genetic variation present as mandated by the 

Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 

Act of 1980 and contributes vital data toward 

a statewide eff ort to examine the genetic 

variability and structure of wolf populations 

throughout Alaska. (NRPP–AK)

In 2009 a high school student volunteer joined 

the Central Alaska Network’s peregrine falcon 

(Falco peregrinus) monitoring crew during 

the annual survey conducted along the upper Yukon River. This outreach opportunity 

allowed the student to work with and learn 

from experts about peregrine falcon biology 

and survey techniques. The student volunteer 

spent three days in the fi eld with scientists 

learning about peregrine falcon behavior and 

identifi cation, data collection, and scope and 

binocular use. (I&M) 

Regional Projects

Alaska Park Science: The Alaska Park Science journal shares what scientists learn 

through research and scholarship in Alaska’s 

national parks; education can serve as the 

bridge between knowledge and responsibility for resource stewardship. Two issues were 

published in 2009. In addition, Alaska Park 

Science was recognized with three awards for 

publication excellence in international competitions. Alaska Park Science is available in print 

and at www.nps.gov/akso/akparkscience.html. 

(NRPP–RB)

Avian Infl uenza: Understanding bird migration strategies is essential in examining 

the role of wild birds in the spread of avian 

infl uenza. The Alaska Natural Heritage Program collected and summarized occurrence 

information to display seasonal distribution 

and potential migratory patterns for 36 avian 

species within and adjacent to Alaska’s 16 

national parks. Geospatial data were created 

to allow for easy viewing by number of birds 

observed and season for each species. Other 

results included species distribution maps and 

occurrence records within Alaska’s national 

parks; fi rst breeding, molting, and staging 

dates; and dates on spring and fall migration. 

These data can be used to develop predictive 

risk assessment models for transmission pathways of avian infl uenza. (CESU)

Climate Change Studies: The Alaska Region 

continued its partnership with Department 

of Interior bureaus and others in Alaska to 

document and forecast the long-term eff ects 

of climate change in northern Alaska, which 

will help parks plan ways to adapt to future 

changes in climate, soil conditions, landcover, 

fi re, and wildlife. Several planning exercises, 

training, and science symposia were held durSampling macroinvertebrates in 

the Indian River, Sitka National 

Historical Park, Alaska. Photo by 

Geoffrey Smith.

Tuxedni Glacier, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska, 

2009. NPS photo by Dan Young.
 National Park Service 37

ing October and November 2008, presenting 

more than 100 scientifi c studies. NPS eff orts in 

communicating climate change science were 

also recognized during 2008 through three international awards for the climate change issue 

of Alaska Park Science. 

Climate Maps: The region launched a 

project to prepare state-of-the-science digital maps for mean monthly minimum and 

maximum, and mean temperature, mean dew 

point, and total precipitation for Alaska from 

1971 to 2000. Previous maps were based on 

the 1961–1990 climatological period. Updating the Alaska climate maps resulted in a 

signifi cant increase in spatial detail and accuracy and highly accurate estimations of point 

climate values from the gridded data. The fi -

nal maps were completed in August 2009 and 

are now available as GIS layers on the Alaska 

Region GIS server. (NRPP–RB)

Invasive Plant Management: Park staff and 

volunteers expended 1,000 hours on invasive 

plant management issues in Alaska NPS units 

in FY 2009, an increase from 600 hours in 

2008. Accomplishments include discovering 

and documenting several new infestations; 

hosting two large-scale community volunteer 

weed-pulls in Klondike Gold Rush National 

Historical Park, which removed more than 

400 pounds of invasive weeds from the airport; and providing native and exotic plant 

information to visitors. The Skagway Summer 

Camp, a small group of 8- to 12-year-olds, 

learned and worked with EPMT staff in 

Klondike Gold Rush once a week throughout 

June and set up a booth at the Junior Ranger 

festival to show their work and educate 

visitors about exotics plants. (NRPP–RB, 

EPMT)

Landbird Outreach: In 2009 a pilot outreach program for junior high school students was launched in Anaktuvuk Pass, 

Alaska, to emphasize 12 bird species of concern occurring within the Arctic Network. 

During the three-day program, students 

learned about taxonomy, conservation status, 

and identifi cation of the selected avian species of concern, including Smith’s longspur, 

bluethroat, yellow-billed loon, harlequin 

duck, rusty blackbird, and others. Classroom 

exercises included the use of tools to study 

birds, such as binoculars, GPS units, and 

laser range-fi nders, and games to teach bird 

identifi cation. The program is scheduled to 

visit additional villages in and around Arctic 

Network parklands next year. (I&M)

Science Symposium: The third Biannual 

Science Symposium took place in Seward, 

Alaska, at the Sea Life Center. Eight diff erent 

presentations and 17 posters addressed the 

theme of “Understanding How Park Ecosystems Are Changing.” More than 70 people 

from state and federal agencies and the surrounding community attended. The symposium was funded in part by the Ocean Alaska 

Science and Learning Center. (I&M, RLC)

Smith’s Longspur (Calcarius pictus), one of the avian species 

of concern in an Arctic Network 

outreach program for junior 

high students, on tundra in the 

Brooks Range.
38 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Then-acting NPS Paleontology 

Program Coordinator at the fossil ornithopod (bird-footed dinosaur) track site in Navajo Sandstone at Glen Canyon National 

Recreation Area.
 National Park Service 39

Accomplishments

Arches National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, and Timpanogos Cave National 

Monument (UT): The Northern Colorado 

Plateau Network recently completed three 

multi-year, multi-partner projects to map vegetation at these sites. The projects included 

gathering aerial photography, collecting initial 

vegetation-plot data, using vegetation data to 

classify vegetation types and write vegetation 

descriptions, writing a dichotomous vegetation-type key, performing photo interpretation, 

conducting accuracy-assessment exercises, 

creating a geo-database, and publishing a fi nal 

report. These maps will be a valuable resource 

for use in park management, natural resource 

Chapter 5: Intermountain Region Accomplishments

The Intermountain Region’s varied environments—from barrier islands to 

deserts, prairies to alpine peaks—give rise to an equally diverse collection 

of NPS sites. The Intermountain Region identifi ed four major focus areas to 

be addressed by the regional natural resource program: climate change, invasive species, energy development, and border impacts. These focus areas 

represent major challenges to almost all parks throughout the region. The 

following accomplishments include projects that address these areas and 

many others.

monitoring, interpretive programs, park planning, and prescribed fi re, and as a baseline for 

designing ecological studies. (I&M)

Aztec Ruins National Monument (NM):

Geologic Resources Program staff worked 

closely with the superintendent regarding a 

company’s proposal to develop its oil and 

gas resource in the monument and raised the 

option of the company accessing its oil and 

gas rights by directional drilling a well from a 

surface location outside the park. The company determined that the option made sense 

and moved its well location outside the park, 

resulting in substantial protection of the park’s 

resources. (GR)

AMERICAN SAMOA GUAM PUERTO RICO VIRGIN ISLANDS

United States Territories United States Territories

MAINE

VERMONT

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NEW JERSEY

DELAWARE MARYLAND

VIRGINIA

NORTH

CAROLINA

SOUTH

CAROLINA

KENTUCKY

TENNESSEE

MISSISSIPPI

LOUISIANA

TEXAS

OKLAHOMA

KANSAS

NEBRASKA

SOUTH DAKOTA

NORTH DAKOTA

MONTANA

WASHINGTON

OREGON

CALIFORNIA

NEVADA

ARIZONA

NEW MEXICO

UTAH

IDAHO

WYOMING

COLORADO

ARKANSAS

ALABAMA

GEORGIA

FLORIDA

OHIO

INDIANA ILLINOIS

MICHIGAN

WISCONSIN

IOWA

MISSOURI

MINNESOTA

MASSACHUSETTS RHODE ISLAND CONNECTICUT

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

WEST

VIRGINIA

HAWAII 

DENVER

INTERMOUNTAIN

0 100

0 100 200 Miles

200 Kilometers North National Park Service Intermountain Region: 10.19 million acres (gross), 82 units
40 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Big Bend National Park (TX): Grassland 

habitats within Big Bend support unique 

species and are signifi cant for maintaining 

desert biological diversity at both local and 

landscape levels. Accelerated soil erosion and 

historic alterations to hydrology as a result of 

previous land management practices and the 

continued presence of numerous abandoned 

stock ponds, water diversions, and channelized streams have nearly devastated these once 

highly productive habitats. The potential for 

complete loss of these unique desert habitats 

within Big Bend, and from the Chihuahuan 

Desert ecosystem as a whole, has resulted in 

the development of a multi-phase restoration 

program to restore the historic grasslands associated with the Nine Point Draw watershed 

within the park. Phase three of this project 

mitigated erosion and restored proper hydrologic function to 353 acres of formerly healthy 

grassland on the former North Rosillos Ranch. 

(NRPP – DLR)

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National 

Park (CO): The Water Resources Program 

completed the settlement of a reserved water right for the park through an agreement 

with more than two dozen stakeholders and, 

working with these stakeholders through the 

Department of Justice, secured a fi nal decree 

from the Colorado Water Court for the right 

on December 31, 2008. The fi rst high-fl ow 

release through Black Canyon under the terms 

of the water right decree occurred in April 

2009. (WR)

Bryce Canyon National Park, Cedar Breaks 

National Monument, and Zion National 

Park (UT): The Intergovernmental Internship Cooperative, a partnership between these 

parks and Southern Utah University (SUU), 

placed members of the Youth Conservation 

Corps (YCC), Utah Conservation Corps, and 

SUU students in internship positions at these 

parks. One intern worked at Cedar Breaks as 

a visitor experience assistant and as a result 

is now attending seasonal law enforcement 

ranger training in Santa Rosa, California. This 

internship program demonstrates the value of 

student involvement in park projects in helping to train the future NPS workforce. (CESU)

Coronado National Memorial (AZ): Park 

staff continued monitoring and protection of 

lesser long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris curasoae 

yerbabuenae), a federally endangered species that roosts in an on-site mine from July 

through September. Lesser long-nosed bat 

numbers decreased in FY 2009 for unknown 

reasons. Park staff and partners designed a 

temporary experimental gate for the mine; the 

fi nal gate will be constructed in FY 2010.

Curecanti National Recreation Area (CO): 

Quagga (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) and 

zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are 

Intergovernmental Internship 

Cooperative Youth Conservation 

Corps crew members repairing 

a damaged fence at the visitor 

center at Cedar Breaks National 

Monument, Utah. NPS photo by 

Steven McCarthy.
 National Park Service 41

highly invasive exotic species that pose an ecological and fi nancial threat to U.S. waters. At 

Curecanti, an aquatic invasive species prevention, containment, and monitoring program 

aimed primarily at preventing an invasion of 

these mussels resulted in inspections of more 

than 13,000 vessels and decontamination of 

more than 200 boats. Inspections revealed the 

positive identifi cation of invasive mussels on 

seven vessels during the season. This intensive 

eff ort will continue in the future.

Dinosaur National Monument (CO): Extensive paleontological inventory work continued 

in summer 2009, resulting in the discovery of 

complex vertebrate burrow systems, extensive 

concentrations of small mammal tracks, and 

fossilized footprints of dinosaurs and large 

scorpions.

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument 

(NM): Intensive fi eld surveys of amphibians 

conducted as part of the biological inventory indicate the probable loss of four species 

(Chiricahua leopard frog [Rana chiricahuensis], Mexican spadefoot toad [Spea multiplicata], Woodhouse’s toad [Bufo woodhousii], 

and red-spotted toad [Bufo punctatus]) from 

the park; these species were commonly encountered during fi eld surveys in the early 

1970s. Many factors have likely contributed 

to the apparent extirpation, including the 

presence of aggressive non-native species, 

drought, and chytrid fungus; however, all of 

these stressors are relatively minor compared 

to similar areas elsewhere in the American 

Southwest. Increased UV radiation associated 

with decreased atmospheric ozone appears 

to be the primary culprit—a problem of great 

signifi cance in the alarming recent decline of 

amphibians worldwide.

Glacier National Park (MT): Since 2002 the 

Rocky Mountain CESU and the park have 

sponsored an internship program for students 

at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, Montana. 

In summer 2009 an intern worked in Glacier’s 

native plant nursery, assisting in the collection 

of native plant seeds and cuttings for propagation in the nursery, and worked on the restoration crew in the park. The program may lead 

to seasonal NPS employment opportunities. 

(CESU)

Soil erosion and vegetation loss have reached 

critical thresholds in the heavily visited subalpine environments of Lunch Creek and Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park. Extensive 

off -trail use has compromised esthetics, visitor 

safety, wildlife habitat, watershed values, and 

sensitive plant populations. Focusing on 1.5 

acres of denuded and eroding high-use subalpine park lands, staff and volunteers restored 

soil integrity and native plant communities; 

defi ned and established a new trail route; inoculated soil with critical soil fungi; collected, 

grew, and planted plant materials; and blocked 

social trails with native shrubs and trees. The 

park implemented monitoring and visitor education programs in these areas to ensure success. (NRPP–DLR)

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area 

(AZ, UT): During a site visit organized by 

Geologic Resources Program staff through a 

cooperative agreement with the Utah Geological Survey, a very signifi cant dinosaur track 

site was discovered in the recreation area by 

a team of paleontologists and volunteers. The 

fi nd may move back the known existence of 

ornithopods (bird-footed dinosaurs) anywhere in the world by 20 to 25 million years. 

The group visit was organized to establish a 

pilot paleontological resource-monitoring 

program in the park to support similar monitoring eff orts in other Utah parks. (GR)

Bonytail chubs (Gila elegans) are one of the 

most endangered vertebrate species in North 

America, having been extirpated from large 

portions of their native range, and are now 

facing extinction. Park staff initiated a project 

to establish a reproducing population of bonytails in Glen Canyon National Recreation 

Area. In FY 2009 staff analyzed the natural 

impoundment where a fi sh nursery would be 

located; results indicate that the site will be 

suitable for native fi sh introduction for many 

years, as long as the water level of Lake Powell 

does not inundate the site. The staff also addressed environmental compliance requirements. This was the fi rst year of the three-year 

project. (NRPP–T&E)

Grand Canyon National Park (AZ): Park 

staff are developing alternatives for an overfl ights environmental impact statement using 

the Integrated Noise Model (INM). Currently 

INM models take four to fi ve weeks to create; 

Restoring the subalpine environment in Glacier National Park, 

Montana.
42 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

the Natural Sounds Program and the Volpe 

Center worked together to develop a spreadsheet analysis using INM outputs so the park 

can create and modify their own alternatives 

and quickly generate noise metrics and a simple map within minutes. This allows park staff 

to review results immediately and eliminate or 

modify alternatives that do not meet the purpose and need. This planning tool will speed 

up the alternatives development process for 

other parks developing air tour management 

plans. (NSP)

 Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument (AZ): Tassi Spring, one of the largest 

desert springs in the monument, provides 

habitat for rare endemic aquatic animals: the 

Grand Wash spring snail (Pyrgulopsis bacchus), 

relict leopard frog (Rana onca), red-spotted 

toad (Bufo punctatus), and wood-house toads 

(Bufo woodhousii). Riparian function in the 

area was disturbed through ranching activities 

from 1930 to 1988. Staff , along with the Lake 

Mead EPMT, Lake Mead fuels crew, and an 

American Conservation Experience student, 

restored two acres around the spring and 

developed an interpretive wayside exhibit to 

interpret the biological signifi cance of the site. 

(EPMT, NRPP–SP) 

Grand Teton National Park (WY): Because 

wildlife-human interactions in parks are potentially dangerous for both visitors and wildlife, a park-trained volunteer corps helps manage such interactions in the park, educating 

thousands of visitors about safe wildlife viewing and recreation in bear country. University 

of Wyoming sociologists developed a visitor 

survey that will be implemented in FY 2010 

pending approval from the Offi ce of Management and Budget; survey results will help park 

staff understand if they are successfully getting 

the bear safety message to the public. (CESU, 

RP)

Great Sand Dunes National Park and 

Preserve (CO): Inventory and monitoring 

was conducted for the Global Observation 

Research Initiative in Alpine Environments 

(GLORIA) program, measuring four sites in 

2009 and installing monitoring instruments. 

The GLORIA program is designed to assess 

long-term impacts of climate change on alpine 

vegetation world-wide. (I&M)

At the request of park managers, the Natural 

Sounds Program deployed an acoustic monitoring system in the park close to the Baca 

National Wildlife Refuge to assess potential effects from proposed oil and gas development 

adjacent to the park. Equipment was utilized 

to characterize the current existing ambient 

sound levels and calculate natural ambient 

sound levels. This monitoring eff ort led to the 

discovery that the acoustical environment in 

 Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve 

ranks as one of the quietest locations ever 

monitored by the Natural Sounds Program. In 

a decision that highlights the importance of 

scientifi c data and analyses in the protection 

of park resources and values, a U.S. District 

Court judge granted a preliminary injunction 

against drilling, ruling that Colorado’s Baca 

National Wildlife Refuge contains wetlands, 

habitat for a variety of wildlife and fi sh, and 

a “large expanse of undeveloped land with a 

signifi cant sense of place and quiet.” (NSP)

Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site 

(AZ): Agriculture, an important part of the 

cultural landscape at Hubbell Trading Post, 

is being used to restore once weed-infested 

park lands. The reintroduced agriculture is 

based on “green” farming practices that demonstrate the applicability of these practices to 

the farm community adjacent to the park. At 

the completion of this project, staff hope that 

agricultural activities can be turned over to 

local Navajo farmers who would continue the 

self-sustaining agricultural operation in partnership with the park. (NRPP–SP)

Montezuma Castle National Monument 

(AZ): In 2008 and 2009 Sonoran Desert Network landbird monitoring detected elegant 

trogons (Trogons elegans) nesting at both units 

of the monument, several hundred miles north 

of their previously documented distribution. 

The range of this beautiful and distinctive 

tropical species was thought to extend only 

to the borderlands of southeastern Arizona. 

Milder winter and spring seasons linked to climate change may have permitted an extension 

of this species north, leapfrogging Tucson and 

Phoenix to exploit the riparian environments 

of the Verde Valley just south of Flagstaff , Arizona. (I&M)

Palo Alto Battlefi eld National Historic Site 

(TX): The Water Resources Program provided 

Acoustic monitoring site, Great 

Sand Dunes National Park and 

Preserve, Colorado.
 National Park Service 43

funding to develop the fi nal restoration design 

and contract specifi cations for the Palo Alto 

Resaca, a wetland on the Rio Grande delta 

that played a strategic role during the fi rst 

major battle in the 1846 war between Mexico 

and the United States. The goal to restore 

battle-era landscape features became a high 

priority when the National Park Service determined that rising oil and gas prices were 

spurring well exploration and development at 

neighboring Padre Island National Seashore. 

Oil and gas operators must compensate for 

impacts on wetlands associated with these 

activities, but few wetland restoration opportunities exist at Padre Island; Palo Alto Battlefi eld, however, provides alternate restoration 

opportunities. (WR, CESU)

Rocky Mountain National Park (CO): The 

Air Quality Program released the fi nal Rocky 

Mountain Atmospheric Nitrogen and Sulfur 

(RoMANS) Study to assess the source regions 

of nitrogen and sulfur that aff ect deposition 

and visibility in the park. Increases in nitrogen 

wet deposition have been linked to several 

documented ecosystem changes: harmful 

changes in soil, water, and tree chemistry; surface water nitrogen saturation; and changes in 

microscopic aquatic species and alpine plant 

species composition. The RoMANS study 

informs an ongoing interagency initiative to 

address the air quality and ecosystem issues 

in the park, and is part of a nationally unprecedented eff ort to apply sound science regarding atmospheric deposition in a real policy 

context, generating interest among states and 

other stakeholders facing similar issues. (AQ, 

CESU)

Saguaro National Park (AZ): To support the 

development of a terrestrial vegetation and 

soils monitoring protocol, staff from the Sonoran Desert Network and Saguaro National 

Park located and remeasured permanent 

vegetation plots established in 1976 in the 

Cactus Forest area. Designed to document 

potential grazing eff ects on native vegetation, this extensive study instead illustrated a 

major increase in the abundance of shallowrooted shrubs, grasses, and other herbs at the 

expense of deeper-rooted trees and shrubs. 

Deeper-rooted species are primarily supported by cool-season precipitation, whereas 

shallow-rooted species take advantage of 

the brief, intense pulses of moisture following summer thunderstorms. These shifting 

vegetation patterns appear to track seasonal 

precipitation and freeze events measured over 

the last 30 years, illustrating the close linkages between ecosystems and the bimodal 

precipitation regime that defi nes the Sonoran 

Desert and tracking predicted regional eff ects 

of global climate change. (I&M)

 Saguaro National Park staff worked with the 

Rincon Institute to develop a program to 

The wildland-urban interface in 

Saguaro National Park, Arizona.
44 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

protect and restore park resources with the 

help of park neighbors. Activities included 

distribution of a newsletter, presentations to 

homeowners association and at community 

centers, and volunteer activities for neighbors 

(invasive plant removal and trail brushing). 

Communication and relations with park 

neighbors have improved as evidenced in the 

positive response by neighbors who have assisted in protecting park resources. 

Sunset Crater Volcano, Walnut Canyon, 

and Wupatki National Monuments (AZ): 

The fi nal Flagstaff Area Monuments Invasive 

Plant Management Plan/Environmental Assessment was completed in FY 2009, with the 

Finding of No Signifi cant Impact signed in 

October 2009. (EPMT)

Timpanogos Cave National Monument 

(UT): Approximately 85,000 people visit the 

cave system every year, tracking silt, hair, litter, and lint into the caves. This foreign debris 

discolors cave features, dries out cave formations, provides a food source for opportunistic cave biota (algae and moss), and alters the 

cave ecosystem. Staff began an intensive twoyear process to clean the caves. Staff surveyed 

and mapped areas of algal growth in the 

caves, identifi ed and placed shields on feature lights that encourage algae growth, and 

removed all existing algae. Staff also removed 

mud accumulation and lint. In FY 2010 staff 

will fi nish restoration eff orts, including restoring broken formations to their original locations for continued growth. (NRPP–RB)

Yellowstone National Park (ID, MT, WY): 

Managers and scientists from the Greater Yellowstone Network and the park developed 

the fi rst of what is intended as an annual 

series of reports to summarize the overall 

condition of key park natural resources to 

aid management decisions. A review of the 

report shows that time, money, and eff ort 

applied toward a challenge like grizzly bear 

recovery can result in success. It indicates 

more attention and eff ort should be paid to issues like the decline of Yellowstone cutthroat 

trout and the park’s resident trumpeter swan 

population. It also raises concerns about how 

air pollution from outside the park may be 

changing native plant habitat inside the park. 

