National Park Service 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

Natural Resource 

Stewardship and Science 

Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 

A Report to Congress, Fiscal Year 2001 

Colias eurytheme 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park 

All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory 

Butterfly Scan: Digital Imaging Center in Asheville, North Carolina by John Smith 

Collector of Specimen: Rebecca P. Shiflett in Knoxville, Tennessee 



Table of Contents

I. Introduction and Overview ........................................................................................................... 1

II. Emerging Trends

A. Parks – The Front Lines in Natural Heritage Preservation....................................................... 3

B. Applying the Results – Out of the File Cabinet and Off the Computer.................................... 4

C. Leveraging ................................................................................................................... 4

D. Partnerships with Results ......................................................................................................... 5

III. Strategic Planning ................................................................................................................... 7

IV. Action Plan Focus, Accomplishments, and Financial Summaries

A. Complete Inventories and Monitoring Theme ....................................................................... 11

1. Inventory and Monitoring Program ............................................................................ 12

2. Water Resources Monitoring....................................................................................... 23

3. Air Emissions Inventory.............................................................................................. 25

4. Making Natural Resource Data Usable ....................................................................... 25

B. Mitigation of Critical Resource Problems Theme .................................................................. 26

1. Funding Increases To Parks ........................................................................................ 27

2. Natural Resource Preservation Program ..................................................................... 31

3. Native/Nonnative Species Management ..................................................................... 34

4. Geologic Resources Protection ................................................................................. ..40

5. Water Resources Protection ........................................................................................ 41

C. Attract Scientists and Good Science Theme .......................................................................... 42

1. Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units ........................................................................ 42

2. Learning Centers ......................................................................................................... 43

V. Financial Details Natural Resource Challenge Funding History Comparisons of Funding Among

Fiscal Years ................................................................................................................. 45

Appendices

Appendix A – Projected Completion Schedule for Baseline Inventories ................................... 49

Appendix B – Inventory and Monitoring Funding Category ..................................................... 50

Appendix C – Network Funding for Vertebrate and Vascular Plant Inventories ........................ 51

Appendix D – Allocations for Inventories Other Than Network Biological Inventories ........... 52

Appendix E – Natural Resource Preservation Program Projects ................................................ 54

Appendix F – Allocation of Water Quality Vital Signs ............................................................... 61

Appendix G – Water Resource Protection Projects .................................................................... 62

Appendix H – USGS Biological Resources Division Park Oriented Biological Support .......... 63

Appendix I – Brucellosis Research Projects ............................................................................... 65

National Park Service 

Introduction and Overview 

The National Park System is a reflection of our nation’s natural heritage. The National Park Service must 

provide protection to this heritage by informed management of the wild life, plant life, water, soils, rocks, 

and atmospheric resources and their processes and relationships in a changing landscape. If successful, 

protected resources will sustain invaluable aesthetic, environmental, biodiversity, and scientific qualities for 

the enjoyment of present and future generations. 

To position the NPS to succeed in preserving our natural resources, while improving its ability to provide 

public access, the NPS developed the Natural Resource Challenge in 1999. The Natural Resource 

Challenge is a multi-year plan that proposes bringing both public and private resources to bear on 

confronting issues and resolving problems with good science. Beginning that same year, the NPS took 

action to implement the Challenge with tasks that could be achieved within available finances and staffing 

levels. These actions, however, were not enough. 

The Challenge includes new funding requests, designed by field superintendents and subject matter experts, 

necessary to meet future natural resource needs. Congress endorsed and took the first steps to fund the 

Challenge beginning in Fiscal Year 2000 ($14,329,000). That commitment was sustained in Fiscal Year 

2001 with an additional appropriation of $15,219,000. This brought the Challenge to an annual funding 

level of $29,548,000 for FY 2001. 

This report documents the expenditures and related accomplishments for FY 2001, as directed in the House 

Report 106-22 for the FY 2000 appropriations for the NPS and other Department of the Interior and 

related agencies. Our report for FY 2000 was completed in July 2001. This report for FY 2001 discusses 

key emerging patterns, places the Challenge initiative within the NPS’s strategic planning context, and 

provides a synopsis of the activities the National Park Service has initiated or completed with the additional 

funding provided as a result of the Challenge. The intent of the report is to demonstrate agency 

accountability for stewardship responsibilities and financial obligations and to communicate that 

implementation of the Challenge has been extremely successful to date. 

The Challenge, a large and complex conglomeration of programs and activities, is organized around three 

central themes or categories – complete inventories and monitor resources (science for parks), eliminate the 

most critical resource problems, and attract scientists and good science (parks for science). 

During FY 2000, four programs were funded (inventories of plants and animals, Natural Resource 

Preservation Program, native and nonnative species management, geologic resources preservation), 

providing an excellent foundation for Challenge implementation. These four programs fall within two of the 

Challenge themes. During FY 2001, those four programs continued and nine others were instituted or 

preexisting programs were expanded. Those nine areas were: vegetation mapping, water quality monitoring, 

air emissions inventory, park vital signs monitoring, making natural resource data usable, park resource 

preservation programs, water resources protection, learning centers, and Cooperative Ecosystem Studies 

Units. 

Section V. provides budget information for FY 1999 through FY 2002, and the FY 2003 budget request 

related to the Challenge, as well as more details concerning FY 2001. 

National Park Service 1 
Emphasis during FY 2001 was placed on making substantial progress in completing natural resource 

inventories and in putting monitoring programs in place. Programs that were funded in previous years also 

continued. 

Natural Resource Challenge Funding in Fiscal Year 2001 

Increase Cumulative1 

Complete Inventories and Monitor Resources 

Natural Resource Inventories, except vegetation mapping $7,309,000 

Vegetation Mapping $1,746,000 1,746,000 

Park Vital Signs Monitoring 4,191,000 4,191,000 

Water Resource Monitoring 1,272,000 1,272,000 

Air Emissions Inventory 200,000 200,000 

Making Natural Resource Data Usable 1,098,000 1,098,000 

Subtotal $8,507,000 $15,816,000 

Eliminate Most Critical Resource Problems 

Funding Increases to Parks $3,395,000 $3,395,000 

Natural Resource Preservation Program 2,875,000 2,875,000 

Native/Non-Native Species Management 3,449,000 3,449,000 

Geologic Resource Protection 696,000 

Water Resource Protection 823,000 823,000 

Subtotal $7,020,000 $11,238,000 

Attract Scientists and Good Science 

Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units $1,596,000 $1,596,000 

Learning Centers 898,000 898,000 

Subtotal $2,494,000 $2,494,000 

Total Increase $15,219,000 $29,548,000 

1 With increases received in FY 2000 

Significant progress has been made in the preservation of park resources. The vast majority of the funds 

received under the Challenge have been used to resolve park issues or to place information and tools in 

park managers’ hands. Remaining funds were used to develop expertise and Servicewide systems that could 

be consulted and used by park managers directly. As a result of the availability and application of Challenge 

funding an important trend of greatly enhanced entrepreneurialism has emerged. 

Challenge dollars are being used to leverage funding from a variety of other sources as demonstrated under 

the themes: Complete Inventories and Monitor Resources and Attract Scientists and Good Science 

programs. Partnerships are also flourishing across all three themes of the Challenge. 

2 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
II. 

Emerging Trends 

A. Parks – The Front Lines in Natural Heritage Preservation 

The NPS has entered the 21st Century with a long history and tradition of decentralization. The foundation of 

the National Park System is its individual units, such as parks, historic sites, and recreation areas. Long 

experience has shown that initiatives undertaken by the agency must be relevant to individual parks and aid in 

resolving local problems if they are to achieve any degree of organizational acceptance, be successful in 

achieving goals and objectives, and foster public endorsement. 

Examples of park-based activities implemented under the Challenge include: 

•	 Out of the 385 units in the National Park System, 270 qualify for natural resource inventory products. 

By 2001, 248 parks had base cartographic material available and this information was in preparation 

for another 22. Two hundred and ten parks had current species lists and another 60 were developing 

that information. 

•	 Those same 270 parks qualify for the Park Vital Signs Monitoring program. By the end of 2001, 55 

parks were designing or conducting monitoring activities. 

•	 Seventeen parks received increases to their appropriations in FY 2001 in support of specific Challenge 

programs focused on exotic species management and endangered species recovery and habitat 

protection. While not easily analyzed, this appears to represent an unprecedented number of increases 

specifically for resource preservation purposes in a single year. 

•	 One million dollars of the Natural Resource Preservation Program (as a small parks project fund) 

supported 91 projects in 79 different parks with limited budgets and represents a doubling of the preChallenge effort. 

•	 Over 260 projects were initiated in parks as a result of staff and cooperators associated with the 

system of Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units. The Challenge funded some of the CESU projects 

and the participation of the NPS. 

National Park Service 3 
B. Applying the Results – Out of the File Cabinet/Off the Computer 

A substantial portion of the Challenge is aimed at developing natural resource information that is intended to 

be used by the NPS for resolution of resource issues. Many obstacles exist that may interfere with the 

successful application of information to park management. Despite those obstacles it is becoming 

increasingly evident that park managers are responding to information generated by programs established or 

expanded through the Challenge and applying what has been learned. 

The following are examples of how managers are using the types of information being generated as a result 

of the Challenge. Information in some of the examples was developed prior to the Challenge. 

•	 The staff at Zion National Park is using its geologic map to identify rockfall prone areas and determine 

slope stability.This information aids in facility siting and design, and improving visitor safety. 

•	 The monitoring of abalone at Channel Islands National Park led to the closing of fishing by state 

authorities and the first listing of a marine invertebrate on the Endangered Species List. 

•	 Grand Canyon National Park staff are using geologic map information in concert with topographic and 

vegetation information to delineate Mexican Spotted Owl habitat. 

•	 Monitoring information about ginseng at Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been used by law 

enforcement personnel to provide better protection to those plants and has been used by the U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service to ban all exports of ginseng roots younger than five years of age. 

•	 At Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, geologic resource inventory information has been distilled into a 

monograph that has popular as well as technical appeal and is being sold by the park’s cooperating 

association as an interpretive item. 

C. Leveraging 

A substantial portion of the funds appropriated to the NPS for the Challenge is being used to increase 

buying power by leveraging alternative sources of funding. Examples of opportunities that have been sought 

to work cooperatively with other appropriated sources, agencies and organizations, and the private sector 

include: 

•	 Park appropriations, totaling $455,284, were used in concert with Challenge funding for resource 

network biological inventories. 

•	 Funds totaling $1,163,776 from the USGS-Biological Resources Division and $1,372,000 from the 

NPS Fire Management Program were combined with Challenge funding for vegetation-mapping. The 

map products were used by both natural resource managers and fire management personnel. 

•	 The investment of $1,596,000 appropriated for Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs) has 

resulted in $9,322,331 expended through the CESUs for technical assistance, research, and educational 

projects that benefit NPS natural resource stewardship—without expanding the federal workforce. 

4 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
D. Partnerships with Results 

Partnerships in the form of cooperative activities and outsourcing have become increasingly more common 

in the NPS natural resource management circles. The NPS has come to recognize that partnerships foster 

endorsement of its approaches and policies, bring better science and technology to bear on resource issues, 

extend parks’ spheres of influence, and result in more accomplishments at less cost, as well as support goals 

related to private sector involvement and growth. 

To help manage the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program, the 270 parks that participate in the program 

were organized into 32 networks in which they share staffing, funds, and technological resources leading to 

more efficiency and better coordination. 