(I&M)

Zion National Park (UT): On the Colorado 

Plateau, confl ict is emerging between Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) 

habitat protection and recreationists enjoying 

canyoneering activities. During the summer 

breeding season, federally threatened Mexican spotted owls nest in slot canyon habitats 

increasingly popular with canyoneers. Managers must understand if spotted owls are 

aff ected by canyoneering in order to develop 

public-supported recreation and resource 

Placing sound recorder at Zion 

National Park, Utah, to monitor 

for Mexican spotted owls.
 National Park Service 45

protection goals for slot canyons. Researchers are comparing spotted owl site selection 

and diurnal behavior in Zion to Capitol Reef 

National Park and Grand Staircase Escalante 

National Monument, where use of slot canyons is lower, to determine diff erences in 

responses to level of use. In 2009 data were 

collected from 39 sites in the three parks and 

Bureau of Land Management land; owls were 

detected in 26 of 45 territories. Zion had the 

highest occupancy rate of the four sites. During 1,100 minutes of behavioral observation, 

owls spent most of the time roosting quietly, 

becoming more active at dusk and dawn. The 

project will conclude in FY 2010. (NRPP–

NRM, CESU)

Regional Projects

Climate Change Projects: To help address 

the pressing climate change issue, the Intermountain Regional Offi ce initiated development of a regional climate change website and 

partnered with the University of Arizona to 

develop a Climate Change Needs Assessment 

for the region. (CESU)

Mussel Management Plan: The Intermountain Regional Offi ce partnered with state and 

federal agencies to prepare fi nal drafts of the 

Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan

and a more specifi c Quagga and Zebra Mussels 

Management Plan for the State of Colorado. 

Both species of mussel pose serious threats to 

aquatic resources as they out-compete other 

fi lter feeders for food.
46 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Michigan Technological Research 

Institute researcher measuring the dimensions of a vernal 

pool at Pictured Rocks National 

Lakeshore, Michigan. Michigan 

Technological University/Wilf 

Previant photo.
 National Park Service 47

Chapter 6: Midwest Region Accomplishments

The parks in the Midwest Region encompass nearly two million acres of 

lands and waters in the Great Lakes, Great Plains, and Heartland regions 

of our nation. This region contains a rich heritage of lake and river ecosystems, forested plant communities, prairie landscapes, wetlands, and fi sh 

and wildlife habitats. Scientifi c and resource management staff in the region 

work to eff ectively manage these natural resources by integrating multiple 

disciplines with ecological sustainability, legal/policy requirements, and 

park community outreach eff orts. In FY 2009 parks in the Midwest Region 

addressed such issues as exotic plants and other organisms, external threats 

to parks, and wildlife health and disease.

Accomplishments

Badlands and Wind Cave National Parks 

(SD), Devils Tower National Monument 

(WY), Scotts Bluff National Monument 

(NE), and Theodore Roosevelt National 

Park (ND): Plague, an infectious exotic disease that can be fatal to both humans and 

wildlife, had been in close proximity to but 

had not reached these parks. With the regional 

offi ce and University of South Dakota, these 

parks are working to identify if background 

levels of the plague bacterium were already 

in the parks, the risk that plague could reach 

the parks, and management practices that 

could lessen plague epizootics in the parks. 

Preliminary information was collected in 

summer 2008 and 2009 and is being used in 

management decisions and treatment actions 

at the parks; a PhD candidate began the full 

project in fall 2009. The urgency of the project 

was confi rmed when plague was documented 

at Badlands National Park in 2009. (NRPP–

NRM)

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site (IA): 

More than 2.5 miles of trails had widened to 

AMERICAN SAMOA GUAM PUERTO RICO VIRGIN ISLANDS

United States Territories United States Territories

MAINE

VERMONT

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NEW JERSEY

DELAWARE MARYLAND

VIRGINIA

NORTH

CAROLINA

SOUTH

CAROLINA

KENTUCKY

TENNESSEE

MISSISSIPPI

LOUISIANA

TEXAS

OKLAHOMA

KANSAS

NEBRASKA

SOUTH DAKOTA

NORTH DAKOTA

MONTANA

WASHINGTON

OREGON

CALIFORNIA

NEVADA

ARIZONA

NEW MEXICO

UTAH

IDAHO

WYOMING

COLORADO

ARKANSAS

ALABAMA

GEORGIA

FLORIDA

OHIO

INDIANA ILLINOIS

MICHIGAN

WISCONSIN

IOWA

MISSOURI

MINNESOTA

MASSACHUSETTS RHODE ISLAND CONNECTICUT

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

WEST

VIRGINIA

HAWAII 

OMAHA

MIDWEST

0 100

0 100 200 Miles

200 Kilometers North National Park Service Midwest Region: 1.82 million acres (gross), 55 units
48 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

14 to 18 feet over the years as existing invasive 

grasses spread from the trails into the prairie. 

Park staff , with the assistance of a contractor, 

reduced the trail width to approximately 7 feet 

for interior trails and 12 feet for the perimeter 

trail by replacing exotic invasive plants with 

native plants. The conversion reduces maintenance costs, fuel consumption from mowing, 

and treatment to control exotic plants. By reducing mowing from 28 to two times per year, 

the site is also reducing its carbon footprint. 

(NRPP–SP)

Homestead National Monument (NE): Staff 

from the Heartland Network visited the monument to complete a survey of exotic species. 

No new species were noted; the fi nal report is 

expected in early FY 2010. (I&M)

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park 

(OH): The park’s fi rst prescribed burn was 

held in November 2008 to manage a six-acre 

plot planted with native vegetation in 2004. 

Three vegetation monitoring transects were 

established and data were taken pre-burn, immediate post-burn, and one year post-burn. 

A fi nal report will be produced in FY 2010. 

(NRPP–SP)

Isle Royale National Park (MI): Researchers 

continued a long-term study of wolf–moose 

dynamics in the park. FY 2009 genetics work 

contributed to knowledge of the history and 

life stories of individual wolves, including a 

male wolf that immigrated from Canada in the 

early 1990s and produced many off spring that 

became pack leaders. Researchers are in the 

process of determining pedigrees and family 

relationships among the packs. (NRPP–SW)

Jewel Cave National Monument (SD): At 

more than 146 miles, Jewel Cave is the second 

longest cave in the world. Researchers undertook a study of the cave’s paleofl ood hydrology, a method of looking at geologic evidence 

to determine the frequency and magnitude 

of prehistoric fl oods. Twenty-eight sites were 

documented along 23 miles of the Hell Canyon drainage. The information will be used by 

the U.S. Geological Survey to refi ne existing 

fl ood models used in public planning eff orts. 

(NRPP–SP)

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (IN): 

The Great Lakes Research and Education 

Center developed a project proposal with the 

U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, 

and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources partners on climate change impacts 

to the Wisconsin Ice Age Trail; created an 

educational program on climate change geared 

toward middle school students; and provided 

planning assistance to the Indiana Dunes Environmental Management Team for a Midwest 

Region “Climate Friendly Parks” training session. The center is working on a website with 

the U.S. Geological Survey National Wetland 

Research Center for monitoring phenology of 

cattails across the country. (RLC)

Ozark National Scenic Riverways (MO): 

Illegal traces have been created by off -road 

vehicles, damaging natural resources. Staff 

worked with county commissioners to select 

and approve 54 specifi c traces for closure. 

Project elements include marking the closures; 

installing surveillance equipment and sensors; and creating educational products for 

the public. A Missouri University student was 

hired to conduct in-stream aquatic site assessments; the results will be compared to biological criteria indices to assess conditions. (RP)

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (MI):

Monitoring of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) in Miners River was conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Long-term monitoring and control of this 

invasive species will provide information on 

treatment effi cacy and ensure integrity of the 

aquatic community in the river.

Vernal pools, formed each spring by high 

groundwater levels, provide increasingly uncommon habitat for wood frog and salamander reproduction, some wetland plants, and 

invertebrates adapted to temporary standing 

water. Researchers from the lakeshore, Michigan Technological University, and Michigan 

Technological Research Institute assessed 

the distribution and number of vernal pools 

throughout the lakeshore, identifying 55 

vernal pools and classifying them into six 

categories. In 2010 researchers will assess amphibian, plant, and algal communities in and 

surrounding at least 30 of the vernal pools; 

perform the fi nal analysis; and prepare the fi -

nal report. (NRPP–RB)

Prairie restoration project at 

Herbert Hoover National Historic 

Site, Iowa, showing hard fescue 

sprouting on the left where the 

future trail will be (area of no 

growth is where prairie has been 

restored). NPS photo by John 

Holding.

Portion of paleo fl ood map of 

Hell Canyon at Jewel Cave National Monument, South Dakota 

(red shows fl ood area). Map by 

Lee-Gray Boze.
 National Park Service 49

Staff continued work with coaster brook trout 

(Salvelinus fontinalis), a migratory strain of 

brook trout whose abundance has declined 

markedly throughout their historic range. 

This project is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Northern Michigan University, Michigan 

Department of Natural Resources, and Trout 

Unlimited. Continued professional oversight 

was provided to study interstream movement 

of migratory coaster brook trout and coaster 

brook trout population response to removal of 

exotic salmonids. 

Pipestone National Monument (MN): Despite its small size, the monument serves as 

an oasis for many native species and provides 

a variety of native habitats in an otherwise 

heavily agricultural region. Wetlands support 

plant species not found elsewhere within the 

monument, including at least four state-listed 

endangered plant species and one federally threatened species, the western prairie 

fringed orchid (Platanthera praeclara). Researchers completed wetland inventory work 

and identifi ed current and desired conditions 

for seven acres of wetlands. Because invasive 

reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) 

was identifi ed as a major problem in wetland 

areas, they set up monitoring plots to determine the best ways to control the species. 

(NRPP–SP)

Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway (MN, 

WI): Recent studies have shown that juvenile 

mussel density is decreasing in native mussel 

communities that harbor federally listed mussel species; these declines have been accompanied by increased sediment deposition. Past 

research indicates that sediment deposition 

may adversely impact native mussel communities in the St. Croix River; a study sought to 

assess whether water discharge has an eff ect 

on suspended sediment concentration and to 

determine the variability of sediment concentrations above and below the hydroelectric 

dam in St. Croix Falls. Analysis of suspended 

sediment shows that suspended organic concentration correlates with mean daily water 

discharge, with peaks in the early spring and 

late summer. Sites with higher organic material 

in suspension had lower mussel density, but 

there was insuffi cient evidence to arrive at any 

causal relationship. Future work includes dating of sediment cores to provide age classes on 

sedimentation rates and on the ages of large 

deposition events. (BRM, NRPP–T&E)

Theodore Roosevelt National Park (ND): 

Staff completed the second and fi nal year 

of data collection of a three-year project 

designed to link elk distributions to specifi c 

vegetation attributes in the park. This project 

considers existing elk location data from GPS 

collars collected since 2003 and extensive 

Non-native fi sh removal at 

mouth of Sevenmile Creek, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, 

Michigan. NPS photo by April 

Chiriboga.
50 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

vegetation information that was collected at 

various sites throughout the park these past 

two summers. The resulting model will help 

managers better understand how elk are using 

the landscape and thus better manage vegetation and other ungulates in the park. 

Voyageurs National Park (MN): Moose and 

white-tailed deer are signifi cant natural resources in the park. Anecdotal evidence suggests that moose have declined markedly over 

the last 30-plus years while white-tailed deer 

have increased. Researchers completed aerial 

surveys and fecal pellet counts to obtain current estimates of moose and deer abundance 

and distribution and to test for prevalence of 

brain worm and liver fl ukes in deer, which 

could account for the decline in moose abundance if those parasites are being transmitted 

from deer to moose. Results are expected in 

early 2010. Information from this study will 

be used to determine the status and trend of 

moose and deer populations in the park and 

to make recommendations to wildlife management agencies for deer harvest in areas adjacent to the park. (NRPP–RB)

Great Plains CESU and North Dakota State 

University researchers investigated water-level 

management impacts on aquatic communities 

within Voyageurs National Park. Observed 

changes in invertebrate populations likely 

resulted from cooler water and lower production under the new water level regulation regime, coupled with a more stable environment 

with respect to physical processes involving 

wave energy and fl uctuation. Continued 

monitoring will show if the system may still be 

resettling from a recent change in water-level 

management. (CESU)

Wind Cave National Park (SD): The surfi cial 

geology of the park is a missing piece of baseline inventory data. Geologists mapped the 

surfi cial bedrock and structural geology in FY 

2009. The data are being combined, digitized, 

and added to the geologic map of the park being produced by the South Dakota Geologic 

Survey; the fi nal geologic map will be ready 

for publication by summer 2010. This map will 

satisfy the second of three critical elements of 

geological inventory for the Natural Resource 

Challenge and answer concerns related to the 

location of karst resources, groundwater recharge, placement of facilities and utilities, management of sensitive species in specifi c habitats, 

management of paleontological resources, and 

future research needs. (NRPP–RB)

South Dakota Geologic Survey 

geologist examining the Minnelusa Formation, Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota. NPS 

photo by Rod Horrocks.
 National Park Service 51

Texas A&M University is currently using modern genotyping technologies to determine the 

breeding structure (pedigree analysis) of Wind 

Cave bison and to identify optimum management strategies for long-term conservation 

eff orts of the genetically pure bison herd. 

Samples collected in 2007 and 2009 are being 

analyzed; a fi nal report will be prepared in FY 

2010. (BRM)

Regional Projects

Vital Signs Monitoring: The National Park 

Service’s Heartland Network and Missouri 

State University, an Upper and Middle Mississippi CESU partner, have worked together to 

conduct vital signs monitoring in 15 NPS sites 

across eight states. Missouri State faculty and 

students contribute to vital signs monitoring 

through a variety of sponsored research projects, including biological inventories, monitoring protocol development, and data analysis. 

Monitoring the vital signs of ecosystem health, 

such as water quality and species diversity, 

provides early detection of emerging threats to 

park resources. (CESU, I&M)

Bird Monitoring Protocol: Heartland Network staff developed a special bird monitoring 

protocol and worked with well-trained citizen 

scientists to survey birds on approximately 

243 data collection points across fi ve diff erent park units. By engaging citizen scientists 

and making special eff orts to address data 

quality and comparability, a total of 431 sites 

were surveyed in FY 2009, giving the network 

an unprecedented opportunity to assess the 

status and trends in bird populations within 

parks and across the network. (I&M)
52 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Fruiting body of a black morel 

mushroom (Morchella spp.), Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland. 

Photo by Steven L. Stephenson.
 National Park Service 53

Chapter 7: National Capital Region Accomplishments

The National Capital Region contains more than 700 individual sites, ranging from community parks that serve as neighborhood gathering places to 

national monuments that attract visitors from around the world. Serving 

more than 40 million visitors annually, the parks of the National Capital 

Region encompass parkland and open space with thousands of historic 

structures and archeological sites, hundreds of miles of trails, bike paths, 

riverfront, scenic parkways, and historic canals. 

Accomplishments

Antietam National Battlefi eld (MD): Park 

and regional monitoring programs resulted 

in many additions to the park’s species list, 

including four previously undocumented 

reptiles and amphibians, nearly 50 insects and 

20 spiders, and a state-listed rare plant. The 

sandbar willow (Salix exigua) is designated in 

Maryland as “highly state rare” and was not 

previously documented in the park.

Antietam National Battlefi eld (MD), Catoctin Mountain Park (MD), Chesapeake and 

Ohio Canal National Historical Park (DC, 

MD, WV), and Harpers Ferry National 

Historical Park (WV): Morel mushrooms 

(Morchella spp.) are the most sought-after edible macrofungi in eastern North America. Visitor-harvested resources such as morels in National Capital Region parks are under pressure 

from collecting, climate change, and urbanization. Researchers surveyed morel mushrooms 

in these parks, fi nding no direct link between 

abundance and harvesting pressure. Three of 

the taxa identifi ed will be described as species 

new to science in a forthcoming paper. 

Catoctin Mountain Park (MD): The park 

continued eff orts to manage the population 

of white-tailed deer, a species of special management concern. Staff began planning for 

the implementation of the White-tailed Deer 

Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact 

Statement, signed by the regional director in 

AMERICAN SAMOA GUAM PUERTO RICO VIRGIN ISLANDS

United States Territories United States Territories

MAINE

VERMONT

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NEW JERSEY

DELAWARE MARYLAND

VIRGINIA

NORTH

CAROLINA

SOUTH

CAROLINA

KENTUCKY

TENNESSEE

MISSISSIPPI

LOUISIANA

TEXAS

OKLAHOMA

KANSAS

NEBRASKA

SOUTH DAKOTA

NORTH DAKOTA

MONTANA

WASHINGTON

OREGON

CALIFORNIA

NEVADA

ARIZONA

NEW MEXICO

UTAH

IDAHO

WYOMING

COLORADO

ARKANSAS

ALABAMA

GEORGIA

FLORIDA

OHIO

INDIANA ILLINOIS

MICHIGAN

WISCONSIN

IOWA

MISSOURI

MINNESOTA

MASSACHUSETTS RHODE ISLAND CONNECTICUT

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

WEST

VIRGINIA

HAWAII 

WASHINGTON, D.C.

NATIONAL 

CAPITAL

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200 Kilometers North National Park Service National Capital Region: 77,367 acres (gross), 34 units
54 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

April 2009, and conducted vegetation monitoring in 21 pots to evaluate white-tailed deer 

browse impacts on forest regeneration. Results 

indicate very little regeneration over the past 

fi ve to 10 years; monitoring will continue yearly 

and be used to determine the need for whitetailed deer population management action. 

Damselfl ies and dragonfl ies, known collectively as odonates, are indicator species: in 

degraded aquatic ecosystems, the odonate 

population will change. Information on the 

presence of damselfl ies and dragonfl ies helps 

managers decide how best to protect the odonates and the ecosystem in which they live. 

Researchers performed a survey of the dragonfl ies and damselfl ies in Catoctin Mountain 

Park, fi nding 26 species—19 dragonfl y and 7 

damselfl y species. Two state-listed rare species of dragonfl ies, stable clubtail (Gomphus 

rogersi) and southern pygmy clubtail (Lanthus 

vernalis), were found. Along with additional 

surveys in the area, this study contributed to 

a better understanding of current watershed 

health. (NRPP–RB)

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park (DC, MD, WV): Active partnerships are needed for the conservation of 

declining species such as the American eel 

(Anguilla rostrata). NPS and U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service staff , in cooperation with 

Allegheny Energy Supply Company, are completing a three-year planning process for the 

installation of fi sh ladders (eelways) on two 

working NPS-owned dams on the Potomac 

River in Washington County, Maryland. Eelways would permit the species to move back 

into the ocean to spawn before they die. Because there are only a few dam owners on the 

Potomac, the opportunity to restore upstream 

and downstream passage for the American eel 

throughout the watershed is a real possibility; 

the Potomac River could be the fi rst in the nation to be completely reopened for migrating 

American eel.

George Washington Memorial Parkway 

(DC, MD, VA): The National Capitol Exotic 

Plant Management Team is working with the 

city of Arlington, Virginia; Fairfax County; 

and park staff to control Phragmites (common 

reed) along the Potomac River. This ongoing partnership has led to the removal of this 

highly invasive species along several miles of 

river banks and the restoration of riparian vegetation. (EPMT)

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park 

(WV): The vegetation inventory taxonomy 

was used to identify plant communities 

that contain ash trees as a dominant or codominant species in the park. The vegetation 

inventory data and the associated map allow 

park staff to target survey locations for the 

emerald ash borer beetle (Agrilus planipennis

Fairmaire), an invasive species that has killed 

millions of ash trees since its discovery in the 

United States in 2002. (BRM)

Monocacy National Battlefi eld (MD): Park 

staff helped develop the fi nal draft of the region’s pilot Resource Stewardship Strategy 

document. The park has already begun using 

it to guide research and technical assistance 

requests, funding opportunities, and strategic 

planning for FY 2010. 

The Biological Resources Management Program provided science-based guidance and 

technical support for development of chronic 

wasting disease detection and initial response 

plans for Monocacy and Antietam national 

battlefi elds and Shenandoah National Park 

(VA). The plans will be used as a template for 

other NPS units. (BRM)

National Mall and Memorial Parks (DC): 

Urban forests are an important natural resource to the parks in Washington, D.C. The 

data collected from a tree inventory on Hains 

Point within the boundaries of East Potomac 

Golf Course fi ll a data gap and provide the 

park with a comprehensive tree inventory. 

Data on more than 2,000 trees were added to 

the tree inventory, providing a baseline for a 

sustainable urban forest management plan that 

will guide a more eff ective urban forest that 

provides suitable wildlife habitat, improved air 

and water quality, and increased visitor safety. 

(NRPP–RB)

Prince William Forest Park (VA): In 2007 

the I&M water resources staff observed a 

freshwater sponge (Porifera) in a stream in the 

park. These organisms are not common in the 

mid-Atlantic region and this discovery may 

be unique; preliminary investigation does not 

show any literature that cites the occurrence 

of freshwater sponges in NPS parks in the 

A southern pygmy clubtail (Lanthus vernalis) emerging from its 

larval stage, Catoctin Mountain 

Park, Maryland. Photo by Richard Orr.

NPS-owned dam that prevents 

passage of American eels along 

the Potomac River.
 National Park Service 55

National Capital Region. They can be an important component of stream ecosystem processes, and they are intolerant of high levels of 

pollutants. As of October 2009 they appeared 

to be spreading to other parts of the stream. 

Monitoring will continue. (I&M)

The Urban Ecology Research Learning Alliance created a summer internship position 

under the Urban Ecology Internship program 

to support Prince William Forest Park with 

preparation of the park’s application to the 

“Climate Friendly Parks” program, which 

provides parks with the tools and resources to 

address climate change. The intern was successful at completing the application. (RLC)

Rock Creek Park (DC): Volunteers donated 

approximately 850 hours to managing invasive 

plants in the park, including removal of the 

highly invasive mile-a-minute weed (Polygonum perfoliatum) and garlic mustard (Alliaria 

petiolata). Park staff assisted with the planning 

and implementation of a large volunteer project, held in partnership with Bank of America, 

in which 250 young adults performed invasive 

plant work along park roads and wood edges.

Regional Projects

Climate Change Models: The Urban Ecology 

Research Learning Alliance ran global climate 

change models for temperature and precipitation for all National Capital Region parks 

under three carbon emission scenarios and 

downscaled them using weather data from 

1950 to 2009. These data are available for all 

adaptation and mitigation projects requiring 

climate change projections for the next 100 

years. (RLC)

A limestone red cedar glade, one 

of the plant communities identifi ed in the vegetation inventory 

taxonomy in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

Forest Monitoring: The most comprehensive 

study of the structure and composition of 

National Capital Region Network forests ever 

undertaken is underway with the establishment of 400 permanent forest vegetation monitoring plots throughout the 11 I&M parks in 

region. The network is now monitoring 11,184 

individual trees representing 82 species, 2,114 

shrubs representing 25 species, and 23 exotic 

herbaceous species. In 2010 the network 

will begin to re-measure all plots. Long-term 

fi ndings will help managers understand the 

dynamics of network forests and shed light 

on the impacts of climate change and other 

stressors. (I&M)

Freshwater Mussel Prediction Model: The 

dwarf wedge mussel (Alasmidonta heterodon) 

is the only federally endangered freshwater 

mussel within the Atlantic Slope fauna. Researchers developed a landscape model and 

associated stream-segment database to predict 

occurrences for this species in the National 

Capital and Northeast regions. The model 

was tested in 50 freshwater streams in the two 

regions. No dwarf wedge mussels were found 

during the surveys. The model can narrow the 

focus in identifying streams in which to locate 

surveys. (NRPP–T&E)

Graduate Degrees: Three students received 

graduate degrees (two MS degrees and one 

PhD) because of their work on National 

Capital Region Network monitoring projects. 

Projects include natural resource report cards, 

bird monitoring, and amphibian monitoring in 

the network. (I&M)
56 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Forest monitoring crew with the 

I&M Program setting up a forest plot in Morristown National 

Historical Park, New Jersey. NPS 

photo by K. Miller.
 National Park Service 57

Chapter 8: Northeast Region Accomplishments

The NPS units of the Northeast Region preserve not only the story of our 

nation’s beginnings but also outstanding natural resources from salt marshes and seashores to rolling hills and granite mountain peaks. In FY 2009 

Northeast Region parks addressed issues common throughout the National 

Park Service, in particular those surrounding energy development and 

ocean protection. 

Accomplishments

Acadia National Park (ME): The Schoodic 

Education and Research Center’s Acadia 

Research Fellowship program funded a pilot 

study of tidal saline wetlands to determine the 

long-term carbon storage potential of the different marsh zones. Once rates of carbon accumulation are known for the diff erent marsh 

zones, researchers and park managers will better understand the eff ects of sea level rise and 

marsh transgression on the long-term carbon 

storage potential of these wetlands. (RLC)

Appalachian National Scenic Trail (ME to 

GA): “A Trail to Every Classroom,” a sustainable service-learning program developed 

by NPS and Appalachian Trail Conservancy 

staff , continued to engage youth and preserve 

the volunteer tradition through a multidisciplinary professional development program for 

K–12 teachers. In 2009 staff integrated natural 

resource information and technology into its 

training sessions. 

Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation 

Area (MA): A major, long-term endeavor to 

restore the natural diversity of the Boston 

Harbor Islands is underway. The fi rst step is 

the identifi cation of all taxa beginning with invertebrate fauna. Eff orts in FY 2009 included 

the collection, processing, identifi cation, and 

cataloguing of invertebrate specimens by a 

wide range of individuals (students from high 

school through graduate school, volunteers, 

and professional taxonomists). More than 

150,000 specimens were collected; about 

AMERICAN SAMOA GUAM PUERTO RICO VIRGIN ISLANDS

United States Territories United States Territories

MAINE

VERMONT

NEW HAMPSHIRE

DELAWARE MARYLAND

VIRGINIA

NORTH

CAROLINA

SOUTH

CAROLINA

KENTUCKY

TENNESSEE

MISSISSIPPI

LOUISIANA

TEXAS

OKLAHOMA

KANSAS

NEBRASKA

SOUTH DAKOTA

NORTH DAKOTA

MONTANA

WASHINGTON

OREGON

CALIFORNIA

NEVADA

ARIZONA

NEW MEXICO

UTAH

IDAHO

WYOMING

COLORADO

ARKANSAS

ALABAMA

GEORGIA

FLORIDA

OHIO

INDIANA ILLINOIS

MICHIGAN

WISCONSIN

IOWA

MISSOURI

MINNESOTA

MASSACHUSETTS RHODE ISLAND CONNECTICUT

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

WEST

VIRGINIA

HAWAII 

NEW JERSEY

PHILADELPHIA

NORTHEAST

0 100

0 100 200 Miles

200 Kilometers North National Park Service Northeast Region: 711,561 acres (gross), 76 units
58 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

45,000 were identifi ed. Results are communicated through the project website 

(http://insectdatabases.oeb.harvard.edu/

boston_islands/index.htm) and student honors/thesis projects. (NRPP–RB)

Cape Cod National Seashore (MA), Fire Island National Seashore (NY), Gateway National Recreation Area (NJ, NY), Assateague 

Island National Seashore (MD, VA): The 

Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network is 

working with University of Rhode Island and 

U.S. Geological Survey cooperators to produce historical topographic models for these 

NPS units. These historical topographic models are based on 1869, 1951, and 1976 photography, respectively, and will be incorporated 

into models that help managers understand 

potential impacts of sea-level rise on these 

coastal parks. (I&M)

A parking lot and beach facilities at Herring 

Cove in Provincetown, Massachusetts, are 

threatened by severe erosion. The Northeast 

Coastal and Barrier Network and Atlantic 

Research Center supported research on 

shoreline dynamics and sediment budgets that 

helped provided projections of continued erosion and recommendations for an appropriate 

response given the need to provide public facilities. (I&M, RLC)

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation 

Area (PA, NJ): The Delaware River Sustainability Project will strengthen the capacity of 

natural resource organizations in the upper 

Delaware River Basin to more eff ectively address increasing development pressures while 

sustaining ecological, economic, and cultural 

values critical to environmental quality within 

the region. In FY 2009 the Natural Lands 

Trust developed the “SmartConservation” 

tool to identify and assess ecological sites 

for protection. An intern developed GIS layers and assessed quality control for products 

used in the Common Waters Atlas, conference 

exhibits, and the SmartConservation model. 

(NRPP–RB)

Fire Island National Seashore (NY): A systematic study of beach scraping and artifi cial 

dune formation, used to protect homes and 

community infrastructure from storms, seeks 

to determine short- and long-term impacts on 

park resources. In winter 2009 several communities within the seashore began an emergency beach nourishment project, the largest 

such eff ort undertaken since topographic 

surveys of dunes began in 2006. The project 

provided an opportunity to capture the immediate impacts of nourishment on beach/dune 

morphology and to provide baseline data. The 

survey was successfully conducted in early 

April 2009. The data are being analyzed and 

will be assessed relative to the regular surveys 

American oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus) and willets 

(Catoptrophorus semipalmatus) 

on Snake Island, Boston Harbor 

Islands National Recreation Area, 

Massachusetts. NPS photo by 

Brian Mitchell. 
 National Park Service 59

that were conducted in March and September 

2009. (NRPP–RB)

Gateway National Recreation Area (NJ, 

NY): The Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area is embarking upon 

a unique transfer of sand through a buried 

pipeline from areas of beach accumulation 

updrift to areas of beach erosion. This is the 

fi rst application of sand back-passing technology in the United States to create a balanced 

sediment budget in the beach. The Northeast 

Coastal and Barrier Network’s coastal topography protocol is being used to establish quantities of sand lost in the erosional area and 

sand gained in the depositional area as a basis 

for determining the duration and magnitude 

of the pipeline operation. (I&M)

Morristown National Historical Park (NJ): 

The State of New Jersey formed the Central 

Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team, the state’s 

fi rst cooperative eff ort to perform early detection and rapid response for invasive species on 

a regional basis. The Northeast Exotic Plant 

Management Team is joining eff orts with the 

strike team to begin control of exotic Kiwi 

vine in and around the park. (EPMT)

Richmond National Battlefi eld Park (VA):

The park acquired approximately 600 acres of 

new park land, and little is known about the 

species present in that area. Cooperators at 

the University of Maryland have undertaken a 

suite of baseline inventories using previously 

established protocols for birds, reptiles and 

amphibians, and mammals. FY 2009 highlights 

include new county records for the yellowbellied slider turtle (Trachemys scripta scripta) 

and eastern lesser siren salamander (Siren 

intermedia). The project will continue in FY 

2010. (NRPP–SP)

Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site 

(MA): The eff ort to restore the Saugus River 

turning basin, a rare freshwater intertidal 

marsh community, and dock continued in FY 

2009. All construction and the fi rst round of 

planting for the freshwater tidal marsh restoration were completed. The park also began 

coordination of a multi-resource monitoring 

program for the turning basin and adjacent 

river and marsh areas and hosted the fi rst 

annual stakeholder meeting to present monitoring results and seek feedback on continuing management issues. The park biologist 

received the NPS Trish Patterson Student 

Conservation Association Award for Natural 

Resource Management in a Small Park for 

work on this project.

Valley Forge National Historical Park (PA): 

The park was selected as a pilot park for development of a Resource Stewardship Strategy 

(RSS) through the Northeast Regional RSS 

Program in FY 2008. The park contains significant natural resources, including both living 

and non-living components of an ecosystem 

that continues to increase in value over time as 

suburban sprawl occurs. The comprehensive 

strategies developed to achieve park-specifi c 

desired future resource conditions will be 

used to develop detailed program and project 

needs and to determine the park’s long-term 

needs for changes in budget allocations, funding outside of park base, and staffi ng. FY 2009 

activities include completion of the project 

agreement, a development meeting, completion of introductory information for the document, and identifi cation of key attributes and 

indicators of condition. (NRPP–SP)

Regional Projects

Bat Inventory: Bats play essential ecological 

roles in most ecosystems, yet many parks lack 

basic knowledge of what species may be present and of the habitat necessary to support 

them. This two-year project seeks to conduct 

inventories of bat community composition, including rare, threatened, and endangered species, at six small parks in the region: Boston 

Harbor Islands National Recreation Area 

(MA), Morristown National Historical Park 

(NJ), Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites (NY), Saint-Gaudens National 

Historic Site (NH), Saratoga National Historical Park (NY), and Weir Farm National 

Historic Site (CT). All the parks have habitat 

likely to support at least a portion of the 11 

species known to be present in the Northeast, which includes the federally endangered 

Indiana myotis (Myotis sodalis). In FY 2009 

activities included acquisition of GIS data, site 

visits, and preparation of a preliminary assessment and projection of the bat inventory 

eff ort. (NRPP–SP)

Invasive Species Monitoring Field Guide: 

In FY 2009 the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network (ERMN) collaborated with the 
60 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Northeast Temperate Network and a Penn 

State University research associate to publish the ERMN Surveillance Monitoring Field 

Guide. The fi eld guide assists NPS employees, 

contractors, and citizen scientists in detecting 

populations of targeted invasive species before 

they become widely established. The ERMN 

vegetation monitoring fi eld crew has been 

implementing this program for two years with 

great success, reporting 13 early detections of 

six species during summer FY 2009 with three 

already eradicated by park staff . The fi eld 

guide, an associated U.S. Forest Service guide, 

reporting forms, and more information are 

available on the ERMN website at

http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/ermn/

monitoring/EarlyDetection.cfm. (I&M)

Marcellus Shale Report: Geologic Resources 

Program staff assisted parks in addressing the 

development of the Marcellus Shale, a vast 

natural gas resource that extends from southern New York across Pennsylvania, and into 

western Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, 

and eastern Ohio. In the decades to come, 

Marcellus development will likely aff ect at 

least 35 units of the National Park System and 

a number of special status areas (e.g., National 

Natural Landmarks). Program staff produced 

a report entitled Development of the Natural 

Gas Resources in the Marcellus Shale, which 

educates park and regional staff and management on the technological, environmental, 

and policy aspects of exploration and development of this signifi cant natural gas resource 

and ways to mitigate those eff ects. (GR)

Ocean Shoreline Protocol: The Northeast 

Coastal and Barrier Network’s ocean shoreline position monitoring protocol is being 

tested by the Southhampton Council of southern England as a means to monitor shoreline 

changes. The ease and effi ciency of this protocol, along with the wide availability of GPS 

technology, were the key points in the consideration of its use. (I&M)

Ocean Stewardship: The North Atlantic 

Coast CESU continues to serve a major role 

in the implementation of the Northeast Region 

Ocean Park Strategic Plan. In FY 2009 the 

CESU sponsored a workshop on marine habitat mapping of shallow waters and embraced 

the concept of a seamless network of marine 

parks, refuges, reserves, and sanctuaries. 

The workshop informed NPS, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, and National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration natural resource 

Salt marsh on Tom’s Cove in 

Assateague Island National 

Seashore, one of the ocean and 

coastal parks in the Northeast 

Region.
 National Park Service 61

managers of the range of methods available for 

submerged habitat mapping. The North Atlantic Coast CESU academic and federal partners 

also participated in an “Ocean Messaging 

Workshop,” providing technical scientifi c 

guidance on issues of climate change, nutrient 

enrichment, and habitat alteration. (CESU)

Northeast Park Science Blog: The Northeast 

Temperate Network collaborated with Acadia 

Partners for Science and Learning and the 

Schoodic Education and Research Center in 

Acadia National Park (ME) to create a blog 

Sampling regeneration in a grey 

birch woodland, Acadia National 

Park, Maine. NPS photo by K. 

Miller.

called “Field Notes: Observations on nature 

and science in northeastern national parks” 

(http://northeastparkscience.wordpress.com/). 

Established as part of a science communication internship program, the blog seeks to 

build an online community where researchers, 

NPS staff , and writers in northeastern national 

parks can present observations on science 

and nature to a diverse readership, with the 

hope of providing them with a more personal 

connection to research and science projects. 

(I&M, RLC)
62 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Village volunteers restoring 

eroded slopes in the National 

Park of American Samoa.
 National Park Service 63

Chapter 9: Pacifi c West Region Accomplishments

Rich in cultural and natural diversity, the Pacifi c West Region extends across 

more than 100 degrees longitude, encompassing a network of NPS units 

from eastern Nevada to Guam and Saipan on the other side of the International Dateline. Issues of concern to the Pacifi c West Region include fragmentation of ecosystems, invasive exotic species, preservation of rare and 

endangered species, increasing demand for energy development and water 

use, ocean stewardship, climate change, and relevancy of parks to the public. The region’s strategy to address these diffi cult resource issues includes 

building partnerships with stakeholders and seeking funds for research, 

monitoring, and management programs designed to maximize natural resource protection and ecosystem resilience. 

Accomplishments

Channel Islands National Park (CA): The 

Stewardship of New Marine Protected Areas 

initiative was fully funded for the fi rst time in 

FY 2009, allowing the park to continue kelp 

forest monitoring at 32 sites in an eff ort to 

help evaluate the performance of the marine 

reserve. The park continued its outreach and 

education eff orts through the “Live Dive” program, which transmits underwater broadcasts 

into classrooms and the park visitor center. 

Crater Lake National Park (OR): Thanks to 

ongoing eff orts to conserve bull trout (Salvelinus confl uentus), a federally endangered 

species and the only native fi sh in the park, 

the Sun Creek population is the cornerstone 

of the species’ recovery eff ort in the Klamath 

Basin. Individuals now number approximately 

2,000, up from a low of 150 in the late 1980s, 

and they are beginning to expand downstream 

to colonize historic habitats outside the park. 

Park scientists are cooperating with neighborAMERICAN SAMOA GUAM PUERTO RICO VIRGIN ISLANDS

United States Territories United States Territories

MAINE

VERMONT

NEW HAMPSHIRE

DELAWARE MARYLAND

VIRGINIA

NORTH

CAROLINA

SOUTH

CAROLINA

KENTUCKY

TENNESSEE

MISSISSIPPI

LOUISIANA

TEXAS

OKLAHOMA

KANSAS

NEBRASKA

SOUTH DAKOTA

NORTH DAKOTA

MONTANA

WASHINGTON

OREGON

CALIFORNIA

NEVADA

ARIZONA

NEW MEXICO

UTAH

IDAHO

WYOMING

COLORADO

ARKANSAS

ALABAMA

GEORGIA

FLORIDA

OHIO

INDIANA ILLINOIS

MICHIGAN

WISCONSIN

IOWA

MISSOURI

MINNESOTA

MASSACHUSETTS RHODE ISLAND CONNECTICUT

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

WEST

VIRGINIA

HAWAII 

NEW JERSEY

OAKLAND

PACIFIC WEST

PACIFIC WEST

0 100

0 100 200 Miles

200 Kilometers North National Park Service Pacifi c West Region: 12.83 million acres (gross), 56 units
64 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

ing landowners and other state and federal 

agencies to apply lessons learned in Sun Creek 

to bull trout restoration elsewhere in the basin. 

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve (ID): The American pika 

(Ochotona princeps) has emerged as another 

potential casualty of accelerated climate 

change in the western United States. Localized extirpations have been documented in 

the Great Basin, and the average elevation of 

occupied sites has increased in the Great Basin and Sierra Nevada. A unique and poorly 

described subspecies of the pika occurs in the 

extensive lava fl ows of Craters of the Moon. 

Elevation data and the monument’s new 

vegetation map developed through the NPS 

Vegetation Inventory Program were used to 

model pika distribution throughout the entire 

175 square-kilometer area. The fi ndings have 

important implications for the long-term persistence of the species in the park. (I&M)

Golden Gate National Recreation Area and 

 Point Reyes National Seashore (CA): The 

“Weed Watchers” volunteer program by the 

San Francisco Bay Area Network continued 

its third year of monitoring at Golden Gate 

and second year at Point Reyes. The volunteer 

program was designed to fi nd and eradicate 

invasive plant species before they get established. In FY 2009 the Golden Gate program 

covered more than 60 miles along roads and 

trails, mapped more than 185 infestations of 

priority species, and removed at least 25 of 

these infestations. The Point Reyes program 

covered more than 160 miles along roads and 

trails, mapped more than 77 priority invasive 

species, and removed 10 infestations. Of the 

remaining priority patches in both units, park 

staff later treated more than 40 infestations. 

(I&M)

The federally endangered mission blue butterfl y (Icaricia icarioides missionensis)—now 

restricted to a few locations in the San Francisco Bay Area due to intensive urbanization—occurs in coastal prairie grassland areas 

within Golden Gate. Because the species relies 

on three native perennial lupine species for 

reproduction and survival, management has 

focused on habitat restoration through removal of invasive plant species and outplanting of lupine host plants. Researchers initiated 

a project to introduce a variety of disturbance 

treatments to mission blue habitat areas to test 

mechanisms for expanding the distribution of 

lupine host plants and populations, increasing 

their health and vigor, and thereby improving 

and expanding available habitat for the mission blue. Activities in FY 2009 included locating and mapping suitable experimental study 

plots; completing lupine host plant mapping 

and site characterization, compliance requirements, pre-treatment of vegetation, and photo 

monitoring of the plots; and developing and 

implementing an outreach plan. (NRPP–

T&E)

Great Basin National Park (NV): The park 

held its fi rst BioBlitz, focusing on beetles, in 

September 2009. Scientists and students from 

four universities and a state agency volunteered more than 600 hours. A total of 716 

beetles in at least 30 families were found and 

are currently being identifi ed.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (HI): 

Spring 2005 fi eld surveys identifi ed 40 rare 

and endangered plant species, including six 

federally listed species, within the Kahuku addition of the park. To preserve genetic source 

material of two federally endangered, one candidate, one threatened, and 14 rare plant species, a project was initiated to collect seeds or 

cuttings, propagate them in the park nursery, 

and establish plants within ungulate-proof exclosures. This is a short-term measure to protect these species until long-term management 

is in place to restore the landscape. In FY 

2009, 14 species were successfully propagated 

and three species were established within exclosures. The remaining species under propagation will be planted in FY 2010. (CESU)

Koa-manele forests are among the most unique 

and rarest forest communities in the world. 

The Mauna Loa Strip section of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is one of the few places in 

Hawaii where these forests are protected from 

cattle grazing, logging, and feral ungulates. The 

park had previously established two Special 

Ecological Areas (SEAs) in these forests; staff 

enlarged these SEAs and created three more. 

The project saved 395 additional acres of ecologically rich forestland, preserved rare native 

plant species not found in the existing SEAs, 

helped stabilize two federally listed endangered plant species, and created a more defenFruit of Clermontia lindseyanna

from one of the few remaining 

wild trees within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. NPS 

photo by Sierra McDaniel.

Federally endangered bull trout 

(Salvelinus confl uentus) from 

Sun Creek, Crater Lake National 

Park, Oregon.
 National Park Service 65

sible set of SEAs not constantly threatened by 

encroachment of weeds. A podcast documenting the project is being developed for the park 

website. (NRPP–NRM)

Kalaupapa National Historic Park (HI): As 

part of a historical ecology study of the park, 

researchers acquired scans of 80 letters and 

other correspondence regarding land use and 

land transfer; documented 935 published and 

unpublished references, maps, etc.; and purchased 296 historic photographs/aerial photos 

from the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. 

Lava Beds National Monument (CA): The 

monument is rapidly losing perennial ice 

within its caves: 20 years of both photographic 

and quantitative monitoring have confi rmed 

rapid ice loss in 80 percent of monitored 

caves, which creates a risk of potentially losing 3,300 years of recorded natural history. 