Examples of partnerships evident throughout the Challenge include: 

•	 Both the Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Units and the Learning Centers are founded on the concept 

of partnering. The 10 CESUs currently have 80 partners working with them. The partners are primarily 

colleges and universities but they also include non-governmental organizations. 

•	 While comprehensive data are not available, additional monitoring and resource preservation activities 

are supported via contracts and agreements with the private sector, state agencies, and nonprofit 

organizations. For example, Denali National Park has a cooperative agreement with the Alaska 

Department of Fish and Game to develop bear population estimation techniques and has used two 

separate bird conservation organizations for development of avian monitoring techniques. 

•	 Inventory and monitoring networks provided $1,760,785 in Challenge funding to universities and 

$1,296,808 to other cooperators to conduct biological inventories. 

•	 In the first five vital signs monitoring networks funded, over $858,000 went to universities, $278,000 to 

other non-federal entities including private sector contractors, and approximately $264,000 to other 

federal agencies, including the United States Geological Survey. 

•	 The Florida Exotic Plant Management Team works under the auspices of the Florida Department of 

Environmental Protection Upland Invasive Plant Management Program and is supplemented by 

volunteer support from Pillsbury Corporation, Inc. to provide labor. The team uses contractors 

associated with the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Department of 

Environmental Protection. 

National Park Service 5 
6 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
III. 

Strategic Planning 

The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) stresses measuring performance by tracking 

outcomes. In managing the natural resources of the National Park System, the desired outcome is 

resources that are in good condition. Many factors contribute to a particular resource’s condition, such as 

population size, trends, distribution, age and sex ratios within populations, and individual animal health. 

Distilling and agreeing on the appropriate factors to measure resource conditions in the ecologically diverse 

National Park System is not simple and numerous factors affect the condition of natural resources. 

Scientifically based condition information is needed to develop management strategies and activities, to 

work with stakeholders and partners that influence resource conditions, and to evaluate natural resource 

management activities. 

The framework for implementation of GPRA by the NPS is found in the 1997 Strategic Plan and 2001 

Annual Performance Plan. 

Development of both the NPS Strategic Plan and the Challenge was closely linked. Activities associated 

with the Challenge have contributed to achievement of nearly all of the Servicewide long-term goals directly 

linked to resource preservation. Of particular note have been contributions dealing with natural resource 

inventories (Goal Ib1), vital signs monitoring (Goal Ib3), exotic species management (Goal Ia1B), 

threatened and endangered species protection (Goals Ia2A and Ia2B), and visitor understanding and 

appreciation (Goal IIb1). 

Mission goals and long-term goals listed below are those that have the most direct link to the Challenge. 

NPS’s Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan contain a complete list of goals. Highlights of activities 

conducted under the Challenge that support an individual goal are also provided. 

Mission Goal Ia: Natural, cultural and associated values are protected, restored and maintained in good 

condition and managed within their broader ecosystem context. 

ß Ia1A. Disturbed Lands: 10.1 percent of targeted parklands, disturbed by development or agriculture as 

of 1999 (22,500 of 222,300) are restored. (2 percent by 2001) 

Natural Resource Preservation Program – Disturbed Lands funds supported 12 projects aimed at 

ecological restoration. These projects combined, when completed, will result in a total of 140 acres 

restored to a natural condition. Many of the areas were severely disturbed by mineral exploration and 

development, agricultural improvements such as dams and canals, and the associated roads, and 

therefore require intensive rehabilitation efforts. 

ß Ia1B. Exotic Plants: Exotic vegetation on 6.3 percent of targeted acres of parkland (167,500 of 

2,656,700) acres is contained. (1.3 percent by 2001) 

Four Exotic Plant Management Teams completed their first full operational year focusing control efforts 

on 100 high priority exotic species. Five thousand eight hundred and twelve acres were treated and 

8,215 acres were inventoried to determine the presence of species needing removal. 

National Park Service 7 
Thirteen parks that received funding increases addressed exotic species management. 

The Pulling Together Initiative and the Plant Conservation Alliance: The National Fish and Wildlife 

Foundation coordinated with the Biological Resources Management Division to implement two cost 

share programs that provide federal funds for park based partnership efforts. In both the Initiative and 

the Alliance, all federal funds must be matched at a minimum dollar for dollar. These partnerships focus 

on invasive plant management efforts and restoring native species. Examples of projects funded this 

year include: Dinosaur National Monument weed control, Cowles Bog at Indiana Dunes-National 

Lakeshore restoration, and Zion National Park native plant restoration. 

ß Ia2A. Threatened and Endangered Species: 19 percent of the 1997 identified park populations (84 of 

442) of federally listed threatened and endangered species with critical habitat on park lands or 

requiring NPS recovery actions have improved status (14 percent by 2001) and an additional 18.1 

percent (80 of 442) have stable populations. (18.1 percent by 2001) 

Natural Resource Preservation Program funds supported nine projects dealing with listed species. 

Six parks that received funding increases addressed threatened and endangered species. 

ß Ia2X. Native Species of Special Concern: Populations of plant and animal species of special concern 

are at scientifically acceptable levels. 

The Park Flight program funded seven bird conservation and education projects encompassing 13 

national park units. 

ß Ia3. Air Quality: Air quality in 80 percent of reporting park areas has remained stable or improved. (60 

percent by 2001) 

The first phase of baseline air quality inventories was completed for 270 park units through an 

agreement with the University of Denver. 

Audits of in-park air pollution sources were initiated at 56 parks. Twenty-three of those were 

completed. Funding permitted expanding the NPS contribution to the activities of the Western 

Governor’sAssociation and the Western Regional Air Partnership. 

8 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
ß Ia4. Water Quality: 85 percent of park units have unimpaired water quality. (65 percent by 2001) 

Funding was provided to 12 monitoring networks, involving 103 parks, to plan, design, and implement 

water quality monitoring. In addition, funds supported the development of a Servicewide water quality 

data management program within the Environmental ProtectionAgency STORET national water quality 

database. This will allow NPS water quality monitoring data to be widely shared. 

Funding more than doubled for water resources protection projects; a total of 16 projects in 11 

individual parks and multi-park projects were funded. These projects focused on data collection and 

analysis used to describe surface and ground water flow regimes and investigate the dependence of 

park resources upon water. 

ß Ia9A. Geologic Resources, Paleontological Resources: 20 percent of known paleontological localities in 

parks are in good condition. (5 percent by 2001) 

Using Challenge funds, the Geologic Resources Division conducted a survey of 278 parks for fossil 

resources and fossil assessments were conducted at four parks. 

Mission Goal Ib: The NPS contributes to knowledge about natural and cultural resources and their 

associated values. NPS management decisions about resources and visitors are based on adequate 

scholarly and scientific information. 

ß Ib1. Natural Resource Inventories: Acquire or develop 87 percent (2,203) of the 2,527 outstanding 

data sets identified in 1999 of basic natural resource inventories for all parks. (30 percent by 2001) 

This performance goal is being met as a result of Challenge funding: 

Y ear # to Acquir C umulative S tatu

F Y00 4 5 1 9.8 m e

F Y01 7 6 3 0.4 m e

F Y02 1 12 4 4.4 o n targe

F Y03 1 49 5 9.3 o n targe

F Y04 1 88 7 4.5 o n targe

F Y05 2 20 8 7.2 o n targe

e % s

3 % t

8 % t

1 % t

8 % t

3 % t

3 % t

National Park Service 9 
ß Ib3. Vital Signs: 80 percent of 270 parks with significant natural resources will have identified their vital 

signs for natural resource monitoring. (5 percent by 2001) 

This performance goal is being met as a result of Challenge funding: 

Projected Progress Tow ards Identifying Park 

Vital Signs 

(as s umes c ontinued f unding of netw orks and all f unded by FY 2005) 

0% 

20% 

40% 

60% 

80% 

100% 

FY01 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 

Percent of Parks 

PROJECTED GOAL TARGETS 

ß Ib3. Geologic Resources: Geologic processes in 53 parks (20 percent of 270) are inventoried and 

human influences that affect those processes are identified. (6.4 percent by 2001) 

By the end of FY 2001, 57 parks were in the process of developing geologic resource information with 

the USGS and state geologic agencies. 

Mission Goal IIb: Park visitors and the general public understand and appreciate the preservation of parks 

and their resources for this and future generations. 

ß IIb1. Visitor Understanding and Appreciation: 86 percent of visitors understand and appreciate the 

significance of the park they are visiting. (84 percent by 2001) 

Five Learning Centers moved into various stages of development and operations focused on providing 

opportunities for cooperating scientists to work in parks and to communicate the results of their work to 

the public. 

A template for park display of natural resource information on the Internet was developed and 

disseminated to parks; when fully implemented, it will provide new information to the public and allow 

new ways of searching for resource information about parks. 

10 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
IV. 

Action Plan Focus, Accomplishments, and Financial Summaries 

This section of the report briefly describes and summarizes what the NPS emphasized during FY 2001, 

what was accomplished, and how funds were allocated to various programs. Examples in various program 

areas are also provided. 

Because the Complete Inventories and Monitor Resources theme constitutes the foundation of NPS natural 

resource management and because many other program areas of the Challenge are dependent upon it, the 

theme was given priority attention during FY 2001. 

A. Complete Inventories and Monitoring Theme 

Information regarding species distributions, abundance, trends, air and water quality, and other 

measurements from park vital signs is fundamental to sound management and decision-making as well as 

resource problem characterization. The Complete Inventories and Monitor Resources component of the 

Challenge is aimed at placing a fundamental suite of inventory information and trend data in the hands of 

park managers. 

Inventory and monitoring activities are carried out in several program areas, such as the Air Quality Program 

in the Servicewide Air Resources Division, and to a limited degree, as a part of park-based funded 

activities. Individual inventory projects may be funded through a variety of sources. In addition, the NPS 

has established an Inventory and Monitoring Program to fund and oversee the coordinated acquisition of a 

set of basic natural resource inventories and to establish comprehensively designed monitoring programs. 

This program provides an in-depth approach to monitoring and coordinates with other specific monitoring 

programs, such as those for air and water quality. 

Natural Resource Challenge Funding 

FY 2000 Increases 

Natural Resource Inventories, except Vegetation Mapping $7,309,000 

FY 2001 Increases 

Vegetation Mapping $1,746,000 

Park Vital Signs Monitoring 4,191,000 

Water Resource Monitoring 1,272,000 

Air Emissions Inventory 200,000 

Making Natural Resource Data Usable 1,098,000 

Subtotal $8,507,000 

National Park Service 11 
Inventory and Monitoring Program 

Completing resource inventories and establishing monitoring programs in units of the National Park System 

is no easy task. The NPS has identified 270 natural resource parks. Each of those units is to obtain 12 basic 

inventory products. Thus 3,240 products must be prepared. Often a single inventory effort will produce 

multiple sub-products (databases, reports, specimens, maps, etc.). Furthermore, the 32 networks are 

charged with development of individually tailored monitoring programs. Often those programs are 

multifaceted having wildlife, plant life, water and air quality, and landscape components. Until 

program planning and design is finished, it is not possible to predict how many monitoring program 

components will eventually be in operation. It can, however, be stated that the system will be complex. 