Several important pieces of information, such 

as age, climate, volcanic history, and past vegetative regimes, can be obtained in preserved 

ice cores. Two cores, one each from Skull Cave 

and Crystal Ice Cave, were taken and are being 

preserved and analyzed at Oregon State University’s Ice Core and Quaternary Chemistry 

Lab. (NRPP–SP)

Caldwell and Crescent volcanic cinder cones 

within Lava Beds are signifi cant resources that 

play a major role in the landscape appeal of 

the monument. The scars from two 1962 borrow pits located on these cones were growing 

annually, posing safety risks to employees 

and visitors and creating an eyesore. Restoration of the borrow pits, totaling 7.9 acres, was 

completed in FY 2009. Park staff initiated 

monitoring eff orts, including taking repeat 

photographs at fi xed locations, establishing 

and reading four new weed control monitoring transects, and determining the survival of 

salvaged bunchgrass seedlings from previous 

plantings. (NRPP–DLR)

Mojave National Preserve (CA): The preserve provides critical habitat for the federally 

threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). To protect tortoises from mortality on 

paved roads due to direct vehicle impact, FY 

2009 tasks included traffi c data collection and 

road surveys. Surveys of motorist response 

to tortoise on paved roads in the presence of 

warning signs determined that warning signs 

have no eff ect on motorist behavior. The project will be extended into 2010 to allow comparison of motorist behavior with no signs, 

with signs, and with signs equipped with fl ashing lights. (RP)

In FY 2009, 43 parcels incorporating 2,828 

acres of private land were purchased and 

donated to Mojave National Preserve. Of 

this land, 570 acres are located in designated 

critical habitat for desert tortoise; much of the 

remainder is in high-quality desert tortoise 

habitat. 

Federally endangered desert 

tortoise along the roadway in 

Mojave National Preserve, California, where it is susceptible to 

being hit by cars.
66 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

National Park of American Samoa: Park 

staff , with the assistance of 20 village volunteers, restored three acres of steep, eroding 

slopes along Alava Ridge that had caused continual sedimentation into streams and nearby 

coral reefs. They removed non-native species 

and planted 2,000 native rainforest trees, with 

100 percent survival due to continued clearing of invasive species. Several hundred native 

trees were given to the community, and six 

presentations were made at the local school 

about the goals and needs for this project. This 

work has given park staff the skills and experience needed to continue restoration work as a 

regular part of the park’s terrestrial ecosystem 

management program. 

North Cascades National Park (WA): Scientists with the North Coast and Cascades 

Network participated in the Parks Climate 

Challenge in July 2009, an innovative program 

designed to inspire urban youth who demonstrate leadership potential to serve as climate 

change ambassadors for the national parks. 

The students progress from studying climate 

change in the fi eld to developing ideas on 

how to engage other youth in climate change 

awareness to designing a service project in 

their own communities that allowed them to 

turn their concern for the future of the environment into action. (I&M)

Marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) are small, federally threatened diving seabirds that breed along the Pacifi c Coast. Murrelets forage almost exclusively in near-shore 

marine environments and fl y inland to nest in 

the canopy of mature and old-growth conifer 

forests. Researchers sought to determine the 

likelihood of presence and/or probable absence of the species through audio-visual surveys and to document the numbers, fl ight patterns, and behaviors of any marbled murrelets 

detected in the study area. They conducted 

66 audio-visual surveys at 14 stations in 2009; 

four possible murrelet detections were identifi ed. Three of these were identifi ed using night 

vision equipment, which will be used for future surveys. (NRPP–RB)

Olympic, Mount Rainier, and North Cascades National Parks (WA): In partnership 

with the EPA, the National Park Service held 

“Climate Friendly Parks” workshops in these 

parks in FY 2009. The goals of the “Climate 

Friendly Parks” initiative are to understand 

climate change impacts in parks; assess and 

reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 

that contribute to climate change; help park 

managers prepare adaptation strategies; and 

educate the public about climate change impacts, park adaptation strategies, and ways to 

mitigate their own GHG emissions. (AQ)

Point Reyes National Seashore (CA): The 

physical integrity of unique coastal dune 

features near the lighthouse at Point Reyes 

is threatened by the spread of nonnative, 

highly invasive iceplant (Mesembryanthemum 

crystallinum L.). Iceplant stabilizes oncedynamic sand dunes, prevents natural erosion, 

alters soil properties, and eliminates natural 

sand sources for aeolian dune maintenance. 

Through the control of invasive iceplant and 

European beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria), 

the seashore protected 80 acres of climbing 

and ancient dunes that provide habitat for 14 

special-status plant species. Five rare plant 

species already have been found growing in 

the restored areas. More than 1,200 volunteer 

hours were dedicated to this project. (NRPP–

DLR)

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (CA): Lyon’s Pentachaeta (Pentachaeta lyonii) is a federally endangered plant 

endemic to the Santa Monica Mountains, 

Channel Islands, and the nearby Simi Hills. It 

is in decline throughout its limited range; in 

particular, the single population on NPS property at Rocky Oaks declined from hundreds of 

thousands of individuals in the 1980s to 800 

in 2004. Researchers examined the pollination biology of the endangered plant to ensure 

that a critical part of its life cycle is not being 

overlooked in its conservation and management. Experimental results indicate that plants 

receive suffi cient pollinator service regardless 

of population size or isolation. This may be 

because of, in part, reliance on generalist pollinators and to timing of pollination to overlap with other yellow-fl owered plants. Field 

work was conducted by a California State 

University–Northridge graduate student with 

assistance from NPS interns and volunteers. 

(NRPP–T&E)

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 

(CA): In FY 2009 the exotic plant management program had its biggest control year 

North Cascades National Park 

(Washington) superintendent 

talking to high school students 

about the natural resources of 

the park. Photo by Benj Drummond.

Photo collage of restored dune 

plants at Point Reyes National 

Seashore, California.
 National Park Service 67

since the program was established in FY 2002, 

treating 29 canopy acres and reaching control 

status on 44.7 acres. Part of this eff ort involved 

the start of a three-year project to control the 

remainder of the reed canarygrass populations in the park, including those on a private 

inholding. Twenty private landowners signed 

cooperative agreements to allow the park to 

treat the species on their land.

Whitman Mission National Historic Site 

(WA): The non-native “Tree of Heaven” (Ailanthus altissima), planted more than 50 years 

ago to screen the maintenance facility from 

visitor use areas, is overgrowing other vegetation and spreading into adjacent, restored 

native grasses. Park staff removed the Trees 

of Heaven near the Great Grave, cutting, 

chipping, and removing trees from the park. 

Stumps were cut fl ush with the ground and 

will be allowed to rot in place, eliminating 

any ground disturbance in the sensitive area 

beside the Great Grave and Pioneer Cemetery. 

Native grasses and small, native shrubs will be 

planted to provide more vegetative screening 

between the Great Grave and the park maintenance area. (NRPP–SP)

Yosemite National Park (CA): A collaboration among park staff , the U.S. Geological 

Survey, and Oregon State University examined 

projected changes in park vegetation due to 

climate change. Researchers used existing vegetation, soils, fuels, fi re history data, and projected future climate data to make projections 

of vegetation change in Yosemite based on 

predicted climate scenarios in California over 

the next 100 years. Park resources and management staff will use the project’s fi nal report 

and data to plan for and potentially mitigate 

expected changes. Already, park scientifi c staff 

are using the projected changes to vegetation 

and climatic variables to draw attention to issues such as invasive plant species spread, fi re 

regime changes, and drops in snowpack and 

spring/summer water runoff . (CESU)

Regional Projects

NPS-University Partnerships: The Californian CESU (CA-CESU) assembled a pilot 

outreach team to explore opportunities for 

enhancing and invigorating NPS-university 

partnerships. Team members contacted staff 

at 14 NPS units in the state to document research needs and opportunities that could 

be shared with CA-CESU universities. They 

developed communication products— including a brochure, poster, and PowerPoint 

presentation—to address these opportunities 

and scheduled on-campus meetings and seminars at universities. The response to the pilot 

outreach eff ort was overwhelmingly positive 

and pointed to great potential in enhancing 

the NPS-university partnership. Results of the 

outreach eff ort and recommendations for future action are presented in the Report on National Park Service Pilot Outreach–Californian 

CESU–June 2009. (CESU)

Climate Change Partnership: The North 

Coast and Cascades Research Learning Network entered into a new cooperative agreement with the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group (CIG). Through research 

and interaction with regional stakeholders, 

the CIG works to increase the resilience of the 

Pacifi c Northwest to fl uctuations in climate. 

The CIG is unique in its focus on the intersection of climate science and public policy. They 

perform fundamental research on climate impacts and work with planners and policy makers to apply this information to the regional 

decision-making processes. (RLC)

In addition, the Pacifi c West Region has a carbon neutral vision for park operations, which 

includes implementing conservation and sustainable practices and educating the public regarding what they can do to help reduce their 

carbon footprint and mitigate national park 

resource impacts caused by climate change.
68 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Gulf Islands National Seashore. 

NPS photo by Bob Woodman.
 National Park Service 69

Chapter 10: Southeast Region Accomplishments

While two-thirds of the NPS units in the Southeast Region feature history 

as their primary theme, the region also includes natural treasures, including 

biodiversity hotspots in the Great Smoky Mountains and Everglades and 

fi ve of 10 national seashores. 

Accomplishments

Big Cypress National Preserve (FL): The Big 

Cypress exotic vegetation control program 

performed three major exotic plant control 

projects. One control project involved equipment and techniques, including precision delivery of herbicide by helicopter (spot spray), 

not previously used in eastern NPS units. 

Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (KY, TN): Approximately 75 

of the more than 300 oil and gas wells in the 

recreation area are abandoned and unplugged, 

posing environmental risks and public safety 

threats, including personal injury and property damage from pressurized and fl ammable 

fl uids, groundwater contamination, and surface disturbances. A FY 2009 project plugged 

eight abandoned wells, reclaimed the associated surface disturbances, and removed the 

environmental and human safety hazards of 

each site, reducing the total number of abandoned wells by approximately 10 percent. 

(NRPP–DLR)

Biscayne National Park (FL), Dry Tortugas 

National Park (FL), and Buck Island Reef 

National Monument (Virgin Islands): The 

Water Resources Program provided funding to support rapid assessment surveys, 

protocols, and public outreach to detect and 

respond to invasions of lionfi sh (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles), a voracious predator 

introduced in the early 1990s. Lionfi sh feed 

on commercially, recreationally, and ecologically important reef fi sh and pose a threat of 

stings to divers, snorkelers, and fi shermen. 

The South Florida/Caribbean Network found 

no lionfi sh in surveys at 166 sites in Biscayne 

and Dry Tortugas; however, a lionfi sh was seen 

at Biscayne by a park ranger in 2009. In Buck 

Island Reef, park staff began preparations for 

AMERICAN SAMOA GUAM PUERTO RICO VIRGIN ISLANDS

United States Territories United States Territories

MAINE

VERMONT

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NEW JERSEY

DELAWARE MARYLAND

VIRGINIA

NORTH

CAROLINA

SOUTH

CAROLINA

KENTUCKY

TENNESSEE

MISSISSIPPI

LOUISIANA

TEXAS

OKLAHOMA

KANSAS

NEBRASKA

SOUTH DAKOTA

NORTH DAKOTA

MONTANA

WASHINGTON

OREGON

CALIFORNIA

NEVADA

ARIZONA

NEW MEXICO

UTAH

IDAHO

WYOMING

COLORADO

ARKANSAS

ALABAMA

GEORGIA

FLORIDA

OHIO

INDIANA ILLINOIS

MICHIGAN

WISCONSIN

IOWA

MISSOURI

MINNESOTA

MASSACHUSETTS RHODE ISLAND CONNECTICUT

NEW YORK

PENNSYLVANIA

WEST

VIRGINIA

HAWAII 

ATLANTA

SOUTHEAST

SOUTHEAST

0 100

0 100 200 Miles

200 Kilometers North National Park Service Southeast Region: 3.85 million acres (gross), 66 units
70 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

a project that includes public education and 

outreach. To date no lionfi sh have been observed there, but they are present around the 

main island of St. Croix. (BRM, WR, I&M)

Blue Ridge Parkway (NC, VA): Staff from the 

Appalachian Highlands Network continue to 

document heavy poaching of commercially 

valuable plant species along the parkway. Using predictive habitat models and recently 

completed detailed vegetation maps, fi eld 

crews are locating and establishing long-term 

monitoring plots for key species targeted by 

poachers—ginseng, trillium, bloodroot, black 

cohosh, and galax. In the past two years, 200 

sites predicted to be ginseng habitat have been 

monitored, with only 42 ginseng populations 

being found. Virtually all of these have shown 

signs of heavy poaching, and only one of the 

42 populations contained more than 30 plants 

(the minimum number needed for long-term 

survival). The vast majority of the ginseng 

populations monitored in the last two years 

had less than a dozen plants remaining. (I&M)

Canaveral National Seashore (FL): Mosquito Lagoon, included in the National Estuary 

Program, is part of the most diverse estuary in 

the United States. It is home to nine federally 

protected species and supports a multimillion 

dollar recreational fi shery. Because the lagoon 

fl ushes very slowly, it is sensitive to infl uxes of 

pollutants. Water quality sampling and biological evidence (increased tumors on sea turtles 

and lesions on dolphins) demonstrate an increase in contaminants. Continued nutrient 

loading could shift the entire lagoon from a 

seagrass-based to an algal-based system, with 

profound ecological results. To understand the 

relationship between lagoon hydrology and 

water quality, a project was launched to track 

and quantify pollutants and provide defi nitive 

cause/eff ect data on the role of septic tanks 

as nutrient and bacterial sources. In FY 2009 

water sampling continued, and both the hydrodynamic and water quality portions of the 

Mosquito Lagoon model were calibrated and 

validated. Model production runs have begun; 

in FY 2010 sampling results will be integrated 

into the model. (NRPP–NRM)

Cape Lookout National Seashore (NC): 

Texas A&M University and Geologic Resources Program staff worked with Atlantic 

and Gulf Coast parks to better prepare for 

signifi cant storm events. As part of this eff ort, 

a storm hazard recovery plan was drafted for 

the seashore. The plan outlines protocols for 

short-, medium-, and long-range management 

actions for resource recovery. The plan and its 

components potentially can be adapted and 

utilized by other coastal parks, other management agencies, and local communities to enhance the recovery and preservation of natural and cultural resources. (CESU, GR)

Chattahoochee River National Recreation 

Area (GA), Congaree National Park (SC), 

 Horseshoe Bend National Military Park 

(AL), and Keenesaw Mountain National 

Battlefi eld Park (GA): In FY 2009 the Southeast Coast Network concluded its inventory of 

the presence of the amphibian fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), 

which is linked to global amphibian population declines. The fungus was detected in four 

species (three frogs and one salamander). The 

fi nding of Bd in the salamander was signifi cant 

as it was the fi rst recorded occurrence of Bd 

in this species and the State of Alabama. The 

results of the multiyear eff ort were presented 

at the 2009 George Wright Society meeting. 

Future eff orts will expand knowledge on the 

population-level impacts of the fungus and 

other species in which the fungus occurs. 

(I&M)

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park 

(KY, TN, VA): In cooperation with Kentucky 

State Nature Preserves Commission, the 

Cumberland/Piedmont Network updated 

the status of state-listed and special concern 

plants on more than 10,000 acres of the park 

in Kentucky. A total of 18 listed plants were 

determined to be extant within the park, many 

of which had not been verifi ed in more than 

15 years. (I&M)

Dry Tortugas National Park (FL): Large sonic booms generated by military aircraft training in the Key West Range Complex cause 

damage to Fort Jeff erson, a mid-19th–century 

military fortress. After staff observed an increase in sonic booms in 2008 and early 2009, 

they contacted the Natural Sounds Program, 

which arranged for acoustical monitoring in 

the park and discussions between U.S. Navy 

and park staff . The Navy voluntarily expanded 

the airspace restriction for sonic boom generation from 12 to 30 nautical miles to minimize 

Setting up acoustic monitoring equipment at Fort Jefferson 

in Dry Tortugas National Park, 

Florida, where the fort’s masonry 

walls can be impacted by sonic 

booms from military aircraft.
 National Park Service 71

the number of sonic booms reaching the fort 

and incorporated fl ight avoidance awareness 

briefi ngs into pre-fl ight planning guidance. 

Park staff also met with U.S. Air Force units 

in Florida to raise awareness of the impacts 

of sonic booms and increase compliance with 

avoidance measures. These measures resulted 

in a 94-percent reduction in sonic booms experienced at Fort Jeff erson from May to October 2009. (NSP)

Everglades National Park (FL): Two cooperative agreements were executed to establish 

fellowship programs at Florida International 

University and Florida Atlantic University. 

These projects facilitate research and technical assistance projects in Everglades National 

Park and adjacent areas to strengthen education and provide new scientifi c information 

for the Everglades restoration eff ort, or alternatively, provide syntheses and broad dissemination of existing research on Everglades 

science topics linked to NPS and DOI natural 

resources. (CESU)

Great Smoky Mountains National Park 

(NC, TN): During the FY 2009 fi eld season, 

613 introduced wild hogs (Sus scrofa) were 

removed from the park, the third highest annual number of hogs removed in the 50-year 

history of the program. The hogs’ rooting and 

wallowing, in addition to their willingness to 

eat most things, damage park ecosystems. Park 

staff continued a cooperative disease monitoring program and documented more hogs seropositive for pseudorabies, including one from 

the northeastern portion of the park, which 

suggests that the disease is spreading. 

The Appalachian Highlands Science Learning 

Center prepared a research proposal with a 

researcher from Duke University to downscale 

climate predictor models to Great Smoky 

Mountains and develop predictive models 

for rainfall, solar radiation, soil moisture, and 

extreme events, such as blowdowns, landslides, and fl ooding, and the impacts of these 

changes on ecological communities of concern. (RLC)

Gulf Islands National Seashore (FL, MS): 

NPS regional and seashore staff continued 

collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers on the Mississippi Coastal Improvement Project. Barrier island restoration within 

the seashore will not only help restore East 

and West Ship islands but also help restore 

a more natural process to the barrier island 

Volunteers searching for lichens 

among bald cypress, Everglades 

National Park, Florida. NPS photo 

by Jean Seavey.
72 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

ecosystem. The restoration strategy includes 

specifi c actions to mitigate erosion and land 

loss on the barrier islands caused by frequent 

intense storms, sea level rise, and a defi cit in 

the sediment budget attributed to the dredging of sand from navigation channels. This 

partnership eff ort also involved NPS personnel from the Geologic Resources Program and 

Denver Service Center; the State of Mississippi; the U.S. Geological Survey; the U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service; and others. (GR)

Mammoth Cave National Park (KY): Monitoring has shown that the number of hibernating federally endangered Indiana bats (Myotis 

sodalis) at a cave in the park has dropped from 

a high of around 17,000 in the mid-1980s to 

around 2,000 in 2009 for unknown reasons. 

The cave entrance has been closed with a batfriendly gate since 1995 and access has been 

limited to a few researchers. Using cave meteorology monitoring data, Cumberland Piedmont Network scientists were able to eliminate one hypothesis, as there were no changes 

detected in temperature or relative humidity 

in the cave. (I&M)

Obed Wild and Scenic River (TN): Cobble 

bars are a very rare type of riverine tallgrass 

prairie habitat that exists only on the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee and Kentucky. 

Fewer than 500 acres of cobble bar habitat are 

believed to remain, and the best remaining examples are within this site and Big South Fork 

National River and Recreation Area (KY, 

TN). The Appalachian Highlands Network 

mapped 42 river miles at Obed and surveyed 

86 percent of the 71 river miles at Big South 

Fork. Teams discovered multiple previously 

unknown populations of the federally listed 

threatened species Cumberland rosemary 

(Conradina verticillata), indicating that Obed 

Wild and Scenic River is probably the most 

signifi cant refuge remaining for this rare species. In addition, they found two new populations of the globally imperiled Cumberland 

sand reed (Calamovilfa arcuata), an extremely 

rare species that is currently under consideration for federal listing as endangered. (I&M)

Russell Cave National Monument (AL): A 

preliminary fi eld report indicates the presence 

of the federally endangered gray bat (Myotis 

grisescens). Documented during a mammal 

inventory through a cooperative agreement 

with University of Memphis, this becomes the 

fi rst federally listed species recorded for the 

monument. The adult female was captured in 

late August outside a cave entrance. This occurrence could indicate a gray bat roost exists 

somewhere in a park cave or that this species 

of bat roosts off -park and uses cave entrances 

in the monument for fall “swarming” (i.e., 

socializing) activity. Gray bats are restricted to 

caves or cave-like habitats, and few caves meet 

their specifi c roost requirements, which make 

them highly vulnerable to disturbance. (I&M)

Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (Virgin Islands): While anchoring is 

prohibited in the monument, the Hurricane 

Hole area has traditionally been used by boaters seeking refuge from storms. Traditionally 

boaters have secured their boats by anchoring and tying lines to mangrove trees along 

the shores. Abrasion to the trees has caused 

signifi cant damage to this vital resource that 

provides nursery habitat to juvenile coral reef 

fi sh and reduces sediment input to coastal waters. Hurricane Hole may provide the source 

of reef fi sh for most of the reef systems along 

the east and south coasts of St. John. FY 2009 

funding permitted the completion of a project 

to install a hurricane mooring system that accommodates 102 boats while protecting the 

mangroves. (NRPP–SP)

Regional Projects

Coastal Water Assessment: Estuaries are 

partially enclosed coastal bodies of water 

connected with the open sea, containing a 

mixture of sea water and fresh water. Estuaries contain critical habitat for a variety of fi sh 

and wildlife species and are therefore vulnerable to impacts from development and use. 

University of Georgia and Southeast Coast 

Network researchers, through the PiedmontSouth Atlantic CESU, measured water quality 

at six coastal parks as part of the I&M eff ort. 

(CESU, I&M)

Forest Pest Monitoring Protocol: The Cumberland Piedmont Network drafted a protocol that will compile existing forest pest data 

available from federal, state, and private agency websites. These data include distribution 

maps and models, recent outbreaks, species 

profi les and watch lists, funding availability, 

and treatment options. The protocol includes 

an early detection and rapid response frame-
 National Park Service 73

work and should reduce confusion regarding 

the roles of state and federal cooperators 

when a forest pest is detected, increase communication among participants, and aid in 

planning responses. Rapid response is critical 

to stopping forest pests’ spread and minimizing their impact. (I&M)

Reef Fish Monitoring Protocol: The South 

Florida/Caribbean Network, in partnership 

with the State of Florida Fish and Wildlife 

Research Institute, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the University 

of Miami, published a reef fi sh monitoring 

protocol titled A Cooperative Multi-Agency 

Reef Fish Monitoring Protocol for the Florida 

Keys Coral Reef Ecosystem. As a result of the 

interagency collaboration on the development 

of this protocol, a single, consistent method 

is now used to count fi sh in the Florida Keys 

from Miami to the Dry Tortugas. This collaborative approach improves effi ciency and 

provides a highly robust regional data set for 

the reef fi sh community, which supports a 

multi-million dollar fi shing industry in South 

Florida. (I&M)

White-Nose Syndrome in Bats: White-nose 

syndrome is a newly identifi ed disease causing 

unprecedented mortality in bats. Bat mortality has exceeded 90 percent in many aff ected 

caves and mines. Since fi rst documented in 

Advanced master gardener land 

care stewards at the 2008 Virginia State Fair, where they reached 

out to friends and neighbors in 

an effort to help people become 

true partners in fi re protection.

2006, the disease has spread rapidly, including toward Cumberland Piedmont Network 

parks with signifi cant populations of bats that 

use caves or mines (e.g., Chickamauga and 

Chattanooga National Military Park [GA, 

TN], Cumberland Gap National Historical 

Park [KY, TN, VA], and Mammoth Cave 

National Park [KY]). A network ecologist 

provided technical assistance to several network parks with bats as they decide how to 

address this unprecedented threat. Assistance 

included bat monitoring, meetings with park 

managers, newspaper interviews, development of park-specifi c guidance/response 

documents, presentations to park staff , bat 

research, submission of bats for testing, and 

development of a web announcement and 

poster/signs. (I&M)

Yard Waste Disposal Education: The Virginia Land Care Stewards program sends 

master gardeners to work with neighbors and 

off er information to help them protect what 

they value in environmentally sound ways. 

To confront the dangers of debris burning, a 

major source of wildfi res and a threat to parks 

located in the wildand-urban interface, the 

National Park Service worked with master 

gardeners to produce a resource book and to 

develop public training sessions about recycling yard waste and considering alternatives 

to burning. (CESU)
74 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress
 National Park Service 75

Chapter 11: Servicewide Accomplishments

By focusing eff orts on the broad issues, such as climate change, ocean stewardship, biodiversity, and energy development, that aff ect NPS natural resources, Servicewide natural resource programs reach across state boundaries to provide benefi ts for multiple parks. 

Climate Change Communication: The 

Climate Change Response Program created 

numerous products in FY 2009 focused on 

communicating and sharing work eff orts. A 

monthly newsletter distributed to park staff 

and external partners reported on what is 

happening in the program, advertised upcoming climate change workshops, and highlighted what regions and parks have been 

doing in regards to climate change. A monthly webinar series, initiated in 2008, continued to host speakers from outside the National Park Service to share their expertise 

on climate change adaptation, mitigation, or 

communication with NPS employees. Eleven 

webinars had more than 1,000 participants 

in FY 2009. In partnership with the U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, the program is creating 

a series of 11 bioregional reports that summarize the current state of knowledge about 

climate change and impacts to protected 

areas in those bioregions, with a focus on 

national parks and refuges. These allow federal land managers to focus on concerns and 

solutions pertinent to their respective areas. 

(CCRP)

Climate Change Scenario Planning: Parks 

are exploring the use of climate change 

scenario planning as a long-range planning 

tool for incorporating climate change into 

a range of park management processes and 

documents, including general management 

plans and Resource Stewardship Strategies. 

Benefi ts of this approach are 1) increased 

understanding of key uncertainties, 2) incorporation of alternative perspectives into 

conservation planning, and 3) improved 

capacity for adaptive management to promote resource sustainability. In spring 2009 

a prototype workshop was conducted using 

case studies from four parks: Joshua Tree 

National Park (CA), Wind Cave National 

Park (SD), Kaloko-Honokohau National 

Historical Park (HI), and Assateague Island National Seashore (MD, VA). (CCRP)

Dark Night Skies: The NPS Night Sky Team 

continued its eff ort to measure and improve 

night sky quality in parks. Advancements were 

made to restore the night sky at several parks. 

Lighting retrofi ts are underway at Joshua Tree 

National Park (CA) and Arches and Canyonlands national parks (UT), and Acadia 

National Park (ME) partnered with the community to establish a Starry Night Festival to 

bring attention to the outstanding skies found 

in coastal Maine. The team also documented 

degradation of night sky quality; repeat measurements at Death Valley National Park 

(CA) showed a 61-percent increase over six 

years in the brightness of light pollution from 

Las Vegas, Nevada, illustrating the rapid pace 

that many night skies are being lost to light 

pollution. The team continued development 

of engineering guidelines for dark-sky friendly 

lighting, a computer model to aid compliance 

and planning eff orts, and a simplifi ed index of 

night sky condition. (AQ)

Ecological Integrity: Biological Resource 

Management staff released decision support 

tools on ecological integrity and desired future conditions to parks to incorporate into 

foundation documents, Natural Resource 

Condition Assessments, and plans and other 

analyses. These documents provide guidance 

to park staff to clearly articulate management 

objectives as the core of condition-based management and public accountability. (BRM)

Forest Health: The U.S. Forest Service and 

the NPS Integrated Pest Management Program staff continued an eff ective cooperative 

relationship in the detection and management 

of forest pests. In FY 2009 the U.S. Forest 

Service Forest Health Program provided technical support and funding for 14 forest health 

projects in 14 parks. These projects included 

monitoring and suppression of nonnative invasive pests (e.g., gypsy moth, oak wilt, sudden 

oak death, hemlock woolly adelgid, Dutch elm 

disease, and white pine blister rust) and native 

pests (e.g., Douglas fi r beetle, southern pine 

Delicate Arch, Arches National 

Park, Utah, by Dan Duriscoe and 

Cindy Duriscoe. The NPS Night 

Sky Program has assessed night 

sky quality in Arches National 

Park and 79 other NPS units.
76 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

beetle, and mountain pine beetle). These pests 

threaten the viability of forests both inside and 

outside national parks. (BRM)

Fossil Resources: Currently, 221 parks are 

known to contain documented fossil resources. In March President Obama signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, 

which directs the Secretary of the Interior to 

manage and protect park fossil resources and 

to develop plans for inventory and monitoring 

and scientifi c and educational uses of fossil 

resources. With other federal agencies, Geologic Resources Program policy staff began to 

jointly develop regulations supporting this act. 

Program staff worked with partners and contractors to complete fi ve new paleontological 

resource I&M Network reports encompassing 

63 parks. Twenty-seven such reports now exist 

to inform and guide decision making for 232 

parks. (GR)

Geologic Monitoring Manual: Geologic 

Resource Program staff edited the book Geological Monitoring, which was prepared in 

cooperation with a team of technical experts 

and published by the Geological Society of 

America. The book synthesizes methods covering the spectrum of geologic resources and 

will assist resource managers in selecting the 

most appropriate and cost-eff ective methods 

for monitoring short- and long-term changes 

in geologic features and landscapes. (GR)

Geoscientists-in-the-Parks: The Geoscientists-in-the-Parks program helps parks and 

central offi ces address specifi c unmet geologic 

resource management, research, public safety, 

and education projects with advanced students, professors, professionals, and/or retired 

professionals. In FY 2009, 56 participants 

worked in 30 parks and two central offi ces 

covering all NPS regions. Participants directly 

reached tens of thousands of park visitors 

through geologic outreach and education 

programs, and many more benefi ted through 

improvements to park websites. Through partnerships and the use of inexpensive but professional volunteers, the program leveraged 

federal dollars at a rate of fi ve to one, with 

the NPS receiving more than $1.38 million in 

project work at a cost of about $283,000. (GR)

NOAA Partnership: The Water Resources 

Program fi nalized an agreement between 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdGeoscientists-in-the-Parks intern 

at Lake Clark National Park and 

Preserve, Alaska, mapping Quaternary (recent) sediments. NPS 

photo by Patrick Gregerson.
 National Park Service 77

ministration (NOAA) and the National Park 

Service to increase scientifi c and educational 

partnerships to support resource protection 

and to improve relations, communication, and 

information exchange between the two agencies. (WR)

Ocean and Coastal Workshop: The Water 

Resources and Geologic Resources programs 

conducted an Ocean and Coastal Workshop 

for more than 50 park, regional, and central 

offi ce resource managers. The workshop provided a forum to distill lessons learned and 

best practices, forge eff ective Servicewide approaches, and draft guidance to strengthen the 

National Park Service’s ability to address resource protection issues in ocean and coastal 

parks. Participants discussed high-priority 

resource management issues, including climate change, fi sheries, invasive species, water 

quality and watershed management, sediment 

management and coastal infrastructure, and 

habitat and ecosystem restoration. A workshop report will be published in FY 2010. 

(GR, WR)

Ocean Park Protection: The Water Resources Program nominated 10 ocean and coastal 

parks to the National System of Marine Protected Areas maintained by the NOAA Marine 

Protected Areas Center. Parks will benefi t by 

sharing science, information, and technologies 

with state and federal partners. (WR)

Ocean Webinar: The Water Resources Program developed a webinar series to increase 

Servicewide communication on important 

ocean and coastal resource issues. Topics included water quality, ocean acidifi cation, fi shery management, and marine invasive species. 

More than 40 to 60 individuals viewed each 

webinar. (WR)

Oil and Gas Leases: Geologic Resources 

Program staff represented the National Park 

Service on a Bureau of Land Management 

review team that conducted an on-the-ground 

evaluation of the merits of leasing parcels for 

federal oil and gas in Utah. The parcels had 

been the subject of signifi cant controversy. 

More than a dozen of the parcels were in 

proximity to Canyonlands and Arches national parks (UT) and Dinosaur National 

Monument (CO). The review team delivered 

a report, which contained a number of recommendations for improving the bureau’s oil and 

gas leasing process, to the Department of the 

Interior early in October 2009. (GR)

Park Flight: The Park Flight Migratory Bird 

Program became a partner in a three-year 

National Science Foundation-funded project, 

“Engaging Latino Audiences in Informal Science Education,” in collaboration with Environment for the Americas. The goals of this 

project are to identify and reduce the barriers 

to Latino participation in informal science 

education, provide eff ective tools to assist educators in connecting Latino families with science education, and broadly disseminate these 

tools to agencies and organizations challenged 

with engaging this audience in informal science education. Park Flight international volunteers at six NPS units were involved in the 

fi rst stage of the project, working with nearby 

Latino communities to conduct surveys and 

establish connections with local Latino organizations and leaders. (BRM)

Portable Ozone Monitoring: Ground-level 

ozone can create unhealthy conditions, especially for the young, old, active, and sick, as 

well as cause signifi cant vegetation damage. 

Because national parks are not immune to its 

eff ects, the NPS Air Quality Program worked 

with parks across the country to provide portable ozone monitoring stations, in addition to 

the ongoing monitoring, that monitor levels of 

ozone during the summer months. Additional 

portable monitors in parks with complex terrain help understand the spatial distribution 

of air pollutants within a park. The portable 

systems are intended for summer season characterization of ozone over a one- to fi ve-year 

period. Results from the program are useful 

for survey monitoring, addition to ozone spatial monitoring, and special purpose measurements. (AQ)

Resource Advisor (READ) Training: The 

Environmental Quality Program, Geologic 

Resources Program, and Museum Emergency Response Team cosponsored a two-day 

READ training session for 50 participants in 

June 2009 at Point Reyes National Seashore 

(CA). The READ program provides natural 

and cultural resource professionals with an 

understanding of the needs of Incident Management Teams so that together they respond 

proactively to major incidents. Resource adviBiologically diverse coral reefs 

at Halape, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. 
78 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

sors from this training course were deployed 

with the Incident Management Teams that responded to the earthquakes and tsunami that 

aff ected National Park of American Samoa

in September 2009. (EQ, GR)

Renewable Energy: Servicewide natural 

resource programs collaborated to respond 

to increased activity in renewable energy 

development by assisting parks in evaluating 

site-specifi c and programmatic proposals near 

park boundaries. The programs are looking 

at ways to meet the Secretary of the Interior’s 

renewable energy objectives and also protect 

parks. For example, in FY 2009 staff from the 

Water Resources Program assumed a leadership role for the National Park Service on the 

Bureau of Land Management’s Solar Energy 

Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. The Geologic Resources Program is 

coordinating eff orts with aff ected parks and 

regions and identifying ways that the bureau 

can increase renewable energy generation on 

public lands while also safeguarding nearby 

parks. (AQ, BRM, GR, NSP, WR)

Threatened and Endangered Species Collection: The National Park Service signed 

a partnership agreement with the American Museum of Natural History’s Ambrose 

Monell Collection for Molecular and Microbial Research to establish an NPS Special 

Collection. The collection will consist of 

blood and tissue samples of threatened and 

endangered species from NPS units and will 

be available to researchers through third-party 

loan. The collection will enable parks to measure long-term genetic changes of rare species. 

(BRM)

Water Resource Assistance: Aquatic resource professionals worked with parks Servicewide to provide technical assistance and 

guidance for water resource projects. FY 2009 

highlights include identifying and mitigating 

current fl ood hazards and developing recommendations to minimize future fl ood damage 

at Mount Rainier National Park (WA); providing written review and organizing the NPS 

response to a Delaware River branch water 

extraction request for gas production from 

shale; with U.S. Geological Survey partners, 

conducting historical data analysis to evaluate 

potential causes for avian botulism outbreaks 

since 1960 in Lake Michigan at Sleeping Bear 

Dunes National Lakeshore (MI) and drafting a related manuscript for submission to the 

Journal of Great Lakes Research; and beginning 

development of an interactive geodatabase for 

observing large-scale lake drying and thermokarst events in Arctic Network parks, which 

will help demonstrate to the public the largescale impacts of global warming on Alaska’s 

parklands. (WR)

Dredging relief channel to return Kautz Creek to its original 

streambed after fl ooding in 

Mount Rainier National Park, 

Washington. NPS photo by Scott 

Beason.
 National Park Service 79

WebRanger Modules: The Natural Resource 

Program Center Offi ce of Outreach and 

Education (OEO) worked cooperatively with 

the NPS Partnership and Visitor Experience 

Directorate to continue the development of a 

series of WebRanger modules on key natural 

resource topics. Three new natural resource 

modules were added to the WebRanger program, which now hosts more than 50,000 

unique users. (OEO)

Wetland Protection: Water Resources Program staff authored and obtained fi nal approval for the NPS Alaska Region Wetland 

Mitigation Banking Program: Umbrella Mitigation Bank Instrument. The purpose is to 

allow Alaska parks to use various individual 

wetland mitigation banks to compensate for 

unavoidable adverse impacts on wetlands, as 

required under NPS Director’s Order #77-1: 

Wetland Protection. (WR)
80 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Taking water quality measurements below Chenuis 

Falls, Mount Rainier National 

Park, Washington. NPS photo 

by Joe Ladd.
 National Park Service 81

Appendix A: Natural Resource Challenge Funding in Parks

Table A-1. Natural resource funding of National Park Service units receiving Natural Resource Challenge increases in FY 2001 or FY 2002

NPS unit

Amount of 

Challenge 

increase ($)

Natural resource total ($)

FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009

Acadia NP 1 345,000 849,827 794,395 755,087 752,395 695,273 726,254 722,433 795,278

Antietam NB 150,000 319,965 316,723 314,900 353,000 350,000 420,000 421,360 425,000

Appalachian NST 142,000 263,638 256,603 258,337 298,642 299,453 310,919 316,667 273,351

Big Cypress NPr 2 399,000 1,033,640 1,010,000 1,108,140 1,108,140 1,085,907 1,104,663 1,050,220 841,536

Buck Island Reef NM 3 100,000 270,000 216,450 216,000 216,000 216,000 216,000 216,000 216,000

Catoctin Mountain Park 4

 89,000 254,400 231,900 232,200 272,414 174,867 200,594 204,976 370,829

Channel Islands NP 5 498,000 1,406,622 1,406,622 1,440,607 1,891,222 1,891,222 1,891,222 2,255,648 2,487,208

Coronado N Mem 60,000 94,993 105,231 95,236 108,000 60,000 60,000 60,000 60,000

Curecanti NRA 141,000 657,500 690,600 719,300 724,000 731,700 741,900 859,100 894,800

Dinosaur NM 189,000 501,800 559,375 568,874 571,152 524,200 627,280 772,738 667,000

Gates of the Arctic NP and Pr 148,000 362,401 363,039 349,164 377,345 357,517 342,014 534,945 553,000

Great Basin NP 126,000 331,450 315,756 375,939 367,080 382,600 454,600 483,157 498,319

Great Sand Dunes NP and Pr 180,000 291,700 287,500 281,300 281,300 323,400 332,000 325,300 344,900

Great Smoky Mountains NP 402,000 1,245,100 1,152,700 1,003,200 1,231,700 476,000 353,200 2,258,200 2,540,700

Haleakala NP 480,000 1,561,660 1,372,200 1,196,400 1,196,400 1,404,882 1,458,403 1,492,557 1,533,262

Homestead NM of America 82,000 104,500 104,500 81,198 82,460 82,353 87,731 77,244 114,793

Hopewell Culture NHP 4

 105,000 95,000 79,322 103,047 99,953 109,519 106,024 106,332 122,874

Jewel Cave NM 50,000 168,500 168,500 167,140 159,203 153,330 161,422 170,571 170,000

John Day Fossil Beds NM 95,000 129,000 130,000 115,000 127,101 119,000 129,000 129,000 143,000

Kalaupapa NHP 6 211,000 549,000 549,000 549,000 499,000 534,000 549,000 787,000 549,000

Lake Clark NP and Pr 147,000 321,500 319,810 250,000 262,600 245,800 261,032 259,900 310,000

Little River Canyon NPr 7 85,000 182,426 174,027 112,900 171,275 95,898 96,371 111,941 116,000

Mojave NPr 4

 470,000 1,264,000 1,219,073 1,177,488 1,178,297 1,165,193 1,160,397 1,147,303 1,213,592

Monocacy NB 4 118,000 120,000 116,000 116,000 116,000 116,000 116,000 116,000 116,000

Obed Wild and Scenic River 195,000 245,000 193,318 188,775 188,775 188,775 195,000 182,751 195,000

Padre Island NS 95,000 408,000 403,825 543,000 471,896 600,200 589,492 547,307 809,185

Pictured Rocks NL 55,000 194,650 207,000 211,000 237,000 238,832 243,664 266,547 244,725

Rock Creek Park 4 163,000 436,522 393,168 359,104 299,000 376,300 307,977 305,881 392,876

San Juan Island NHP 95,000 124,600 125,050 124,600 124,600 116,837 101,200 123,230 106,264

Saugus Iron Works NHS 58,000 58,000 58,000 69,900 58,000 58,000 58,000 58,000 58,000

Sequoia & Kings Canyon NPs 4 8 112,000 1,446,000 1,424,400 1,424,400 1,457,400 1,563,600 1,590,600 1,885,200 1,966,927

Stones River NB 9 132,000 132,000 137,100 127,924 132,000 208,277 188,182 267,954 476,049

Sunset Crater, Walnut Canyon, 

& Wupatki NMs

100,000 166,762 171,227 186,341 191,683 196,426 208,661 204,024 206,917

Theodore Roosevelt NP 133,000 302,500 292,500 282,500 281,500 264,660 301,400 332,600 383,727

Virgin Islands NP 10 399,000 1,077,234 1,002,726 941,500 877,234 877,234 399,000 399,000 399,000

Zion NP 11 246,000 536,300 515,872 518,774 485,274 518,774 467,101 492,344 555,828

TOTAL 12 6,595,000 17,506,190 16,863,512 16,564,275 17,249,041 16,802,029 16,556,303 19,943,430 21,150,940

1

 Figure shown for FY 2008 refl ects a correction to that reported in FY 2008 report. 2

 Part of increase to another program for contract support; part of balance of change from pre-Challenge increase due to realigned position. 3

 Park also received $65,000 Coral Reef Initiative increase in FY 2001. 

4

 Information provided by parks for FY 2003 report included discrepancies with previously provided information or did not add or subtract correctly; 

attempts to resolve were unsuccessful. 

5

 Park received NRC funding in FY 2002 ($498,000 for Santa Cruz Island restoration) and in FY 2005 ($477,000 for island fox recovery). 6

 FY 2008 funding includes $238,000 from Coral Reef Initiative. 

7

 Figures shown for FY 2001 and 2002 refl ect a correction to those reported in the FY 2002 report. 8

 Park also received a non-Challenge $367,000 base increase in FY 2001. 

9

 Park also received one-time fl exible park base funding of $333,000 to address scorecard issues, which is not refl ected in total for FY 2008. 10 Park also received a Coral Reef Initiative base increase ($300,000) and Prototype Monitoring increase ($230,000) in FY 2001. 

11 FY 2008 does not include natural resource projects funded through the SCC ($213,702). 

12 Totals show corrected totals from FY 2005 and FY 2008 (corrected from $19,162,997). 

 
82 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Appendix B: Natural Resource Program Funding–Servicewide Programs, 

FY 2009

Table B-1. FY 2009 funding for NPS natural resource programs

Offi ce/program

Total available 

in FY 2008 ($)

Classifi ed pay 

increase ($)

FY 2009 

decrease ($) 1

Adjustments 

($)

Total available 

in FY 2009 ($)

Change from 

FY 2008 ($)

Air Quality Program 8,673,000 123,000 -12,000 8,784,000 111,000

Biological Resource Management 

Program 2

9,765,000 83,000 -15,000 9,833,000 68,000

Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units 3 125,000 125,000 0

Geologic Resources Program 4 3,224,000 133,000 -16,000 3,341,000 117,000

Inventory and Monitoring Program 5 43,836,000 803,000 400,000 45,039,000 1,203,000

Natural Resource Data and 

Information Program 

1,871,000 51,000 -11,000 1,911,000 40,000

Natural Resource Preservation 

Program 

8,100,000 -1,000 8,099,000 -1,000

Natural Sounds Program 6 3,527,000 22,000 -4,000 -413,000 3,132,000 -395,000

Resource Damage Assessment and 

Restoration Program (incl. Oil Spill 

Pollution Act) 

1,373,000 52,000 1,425,000 52,000

Resource Protection Fund 283,000 283,000 0

Social Science Program 7 1,749,000 12,000 1,761,000 12,000

Water Resources Program 12,316,000 173,000 -17,000 12,472,000 156,000

1

 Decrease refl ects travel reduction. 2

 Total includes avian fl u funding ($332,000). 3 CESU funding listed here is for national network support; see Table B-4 for individual CESU funding. 