The NPS has adopted two strategies for success. First, the natural resource parks have been organized 

as a series of networks. Parks within these networks are expected to coordinate fieldwork, share staff 

and equipment, implement smart business practices jointly, and develop resource trend data indicative 

of the network at large. By doing this, duplication of effort and costs should be reduced and the 

integrity of science programs will be improved. Second, each Challenge program that is large and 

complex is being approached 

12 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
incrementally. Programs have started with a few parks or networks initially and more parks or networks are 

added each year. Emphasis is placed on building on the experience gained from early efforts to improve 

subsequent activities. 

•	 Inventory and monitoring networks provided Challenge funding to universities ($1,760,785) and other 

cooperators ($1,296,808) to conduct biological inventories. 

•	 In the first five vital signs monitoring networks funded, over $858,000 went to universities, $278,000 to 

other non-federal entities including private sector contractors, and approximately $264,000 to other 

federal agencies, including USGS. 

Inventory and Monitoring Program Funding 

Funding Available in FY 2000 

Uncontrollable Change to Base 

Transfers to Parks 

Recision to Base 

Net Available After Changes to Base 

Natural Resource Challenge Increase in FY 2001 

Vegetation Mapping 

Park Vital Signs Monitoring 

Subtotal of Increases 

Total Available in FY 2001 

$12,799,000 

7,000 

(251,000) 

(27,000) 

$12,528,000 

$1,746,000 

4,191,000 

5,937,000 

$18,465,000 

Complete Inventories and Monitor Resources has received 54 percent of Challenge funding to date. Over 

30 percent of targeted inventories have been completed and 87 percent are on target to be completed by 

2005. 

National Park Service 13 
Basic Inventories NPS continued its effort to complete 12 basic inventories, listed below, in the 270 

natural resource parks. The rate at which these basic inventories are being completed has been greatly 

accelerated as a result of the Challenge. 

12 Basic Natural Resource Inventories Under way FY 01 Completed FY 01 

Natural Resource Bibliography 2 257 

Base Cartography Data 22 248 

Higher Plant and Animal Occurrence (Species List) 62 210 

Occurrence and Distribution of Species of Special Concern 270 0 

Vegetation Map 17 22 

Soils Map 117 37 

Geologic Resource Information 239 2 

Water Chemistry Data 46 225 

Water Body Classification and Location (digital) 270 0 

Air Quality Data 0 270 

Air Quality Related Values 0 0 

Meteorological Data 0 0 

Total 1,107 1,251 

See Appendix A for a complete list of the status of all basic inventories for the 270 natural resource parks. 

The NPS is also working toward implementation of monitoring programs in those same 270 natural 

resource parks. 

Number of Parks with Biotic Inventories in Progress: 

Major Taxa Parks 

Amphibians/Reptiles 232 

Mammals 231 

Birds 198 

Fish 189 

Vascular Plants 175 

Inventory accomplishments include: 

•	 During FY 2001, parks in 28 networks were actively collecting historical biological information and 

recording it in the NPSpecies database. A total of 136,372 vouchers and 257,422 species listings have 

been entered into the database. 

•	 A significant number of parks have already met the 90 percent completion criterion for each major 

taxon included in the biological inventory program. 

•	 Thirty of the 32 networks of parks received funding to conduct inventories on a coordinated network 

basis for vertebrates and vascular plants. Examples of work initiated include: plant, fish, and small 

mammal inventories in the Central Alaska Network (Denali NP, Wrangell-St.Elias NP, Yukon-Charley 

Rivers NPres); exotic plant, amphibian and reptile and native vascular plant inventories in the Heartland 

Network (Buffalo National River, Cuyahoga Valley NP, Homestead NM, Ozark NSR, etc.); and fish 

14 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
inventories in the North Coast and Cascades Network (Mount Rainier NP, Olympic NP, North 

Cascades NP, et al.). 

•	 Funding in FY 2001 was allocated to complete bird inventories in eight park units (Yukon-Charley 

Rivers NPres, Grand Canyon NP, and six small park units in the Northeastern U.S.) and to complete 

inventories of amphibians and reptiles in three park units (Olympic NP, Fort Necessity NB, and 

Friendship Hill NHS). These inventories documented the occurrence and distribution of the animals in 

each park and will complement the biological inventories funded on a network-wide basis. 

•	 Twenty-nine new vegetation-mapping projects were started, representing a substantial increase over 

previous years. Each project is developing roughly 28 products including: maps, classification reports, 

keys, aerial photography, and accuracy assessment information. 

•	 Ten soil survey projects were underway during the year. Soil surveys provide basic information needed 

to manage soil sustainability and to protect water quality, wetlands, vegetation communities, and wildlife 

habitats. Soil surveys also provide managers with the ability to predict the behavior of a soil under 

alternative uses, its potential erosion hazard and ground water contamination, its sustainability for control 

of exotic species and establishment of native communities, and its potential for preservation of cultural 

sites and landscapes. 

•	 Special bibliographies of geologic data have been completed for 228 of the natural area parks and are 

available on the NPS Web site, as are digital geologic maps for 16 parks. Geologic reports are 

complete for the 11 Utah parks, two in Colorado, and one in Alaska. A publication on the geology of 

the 13 New Mexico parks is underway in partnership with the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and 

Geology. 

•	 The NPS continued providing funding for a number of other abiotic inventories. This included support of 

the Natural Resource Bibliographies National Database. It also included limited funding for water 

quality inventories to develop a field sampling strategy for large Alaskan parks and to complete field 

inventories for several basic water quality parameters in the following three park units: Sagamore Hill 

NHS, Richmond NB, and Hopewell Furnace NHS. 

•	 The first phase of baseline air quality inventories was completed for 270 park units through an 

agreement with the University of Denver. 

• Audits of in-park air pollution sources were initiated at 56 parks and 23 were completed. 

•	 Inventory funding was leveraged through the use of $455,284 in park appropriations for network 

biological inventories. Further leveraging was obtained using $1,163,776 in funds from the USGSBiological Resources Division and the NPS Fire Management Program ($1,372,000) in combination 

with Challenge funding for vegetation-mapping. 

National Park Service 15 
Freshwater Mussels in the Mississippi River 

The freshwater mussel inventory at Mississippi NRRA suggests that water quality 

regulations have helped improve habitat for native mussels. 

mussels can act as the “canary in the coal mine” for aquatic environments, this could 

have good implications for human health as well. 

exotic zebra mussels were found during the survey and that there were no noticeable 

impacts to native mussels. 

mussels may mean that Mississippi NRRA is one of the last big river mussel refuges in 

the Midwest. The 

Minnesota Department of 

Natural Resources and 

Mississippi NRRA have 

already relocated several 

state listed and one 

federally listed species to 

sites within the 

Mississippi NRRA 

corridor and the inventory 

data will help locate 

other sites for 

reintroduction. 

Because freshwater 

It is also significant that very few 

Improved water quality and the near absence of zebra 

16 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Soil Survey at Redwood National Park At Redwood NP, the soil resources inventory 

is designed to gather soil data and prepare maps of soils and potential vegetation with 

interpretations necessary to plan and manage land for recreation, forest health, prairie 

restoration, and watershed planning. Work is also being coordinated with current soil 

mapping activities outside the park to create a soils database for the NPS and the 

California Department of Parks and Recreation to effectively manage the soil resources 

of Redwood National and State Parks. Issues regarding soil erosion rates and slope 

stability potentials by watersheds will be pursued, as well as the identification of any 

tsunami deposits that may be present within soil profiles in lower watershed reaches. 

Other products which will be provided 

characterizations of representative soil profiles within the Tall Trees Redwood Grove, 

to provide insight as to the remarkable growth rates of these trees. Interpretive products 

such as soil monoliths, which will help visitors visualize the highly productive soils in 

the park, will also be provided as part of this inventory. The scheduled completion date 

for this inventory is FY 2005. 

Saguaro National 

Park Comprehensive 

inventories of vascular 

plants and vertebrates at 

Saguaro NP documented 29 

new species of plants, two 

new species of birds, and 

one new species of mammal. 

The surveys documented 

four species of reptiles that 

have not been seen at 

Saguaro for many years. 

These results highlight the 

importance of a 

comprehensive inventory 

program even for parks that 

already have species lists. 

The Sonoran Desert 

network, of which Saguaro 

NP is part, will use the work 

begun in FY 2001 in 

Saguaro and other desert 

parks to monitor 

biodiversity as well as 

changes in abundance of 

vertebrates and vascular 

plants. 

are detailed soil, chemical, and physical 

National Park Service 17 
Northeast Region Parks A new vegetation-mapping project initiated during FY 

2001 involves a cluster of nine parks located in the NPS Northeast Region. Of 

Challenge funds, $50,953 was used as matching funds with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service to contract with the Association for Biodiversity Information office for regionwide ecological characterization efforts. At Delaware Water Gap NRA, the Fire 

Program matched funds. Photo acquisition and mapping efforts were also undertaken at 

Morristown NHP, Thomas Stone NHS, New River Gorge NR, and in the following 

parks in Virginia: Appomattox Courthouse NHP, Petersburg NB, Richmond NBP, 

Fredricksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields, and Booker T. Washington NM. 

Death Valley National Park Geologic Mapping Above: Death Valley NP is one of 

the most complex and fascinating park in the world and while studied for years, no 

comprehensive, dedicated map existed until now. The USGS compiled existing and new 

maps into a single geologic map of Death Valley NP. The project was funded entirely by 

NPS inventory funds. Death Valley NP is using USGS maps and scientists as part of 

facilities planning to avoid construction atop active faults and to help manage ongoing 

mineral development. The map will be available in the park’s visitor center and will be used 

in the park’s interpretive programs. 

the 

18 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP, and Yosemite NP An important component of the 

biological inventories conducted by this network during FY 2001 focused on aquatic 

systems. Mountainous regions of the Western United States contain thousands of small 

lakes, approximately 95 percent of those were historically without fish. 

staff from the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Lab (UC Santa Barbara) surveyed 1,500 

bodies of water in Yosemite NP, resulting in a total of 2,700 water bodies surveyed for the 

project. This is about 90 percent of lakes and ponds in the park. Sequoia and Kings 

Canyon NP wildlife biologists received additional funding from the park’s fee demonstration 

project to complete aquatic surveys in those parks for fish, frogs, invertebrates, and habitat 

characteristics. Funding was also obtained to resurvey areas surveyed in 1997 for frogs and 

incidence of disease in amphibians and to do genetic tissue sampling. In FY 2002, the 

Yosemite NP data will be analyzed and recommendations provided for restoring of aquatic 

ecosystems. 

Courtesy of Rachel Mazur 

Roland Knapp and 

National Park Service 19 
20 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge

Park Vital Signs Monitoring Networks

Park units

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 10

11

12

Central Alaska monitoring 

network includes three parks

located in interior Alaska.

San Francisco Bay monitoring 

network includes six parks located 

in the vicinity of San Francisco.

Mediterranean Coast monitoring 

network includes three parks

located in southern California.

North Coast and Cascades

monitoring network includes seven

parks located in the Pacific Northwest.

Sonoran Desert monitoring network 

includes 11 parks in the Southwest.

Northern Colorado Plateau

monitoring network includes 16 parks

located in the intermountain West.

Greater Yellowstone monitoring 

network includes three parks located 

in the northern Rocky Mountains.

 

Heartland monitoring network 

includes 15 parks in the Midwest.

Cumberland/Piedmont monitoring 

network includes 14 parks located 

primarily in the Southeast.