4

 Total includes transfer to base funds from National Cave and Karst Research Institute ($323,000). 

5

 Adjustment includes funding transferred from Olympic and North Cascades national park prototype programs to North Coast and Cascades I&M 

Network. 

6 Adjustment includes transfer of $372,000 to Servicewide Comprehensive Call projects and $41,000 to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. 7

 Total includes Park Use Statistics funding ($277,000). 
 National Park Service 83

Category FY 2009 funding ($)

Program management and implementation 1,300,000

Air quality monitoring, projects, and analysis 5,134,000

Collaboration and outreach 250,000

Technical assistance 2,100,000

TOTAL 8,784,000

Table B-2. Air Quality Program funding by category, FY 2009

Category FY 2009 funding ($)

Biological Resource Management competitive projects in parks 625,000

Ecological restoration 275,000

Endangered species 425,000

Emergency park requests 5,000

Exotic plant management 5,604,000

Highly pathogenic avian infl uenza 332,000

Integrated pest management 280,000

Invasive animals 280,000

Invasive plants 280,000

Migratory birds 175,000

Operations 377,000

Vegetation mapping 250,000

Wildlife management and health 925,000

TOTAL 9,833,000

Table B-3. Biological Resource Management Program funding by category, FY 2009

Unit Fiscal year fi rst funded FY 2009 funding ($)

Californian 1

Chesapeake Watershed 2001 155,000

Colorado Plateau 2001 155,000

Desert Southwest 2001 155,000

Great Basin 2001 155,000

Great Lakes-Northern Forest 2003 155,000

Great Plains 2001 155,000

Great Rivers 1

Gulf Coast 2003 155,000

Hawaii-Pacifi c Islands 1

North and West Alaska 1

North Atlantic Coast 2001 155,000

Pacifi c Northwest 2001 155,000

Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast 1

Rocky Mountains 2001 155,000

South Florida-Caribbean 2001 155,000

Southern Appalachian Mountains 2001 155,000

TOTAL 1,860,000

Table B-4. Allocation of funding among Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units, FY 2009

1

 These fi ve CESUs do not receive NPS funding.
84 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Category FY 2009 funding ($)

Cave and karst 99,000

Cave and Karst Research Institute 323,000

Coastal geology 438,000

Disturbed lands/AML 241,000

Geologic hazards 91,000

Geologic resource evaluation 640,000

Minerals management 966,000

Paleontology 332,000

Soil resources 211,000

TOTAL 3,341,000

Table B-5. Geologic Resources Program funding by category, FY 2009

Category FY 2009 funding ($)

Natural resource inventories 10,782,068

Vital signs monitoring 29,581,120

Information management 2,012,703

Regional coordinators 965,500

Program administration 1,697,609

TOTAL 45,039,000

Table B-6. Inventory and Monitoring Program funding by category, FY 2009

Category FY 2009 funding ($)

Air quality related values 160,000

Geologic resources inventories 1,850,000

Soil resources inventories 2,595,000

Alaska vegetation and soil inventories 1,000,000

Paleontology inventories 50,000

Vegetation inventories 4,200,000

Water resources inventories 90,000

Submerged resources inventories 250,000

Species inventories 103,778

Other natural resource inventories 483,290

TOTAL 10,782,068

Table B-7. Allocation of funding among basic natural resource inventories, FY 2009
 National Park Service 85

Table B-8. Allocation of monitoring funding among Inventory and Monitoring Networks, FY 2009

Network 1

Fiscal year 

fi rst funded

Number of 

parks in 

network

Water quality 

monitoring ($)

Vital signs 

monitoring ($)

Alaska Region

Arctic 2005 5 144,100 1,609,200

Central Alaska 2002 3 94,200 1,278,400

Southeast Alaska 2006 3 40,400 446,700

Southwest Alaska 2002 5 133,600 1,490,000

Intermountain Region

Chihuahuan Desert 2007 6 70,200 793,200

Greater Yellowstone 2002 3 68,200 765,400

Northern Colorado Plateau 2002 16 103,700 1,037,300

Rocky Mountain 2004 6 58,600 665,000

Sonoran Desert 2001 11 61,500 712,600

Southern Colorado Plateau 2003 19 119,100 1,261,200

Southern Plains 2006 10 27,900 410,000

Midwest Region

Great Lakes 2003 9 118,200 1,373,400

Heartland 2001 15 78,800 755,600

Northern Great Plains 2007 13 77,900 802,000

National Capital Region

National Capital 2002 11 68,200 796,900

Northeast Region

Eastern Rivers and Mountains 2004 9 60,600 671,800

Northeast Coastal and Barrier 2001 8 86,500 792,100

Northeast Temperate 2003 11 57,700 814,000

Pacifi c West Region

Klamath 2004 6 73,000 837,700

Mediterranean Coast 2002 3 73,000 332,300

Mojave Desert 2006 6 76,900 908,000

North Coast and Cascades 2001 7 78,800 1,201,400

Pacifi c Island 2003 9 145,100 1,608,700

San Francisco Bay Area 2002 6 67,200 803,500

Sierra Nevada 2004 3 60,600 685,000

Upper Columbia Basin 2006 8 48,000 554,900

Southeast Region

Gulf Coast 2004 8 85,500 962,200

Mid-Atlantic 2006 10 42,300 315,500

Appalachian Highlands 2002 4 67,200 446,100

Cumberland/Piedmont 2001 14 56,700 994,600

South Florida/Caribbean 2006 6 141,300 1,580,000

Southeast Coast 2005 17 116,300 1,321,100

Servicewide Data Management 136,600

TOTAL 2 270 2,737,900 29,025,800

1

 Networks are listed by the region that includes the majority of the network area, even though the network may 

extend into other regions.

2

 Vital signs monitoring funding in this table does not include national program costs; the total, therefore, differs 

from Table B-6.
86 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Category FY 2009 funding ($)

Water resource projects 832,000

Water quality vital signs monitoring 2,737,900

Natural Resource Condition Assessment program 2,202,700

Water resource protection - aquatic resource 

professionals

1,290,000

Legacy high-priority projects 67,700

Water resource technical assistance 5,341,700

TOTAL 12,472,000

Table B-9. Water Resources Program funding by categories, FY 2009 

Collecting seeds of the endangered Clermontia lindseyanna

in the Kahuku Unit of Hawaii 

Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. 

NPS photo by Sierra McDaniel.
 National Park Service 87

Table C-1. Biological resource projects, FY 2009

Region State Park Project title FY 2009 funding ($)

AKR AK Denali National Park and 

Preserve

Census Sensitive Moose 

Populations in the Cantwell and 

Yentna Areas 

36,700

AK Katmai National Park and 

Preserve

Assess the Status of the 

Harvested Brown Bear 

Population 

38,750

IMR AZ Grand Canyon National 

Park

Supplemental Feeding Station 

for Improving Wild Condor 

Reproduction and Reducing 

Lead Poisoning

15,000

MT Glacier National Park Control Backcountry Invasive 

Weeds

11,500

MT Glacier National Park Conservation of Clark's 

Nutcrackers (A Species Critical to 

Whitebark Pine Restoration)

50,000

SD Wind Cave National Park Develop Long Term 

Management Strategy to Protect 

Genetically Pure Bison Herd

25,000

UT Bryce Canyon National 

Park

Utah Prairie Dog Population and 

Habitat Conservation Plan

25,000

WY Yellowstone National Park Develop Techniques to Evaluate 

Effectiveness of Grizzly Bear 

Management Areas

16,700

MWR IN Indiana Dunes National 

Lakeshore

Restore Endangered Karner Blue 

Butterfl y to East Unit 

10,660

MN, WI Saint Croix National 

Scenic Riverway

Converting Hydropower Dam 

Operation to Run-of-the-River: 

The Effect on Endangered 

Mussels

17,666

WI Apostle Islands National 

Lakeshore

Determine Population Dynamics 

of Archipelagic Black Bear 

Population Needed for Harvest 

Management

49,700

VA Shenandoah National 

Park

Control the Highly Invasive MileA-Minute Vine24,723

PWR American 

Samoa

National Park of 

American Samoa

Rehabilitate Disturbed Lands on 

Alava Ridge

24,800

CA Golden Gate National 

Recreation Area, Point 

Reyes National Seashore

Inventory Non-Native Invasive 

Aquatic species

50,000

HI Haleakala National Park Remove Feral Animals To 

Protect Rare Koa-Ohia Forest 

Community

25,000

HI Haleakala National Park Initiate Bog Restoration 49,700

HI Hawaii Volcanoes 

National Park

Assess Habitat Use and 

Investigate Causes of Adult 

Nene Mortality

18,500

HI Hawaii Volcanoes 

National Park

Protect Biodiversity of Rare 

Plants in New Kahuku Addition

49,100

Saipan American Memorial Park Assess and Plan to Exclude 

Brown Tree Snakes 

49,900

WA Mount Rainier National 

Park

Mortality Risk of Western Toads 

from Roads/Trails at Tipsoo Lake

11,146

SER SC Congaree National Park Conduct Acoustic Sampling to 

Detect Endangered Bird Species 

25,000

TOTAL 624,545

Appendix C: Biological Resource Management 

Competitive Projects, FY 2009
88 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Table D-1. Water resource protection projects, FY 2009

Region State Park Project title FY 2009 funding ($)

IMR AZ Montezuma Castle 

National Monument

Hydrologic Data Collection for 

the Verde River Adjudication

43,900

CO Great Sand Dunes 

National Park and 

Preserve

Hydrogeologic Data Analysis 134,400

OK Chickasaw National 

Recreation Area

Hydrologic Data Collection 2,200

WY Grand Teton National 

Park

Investigation of Hydrology of the 

Gros Ventre River

11,600

MWR NE Niobrara National Scenic 

River

Investigation of Water 

Dependent Resources

42,200

PWR NV Great Basin National Park Investigation of Hydrogeology 

and Hydrologic Data Collection

207,900

HI Kaloko-Honokohau 

National Historical Park

Investigation of Hydrology and 

Water Dependent Values

141,100

AZ, NV Lake Mead National 

Recreation Area

Hydrologic Data Collection and 

Groundwater Modeling

5,000

CA Point Reyes National 

Seashore

Protection of Instream Flows 4,300

ServicewideALL Servicewide Support to the Offi ce of the 

Solicitor

195,000

ALL Servicewide Technical Support to All Projects 

and Technical Assistance

30,100

TOTAL 817,700

Appendix D: Water Resource Program Projects, FY 

2009

Table D-2. High-priority water resource project funding, FY 2009

Region State Park Project title FY 2009 funding ($)

IMR CO Great Sand Dunes 

National Park and 

Preserve

Court-Ordered Installation of Ten 

Ground Water Monitoring Wells 

at Great Sand Dunes National 

Park and Preserve

55,200

TX Palo Alto Battlefi eld 

National Historical Park

Develop Final Restoration Design 

and Contract Specifi cations for 

the Palo Alto Resaca, Palo Alto 

Battlefi eld NHP, Texas

47,500

PWR NV Great Basin National Park Development of Hydrogeologic 

and Numerical GroundwaterFlow Model Analyses 

to Determine Potential 

Groundwater Withdrawal 

Impacts to Great Basin NP 

Resources

73,400

SER FL, Virgin 

Islands

Biscayne National Park, 

Dry Tortugas National 

Park, Buck Island Reef 

National Seashore

Rapid Assessment Surveys and 

Protocols for Potential Lionfi sh 

Invasions in Select National Parks

50,000

ServicewideMultiple Multiple Watershed Attributes and Their 

Infl uences on Impaired Waters in 

the National Park System

40,000

TOTAL 266,100
 National Park Service 89

Table D-3. National Park Service sites with natural resource condition assessment projects in FY 2009 and 

organization performing the assessments

Region State Parks

Agency, cooperator/

partner, or contractor

FY 2009 

funding ($)

AKR AK Denali National Park and Preserve,

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

Pacifi c Northwest CESU/

Saint Mary’s University of 

Minnesota

148,000

IMR AZ, NM Montezuma Castle National Monument, 

Tuzigoot National Monument, Tumacacori 

National Historical Park, Gila Cliff Dwellings 

National Monument, Tonto National 

Memorial

Desert Southwest 

CESU/Aquatic Sciences 

Program, Sonoran 

Institute

102,000

CO Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Rocky Mountain CESU/

Colorado Natural 

Heritage Program, 

Colorado State University

70,000

Multiple Multiple Rocky Mountain CESU/

Colorado State University 

(geospatial products 

for use in multiple 

Intermountain Region 

projects)

203,000

MWR IA, MO Effi gy Mounds National Monument, Ozark 

National Scenic Riverways (ongoing project)

NPS Heartland I& M 

Network

15,000

NE, SD, 

WY

Jewel Cave National Monument, Missouri 

National Recreational River, Wind Cave 

National Park, Devils Tower National 

Monument 1

Great Rivers CESU/Saint 

Mary’s University of 

Missouri

312,000

NCR MD, VA Monocacy National Battlefi eld, Manassas 

National Battlefi eld Park, Antietam National 

Battlefi eld

Chesapeake Watershed 

CESU/ University of 

Maryland

74,000

NER VA Appomattox Court House National Historical 

Park, Booker T. Washington National 

Monument, Petersburg National Battlefi eld, 

Richmond National Battlefi eld Park (ongoing)

Southern Appalachian 

CESU/Virginia Tech

44,000

VA Colonial National Historical Park Chesapeake Watershed 

CESU/ University of 

Maryland

51,000

NJ, NY Morristown National Historical Park, 

Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, 

Saratoga National Historical Park

Chesapeake Watershed 

CESU/Pennsylvania State 

University

127,000

PWR CA Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 

(ongoing project)

Californian CESU/

University of California, 

Berkeley

166,000

CA Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation 

Area, Pinnacles National Monument, John 

Muir National Historic Site (ongoing)

Californian CESU/

University of California, 

Santa Barbara

43,000

CA Yosemite National Park, Devils Postpile 

National Monument

Yosemite National Park 90,000

ID, MT Craters of the Moon National Monument 

and Preserve, City of Rocks National Reserve, 

Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, 

Big Hole National Battlefi eld (ongoing)

Northwest Management, 

Inc.

108,000

SER AL, FL, 

GA, NC, 

SC

Chattahoochee River National Recreation 

Area, Congaree National Park, Kennesaw 

Mountain National Battlefi eld Park, Moores 

Creek National Battlefi eld, Ocmulgee National 

Monument, Horseshoe Bend National Military 

Park, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Cape 

Lookout National Seashore, Cumberland 

Island National Seashore, Timucuan Ecological 

and Historic Preserve

Piedmont – South 

Atlantic Coast CESU/ 

North Carolina State 

Univ.

25,000

FL, LA, 

MS, TN

Gulf Islands National Seashore, Jean Lafi tte 

National Historical Park and Preserve, Natchez 

Trace Parkway, Shiloh National Military Park, 

Vicksburg National Military Park

Piedmont – South 

Atlantic Coast CESU/ 

University of Georgia

271,000

TOTAL 1,849,000

1

 Devils Tower National Monument is in the Intermountain Region.
90 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Table E-1. Resource Protection fully funded projects, FY 2009

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

AKR AK Denali National Park and 

Preserve

Protect Park Resources from 

Illegal Off Road Vehicle (ORV) 

Use

49,500 12,000

IMR AZ Saguaro National Park Resource Protection and 

Restoration in an Urban Interface

114,700 50,000

UT Timpanogos Cave 

National Monument

Protecting Cave Resources 

through Enhanced Cave Security

60,000 60,000

PWR CA Mojave National Preserve Protect Threatened Desert 

Tortoise from Road Mortality

43,000 14,000

TOTAL 267,200 136,000

Appendix E: Resource Protection (RP) Projects, FY 

2009

Table E-2. Resource Protection new and ongoing projects, FY 2009

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

AKR AK Glacier Bay National Park 

and Preserve

Protect Bears from HumanCaused Mortalities, Disturbance, 

and Displacement

69,000 27,000

IMR WY Grand Teton National 

Park

Protect Bears and Other Wildlife 

With New VIP Corps, Other 

Partnerships, Protocols and 

Media

72,000 33,000

MWR MO Ozark National Scenic 

Riverways

Protect Natural and Cultural 

Resources from Illegal Off-Road 

Vehicle Impacts 

138,000 62,000

SER KY Mammoth Cave National 

Park

Protecting and Preserving 

Poached Plant Communities

75,000 25,000

TOTAL 354,000 147,000
 National Park Service 91

Appendix F: Natural Resource Preservation Program 

Projects (NRPP), FY 2009

Table F-1. NRPP–Alaska Special Projects, FY 2009

Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

Denali National Park and 

Preserve

Inventory the Bryophyte and Lichen Flora of 

Denali, Yukon-Charley, and Wrangell-St. Elias

90,920 35,231

Denali National Park and 

Preserve

Inventory and Protection of Paleontological Sites 

(Dinosaurs) in Denali NP

77,975 23,069

Denali National Park and 

Preserve

Modeling Caribou Habitat at a Landscape Scale 

to Determine the Potential Impacts of Climate 

Change

65,737 31,333

Denali National Park and 

Preserve

Monitor Subsistence Fisheries throughout the 

Northwest Portion of Denali National Park

39,760 15,252

Klondike Gold Rush National 

Historical Park

Create a Regional Soundscape/Acoustic Data 

Collection Equipment Cache

28,174 10,242

Lake Clark National Park and 

Preserve

Assess Wolf Population Status and Predation 

Rate in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve

177,728 81,637

Wrangell-St. Elias National 

Park and Preserve

Evaluating the Genetic Structure of Dall’s Sheep 

in Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve

147,359 71,266

Wrangell-St. Elias National 

Park and Preserve

Paired-Catchment Study of ATV Impacts on 

Water Quality in Wrangell-St. Elias

50,000 23,831

Wrangell-St. Elias National 

Park and Preserve

Improve Subsistence Management with Up-toDate Information on Resource Use in Yakutat90,944 74,354

Yukon-Charley Rivers 

National Preserve

Using Radiotelemetry to Assess Genetic Variation 

in Wolves of Yukon-Charley Rivers National 

Preserve

53,971 26,453

Yukon-Charley Rivers 

National Preserve

Understanding Lake Disappearance through 

Time in Northern Alaskan Parks

79,286 40,207

Yukon-Charley Rivers 

National Preserve

Cretaceous Alaska: Paleontological Inventory of 

Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

113,800 29,455

Alaska Regional Offi ce Regional Assessment 4,670 4,670

TOTAL 1,020,324 467,000

Table F-2. NRPP–Disturbed Lands Restoration fully funded projects, FY 2009

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

IMR AZ Wupatki National 

Monument

Restore Abandoned NPS 

Housing/Maintenance Area at 

Heiser Springs

76,000 26,000

CO Rocky Mountain National 

Park

Restore 600 Acres of Native 

Wetland to Enhance Visitor 

Photo Opportunities

124,000 14,000

MT Glacier National Park Restore Severely Denuded, 

Eroding Park Lands in Lunch 

Creek and Iceberg Lake High 

Visitor Use Areas

75,000 20,000

TX Big Bend National Park Restoring Grasslands in Big Bend 

National Park

248,000 90,000

PWR CA Point Reyes National 

Seashore

Restore Paleodune and Climbing 

Dune Dynamics at Point Reyes 

Headlands

249,000 36,000

CA Lava Beds National 

Monument

Restore Two Prominent Volcanic 

Buttes at Lava Beds National 

Monument

106,000 36,000

SER KY, TN Big South Fork National 

River and Recreation Area

Plug 8 Abandoned Wells and 

Perform Associated Surface 

Reclamation in Big South Fork 

NRRA

249,000 21,000

TOTAL 1,127,000 243,000
92 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Table F-3. NRPP–Disturbed Lands Restoration new and ongoing projects, FY 2009

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

IMR MT Glacier National Park Restoration of Soils and 

Vegetation at Running Eagle 

Falls in Glacier National Park

65,000 15,000

MT Glacier National Park Stabilization of Eroding Soils and 

Restoration of Vegetation to the 

Big Bend Area, Glacier National

50,000 20,000

TX Lyndon B. Johnson 

National Historical Park

Restore Prairie at 5 National Park 

Units in 3 States

249,000 97,000

PWR CA Point Reyes National 

Seashore

Restoring Historic Rock Quarries 98,000 85,000

VA Prince William Forest Park Disturbed Land Restoration of 

the Headwaters of Quantico 

Creek

98,000 90,000

SER GA Chattahoochee River 

National Recreation Area

Support Corporate Wetland 

Restoration Partnership Initiative 

in Johnson Ferry Unit

73,000 25,000

KY, TN Big South Fork National 

River and Recreation Area

Plug and Reclaim Eight Wells 

at Big South Fork National 

Recreation Area

250,000 215,000

TOTAL 883,000 547,000

Table F-4. NRPP–Natural Resource Management fully funded projects FY 2009

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

AKR AK Glacier Bay National Park 

and Preserve

Investigate Causal Factors of 

Harbor Seal Decline in Glacier 

Bay National Park and Preserve

326,000 22,000

IMR UT Zion National Park Determine Recreational Impacts 

on Threatened Mexican Spotted 

Owls on the N. Colorado Plateau

198,000 61,000

NCR DC National Capital Regional 

Offi ce

To Weed or Not to Weed? An 

Economic Decision Support Tool 

for National Capital Region Parks

310,000 160,000

NER MA Cape Cod National 

Seashore

Evaluating the Status of 

Spawning Horseshoe Crabs, 

Limulus polyphemus, within Cape 

Cod NS

172,000 78,000

PWR CA Point Reyes National 

Seashore

Control Exotic Deer 749,000 123,000

HI Hawaii Volcanoes 

National Park

Control Disruptive Alien 

Weeds and Restore Rare and 

Endangered Plants in Mesic Koa 

and Koa-Manele Forest

222,000 110,000

HI Kalaupapa National 

Historical Park

Exclude Ungulates from the 

Northern Unit of Puu Alii Plateau

445,000 109,000

SER FL Canaveral National 

Seashore

Create Hydrologic Model of 

Mosquito Lagoon at Canaveral 

National Seashore

280,000 90,000

KY Mammoth Cave National 

Park

Optimal Lighting in National 

Park System Caves

239,000 53,000

TOTAL 2,941,000 806,000
 National Park Service 93

Table F-5. NRPP–Natural Resource Management new and ongoing projects, FY 2009

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

AKR AK Glacier Bay National 

Park and Preserve

Determine Impacts of 

Increased Cruise Ship Traffi c on 

Endangered Humpback Whales

159,000 89,000

IMR AZ Canyon de Chelly 

National Monument

Implement Restoration 

Prescriptions: Native Seed 

Collection, Propagation and 

Revegetation

363,500 140,000

AZ Organ Pipe Cactus 

National Monument

Illegal Migration in AZ Border 

Parks: Assessment, Protection 

and Restoration of Resources

238,000 67,000

CO Rocky Mountain 

National Park

Reduce Elk Numbers to Restore a 

Healthy Ecosystem that Supports 

Diverse Wildlife

308,000 145,000

ID, MT, 

WY

Yellowstone National 

Park

Management of Introduced 

Mountain Goats in Yellowstone 

National Park

197,000 74,000

NM Bandelier National 

Monument

Restore Degraded Pinon-Juniper 

Landscape: Phase I (of 3)