Appalachian Highlands

monitoring network includes four 

parks located in the Southeast.

National Capital monitoring 

network includes 11 parks located in 

the Washington, D.C., area.

Northeast Coastal and Barrier

monitoring network includes eight 

parks located in New England and 

the Northeast.

Southwest Alaska monitoring 

network includes five parks in the

southwestern part of the state.

Pacific Island monitoring network 

includes nine parks located in Hawaii, 

American Samoa, Guam, and Saipan.

Southern Colorado Plateau

monitoring network includes 19

parks located in the southern part 

of the Four Corners region.

Great Lakes monitoring network 

includes nine parks associated with

the Great Lakes.

Northeast Temperate monitoring 

network includes 10 parks in New

England and the Northeast.

Unfunded networks

Fifteen monitoring networks are 

not proposed for funding in FY 2003 

and remain unfunded. They are 

indicated by cross-hatching.

13

14

15

16

17

Monitoring networks funded as of FY 2002 for core park vital signs 

and water quality

13

14

15

16

17

Monitoring networks proposed for 

funding in FY 2003 for core park vital 

signs
Monitoring Program In FY 2001, five networks, which include 55 parks, received their first 

funding to plan and design their monitoring programs. The five networks are shown at the left: North 

coast Cascades, Sonoran Desert, Heartland, Cumberland/Piedmont, and Northeast Coastal and 

Barrier. All five networks organized themselves, establishing governing boards and technical 

committees, developed charters to formalize working relationships among parks, and hired network 

coordinators. Staff time was largely committed to planning and design of monitoring programs through 

workshops, program reviews, literature reviews, and consultations with scientific experts. Many of 

the first 55 parks were already conducting some level of monitoring using various other sources of 

funds. These programs will be incorporated into the Park Vital Signs Monitoring effort or will be 

closely affiliated with it. 

Number of parks from the first five networks (n = 55 parks) that were in various phases of designing and 

conducting long-term monitoring of natural resources in FY 2001 using funding from the Challenge or other 

sources (e.g., base funds or partnerships). 

Air 

Quality 

Water 

Quality 

Water 

Quantity 

Geologic 

Resources 

Plants Animals Landscape 

Planning and Design 

Number of parks monitoring with other funding 7 22 5 13 22 16 6 

Protocols Implemented 

Number of parks monitoring with NRC funding 3 3 0 3 5 4 4 

Number of parks monitoring with other funding 10 13 4 7 12 16 2 

Analysis/Synthesis Available 

Number of parks monitoring with NRC funding 3 3 0 1 4 6 3 

Number of parks monitoring with other funding 6 11 3 2 5 12 0 

National Park Service 21 
Design and implementation for newly funded Park Vital Signs Monitoring are not yet complete, but 

significant efforts are underway and promising. For example: 

•	 Assateague Island NS is part of the Northeast and Coastal Barrier network funded for Park Vital Signs 

Monitoring in FY 2001. In a cooperative effort with NASA and the USGS, an aerial technology called 

LIDAR is being used to detect fine-scale changes in the park’s topography and results are already being 

used to improve restoration plans. The US Army Corps of Engineers used a map generated by LIDAR 

data in conjunction with the park’s GIS maps to make adjustments to a proposed restoration project to 

better fit the desired outcome of the project. The LIDAR project is being evaluated for use in other 

Northeast Coastal Barrier parks, and perhaps other coastal parks, for monitoring shoreline change. 

•	 Seed money was made available to seven other networks, representing 46 parks, to allow them to 

begin gathering information and start the hiring process for their network coordinators. These networks 

include: Central Alaska, National Capital, Northern Colorado Plateau, Mediterranean Coast, Greater 

Yellowstone, Appalachian Highlands, and San Francisco Bay.These networks are receiving full funding 

in FY 2002. 

•	 In 1992, the NPS launched the Prototype Long-Term Ecological Monitoring Program. As originally 

conceived, a small number of parks were to be developed as “centers of excellence” that would engage 

in in-depth monitoring and would be in a position to share expertise and technical assistance with other 

parks in the system. Since its creation, the Biological Resources Division, USGS has worked in 

partnership with the NPS at each of these parks in ecological modeling, sampling design and protocol 

development. The first phase of development of this program called for 11 monitoring programs 

involving 22 parks. Seven of the original 11 programs are now base funded or largely funded to conduct 

their monitoring programs. During FY 2001, Challenge funding was used to support the remaining four 

prototype parks in the planning and design of their programs. 

Application of the results from the prototype monitoring programs are indicative of the uses which Park 

Vital Signs Monitoring data will be used in the future. Some examples include: 

•	 Data from five years of monitoring the island fox population at Channel Islands NP indicated that the 

park’s fox population was in grave danger of becoming extinct. This information was made available in 

time for park managers to initiate a captive-breeding program to stabilize the population. Without the 

data, the island fox population on at least one of the islands might have been completely lost before the 

severity of the decline was apparent. 

•	 At Great Smoky Mountains NP, flowering dogwood, a key species in the park, is being killed by 

dogwood anthraxnose, an exotic fungus. Monitoring information suggests that low intensity fire may be 

an effective way to counteract the fungal infestations. Also at Great Smoky Mountains NP, monitoring 

data are being used by law enforcement to protect American ginseng, a rare, long-lived herb that is the 

park’s most poached species. Plants seized by rangers are aged and replanted and become part of the 

monitoring program to assess poaching pressure and effectiveness of countermeasures. Information to 

date has proved decisive in banning all U.S. exports of roots younger than five years of age. 

22 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
•	 Cape Cod NS monitoring data are being shared with neighboring municipalities to allow both the NPS 

and local towns to better evaluate environmental impacts of proposed actions outside parklands. The 

data are also being shared with state agencies to assist in statewide planning and analyses, and to 

evaluate the regional importance of Cape Cod NS to state threatened and endangered species such as 

the piping plover. 

•	 Vegetation-monitoring results at Big Meadows in Shenandoah NP have recently been used to mitigate 

impacts of archeological work on rare plant communities, determine success of a large prescribed burn 

to control shrubs, and to educate visitors and staff. 

Water Resources Monitoring 

The NPS is committed to protecting unimpaired water quality in parks from future impairment, including 

waters classified as Outstanding National Resource Waters (ONRW’s) or state-equivalent listed waters. 

NPS is also committed to working with state Clean Water Act programs, as well as taking appropriate 

management actions within parks, to support the restoration of impaired water bodies in parks to an 

unimpaired condition. Presently, approximately 116 parks have state-listed impaired water bodies within 

their boundaries. Approximately 60 percent of the FY 2001 water quality monitoring funding increase is 

earmarked for monitoring impaired waters, and approximately 40 percent is for pristine waters. 

Water Resource Monitoring is a portion of the Water Resources Program. The complete funding for the 

Water Resources Program is shown below: 

Water Resources Program Funding 

Funding Available in FY 2000 

Water Resource Projects 

Water Resource Protection 

Competitive Projects 

Other 

Water Resource Technical Assistance 

Other Water Resource Management 

Subtotal 

Natural Resource Challenge Increase in FY 20011

Natural Resource Challenge Increase in FY 20012

Recision 

Total Available in FY 2001 

$674,420 

805,000 

27,000 

2,534,500 

730,000 

4,770,920 

1,275,000 

825,000 

(2,000) 

$6,868,920 

1 Increase for Water Resource Monitoring – reported on in previous section. 

2

 Increase for Water Resource Protection – reported on below 

National Park Service 23 
Water Resource Monitoring Funding 

Portion of Water Resource Program 

Water Resource Monitoring Funding Available in FY2000 0 

Natural Resource Challenge Increase in FY 2001 $1,275,000 

Total Available in FY2001 $1,275,000 

The planning and design of Water Resources Monitoring is slated to be implemented in full integration with 

the NPS Park Vital Signs Monitoring Program. This is because water quality is a key vital sign in 

determining overall aquatic ecosystem health. By factoring in priorities for Park Vital Signs Monitoring in 

the determination of water quality monitoring priorities, it will be possible to meet the monitoring 

objectives of the NPS water quality management program and support the broader Park Vital Signs 

program goal of assessing the status of park ecosystems, especially aquatic ecosystem health. By fully 

integrating the design of these programs, considerable cost efficiencies have been and will continue to be 

realized in staffing, planning and design, administration, implementation, data management, and reporting. 

•	 Full water quality monitoring program funding was allocated to the first 12 Park Vital Signs Networks 

in FY 2001. The money supported the development of an NPS Servicewide water quality data 

management program within the Environmental ProtectionAgency STORET national water quality 

database, supported the Water Resources Division in procuring necessary database management 

technology, and supported division staff travel in support of network planning and design endeavors. 

•	 The Water Resources Division allocated 13 work months involving five members of its staff to support 

program administration and the development of program technical guidance, technical protocols, 

detailed study plan and Quality Control/Quality Assurance Plan guidance, and database management. 

North Coast and Cascades Water Quality Monitoring 

A cooperative agreement with Evergreen State College was initiated for $30,000 to compile 

and analyze available water quality data for Mount Rainier NP, San Juan Islands NHP, 

Ebey’s Landing NHR, and Fort Clatsop NM. The USGS-BRD was funded $10,890 to 

support taxonomic identification of zooplankton and aquatic macroinvertebrates at Mount 

Rainier NP as a baseline for aquatic biomonitoring. Funding also supported developing a 

zooplankton and macroinvertebrate baseline at North Cascades NP, data mining and 

compilation at Olympic NP, GIS development, and a series of network planning workshops. 

24 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Air Emissions Inventory 

The Air Emissions Inventory is a portion of the Air Resources Program. The complete funding for theAir 

Resources Program is shown below: 

Air Resources Program Funding 

Funding Available in FY 2000 $6,285,000 

Natural Resource Challenge Increase –FY 2001 for Air Emissions 200,000 

Total Available in FY 2001 for entire Air Resource Program $6,485,000 

Audits of in-park air pollution sources were initiated at 56 parks. Twenty-three of those were completed 

and parks were found to be substantially in compliance with air pollution control, permitting, and emissions 

requirements. Sample performance measures and strategies for reducing pollution from typical in-park 

facilities were shared with parks. This effort furthers the partnership of the Air Resources Division with the 

Western Governor’sAssociation and the Western Regional Air Partnership. 

Making Natural Resource Data Usable 

Prior to the FY 2001 funding increase, the NPS ability to provide data and information to others was limited 

to development of an annual report on the Inventory and Monitoring Program, production of a series of fact 

sheets on natural resource topics, production of Park Science, and a semi-technical report titled Natural 

Resource Year in Review. The increase more than tripled the amount of funding available to work on 

making natural resource data usable. 

Funding to Make Natural Resource Data Usable 

Funding Available in FY 2000 $456,000 

Uncontrolled Changes (9,000) 

Recision (3,000) 

Natural Resource Challenge Increase in FY 2001 1,098,000 

Total Available in FY 2001 $1,542,000 

Challenge increases were used in two programmatic areas – integration of natural resource data and 

development of information tools for resource management and education. 

•	 The NPS new Research Permit and Reporting System was put on-line after six years of planning and 

development. The system expedites the permitting process and allows NPS employees and the public to 

make inquiries about the nature of scientific investigations that are underway in parks. Between January 

1, 2001 and September 30, 2001, over 2,700 permit applications were submitted via the automated 

system. One hundred and seventy parks processed 2,200 of those permits during that same time. 