388,000 132,000

MWR IN Indiana Dunes National 

Lakeshore

Restore the Biological Resources 

of the Cowles Bog Wetland 

Complex: Phase II-Fen Recovery

251,000 81,000

MI Sleeping Bear Dunes 

National Lakeshore

Identify the Sources, Species 

and Pathways In Recent Type E 

Botulism Waterfowl Dieoffs

175,000 96,000

MI Voyageurs National Park Assessing the Effects of the 

Namakan Reservoir Operations on 

Lake Sturgeon Ecological Habitats

307,000 103,000

SD Badlands National Park Assess Long-term Viability of 

Restored Swift Fox in Badlands 

NP and South Dakota

341,000 115,000

Midwest Regional Offi ce Determine Invasion Status and 

Ecological Impacts of an Exotic 

Zooplankter in Great Lakes Parks

190,000 75,000

Midwest Regional Offi ce Risk of Plague to Prairie Dog 

Populations in Five Great Plains' 

Parks

93,000 46,000

NER MA Boston Harbor Islands 

National Recreation Area

Sediment Transport and Salt 

Marsh Development in Boston 

Harbor Islands NRA

271,000 88,000

MA Cape Cod National 

Seashore

Cape Cod Shoreline Change and 

Resource Protection II

112,000 58,000

PWR CA Channel Islands National 

Park

Eradicate Dense Fennel and 

Facilitate Eradication of Feral Pigs

455,000 151,000

CA Pinnacles National 

Monument

Protect Recently Acquired 

Sensitive New Lands from Exotic 

Pigs

272,000 83,000

CA Pinnacles National 

Monument

Restore Rare Bottomlands of 

Newly Acquired Ranch

184,000 69,000

CA Point Reyes National 

Seashore

Marine Resource Assessment for 

Marine Protected Areas

180,000 59,000

CA Santa Monica Mountains 

National Recreation Area

Sources, Prevalence, and Impacts 

of Anticoagulant Poisons on 

Wildlife in an Urban NP

258,000 67,000

WA North Cascades National 

Park

Eradicate Non-native Trout from 

Seven Lakes in North Cascades 

NPS Complex, Washington

383,000 151,000

SER FL Dry Tortugas National 

Park

Dry Tortugas Research Natural 

Area Implementation

282,000 94,000

NC, TN Great Smoky Mountains 

National Park

Preserving Smoky Mountain 

Hemlock Forests from 

Destruction by an Invasive Insect

350,000 117,000

Servicewide Assoc. Director, NRSS National Academy of Public 

Administration (NAPA) Review

222,000

Assoc. Director, NRSS Improve Communications 

Equipment

10,000

Other 1,000

TOTAL 5,757,500 2,333,000
94 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Table F-6. NRPP–Regional Program Block projects, FY 2009

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

AKR AK Alaska Regional Offi ce Natural Resource Employees 

Professionalization and Technical 

Competency Enhancement

197,000 25,635

AK Alaska Regional Offi ce Alaska Park Cooperative and 

Technical Assistance Projects 

(Regional Block Grant)

155,000 15,150

AK Alaska Regional Offi ce Produce Alaska Park Science 

Journal

435,000 38,885

AK Alaska Regional Offi ce Alaska Scientifi c and Technical 

Reports

66,000 7,000

AK Alaska Regional Offi ce PLC - Volunteer Crew for Invasive 

Plant Removal in Katmai, Kenai 

Fjords, and Wrangell-St. Elias

113,000 20,413

AK Denali National Park and 

Preserve

Implement Regional Integrated 

Pest Management (IPM) Program 

to Insure Health of Natural 

Resources

49,000 4,775

AK Denali National Park and 

Preserve

Develop High Resolution Climate 

Maps for the Alaska Region

43,000 10,600

AK Denali National Park and 

Preserve

Documenting Traplines and 

Trapping Activities in Two Alaska 

Parks

64,000 20,378

AK Klondike Gold Rush 

National Historical Park

Create a Regional Soundscape 

/ Acoustic Data Collection 

Equipment Cache

28,000 10,242

AK Klondike Gold Rush 

National Historical Park

Publish an Annotated Checklist 

of Alaskan Lichens

6,000 5,893

AK Yukon-Charley Rivers 

National Preserve

Cretaceous Alaska: 

Paleontological Inventory of 

Yukon-Charley Rivers National 

Preserve

113,800 27,701

IMR AZ Petrifi ed Forest National 

Park

Inventory Paleontological 

Resources On Newly Acquired 

Park Lands For General 

Management Plan

37,308 19,100

AZ, UT Glen Canyon National 

Recreation Area

Develop Resource Assessment 

Protocols for Grazing Allotments 

in Glen Canyon National 

Recreation Area

39,000 19,200

CO Mesa Verde National 

Park

Sources of Mercury Deposition to 

Mesa Verde National Park

25,000 15,560

CO Rocky Mountain 

National Park

Provide Access to a Bighorn 

Sheep Mineral Lick

40,000 22,080

MT Glacier National Park Assess and Restore Native 

Habitat

144,000 20,000

NM Carlsbad Caverns 

National Park

Monitor Bats at Carlsbad Caverns 

National Park Using Long-term 

Echolocation Stations

19,000 18,500

UT Bryce Canyon National 

Park

Implement Exotic Plant Control 

to Areas Identifi ed through 

Inventories

40,000 20,000

UT Timpanogos Cave 

National Monument

Restore Cave Resources 39,692 19,700

WY Devils Tower National 

Monument

Restore a 50-Acre Shortgrass 

Meadow and Control Exotic 

Invasive Plant Species

40,000 30,000

MWR IN Indiana Dunes National 

Lakeshore

Prevent Invasive Plant Expansion 

through Early Detection and 

Rapid Response

18,000 17,390

KS Tallgrass Prairie National 

Preserve

Prairie Butterfl y Inventory and 

Assessment of the Effects of Fire 

and Grazing Management

14,688 15,040
 National Park Service 95

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

MI Isle Royale National Park Beaver Population Monitoring 

at Isle Royale National Park: A 

Long-Standing Program in need 

of Update

17,000 16,920

MI Pictured Rocks National 

Lakeshore

Assess Vernal Pools of PIRO 

by Determining Distribution, 

Abundance, and Ecological 

Signifi cance

18,000 17,860

MN Voyageurs National Park Assess Threat to Moose 

Population from Sympatric 

White-tailed Deer

17,485 24,610

MO Wilson's Creek National 

Battlefi eld

Preserving Prairie Restoration in 

Crisis

14,800 14,570

SD Badlands National Park Expand Park Paleontological 

Database to Cover all of the 

Saddle Pass Area

20,000 19,790

SD Wind Cave National Park Complete Wind Cave and Pringle 

Geologic Quadrangle Maps at 

Wind Cave National Park

17,200 16,920

Midwest Regional Offi ce Locate Native, Exotic, and Hybrid 

Cattail Populations in CUVA, 

PIRO, and SLBE

15,000 15,510

NCR DC National Mall and 

Memorial Parks

Conduct urban forest inventory 

at East Potomac Park, NAMA

18,000 18,300

DC, 

MD, 

VA

George Washington 

Memorial Parkway

Collembolan Survey of George 

Washington Memorial Parkway

10,000 9,500

MD Antietam National 

Battlefi eld

Evaluate Impacts of White-Tailed 

Deer on Forest Vegetation at 

ANTI, MONO, and CHOH

20,000 20,000

MD Catoctin Mountain Park Survey of the Dragonfl ies and 

Damselfl ies of Catoctin Mountain 

Park

9,000 8,200

VA Prince William Forest 

Park

Identify Orchid-Fungi 

Relationships for Isotria 

medeoloides

30,000 10,000

National Capital 

Regional Offi ce

Photo-interpretation and 

Accuracy Assessment for 

Vegetation Classifi cation in NCR

96,000 25,000

National Capital 

Regional Offi ce

Providing Opportunities for 

Profession Development for NCR 

Natural Resource

79,000 25,000

National Capital 

Regional Offi ce

Integrating Science with 

Resource Management through 

Collaborative Approaches

71,000 20,900

NER MA Boston Harbor Islands 

National Recreation Area

Restore Natural Biodiversity to 

Boston Harbor Islands

238,000 20,000

MA Cape Cod National 

Seashore

Prepare Environmental Impact 

Statement for the Estuarine 

Restoration of Herring River

760,000 30,000

ME Acadia National Park Develop Restoration Prescriptions 

for Impaired Streams in Acadia 

National Park, Maine

20,000 10,000

NY Fire Island National 

Seashore

Impacts of Beach Scraping and 

Artifi cial Dune Creation on the 

Natural Resources

86,000 4,833

NY Fire Island National 

Seashore

Development of a Vegetation 

Management Plan

25,000 25,000

NY, PA Upper Delaware Scenic 

and Recreational River

Determine Age Structure of 

American Shad in the Upper 

Delaware River

17,065 4,863

Table F-6 (cont). NRPP–Regional Program Block projects, FY 2009
96 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

NY, PA Upper Delaware Scenic 

and Recreational River

Determine Status of StateEndangered Bridle Shiner in 

Delaware River and Selected 

Tributaries

40,000 20,195

PA, NJ Delaware Water Gap 

National Recreation Area

Delaware River Highlands 

Sustainability Project

21,000 11,200

PA, NJ Delaware Water Gap 

National Recreation Area

Delaware River Highlands 

Sustainability Project

21,200 10,000

VA Manassas National 

Battlefi eld Park

Post Clear Cut Plant and Aquatic 

Community Monitoring

12,000 3,700

VA Manassas National 

Battlefi eld Park

Establish Native Warm Season 

Grassland

5,000 4,800

VA Shenandoah National 

Park

Characterize Threatened and 

Impaired Headwater Streams and 

Springs

336,723 4,587

VA Shenandoah National 

Park

Eradicate Wavyleaf Basketgrass 47,506 15,425

PWR CA Sequoia and Kings 

Canyon National Parks

Restore Reed CanarygrassInvaded Meadows in Grant 

Grove

99,878 33,052

CA Sequoia and Kings 

Canyon National Parks

Restoration of Mountain Yellowlegged Frogs and High Mountain 

Lakes and Streams in SEKI

99,924 27,661

HI Haleakala National Park Remove Feral Animals To Protect 

Rare High Elevation Koa-Ohia 

Forest Community

140,000 43,607

HI Hawaii Volcanoes 

National Park

East Rift Rain Forest Rare Plant 

Project

79,000 13,440

OR Crater Lake National 

Park

Determine and Compare Pika 

Microdistribution and Habitat 

Use in Four Park Units

87,000 30,000

WA North Cascades National 

Park

Status and Distribution of the 

Marbled Murrelet in NOCA

65,000 26,800

WA Olympic National Park Improve Razor Clam 

Management at Olympic 

National Park by Predicting 

Pathogen Outbreaks

70,557 11,440

SER AR Buffalo National River Revise River Use Management 

Plan

18,000 16,230

FL Canaveral National 

Seashore

Mapping Impacts of Recreational 

Boating Versus Restoration on 

Oyster Reefs at CANA

25,000 24,700

GA Chattahoochee River 

National Recreation Area

Biological Monitoring 

Using Aquatic Invertebrate 

Communities in the 

Chattahoochee River

107,000 12,400

GA Cumberland Island 

National Seashore

Feral Hog Population Control on 

Cumberland Island NS

25,000 24,700

GA Kennesaw Mountain 

National Battlefi eld Park

Eradicate Garlic Mustard on 

Kennesaw Mountain

25,000 11,900

KY, TN Big South Fork National 

River and Recreation 

Area

River Habitat Mapping 

(bathymetric) for Pools, Riffl es 

and Endangered Species Mussel 

Habitat

50,000 12,500

MD, VA Assateague Island 

National Seashore

Minimize Resource Impacts of 

Recreational Driving on Over 

Sand Vehicle Zone

25,000 25,800

NC Carl Sandburg Home 

National Historic Site

Treat Japanese Stiltgrass 

Throughout Park

12,214 12,214

SC Congaree National Park Assess the Long-Term Flood 

History of the Congaree River 

and its Relation to Channel 

Geomorphology

25,000 24,700

Table F-6 (cont). NRPP–Regional Program Block projects, FY 2009
 National Park Service 97

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

TN Obed Wild and Scenic 

River

Clear Creek Oil Spill: An 

Assessment of Effects by USGS

20,000 19,800

TN Stones River National 

Battlefi eld

Restoration of Three Highly 

Disturbed Sites at Stones River 

National Battlefi eld

24,008 23,700

WV Harpers Ferry National 

Historical Park

Identify and Create a Protocol 

for Vegetation Analysis

20,000 20,000

WV Harpers Ferry National 

Historical Park

Developing a GIS Database 

and Assessment of Available 

Hydrogeologic Data for Three 

Parks with Karst

20,000 20,000

Servicewide All Regions Regional Assessments 37,431 37,431

TOTAL 4,883,479 1,303,000

Table F-6 (cont). NRPP–Regional Program Block projects, FY 2009

Table F-7. NRPP–Small Park Block projects, FY 2009

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

AKR AK Klondike Gold Rush 

National Historical Park

Monitoring Air Quality in the 

Southeast Alaska Network: 

Linking Pollutants with 

Ecological Effects

85,753 9,405

AK Sitka National Historical 

Park

Conduct Benthic Invertebrate 

and Algae Investigations to 

Determine Biological Water 

Quality Indexes

48,500 9,405

IMR AZ Canyon de Chelly 

National Monument

Determine Distribution and 

Abundance of Threatened 

Mexican Spotted Owls on North 

Rim

37,900 19,900

AZ Flagstaff Area Parks Acoustic Monitoring in Walnut 

Canyon National Monument

29,700 9,800

AZ Grand Canyon- Parashant 

National Monument

Restore Tassi Spring Native 

Vegetation and Rare Aquatic 

Animal Habitat

26,700 26,700

AZ Hubbell Trading Post 

National Historic Site

Integrate Newly Introduced 

Agricultural Activity with Natural 

Resource Management at HUTR

40,586 5,330

CO Bent's Old Fort National 

Historic Site

Restore Eight Acres of Shortgrass Prairie Adjacent to the Fort92,638 22,500

CO Bent's Old Fort National 

Historic Site

Repair Eroding Irrigation Return 

Ditch and River Outlet

15,015 15,000

CO Colorado National 

Monument

Restore Native Vegetation After 

Resurfacing Historic Rim Rock 

Drive

18,540 12,700

OK Chickasaw National 

Recreation Area

Monitor Wastewater Discharges 

to Rock Creek

19,650 19,700

TX Fort Davis National 

Historic Site

Develop A Flood Mitigation Plan 

To Lower Threat To Life And 

Property

30,000 20,000

UT Arches National Park Assessing Ecological Impacts of 

Tamarisk Leaf Beetle on Treated 

Tamarisk Stands: Arches NP

40,000 20,000

UT Cedar Breaks National 

Monument

Prevent Degradation of Native 

Mountain Meadows

39,850 19,900

UT Natural Bridges National 

Monument

Evaluate Status and Trends of 

Sensitive Plant Species in Seeps 

and Springs in NABR

39,950 20,000

UT Timpanogos Cave 

National Monument

Establish Bat Species Baseline 

through Echolocation Monitoring 

Stations

38,950 19,000
98 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

MWR IA Herbert Hoover National 

Historic Site

Remove Exotic Plants from 2.6 

Miles of Pathways in Prairie

11,210 13,810

KS Fort Larned National 

Historic Site

Reintroduce Native Grasses and 

Forbs

5,000 6,110

MN Grand Portage National 

Monument

Research Ecology, Propagation, 

Ethnobotany and Management 

of Ethnographically Signifi cant 

Plants

14,988 15,040

MN Pipestone National 

Monument

Develop Strategies for Wetlands 

Management and Implement 

Disturbed Lands Restoration

14,970 15,040

ND Knife River Indian 

Villages National Historic 

Site

Development of a 

Comprehensive Forest 

Management Plan

30,000 15,510

NE Scotts Bluff National 

Monument

Treat Exotic Plants at Scotts Bluff 

National Monument Using an 

Integrated Approach

29,878 11,280

OH Hopewell Culture 

National Historical Park

Establish Native Grassland at 

Hopeton Earthworks Unit

12,480 12,220

SD Jewel Cave National 

Monument

Reduce Human Introduction 

of Lint and Debris into Cave 

Ecosystem

2,070 2,820

SD Jewel Cave National 

Monument

Trace Hydrologic Path of Point 

Source Contamination

4,400 4,700

SD Jewel Cave National 

Monument

Research Paleofl ood History of 

the Jewel Cave Area

4,899 4,888

NCR DC National Capital ParksEastMap Identifi ed Rare, Threatened 

and Endangered Plant Species 

within National Capital ParksEast

9,600 9,000

DC, 

MD, 

VA

George Washington 

Memorial Parkway

Inventory Insects in Turkey Run 

and Great Falls Parks

30,000 10,000

NER MA Boston Harbor Islands 

National Recreation Area

Determine Bat Community 

Composition of Six Northeast 

Parks

90,000 45,000

MA Boston Harbor Islands 

National Recreation Area

Effects of Nonnative European 

Rabbits and Norway Rats on the 

Plant Species Composition of 

Lovells Is

5,120 5,120

MA Minute Man National 

Historical Park

Assess Beaver Management 

Options to Restore Cultural 

Landscapes

10,600 600

NY Sagamore Hill National 

Historic Site

Implement Invasive Species 

Control Program

30,000 10,000

PA Johnstown Flood 

National Memorial

Delineate Wetlands at JOFL 

Historic Lakebed

15,000 12,560

VA Colonial National 

Historical Park

Control Phragmites through 

Aerial and Ground Spraying

19,056 10,000

VA Richmond National 

Battlefi eld Park

Conduct Biological Inventories at 

Newly Acquired Park Sites

72,414 13,920

VA Valley Forge National 

Historical Park

Resource Stewardship Strategy 30,000 2,440

VT Marsh-BillingsRockefeller National 

Historical Park

Evaluate Vernal Pool Use by 

Amphibians

20,950 6,700

PWR CA Lava Beds National 

Monument

Replace Old Trail/Cave Counters 

with TRAFx Advanced Counting 

Systems

6,710 1,867

CA Lava Beds National 

Monument

Analyze Perennial Ice Resources 

within Lava Tubes: This is the 

Last Chance.

9,000 3,900

Table F-7 (cont). NRPP–Small Park Block projects, FY 2009
 National Park Service 99

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

CA Muir Woods National 

Monument

Develop Methods and Control 

Ehrharta erecta in Muir Woods

30,000 14,965

ID Craters of the Moon 

National Preserve

Complete Exotic Plant 

Management Plan and 

Environmental Compliance for 5 

Small Park Units

50,000 23,300

OR Crater Lake National 

Park

Determine and Compare Pika 

Microdistribution and Habitat 

Use in Four Park Units

87,160 57,160

Amer. 