•	 Synthesis, an information management system, which has been under development for several years, 

was ready for wide distribution throughout the National Park System. Synthesis provides an automated, 

user-friendly platform to store and access a variety of natural resource information including maps, 

species lists, and text from documents. Nine networks, representing 86 parks, 17 individual parks, 

National Park Service 25 
 and one regional office requested installation of Synthesis during the year. Synthesis training 

opportunities and materials were also prepared. Cooperators working with the NPS on Synthesis are 

Pennsylvania State University, James Madison University, and the University of Arizona. 

•	 The agency’s natural resource Web site, NatureNet, was redesigned to comply with new agency style 

standards and improvements were made to the Natural Resources Intranet making it more useful and 

accessible. NatureNet received more than 3.5 million hits during the year. Additionally, a template for 

park display of natural resource information was developed and disseminated to parks. 

•	 On the suggestion of staff at Petersburg National Battlefield, the Synthesis staff developed 

means to repackage Synthesis information into a form applicable for use by park interpreters 

and educators. Innovative programming techniques, like virtual reality software, were used to 

present natural and cultural resource information in an entertaining fashion. The team has 

developed virtual walk-throughs from historic and prehistoric cultural and natural landscapes. To 

provide supportive information for these virtual experiences, the team developed several 

HTML-based “knowledge centers.” These knowledge centers present basic information on 

natural resource themes and show linkages (within these themes) among NPS units. For 

example, a knowledge center might offer general information on paleontology, identify NPS 

units that have fossils, and present park-specific information on those fossils. Six park-based 

virtual experiences were initiated in FY 2001 and seven knowledge centers. 

B. Mitigation of Critical Resource Problems Theme 

Eliminate Most Critical Resource Problems has received 38 percent of Challenge funding to date. While the 

natural resources of the National Park System may appear to be in good or even excellent shape, many 

resource problems are more deeply rooted than they appear superficially. Plants and animals may have 

completely disappeared or be on the brink of extirpation from a given park yet this condition may not be 

conspicuous. Species that do not normally reside in a park may have invaded and may now be excluding or 

adversely influencing the plants and animals that would normally be there. Water quality may be poor but no 

visual clues are present. Mitigation of Critical Resource Problems constitutes the second largest of the three 

central themes of the Challenge. 

Seventeen parks received increases to their appropriations targeted at removal of exotic species, protection 

of endangered species and their habitat, and multicomponent management programs. 

FY 2000 Increases 

Natural Resource Preservation Program 

Native/Nonnative Species Management 

Geologic Resource Protection 

FY 2001 Increases 

Water Resource Protection 

Park Bases 

$8,307,000 

3,441,000 

696,000 

825,000 

$3,395,000 

26 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Funding Increases to Parks 

This section addresses the following increases received in FY 2000 and 2001: 

As part of the Challenge, base increases were provided to parks in FY 2001, with special emphasis on 

parks proposing activities related to control of exotic plants and animals and recovery of threatened and 

endangered species. 

Park Funding Increases 

Park Funding Increases FY 2000 0

Portions of park bases specific to the Challenge

Natural Resource Challenge Increase in FY 2001 3,395,000

Total Available in FY2001 $3,395,000

Funding Increases to Parks for Controlling Exotic Species, Restoring Threatened and 

Endangered Species, and Other Natural Resource Management Activities 

Antietam National BP $150,000 

Big Cypress NPres 399,000 

Buck Island Reef NM 100,000 

Catoctin Mountain Park 89,000 

Coronado NMem 60,000 

Curecanti NR 141,000 

Great Smoky Mountains NP 402,000 

Haleakala NP 480,000 

Jewel Cave NM 50,000 

John Day Fossil Beds NM 95,000 

Mojave NPres 470,000 

Rock Creek Park 163,000 

Saugus Iron Works NHS 58,000 

Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP 112,000 

Theodore Roosevelt NP 133,000 

Virgin Islands NP 399,000 

Zion NP 94,000 

National Park Service 27 
In the case of small parks with limited expertise for resource management activities, the increases may 

broaden natural resource management capabilities, such as a single position with multiple responsibilities, if 

exotic species or threatened or endangered species are among the issues for the park. Twelve of the parks 

that received increases worked on exotic species problems in their parks. Highlights of park 

accomplishments resulting from the increases in FY 2001 are summarized below. 

•	 Leveraging the Challenge dollars with funds from Fee Demonstration funds, park base, and a Public 

Land Corps grant made it possible for Zion NP to support two critical positions and supervise over 

4,500 hours of volunteer service. Positions responsible for invasive weed inventory, control and followup revegetation were established. The park crew and numerous volunteer work groups treated over 

800 acres, with a focus on control of tamarisk and Russian olive in desert riparian zones, areas of high 

biological productivity overall and important habitat for the endangered Southwest Willow Flycatcher 

and the Virgin Spinedace – currently under a conservation agreement. Other targeted exotic species 

include knapweeds, white top, mullein, bull thistle and Scotch thistle in disturbed lands; and Johnson 

grass, Russian thistle, nonnative annual mustards, and grasses in developed zones. 

•	 Theodore Roosevelt NP moved its exotic species control program from a project-funded program to a 

based-funded program, hiring a biologist to administer the exotic plant management program and 

training volunteers and interns. The park implemented its Biological Control Program for leafy spurge 

with these personnel. Three species of biological control agents (beetles) were collected and distributed 

throughout the months of June and July. Collection reached nearly seven million beetles, which were 

distributed to 11 different states and two Canadian provinces and included 52 releases in the park. 

Three hundred and thirty vegetation-plots were monitored, gathering specific data on biological and 

chemical control efforts. Photo-point documentation was also completed. Chemical treatment was also 

applied to approximately 154 acres on the ground and an additional 652 acres by air. Finally, the park 

mapped exotic species-related data in its GIS with Challenge support. 

•	 Haleakala NP hired a student intern and volunteer coordinators. Volunteers were recruited who actively 

engaged in alien species control throughout the summer, supplementing the ongoing activities of NPS 

biological technicians to control Australian tree fern, clidemia, tibouchina, kahili ginger and other invasive 

plants detrimental to the health of native Hawaiian ecosystems. Most of the funding was committed to 

an ongoing cooperative agreement with University of Hawaii for hiring personnel for feral animal and 

alien plant control research and endangered species monitoring. 

•	 Big Cypress NPres concentrating its efforts on Melaleuca removal and treatment, primarily in the 

Addition Lands area, a large portion of the northeastern part of the preserve that was recently acquired. 

The park applied primary treatments on about 16,556 acres of melaleuca-infested wetland, which will 

contribute to habitat restoration of the entire preserve and completes the first round of treatment for the 

entire preserve. This initial treatment will require a continuing program to control invasive exotic plants, 

especially Melaleuca, on about 50,000 acres, to prevent a loss of recent progress (costing $3 million 

dollars provided by a Miami-Dade County mitigation project). The removal of Melaleuca from the 

preserve’s sensitive wetlands will permit the reestablishment of native plant communities and increase 

plant and animal diversities and productivity. 

•	 Significant progress was made in Great Smoky Mountains NP in addressing the issues of exotic plant 

removal and habitat restoration, removal of nonnative rainbow trout to provide habitat for the only 

native trout species occurring in the park, and expanded emphasis on control of the exotic European 

28 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Boar. Results included conversion of additional acreage of exotic fescue fields to native warm season 

grasses; removal of 5,799 Princess Trees (Paulownia), 683 Trees of Heaven (Ailanthus), removal of 

exotic plants along Highway 129 and the Foothills Parkway that are sources of exotic seeds invading 

prescribed burns and wildfires on the west end of the park including the removal of 2,034 Princess 

Trees and 3,638 Trees of Heaven. Altogether, 60 acres were treated, exclusive of the highway/parkway 

area, representing nearly a threefold increase in treatment from the previous year. 

•	 John Day Fossil Beds NM supplemented its paleontological resource management with a natural 

resource management specialist, as well as a temporary position to work primarily on riparian 

restoration and noxious weed control. The primary accomplishment was the treatment of almost 1,000 

acres of noxious weeds. The weeds included dalmation toadflax, Russian knapweed, Mediterranean 

sage, whitetop, and mullein. 

•	 Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP hired a restoration ecologist and filled a new exotic plant/restoration 

crew position. With these positions, seasonal staff, and additional funding from other sources, exotic 

plant surveys were conducted on 350 acres and approximately 315,000 acres of high priority exotic 

plants were removed, including bull thistle, foxglove, wooly mullein, and Italian thistle. In addition, the 

park planted a total of 4,020 shrubs, trees, grass, and forb plugs and collected 10 pounds of seed, and 

containerized over 6,700 bareroot conifer seedlings for future restoration. 

•	 Virgin Islands NP and Buck Island NM are primarily concerned with exotic animals—mongoose, 

donkeys, rats, and feral cats. At Virgin Islands NP, a full-time biologist and other staff were hired to 

undertake exotic animal-related activities. The park completed compliance activities for construction of 

a donkey exclusion fence, gathered preliminary information for a donkey reduction plan, and undertook 

planning and compliance for reduction and control of feral goats and hogs. Buck Island NM also 

worked on an assessment for rat eradication. At Virgin Islands NP trails and other damage from feral 

hogs were repaired and patrols to respond to exotic animal incidents increased. 

•	 Rock Creek Park hired seasonal and intern personnel, primarily for maintenance of previously treated 

areas. A total of 186 acres were treated, including 11 previously untreated acres and 20 reinfested 

acres, as well as maintenance control activities on 155 acres. A new invasive, Japanese stiltgrass, was 

treated on about half of the acreage. Removal of exotics in the floodplain is allowing reemergence of 

several populations of green dragon, a rare species in the area. 

•	 Catoctin Mountain Park hired a full-time biologist and an environmental specialist; its resource 

management activities were formerly addressed part-time by a supervisory ranger. The new staff 

worked with the Exotic Plant Management Team on exotic species control projects and the full-time 

professional staff at the park will allow the park to provide the necessary follow-up activities to maintain 

control. 

•	 Jewel Cave NM hired a seasonal exotic species control crew that began a GPS inventory of exotic 

species, developed a control plan, and treated 15 acres. 

•	 Zion NP permanently established monitoring that is consistent with recovery program guidelines for 

peregrine falcons and Mexican spotted owls, which previously had no secure funding and had been 

inconsistent. The park relocated and monitored 19 historic peregrine territories, as well as three new 

ones, together involving 33 young. The park also relocated and monitored 16 historic and four new owl 

National Park Service 29 
territories. Two fledglings of these hard-to-view birds were seen. Documentation, management, and 

distribution of data for these and other species was improved, including information on past and current 

nesting success and productivity. 

•	 At Curecanti NR, a full-time ecologist was hired, but did not begin during the fiscal year. The increase 

in funding in FY 2001 provided for additional interns and a term position to expand monitoring of 

peregrine falcons, especially eyries located in popular rock climbing areas, expand exotic species 

control, participate in planning and evaluation related to endangered fish recovery, and other resource 

management activities. 

•	 At Coronado NMem, the Challenge is providing for the upgrade of the resource management position 

consistent with NPS standards, and for increased professional and seasonal staffing. In FY 2001, the 

Memorial hired two persons to monitor lesser known long-nosed bats and Mexican long-tongued bats, 

Mexican spotted owls, barking frogs, agaves (primary bat food source), and nocturnal rodents. In 

addition, it leveraged funds from Bat Conservation International and the Natural Resource Preservation 

Program’s small-park-fund to install bat gates at two abandoned mines. 