Samoa

National Park of 

American Samoa

Reduce and Control the Most 

Destructive Invasive Tree in NPSA: 

Falcataria moluccana

79,824 26,608

WA Whitman Mission 

National Historic Site

Remove Non-Native Trees 6,800 6,500

SER AR Arkansas Post National 

Memorial

Implement Exotic Plant 

Management

12,507 12,220

AR Pea Ridge National 

Military Park

Pea Ridge NMP Resource 

Stewardship Plan

17,000 12,980

FL De Soto National 

Memorial

Mapping of Floral Communities 5,875 5,900

FL Timucuan Ecological and 

Historic Preserve

Update GIS Coverages and Train 

Resources Staff in Usage

24,400 23,700

FL, MS Gulf Islands National 

Seashore

Partnering with SCA and 

Escambia County for Sea Turtle 

Conservation at GUIS

17,800 17,800

GA Ocmulgee National 

Monument

Manage Feral Hog Invasion 19,500 18,800

GA, TN Chickamauga and 

Chattanooga National 

Military Park

Control Exotic Plants on 

Missionary Ridge Battlefi eld

25,000 24,700

KY Abraham Lincoln 

Birthplace National 

Historical Park

Reduce Wildfi re Hazards 50,000 19,800

MS Vicksburg National 

Military Park

Control Exotic Chinaberry Tree 

Species

27,500 14,800

SC Kings Mountain National 

Military Park

Conduct Survey of 

Macroinvertebrates

25,000 24,330

TN Obed Wild and Scenic 

River

Assessment of a Hydrilla 

Infestation in the Emory River 

Watershed

24,984 25,000

Virgin 

Islands

Virgin Islands Coral Reef 

National Monument

Habitat Protection and Resource 

Access in VICR

24,800 24,700

Servicewide All Regions Regional Assessments 1,834 1,834

Intermountain Regional 

Offi ce

Create Exotic Vegetation 

Management Plans Fossil Butte 

NM and Golden Spike NHS

20,000 15,750

Intermountain Regional 

Offi ce

Create Exotic Vegetation 

Management Plans For Two 

Small Parks – Grant Kohrs Ranch 

and Little Bighorn

20,000 20,000

Midwest Regional Offi ce Development of Park Natural 

Resource Programs

188,600 33,182

Northeast Regional 

Director's Staff

Develop a Volunteer-Based Bird 

Monitoring Protocol for Small 

Parks

24,500 8,500

Southeast Regional 

Offi ce

Southeast Region Parks Natural 

Resources/CESU Workshop

22,500 18,606

TOTAL 1,887,661 933,000

Table F-7 (cont). NRPP–Small Park Block projects, FY 2009
100 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Table F-8. NRPP–Servicewide projects, FY 2009

Park Project title

Total funding 

($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

Air Quality - Washington 

Offi ce

Sustain Night Sky Programmatic Tasks 40,000 40,000

Air Quality - Washington 

Offi ce

Assess Effects of Nitrogen Deposition and 

Climate Change in Rocky Mountain Alpine 

Ecosystems

20,000 20,000

Assoc. Director, Natural 

Resource Stewardship and 

Science

Director's Annual Natural Resource Awards 205,000 50,000

Assoc. Director, Natural 

Resource Stewardship and 

Science

Serving as NPS Senior Scientist for ADNRSS and 

Director

175,000 50,000

Assoc. Director, Natural 

Resource Stewardship and 

Science

Research Learning Centers - National 

Coordination

25,000 25,000

Assoc. Director, Natural 

Resource Stewardship and 

Science

Best Practices for Shellfi sh Mariculture and a 

Scientifi c Review of Ecological Effects at Point 

Reyes NS

84,200 24,200

Environmental Quality 

Division - Washington 

Offi ce

Continued Implementation of the Emergency 

Response Program

140,000 30,000

Environmental Quality 

Division - Washington 

Offi ce

Resource Advisor (READ) Program to Support 

All Hazards Incidents

130,000 30,000

Geologic Resources 

Division - Washington 

Offi ce

Address Critical Geoscience Needs in the NPS 40,000 40,000

Geologic Resources 

Division - Washington 

Offi ce

Develop Renewable Energy Fact Sheets for Use 

by Parks

15,000 15,000

Geologic Resources 

Division - Washington 

Offi ce

Geoscientists in the Park 15,000

Natural Resource Program 

Center OCD, WASO

Web Design Services to Support NRPC and 

NRSS needs

40,000 40,000

Natural Resource Program 

Center OCD, WASO

Supporting the Use of Climate Change 

Scenarios for Park General Management and 

Resource Stewardship

40,000 40,000

Natural Resource Program 

Center OCD, WASO

Park Science Bulletin (FY 2009) 30,000 30,000

Natural Resource Program 

Center OCD, WASO

"Views of the National Parks" - FY09 

Enhancements

30,000 30,000

Natural Resource Program 

Center OCD, WASO

Evaluating the Carbon Storage Potential of 

NPS Ecosystems

20,000 20,000

Natural Resource Program 

Center OCD, WASO

Partnership Evaluation 14,000

Natural Resource Program 

Center OCD, WASO

The Administration of Scientifi c Research in the 

Parks and the RPRS

2,700 2,700

NRSS Biological Resource 

Management Division

Isle Royal Long Term Research Study-Wolves 

and Moose

50,000 50,000

NRSS Biological Resource 

Management Division

Get the Lead Out! 40,000 40,000

NRSS Biological Resource 

Management Division

Initiate and Implement Critical Migratory 

Species Data Compilation and Program 

Development

53,800 18,800

NRSS Biological Resource 

Management Division

Workshop to Identify Best Practices for 

Addressing Plague to Protect Wildlife and 

Human Health

16,000 16,000

Water Resources Division - 

Washington Offi ce

Hold Service-wide Ocean/Coastal Park 

Workshop

25,000 25,000

Other 98,000

TOTAL 1,221,700 763,700
 National Park Service 101

Table F-9. NRPP–Threatened and Endangered Species fully funded projects, FY 2009

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

IMR AZ Coronado National 

Memorial

Protect Mine Roosts of 

Endangered Lesser Long-nosed 

Bats

77,544 55,000

PWR CA Santa Monica Mountains 

National Recreation Area

Investigation and Mitigation 

of Pollen Limitation in the 

Endangered Plant, Pentachaeta 

lyonii

65,200 26,000

TOTAL 142,744 81,000

Table F-10. NRPP–Threatened and Endangered Species new and ongoing projects, FY 2009

Region State Park Project title

Total 

funding ($)

FY 2009 

funding ($)

IMR AZ, 

UT

Glen Canyon National 

Recreation Area

Create a Protected Nursery 

to Expand Populations of 

Endangered Colorado River 

Native Fish

49,965 29,000

CO Rocky Mountain National 

Park

Determine the Distribution of 

Greenback Cutthroat Trout in 

Rocky Mountain National Park

148,150 51,000

TX Padre Island National 

Seashore

Establish New Techniques to 

Protect Increasing Numbers of 

Endangered Kemp's Ridley Sea 

Turtle Eggs

150,000 52,000

MWR MN, 

WI

Saint Croix National 

Scenic Riverway

Modeling Sediment Dynamics 

in the St. Croix River and the 

Impact on Federally Endangered 

Mussels

149,174 53,000

PWR CA Golden Gate National 

Recreation Area

Enhance Habitat for GGNRA 

Mission Blue Butterfl y through 

Habitat Disturbance Actions

129,000 43,000

CA Pinnacles National 

Monument

Restoring California Condors at 

Pinnacles NM: Use of Isotopes 

to Identify Sources of Lead 

Poisoning

150,000 91,000

SER TN, 

NC

Great Smoky Mountains 

National Park

Recovery and Evaluation of 

Introduced Endangered fi shed 

Through Interdivisional Outreach 

and Monitoring

91,107 67,000

TOTAL 867,396 386,000
102 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

Appendix G: Park-Oriented Biological Support (POBS) 

Projects, FY 2009

Table G-1. Park-Oriented Biological Support (POBS) projects, FY 2009

Region State Park Project title

AKR AK Monitoring the Body Condition of Caribou in Late Winter: 

Developing and Evaluating a ‘Hands Off’ Approach

IMR CO Rocky Mountain 

National Park

Developing a Non-Invasive Technique for Bighorn Sheep 

Population Estimation Using Fecal DNA, Rocky Mountain National 

Park, Colorado

CO, WY Grand Teton National 

Park, Rocky Mountain 

National Park

Identifying Factors Driving the Divergent Effects of Disease 

on Amphibians in Two National Park Ecosystems in the Rocky 

Mountains

ID, MT, 

WY

Yellowstone National 

Park

Use of Molecular Techniques in Surveying Infectious Diseases of 

Gray Wolves in Yellowstone National Park

MT Glacier National Park Black Bear Population Size and Distribution in Glacier National 

Park

MWR MN, WI Saint Croix National 

Scenic Riverway

Determine the Effects of Food Quality on Juvenile Unionid Mussel 

Survival and Growth in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway

OH Cuyahoga Valley 

National Park

Implementation of Models for Predicting Exceedances of E. coli

Standards in the Cuyahoga River, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, 

Ohio

NER MA, 

MD, 

ME, NY, 

VA

Acadia National Park, 

Assateague Island 

National Seashore, 

Cape Cod National 

Seashore, Fire Island 

National Seashore

Seagrass Condition Assessment within the NPS North Atlantic 

Coastal Parks: Site Selection, Training, and Integration with 

National Programs

ME Acadia National Park Does Acadia National Park Need a Sea Run Brook Trout 

Management Plan? Detecting Marine Habitat Use by StreamDwelling Trout in a Coastal Stream

PWR CA Channel Islands 

National Park

Technical Assistance in Determining Population Abundance 

And Composition Of Non-Native Deer and Elk During Phased 

Population Reductions at Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands 

National Park

CA Channel Islands 

National Park

Channel Islands Loggerhead Shrike Population Size and Territory 

Locations

HI Haleakala National 

Park

Population Dynamics and Pollination Ecology of the Threatened 

Haleakala Silversword

HI Hawaii Volcanoes 

National Park

Tracking Nene Movements across Park Boundaries

WA Olympic National Park Predicting Spread of Invasive Exotic Plants into De-watered 

Reservoirs following Dam Removal on the Elwha River, Olympic 

National Park, WA 

SER FL Dry Tortugas National 

Park

Human Fecal Microfl ora as a Source of Coral Pathogens in the Dry 

Tortugas National Park: Are Coral Pathogens Invasives or Endemic

FL Everglades National 

Park

Soil Chemistry Changes Affected by Pine Trees and Exotic Plants in 

Native and Disturbed Pine Rockland, Everglades NP

FL Everglades National 

Park

Habitat Characterization of Juvenile Snook and Other Gamefi sh 

in Tarpon Bay, Everglades National Park, FL

LA Jean Lafi tte National 

Historical Park and 

Preserve

Effects of Dredge Spoil Applications on Subsiding Coastal 

Baldcypress Swamps in Jean Lafi tte National Historical Park and 

Preserve, Louisiana

Virgin 

Islands

Buck Island Reef 

National Monument

Demography of Sea Turtle Nesting Populations in the Caribbean
 National Park Service 103

Park Index

A

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National 

Historical Park 99

Acadia National Park 14, 15, 21, 27, 57, 61, 75, 

81, 95, 102

American Memorial Park 87

Antietam National Battlefi eld 53, 54, 81, 89, 95

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore 87

Appalachian National Scenic Trail 57, 81

Appomattox Court House National Historical 

Park 89

Arches National Park 39, 75, 77, 97

Arkansas Post National Memorial 99

Assateague Island National Seashore 58, 60, 

75, 96, 102

Aztec Ruins National Monument 18, 39

B

Badlands National Park 47, 93, 95

Bandelier National Monument 77, 93

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site 97

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve 33 

Big Bend National Park 40, 91

Big Cypress National Preserve 69

Big Hole National Battlefi eld 89

Big South Fork National River and Recreation 

Area 18, 69, 72, 91, 92, 96

Biscayne National Park 16, 20, 69, 88

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National 

Park iii, 28, 40

Blue Ridge Parkway 70

Booker T. Washington National Monument 89

Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation 

Area 57, 58, 59, 93, 95, 98

Bryce Canyon National Park 40, 87, 94

Buck Island Reef National Monument 69, 81, 

88,102

Buff alo National River 96

C

Canaveral National Seashore 70, 92, 96

Canyon de Chelly National Monument 93, 97

Canyonlands National Park 19, 75, 77

Cape Cod National Seashore 58, 92, 93, 95, 

102

Cape Hatteras National Seashore 20, 89

Cape Lookout National Seashore 70, 89

Capitol Reef National Park 39, 45

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site 96

Carlsbad Caverns National Park 96

Catoctin Mountain Park 52, 53, 54, 81, 95

Cedar Breaks National Monument 40, 97

Channel Islands National Park 27, 31, 63, 81, 

93, 102

Chattahoochee River National Recreation 

Area 18, 70, 89, 92, 96

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National 

Historical Park 53, 54

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National 

Military Park 73, 99

Chickasaw National Recreation Area 88, 97

City of Rocks National Reserve 89

Colonial National Historical Park 89, 98

Colorado National Monument 97

Congaree National Park 70, 87, 89, 96

Coronado National Memorial 25, 40, 81, 101

Crater Lake National Park 63, 64, 96, 99

Craters of the Moon National Monument and 

Preserve 64, 89

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park 70, 

73

Cumberland Island National Seashore 89, 96

Curecanti National Recreation Area 40, 81

Cuyahoga Valley National Park 102

D

Death Valley National Park 21, 28, 75, 107

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation 

Area 58, 95, 96

Denali National Park and Preserve 33, 34, 87, 

89, 90, 91, 94

De Soto National Memorial 99

Devils Postpile National Monument 12, 89

Devils Tower National Monument 47, 89, 94

Dinosaur National Monument 41, 77, 81

Dry Tortugas National Park 31, 69, 70, 88, 93, 

102

E

Effi gy Mounds National Monument 89

Everglades National Park 71, 102

F

Fire Island National Seashore 58, 95, 102

Fort Davis National Historic Site 97

Fort Larned National Historic Site 98

G

Gates of the Arctic National Park and 

Preserve 34, 81

Gateway National Recreation Area 58, 59

George Washington Birthplace National 

Monument 18
104 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

George Washington Memorial Parkway 54, 

95, 98

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument 41, 

89

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve 34, 35, 

90, 92, 93

Glacier National Park 41, 87, 91, 92, 94, 102

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area 38, 41, 

94, 101

Golden Gate National Recreation Area 2, 64, 

87, 101

Governors Island National Monument 21

Grand Canyon National Park 22, 30, 41, 87

Grand Canyon-Parashant National 

Monument 43, 97

Grand Portage National Monument 98

Grand Teton National Park 42, 88, 90, 102

Great Basin National Park 64, 81, 88

Great Sand Dunes National Park and 

Preserve 28, 31, 42, 81, 88, 89

Great Smoky Mountains National Park 15, 71, 

81, 93, 101

Gulf Islands National Seashore 68, 71, 89, 99

H

Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument 89

Haleakala National Park 81, 87, 96, 102

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park 8, 53, 

54, 55, 97

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park 20, 64, 82, 86, 

87, 92, 96, 102

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site 47, 48, 

97

Homestead National Monument 48

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park 48, 

98

Horseshoe Bend National Military Park 70, 89

Hubbell Trading Post National Historic 

Site 42, 97

I

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore 48, 87, 93, 

94

Isle Royale National Park 48, 94

J

Jean Lafi tte National Historical Park and 

Preserve 89, 102

Jewel Cave National Monument 48, 89, 98

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument 81

John Muir National Historic Site 89

Johnstown Flood National Memorial 98

Joshua Tree National Park 75

K

Kalaupapa National Historic Park 65, 81, 92

Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical 

Park 18, 75, 88

Katmai National Park and Preserve 34, 87

Keenesaw Mountain National Battlefi eld 

Park 70, 89, 96

Kenai Fjords National Park 35

Kings Mountain National Military Park 99

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical 

Park 15, 35, 37, 89, 91, 94, 97

Knife River Indian Villages National Historic 

Site 98

L

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve 6, 30, 

33, 35, 36, 76, 81, 91

Lake Mead National Recreation Area 88

Lava Beds National Monument 65, 91, 98

Little River Canyon National Preserve 22, 81

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical 

Park 92

M

Mammoth Cave National Park 15, 72, 73, 90, 

92

Manassas National Battlefi eld Park 89, 96

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National 

Historical Park 98

Mesa Verde National Park 94

Minute Man National Historical Park 98

Missouri National Recreational River 89

Mojave National Preserve 65, 81, 90

Monocacy National Battlefi eld 54, 81, 89

Montezuma Castle National Monument 42, 

88, 89

Moores Creek National Battlefi eld 89

Morristown National Historical Park 56, 59, 

89

Mount Rainier National Park 21, 66, 78, 80, 87

Muir Woods National Monument 98

N

Natchez Trace Parkway 89

National Mall and Memorial Parks 54, 95

National Park of American Samoa 62, 66, 78, 

87, 99

Natural Bridges National Monument 97

Niobrara National Scenic River 88

Noatak National Preserve 35

North Cascades National Park 66, 93, 96
 National Park Service 105

O

Obed Wild and Scenic River 72, 81, 96, 99

Ocmulgee National Monument 89, 99

Olympic National Park 12, 66, 96, 102

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument 93

Ozark National Scenic Riverways 48, 89, 90

P

Padre Island National Seashore 28, 42, 81, 101

Palo Alto Battlefi eld National Historic Site 42

Pea Ridge National Military Park 99

Petersburg National Battlefi eld 89

Petrifi ed Forest National Park 21, 94

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore 46, 48, 49, 

81, 95

Pinnacles National Monument 1, 89, 93, 101

Pipestone National Monument 49, 98

Point Reyes National Seashore 19, 64, 66, 77, 

87, 88, 91, 92, 93

Prince William Forest Park 54, 55, 92, 95

Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site 18

R

Richmond National Battlefi eld Park 59, 89, 98

Rock Creek Park 55, 81

Rocky Mountain National Park 3, 15, 16, 20, 

21, 43, 91, 93, 94, 101, 102

Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic 

Sites 59, 89

Russell Cave National Monument 72

S

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site 98

Saguaro National Park 43, 90

Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway 49, 87, 

101, 102

Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site 59

Sand Creek Massacre National Historic 

Site 21

San Juan Island National Historical Park 81

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation 

Area 25, 66, 89, 93, 101

Saratoga National Historical Park 59, 89

Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site 59, 

81

Scotts Bluff National Monument 47, 98

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 15, 

21, 27, 66, 81, 89, 96

Shenandoah National Park 29, 54, 87, 96

Shiloh National Military Park 89

Sitka National Historical Park 36, 97

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore 78, 

93

Statue of Liberty National Monument 21

Stones River National Battlefi eld 81, 97

Sunset Crater Volcano, Walnut Canyon, and 

Wupatki National Monuments 44, 81

T

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve 94

Theodore Roosevelt National Park 17, 20, 47, 

49, 81

Timpanogos Cave National Monument 39, 44, 

90, 94, 97

Timucuan Ecological and Historic 

Preserve 89, 99

Tonto National Memorial 89

Tumacacori National Historical Park 89

Tuzigoot National Monument 89

U

Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational 

River 95, 96

V

Valley Forge National Historical Park 59, 98

Vicksburg National Military Park 20, 89, 99

Virgin Islands Coral Reef National 

Monument 72, 99

Virgin Islands National Park 81

Voyageurs National Park 6, 50, 93, 95

W

Weir Farm National Historic Site 59

Whitman Mission National Historic Site 67, 

99

Wilson’s Creek National Battlefi eld 95

Wind Cave National Park 17, 47, 50, 75, 87, 

89, 95

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and 

Preserve 91

Wupatki National Monument 91

Y

Yellowstone National Park 44, 87, 93, 102

Yosemite National Park 15, 21, 67, 89

Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve 36, 

91, 94

Z

Zion National Park 40, 44, 81, 92
106 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge: FY 2009 Report to Congress

State and Territory Index

A

Alabama 22, 70, 72, 89

Alaska 6, 15, 23, 24, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 76, 

78, 79, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 97, 

102

American Samoa 62, 66, 78, 87, 99

Arkansas 96, 99

Arizona 21, 22, 25, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 87, 88, 

89, 90, 91, 93, 94, 97, 101

C

California 1, 12, 15, 19, 21, 25, 27, 28, 30, 40, 

63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 75, 77, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 

92, 93, 96, 98, 99, 101, 102, 107

Colorado iii, 3, 15, 16, 20, 21, 28, 40, 41, 42, 

43, 45, 77, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 97, 101, 102

Connecticut 59

D

District of Columbia 53, 54, 55, 92, 95, 98

F

Florida 9, 16, 20, 31, 69, 70, 71, 73, 77, 83, 85, 

88, 89, 92, 93, 96, 99, 102

G

Georgia 18, 57, 70, 73, 89, 92, 96, 99

H

Hawaii 18, 20, 64, 65, 75, 86, 87, 88, 92, 96, 102

I

Idaho 44, 64, 89, 93, 99, 102

Indiana 48, 87, 93, 94

Iowa 47, 48, 89, 98

K

Kansas 94, 98

Kentucky 15, 18, 69, 70, 72, 73, 90, 91, 92, 96, 

99

L

Louisiana 89, 102

M

Maine 14, 15, 21, 27, 57, 61, 75, 95, 102 

Maryland 52, 53, 54, 58, 59, 60, 75, 89, 95, 96, 

98, 102

Massachusetts 57, 58, 59, 92, 93, 95, 98, 102 

Michigan 46, 48, 49, 78

Minnesota 6, 49, 50, 87, 93, 95, 98, 101, 102

Mississippi 20, 71, 72, 89, 99 

Missouri 48, 89, 90, 95

Montana 8, 41, 44, 87, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 102

N

Nebraska 47, 48, 88, 89, 98

Nevada 21, 28, 63, 64, 75, 88 

New Hampshire 59

New Jersey 56, 58, 59, 89, 96

New Mexico 18, 39, 41, 77, 89, 93, 94, 96

New York 21, 58, 59, 60, 89, 95, 96, 98, 102

North Carolina 15, 20, 70, 71, 89, 93, 96, 101

North Dakota 17, 20, 47, 49, 98

O

Ohio 48, 60, 98, 102

Oklahoma 88, 97

Oregon 63, 64, 96, 99

P

Pennsylvania 58, 59, 60, 95, 96, 98

S

Saipan 63, 87

South Carolina 70, 87, 89, 96, 99

South Dakota 17, 47, 48, 50, 75, 87, 89, 93, 95, 

98

T

Tennessee 15, 18, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 89, 91, 92, 

93, 96, 97, 99, 101

Texas 28, 40, 42, 88, 91, 92, 97, 101

U

Utah 19, 39, 40, 41, 44, 75, 77, 87, 90, 92, 94, 

97, 101

V

Virginia 18, 29, 54, 58, 59, 60, 70, 73, 75, 87, 

89, 92, 96, 102

Virgin Islands 69, 72, 88, 99, 102

Vermont 98

W

Washington 12, 21, 66, 67, 78, 80, 87, 93, 96, 

98, 99, 102

West Virginia 8, 53, 54, 55, 60, 97

Wisconsin 49, 87, 101, 102

Wyoming 42, 44, 47, 87, 88, 89, 90, 93, 94, 102
 National Park Service 107

Calibrating the air quality 

station, Death Valley National Park. NPS photo by Mariah 

R. Tilman.
U.S. Department of the Interior

The mission of the Department of the Interior is to protect and provide access to our nation’s natural and 

cultural heritage and honor our trust responsibilities to tribes. We:

• encourage and provide for the appropriate management, preservation, and operation of the nation’s 

public lands and natural resources for use and enjoyment both now and in the future;

• carry out related scientifi c research and investigations in support of these objectives;

• develop and use resources in an environmentally sound manner, and provide an equitable return on 

these resources to the American taxpayer; and

• carry out trust responsibilities of the U.S. Government with respect to American Indians and Alaska Natives.

National Park Service

The National Park Service is a bureau within the Department of the Interior. We preserve unimpaired the 

natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and 

inspiration of this and future generations. We also cooperate with partners to extend the benefi ts of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.

June 2010
Natural Resource Stewardship and Science

1849 C Street, NW

Washington, DC 20240

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

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