•	 Buck Island NM, which has an active sea turtle monitoring program, was able to significantly expand its 

resource management capabilities by hiring two biological technicians and supporting its inventory and 

monitoring biologist. The new positions monitor and assist with endangered sea turtles, brown pelicans, 

coral reefs, fisheries, and exotic rat control. Monitoring has been assured, allowing permanent positions 

to perform work for which there was previously no secure funding. 

•	 Mojave NPres is implementing the Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan to contribute to efforts to delist the 

species within 25 years. A new wildlife biologist is effecting coordination with other agencies and 

managing tortoise monitoring. A science advisor assists in evaluating methodologies of data and 

coordinating research. A compliance specialist is assuring that park activities and planning are evaluated 

for their effects on tortoises. A new agreement has been signed with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Finally, expanded education efforts are helping to protect tortoises. 

•	 Antietam National BP is a smaller park needing broader resource management capability. It undertook 

the administrative actions to hire a full-time natural resource program manager and hired seasonal staff 

to address inventory and monitoring, exotic species, and species of special concern. In FY 2002, the 

park will be able to support limited seasonal staff in addition to the full-time program manager. 

As indicated for several of the parks above, pending filling of permanent positions, funding was often used 

to undertake resource management activities using temporary positions or contracts. Saugus Iron Works 

NHS, for example, used the lapse funding for research and planning related to the Saugus River hydrology, 

habitat, water quality and dams; a herpetology study, collections management, and wetlands compliance. At 

Great Smoky Mountains NP unused position funding supported construction of a greenhouse to propagate 

native plants for restoration subsequent to exotics removal and for mitigation purposes. At Coronado 

NMem such funding contributed to preparing office space for the enhanced resource management staff. 

Many of the parks also purchased equipment for new resource management staff, such as computers, 

monitoring equipment, and supplies for exotic plant control. 

30 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Natural Resource Preservation Program 

Natural Resource Preservation Program Funding 

FundingAvailable in FY 2000 $8,307,000 

Natural Resource Challenge Increase in FY 2001 0 

Total Available in FY 2001 $8,307,000 

Most resource management activities are undertaken at the park level, where resource management funding 

provides salary and support costs for personnel in parks. Parks usually have little or no flexible, dedicated 

funding for cyclic and one-time project needs. To undertake expensive projects most parks require special 

project funding. The major source of such funds is the Natural Resource Preservation Program (NRPP). It 

provides the only reliable and dedicated source of large NPS project funding (project costs greater than 

$50,000) available to parks for natural resource management projects. The Challenge resulted in an 

increase of $2.875 million to the NRPP in FY 2000, a 52.9 percent increase over the previous $5.432 

million available. As part of the Challenge, two special portions of NRPP were established to fund 

disturbed lands and threatened and endangered species restoration projects. 

Over 86 percent, totaling $7.2 million, in funds was used in FY 2001 for park-level natural resource 

management projects. Some of these funds strategically target specific needs and are generally distributed as 

follows: $1,000,000 for Small Park Projects, $850,000 for Disturbed Lands Restoration, $500,000 for 

Threatened and Endangered Species Projects, $225,000 for USGS/BRD Technical Assistance Projects, 

and $600,000 for Servicewide projects. Some variation in this distribution occurs annually. 

The FY 2001 distribution is shown below. The funds supported 165 endangered species, disturbed lands 

restoration, and other natural resource management projects in parks. Fourteen Servicewide projects were 

also supported as well as two special initiatives: the USGS Technical Assistance Agreement and Brucellosis 

Research. 

Natural Resource Preservation Program Summary 

Type of Project Number of Projects Funding Allocation 

Natural Resource Management 53 $4,818,000 

Threatened and Endangered Species 9 500,000 

Disturbed Lands Restoration 12 850,000 

Small Park 91 1,000,000 

USGS Technical Assistance Agreement NA 255,000 

Brucellosis Research 1 150,000 

Servicewide Projects 14 715,000 

See Appendix E for a complete list of all projects funded under the NRPP. 

National Park Service 31 
The Natural Resource Management category is the largest segment of the NRPP. Priority park projects are 

submitted by regions and reviewed and ranked by a panel of subject matter experts, which recommend 

projects for funding based on project quality, resource threats and other factors. Projects must cost at least 

$50,000 but no more than $900,000 and may last no more than three years. The projects listed below have 

received their final funding installment. Although these projects will not receive additional funding from the 

NRPP program beyond FY 2001, fieldwork, data analysis, report writing, peer review of reports or other 

parts of the project may continue into the next fiscal year. 

Region ST Park Project 

Total 

Funding 

FY 2001 

Funding 

AKR AK 

Cape Krusenstern 

NM 

Assessment of lead levels in 

plants $75,000 $75,000 

IMR AZ Grand Canyon NP Control of Himalayan 

blackberry 

$54,000 $27,000 

IMR CO Rocky Mountain 

NP 

Restore Hidden Valley ski area $372,000 $52,000 

IMR NM White Sands NM Non-lethal removal of exotic 

Oryx 

$200,000 $55,000 

MWR AR Buffalo NR 

Assess macroinvertebrate 

community $50,000 $25,000 

IMR TX Big Bend NP Eradicate saltcedar at spring $60,000 $23,000 

NER VA 

Shenandoah NP (+7 

NER parks) Control invasive exotic 

vegetation 

$390,000 $205,000 

PWR CA Channel Islands NP 

Develop exotic species control 

strategy $148,000 $10,000 

PWR CA 

Lake Mead NRA 

(+4 other parks) Remove exotic tamarisk $595,000 $195,000 

PWR CA Mojave NPres Remove exotic burros $899,000 $296,000 

PWR ID 

Hagerman Fossil 

Beds NM 

Survey and map paleontology 

sites $96,000 $34,000 

SER FL Big Cypress NPres 

Develop mineral management 

plan $120,000 $70,000 

SER KY 

Mammoth Cave NP Evaluate food chain for 

endangered Unionid Mussels $48,000 $24,000 

NER VA Shenandoah NP Test backcountry plan $567,000 $125,000 

NER VA Shenandoah NP 

Develop definitive air quality 

related values report $428,000 $140,000 

Total $1,356,000 

32 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Removal of Exotic Burros from Mojave National Preserve Feral burros (Equus 

asinus) have had serious and potentially irreversible impacts on native flora and fauna of 

Mojave National Preserve. This ecosystem cannot be restored until the feral burro 

population is drastically reduced. Burro eradication has therefore, been designated the top 

resource management priority for the preserve. FY 2001 concluded a five-year effort to 

non-lethally remove feral burros. A total of 1,768 feral burros were removed by nonlethal 

means. Two methods were used: 

water trapping captured 879 burros. The Bureau of Land Management and the Fund for 

Animals provided assistance in burro adoption. Animals captured that may have entered the 

preserve from adjacent public lands were taken to the BLM horse and burro adoption 

facility in Ridgecrest, California. The remaining burros were transferred to Euclid 

Stockyards, where they were sold as pets or relocated to the Fund for Animals’ Black 

Beauty Ranch. No trapping efforts were conducted at springs, wetlands, riparian areas, or 

other sensitive environments. All trapping locations chosen were in sites previously impacted 

by livestock and feral burros. 

helicopter assisted roundup captured 889 burros and 

National Park Service 33 
Native/Nonnative Species Management

Native/Nonnative Species Program Funding 

FundingAvailable in FY 2000

Recision 

Increase in FY 2001 

Total Available in FY 2001

FY 2002 Native/Nonnative Species Funding Categories 

Exotic Plant Management & Ecological Restoration

Endangered Species Program

Integrated Pest Management Program

Wildlife Management Program

Biological Resource Projects

Subtotal 

$3,449,000 

(8,000) 

0 

$3,441,000 

$1,987,000 

260,000 

197,000 

383,000 

685,000 

$3,441,000 

Exotic Plant Management and Ecological Restoration The national parks are home to complex native 

communities of plants and animals that have developed over millions of years. This natural heritage is 

threatened by the invasion of exotic plants and animals and other human caused disturbances that foster the 

establishment of exotic species. The introduction of harmful exotic species is an emerging global problem 

and control of exotic species is one of the most significant land management issues facing the National Park 

System. 

•	 Seventeen parks received funding increases in whole or in part to address exotic species management 

and recovery of threatened and endangered species. 

•	 Modeled after the approach used to fight wildfires, Exotic Plant Management Teams (EPMTs) are 

designed to provide highly trained mobile strike forces of plant management specialists to assist parks in 

the control of exotic plants.These field or park-based teams are: Florida, based at Everglades NP, 

Florida; National Capitol Region, based at Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C.; Chihahuan Desert/ 

Southern Shortgrass Prairie, based at Carlsbad Caverns NP, New Mexico; and Pacific Islands, based 

at Haleakala NP, Hawaii. 

•	 Four EPMTs completed their first full operational year. The teams focused control efforts on 100 high 

priority exotic species, treated 5,812 acres, and inventoried 8,215 acres to determine the presence of 

species needing removal. 

•	 Six species have been eradicated from parklands for the first time in recent history. Haleakala NP is 

now free of damaging silk oak and thatching grass and Loggerhead Key in Dry Tortugas NP is now 

exotic species free. 

•	 The Pulling Together Initiative and the Plant Conservation Alliance, through the National Fish and 

Wildlife Foundation, utilized two cost-share programs that provided matching federal funds for 10 parkbased partnership efforts related to invasive plant management efforts and restoring native species. 

34 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
•	 The Biological Resources Division staff also began efforts to work more closely with the NPS Fire 

Management Program Center with parks involved in ecological restoration efforts. 

Florida Partnership Exotic Plant Management Team While some other Exotic Plant 

Management Teams (EPMTs) utilize in-house crews, the efforts in Florida reflect the flexibility of 

the team concept. All work in Florida is accomplished through a partnership with the State of 

Florida Department of Environmental Protection Upland Invasive Plant Management Program, 

which matches every NPS dollar with a state dollar. Work is accomplished through contracted 

crews. More than 1000 acres were treated, including initial treatment of the entire acreage of 

DeSoto National 

Monument and 

Loggerhead Key in 

the Dry Tortugas. 

These efforts 

involved volunteers 

from park staffs as 

well as 50 

volunteers from 

Pillsbury Inc. 

Community support 

through volunteerism 

is a significant part 

of management and 

control of exotic 

plant species in 

Florida’s national 

parks. 

To increase 

efficiency and 

encourage broad 

support for exotic 

plant control, the 

EPMT initiated two agreements with the South Florida Water Management District, one on 

exotic plant monitoring and one that will allow District contractors to treat weeds within 

Everglades National Park. The EPMT helped establish a new organization, the South 

Biscayne Bay Exotic Plant Management Working Group (SBBEPWG), which anticipates 

production of an exotic plant management plan in 2002. SBBEPWG includes representatives 

from Biscayne National Park, Miami-Dade County, the Nature Conservancy, Florida Power 

and Light and the State of Florida. Finally, the EPMT prepared a successful proposal to the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on behalf of Everglades NP. As a result, the Corps will 

provide $700,000 over five years for treatment of exotic plants in the habitat of the Cape 

Sable seaside sparrow, a federally listed endangered species. 

National Park Service 35
Total Exotic Plant Management Teams Accomplishments – FY 2001 

Acres Treated 5813 

Acres Retreated 192 

Acres Inventoried 8215 

Acres Monitored 3304 

Acres Restored 2 

Species Eradicated from Parks Served 6 

Florida Partnership EPMTFY 2001 Accomplishments 

Acres Treated 1100 

Acres Retreated 20 

Acres Inventoried 4694 

Acres Eradicated 4 

Endangered Species Program During FY 2001 the Challenge again provided important opportunities 

for the Endangered Species Program to contribute to the stabilization and recovery of threatened and 

endangered species in national parks. The NPS endangered species databases (see table page 37) are 

being updated and summaries are being written of needed recovery actions for each listed species that 

occurs in NPS units. These concise reviews can be utilized by NPS resource managers to identify project 

priorities for funding, and to evaluate the consequences of park operations on listed species. 

•	 The Endangered Species Program is working closely with the Smithsonian Institution to provide more 

efficient curation of specimens collected in national parks and is also working on a new program to 

preserve seeds from endangered plants with the National Seed Storage Laboratory and Center for 

Plant Conservation. 

•	 Program endangered species biologists have provided technical assistance to park units from coast to 

coast, including advice on listed plants and birds to Colonial NHP, as it prepares for its 400th 

anniversary, and to Channel Islands NP which has brought its endemic island foxes into a captive 

breeding program. 

•	 The final 2001 issue of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Endangered Species Bulletin focuses exclusively on 

conservation efforts in national parks; there are articles from each NPS region as well as an overview of 

the NPS program. 

36 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
•	 The Endangered Species Program has taken a lead role in drafting and negotiating memoranda of 

understanding (MOU) with other federal agencies in order to prevent further species declines. 

•	 An MOU on black-tailed prairie dogs, another on amphibians and reptiles, and a third on migratory 

birds will provide NPS managers with clear direction in conservation efforts. 

•	 In order to stabilize species that move beyond park boundaries, the Endangered Species Program has 

helped the NPS develop new partnerships with Bat Conservation International, Partners in Flight, and 

the InternationalAssociation of Fish and WildlifeAgencies. 

Number of Endangered Species in National Park System 

Plants 193 

Invertebrates 43 

Fish 40 

Amphibians 4 

Reptiles 19 

Birds 53 

Mammals 46 

Total 398 

Integrated Pest Management Program The NPS Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM), viewed 

as a model by other resource agencies in managing pest species, continued to provide a broad range of 

technical services and IPM training in FY 2001. The IPM Program provides low risk strategies for the 

management of exotic and native pests adversely impacting park management objectives through training 

and technical assistance. This technical assistance is provided to more than 100 parks per year through onsite consultations by IPM staff, providing material or remote consultations on problems and by identifying 

other experts who provide assistance to park personnel. The technical assistance provided by the IPM 

program often results in a more economical and permanent solution to pest management problems. The 

IPM program not only assists with natural resource management and pest management issues but assists 

many other program areas within the NPS including, operations, concessions, cultural resources and visitor 

safety. 

Wildlife Management Program The Biological Resources Management Division’sWildlife Management 

Program provides policy guidance, technical assistance, and training to enhance the ability of park staff to 

meet the increasing demands for professional wildlife management. This includes the areas of wildlife health, 

wildlife restoration, exotic species management, wildlife population management, and the identification of 

wildlife research needs. 

The Park Flight Migratory Bird Program works to protect shared migratory bird species and their 

habitats in both U.S. and Latin American national parks and protected areas. The program develops 

bird conservation and education projects and creates opportunities for technical exchange and 

cooperation. Park Flight is a partnership between NPS, National Park Foundation, National Fish 

& Wildlife Foundation, American Airlines, and the University of Arizona. The program is made 

possible through the generous support of American Airlines and the NPS Challenge. Technical 

direction is provided through the University of Arizona Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystem 

Studies Unit and NPS Biological Resource Management Division. 

National Park Service 37 
Foot-and-mouth Disease An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the United States could 

have dramatic impacts not only on the nation’s domestic livestock, but on natural resources as well. The 

NPS proactively addressed the potential impacts of FMD on wildlife, other natural resources, and visitor 

opportunities by preparing FMD prevention and response plans. The plans were prepared using a 

unique combination of technical expertise provided by the Biological Resource Management Division and 

other science consultants with the emergency incident integrated response expertise of an NPS Type I 

Incident Management Team. The FMD prevention plan has been implemented in the NPS and the 

response plan stands ready if needed. Further, these plans serve as a template for NPS emergency 

response, for example in the case of bioterrorism, to other disease threats to wildlife species. 

•	 In FY 2001, Park Flight funded seven bird conservation and education projects encompassing 

13 U.S. national park units. 

•	 In cooperation with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation/ USAID Neotropical Migratory 

Bird Conservation Program, Park Flight also funded priority projects at important bird 

conservation sites in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, and Mexico. One 

project provides for educational field trips for K-12 children to learn about migratory birds, 

several projects provide for the exchange of technical expertise among US National Parks, 

Central American parks and protected areas and also increases understanding of the cultures of 

the participating countries. 

•	 Projects will increase park and protected area outreach efforts capabilities to reach visitors by 

establishing bird trails and other interpretive efforts. 

•	 As part of the FY 2001 Park Flight technical exchange effort, interns from Mexico and Nicaragua 

assisted with monitoring and education efforts at Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP and Point Reyes NS/ 

Golden Gate NRA. These technical exchanges are coordinated through the NPS Office of International 

Affairs International Volunteer in Parks program. In addition, an NPS employee provided technical 

assistance for a Park Flight project in Nicaragua. 

38 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Biological Resources Projects Thirteen competitively chosen Biological Resource Management projects 

in parks were supported. 

FY2001 Biological Resource Management Competitive Projects 

Park Project Title Funding Status 

Lake Clark NP &Pres. Tracking sockeye salmon Complete 

Badlands NP Translocate and restore bighorn sheep Ongoing 

3 Hawaii Parks Identify invasive plants threatening ecosystem Complete 

Cape Hatteras NS Develop and implement feral cat management plan Complete 

Channel Islands NP Eradicate black rats fromSan Miguel Island Complete 

Cape Hatteras NS Determine natural resource impacts fromrecreation 

Complete 

Voyageurs NP Protect Muskellunge in Shoepack Lake Ongoing 

Santa Monica Mts. NRA 

Assess distribution and status of Mountain Lion Ongoing 

Cape Cod NS SurveyHorseshoe Crabs Ongoing 

Sequoia Kings Canyon 

NP’s Protect resource fromtrespass cattle Complete 

Golden Gate NRA Northern Spotted Owl demographic study Complete 

Santa Monica Mts. NRA 

Assess reptile and amphibian distribution &status Ongoing 

Rock Creek Park Determine ecological vulnerability of Kenk’s Amphipod 

Ongoing 

National Park Service 39
Geologic Resources Protection

Geology Program Funding 

FundingAvailable in FY 2000 

Other Geology Programs (not Challenge) 

Geologic Resource Protection 

Subtotal 

Natural Resource Challenge Increase in FY 2001 

Recision

Total Available in FY 2001 

$1, 952,000 

696,000 

$2,648,000 

0 

(6,000) 

$2,642,000 

•	 Challenge funds ($696,000 of the FY 2001 total program funds) were used to provide technical 

expertise in a variety of geologic fields other than minerals management, which is the focus of the 

balance of the program. This Challenge funding has put the Geologic Resources Division in a position in 

which it is able to respond to all parks seeking assistance with technical aspects of geology as it applies 

in park settings. 

•	 The Geologic Resources Division staff provided technical assistance on 33 disturbed lands restoration 

projects and assumed responsibility for management of the Disturbed Lands portion of the Natural 

Resource Preservation Program fund source. 

•	 The Division staff responded to 14 assistance requests on coastal processes, and 10 requests for aid 

related to geologic hazards. 

•	 Surveys of 278 parks regarding fossil resources were conducted and fossil assessments were 

conducted at four parks. 

•	 The Division worked jointly with the USGS in the development of Coastal Vulnerability to Sea Level 

maps for three parks. This will be critical information for park planning and management purposes. 

•	 The agency’s involvement with cave and karst resources was elevated through sponsorship of a 

National Cave and Karst Management Symposium and other professional activities. 

40 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Water Resources Protection

Water Resources Program Funding 

Funding Available in FY 2000 

Water Resource Projects 

Water Resource Protection 

Competitive Projects 

Other 

Water Resource Technical Assistance 

Other Water Resource Management 

Subtotal 

Natural Resource Challenge Increase in FY 20011

Natural Resource Challenge Increase in FY 20012

Recision 

Total Available in FY 2001 

$674,420 

805,000 

27,000 

2,534,500 

730,000 

4,770,920 

1,275,000 

825,000 

(2,000) 

$6,868,920 

1 Increase for Water Resource Monitoring – reported on in previous section. 

2

 Increase for Water Resource Protection – reported on below 

•	 A total of 16 projects in 11 individual parks and multi-park projects were funded. These projects 

focused on data collection and analysis used to describe surface and ground water flow regimes and 

investigated the dependence of park resources upon water. 

•	 The majority of FY 2001 project funds were used to support ongoing studies. In the desert southwest, 

projects are developing modeling capabilities for regional ground water flow systems. In the eastern 

states, hydrologic studies are developing information on the results of impoundments on surface river 

systems. These tools are needed by decision-makers to understand the potential impacts to park water 

resources from a number of existing water development proposals. Other results are being developed to 

better understand the potential impact on water-dependent resources of potential changes in stream and 

ground water flow. 

•	 Funding is also used by the Department of the Interior Office of the Solicitor to supply legal advice and 

prepare technical, written opinions on behalf of the NPS. Extensive interface exists between these 

activities and other agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Geological Survey. See Appendix E for a list of all Water 

Resource Protection projects. 

National Park Service 41 
C. Attract Scientists and Good Science 

NPS has long recognized the need to have access to high-quality science to improve management of parks 

and particularly the natural resources in those parks. Parks need to become attractive to cooperating 

scientists and graduate students. Park managers need to become more aware of the current state of 

scientific knowledge. A logical outcome would also be translation of scientific findings in parks to laymen’s 

terms and transfer of information to the scientific community and the public. The Attract Scientists and Good 

Science theme of the Challenge is aimed at fostering a climate conducive to scientific investigation and has 

received eight percent of Challenge funding to date. 

•	 Both the Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Units and the Learning Centers are founded on the concept 

of partnering. The 10 CESUs currently have 80 partners working with them. These are primarily 

colleges and universities but they also include non-governmental organizations. 

•	 Between January 1, 2001 and September 30, 2001, over 2,700 permit applications were submitted via 

the new NPS automated research and collecting permit system. One hundred and seventy parks 

processed 2,200 of those permits during that same time. 

This section addresses the following increases received in FY 2001: 

FY 2001: 

Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units $1,596,000 

Learning Centers 898,000 

Total $2,494,000 

Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units 

CESUs are interdisciplinary, multi-agency partnerships with the nation’s universities and other institutions. 

Individual CESUs are part of a national network that has been established recently with leadership from the 

NPS, the USGS, and other federal agencies. Their broad scope includes the biological, physical, social, and 

cultural sciences needed to address natural and cultural resource management issues at multiple scales and in 

an ecosystem context. 

About 260 projects were completed in parks as a result of staff and cooperators associated with the system 

of Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units. The Challenge funded $1,596,000 in NPS participation in these 

units and 69 projects. Together with other funding, a total of $9,322,331 was expended through the CESUs 

for technical assistance, research, and educational projects from other sources, including funds for 197 

projects using non-CESU funding. 

Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units Funding 

Funding Available in FY 2000 $0 

Natural Resource Challenge Increase in FY 2001 1,596,000 

Total Available in FY 2001 $1,596,000 

42 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit Projects – 2001 

CESU Challenge Projects Leveraged Projects 

Colorado Plateau

Desert Southwest

Rocky Mountain

Great Plains

Chesapeake Watershed

North Atlantic Coast

Great Basin

Pacific Northwest

South Florida/Caribbean

SouthernAppalachian

Learning Centers 

10 43 

14 20 

22 45 

2 10 

1 3 

2 7 

1 3 

11 26 

1 26 

5 10 

The Learning Centers have been designed as public-private partnerships that involve a wide range of people 

and organizations including researchers, universities, educators, and community groups. Learning Centers 

are field stations for collaborative research activities, providing researchers with laboratory, office and 

dormitory facilities. Collaboration and cooperation help to leverage available resources to address the 

National Park System’s current backlog of research projects. Learning Centers are cost-effective because 

each will have a small core staff and operational expenses will be shared with partners. The actual facilities 

are housed in either adaptively reused buildings in parks or facilities in surrounding communities. 

As part of the Challenge five Learning Centers moved into various stages of development and operations 

focusing on providing opportunities for cooperating scientists to work in parks and to communicate the 

results of their work to the public. Four of the following Learning Centers were funded by the Challenge. 

The Ocean Alaska Science and Learning Center was funded through an add-on; however, it was originally 

developed as a result of the Challenge. 

•	 The Appalachian Highlands Learning Center provided services to 39 of Great Smoky Mountains NP’s 

155 research permit holders. A total of 100 professors, graduate assistants and others from 31 colleges 

and universities were involved in activities at the Learning Center. The Learning Center also received 

over $500,000 in grants and in-kind donations. 

•	 The Pacific Coast Learning Center at Point Reyes NS already has a number of inventory, monitoring 

and research projects underway, supported in part by over $150,000 in funds and in-kind donations 

from partners. 

•	 The Atlantic Learning Center at Cape Cod National Seashore has several partners such as Intel 

Corporation and the Federal Energy Management Laboratory assisting in rehabilitating park structures 

for use by the Learning Center. Research projects and education activities are underway, and a 

research catalog for prospective researchers is being developed. Research permits for the park have 

doubled. 

National Park Service 43 
•	 The Continental Divide Research and Learning Center at the McGraw Ranch at Rocky Mountain NP is 

in nearly full-operation, although all renovations, funded privately, are not yet complete. In addition to 

funds for the historic property renovations, the Learning Center received over $800,000 in donated 

funding and in-kind support for research. 

•	 The Ocean Alaska Science and Learning Center, based at Kenai Fjord NP and the Alaska Sealife 

Center, was involved in several exciting projects to disseminate science information, including a Webbased project focused on satellite and radio telemetry and teacher workshops on using the Learning 

Center and the park in classrooms and field trips. 

44 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
V. 

Financial Details 

Natural Resource Challenge Funding History 

(In Thousands of Dollars) 

FY 1999 

Base 11/ 

FY 2000 

Change 

FY 2001 

Change 

FY 2002 

Change 

FY 2003 

Change 

Request 

Complete Inventories & Monitor Resources 

Complete basic natural resource inventories, except 

vegetation mapping 1/ 5,787 7,309 2,000 

Vegetation mapping cost-share with USGS 0 1,746 2,250 

Monitor vital signs in networks of parks 0 4,191 4,200 6,900 

Monitor water quality in parks and assess watershed 

conditions 

0 1,272 3,600 

Expand air quality monitoring and related activities 6,285 2,600 

Inventory air emissions in parks 2/ 0 200 

Make natural resource data useable for management 

decisions and public 3/ 455 1,098 

Synthesize resource information for planning 

Subtotal 12,527 7,309 8,507 6,800 14,750 

Eliminate Most Critical Mitigation Problems 

Expand NRPP project fund, specialized inventories, 

training 

5,432 2,875 4,000 500 

Create native/nonnative program/field teams for 

nonnative species management 0 3,449 2,400 2,145 

Establish resource protection fund 0 300 

Implement Resource Protection Act – restore 

resources 

0 500 

Protect geologic resources 4/ 1,918 696 

California Desert restoration 

Increase park bases for nonnative and threatened & 

endangered species recovery 5/ 25,693 3,395 3,200 

Expand water resource protection & restoration 6/ 4,754 823 1,000 200 

Subtotal 37,797 7,020 4,218 11,400 2,845 

Attract Good Science 

Establish Learning Centers 0 898 1,800 

Establish CESUs 0 1,596 400 

Involve scientists with parks 

Subtotal 0 2,494 1,800 400 

Nat. Res. Challenge Plus Affected Programs 50,324 14,329 15,219 20,000 17,995 

Non-Challenge Natural Resource Categories 7/ 

Park Base 31,402 5,046 6,014 3,835 1,556 

Regional Project Programs 2,093 0 0 0 0 

Servicewide Project Programs 8/ 2,216 -23 8 12 8 

Central Office Support 9/ 8,196 1,731 1,498 156 -448 

Total Natural Resource Categories Not Affected 43,907 6,754 7,520 4,003 1,116 

Everglades Restoration and Research 12,800 -4,092 1,299 862 

Tot.al Natural Resources Appropriation by Year 

10/ 107,031 124,022 148,060 172,925 188,085 

National Park Service 45 
1/ FY 1999 figure includes program support and $895,000 for monitoring projects; in addition, $2.2 million appropriated for

this program was previously transferred to parks for their prototype monitoring activities.

2/ Included in Budget Justification as Air Quality Program, with air quality monitoring, shown separately here.

3/ In FY 1999, these funds were not shown separately in the Park and Program Summary.

4/ Part of a larger Geologic Resources Program that also includes Abandoned Mine Land Restoration and other mining and

minerals-related activities.

5/ Estimated amount in park bases, prior to the initiation of the Natural Resource Challenge, devoted to activities related to

invasive and threatened and endangered species management. Estimated amount is derived from park base amounts

contained in official NPS accounting system, adjusted to reflect portions of amounts identified against GPRA Goals (Ia1and

Ia2).

6/ Part of larger Water Resource Program; Water Quality Monitoring will be included in this total in the Budget Justification

as well.

7/ Primarily consists of “uncontrollable changes” (i.e., pay cost) and park specific increases (outside the Challenge)

affecting natural resources. Small amounts of uncontrollable changes affecting base amounts in Natural Resource Challenge

categories are included here. Uncontrollable changes to base have not been tracked in the Natural Resource Challenge

numbers.

8/ Oil Pollution Program and Geographic Information Program.

9/ Includes Headquarters and Regional Office support

10/Comprised of the following three Program Components included as part of the Resource Stewardship Budget Subactivity

in ONPS: Natural Resource Research Support; Natural Resources Management, and Everglades Restoration and Research.

11/ Enacted amount shown in FY 2000 Budget Justification.

Comparisons of Funding Between Fiscal Years 

The following three tables provide comparisons between Fiscal Years 1999, 2000, and 2001 for each 

Natural Resource Challenge Program Area grouped by Challenge themes. 

Inventory and Monitoring 

Total Funds by Program Area and Fiscal Year 

0.000 2.000 4.000 6.000 8.000 10.00 

0 

12.00 

0 

14.00 

0 

Inventories 

Vegetation Mapping 

Water Monitoring 

Air Emissions 

Air Quality Monitoring 

Vital Signs Monitoring 

Data Management 

FY99 FY00 FY01 

46 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Mitigation of Critical Resource Problems 

Total Funds by Program Area and Fiscal Year 

0.000 5.000 10.00 

0 

15.00 

0 

20.00 

0 

25.00 

0 

30.00 

0 

35.00 

0 

NRPP 

Non-Native Management 

Geologic Resources 

Park Base 

Water Resources 

FY99 FY00 FY01 

Attracting Accomplished Scientists 

Total Funds by Program Area and Fiscal Year 

0.000 0.500 1.000 1.500 2.000 

Learning Centers 

CESUs 

FY99 FY00 FY01 

National Park Service 47 
48 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Appendix A 

Projected completion schedule for baseline natural resource inventories being 

conducted by the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program 1/ 

Basic Data Sets 

2001 2/ 2002 2003 2004 

Underway Completed Underway Completed Completed Completed 

Automated Bibliographies 2 257 7 263 270 270 Base Cartographic Data 22 248 0 270 270 270 Higher Plant and Animal Occurrence 

(species lists) 

62 210 0 270 270 270 

Distribution of Species of Special Concern 271 0 271 0 0 250 Vegetation Maps 17 22 40 27 37 52 Soils Maps 117 37 97 57 80 100 Geology Maps 239 2 227 14 26 38 Water Resource Locations (digital) 3/ 271 0 141 271 271 271 Water Chemistry 46 225 0 271 271 271 Air Quality 0 250 0 250 250 250 Air Quality-Related Values 0 0 0 0 0 50 Meteorological Data 0 0 135 135 270 270 1/ The Servicewide programacquires basic inventory data sets for about 272 

parks with significant natural resources. However, some parks have acquired 

some of these data sets and a few parks may not need all 12 sets. The parks to 

complete reflects the number of parks Servicewide with outstanding needs. 

2/ Based on 11/24/99, 2/27/01, and 6/21/01 data. Numbers reflect end of FY 

conditions and available funding. 

3/ Figures are based on provision of digital hydrography at a scale of 1:100,000. 

Use of 1:24,000 scale hydrography from the USGS National Hydrography 

Dataset is preferable for use in measuring water condition by water bodies. This 

data set includes identification of stream reaches with unique codes, allowing 

correlation with data in the STORET database. These data will not be included 

and completed by 2004 at the current funding level. 

National Park Service 49
Appendix B- Inventory and Monitoring Funding Categories 

FY 2001 Inventory and Monitoring 

Funding Categories: 

Resource Inventory Projects $10,759,500 

Monitoring and projects 5,588,000 

Database Development 730,000 

Regional Coordinators 605,000 

Program Administration 782,500 

TOTAL $18,465,000 

50 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Appendix C – Network Funding for Vertebrate and Vascular Plant Inventories 

Amount of funding provided to individual park networks during FY 2001 for 

conducting inventories of vertebrates and vascular plants. 

Network Total Budget Allocation 

Southwest Alaska Network 1,331,828 180,200 

Northwest Alaska Network 1,437,470 348,183 

Central Alaska Network 942,915 262,334 

Southeast Alaska Network 404,648 145,372 

Great Lakes Network 1,181,860 245,651 

Heartland Network 788,301 230,100 

Northern Great Plains Network 782,749 128,456 

Mid-Atlantic Network 424,635 0 

Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network 602,551 30,000 

Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network 866,885 0 

Northeast Temperate Network 579,880 262,334 

National Capital Network 686,257 114,026 

Cumberland/Piedmont Network 565,541 135,005 

Southeast Coast Network 1,163,014 228,857 

Gulf Coast Network 852,881 203,800 

Appalachian Highlands Network 675,657 151,952 

South Florida/Caribbean Network 1,398,877 305,417 

Northern Colorado Plateau Network 1,037,439 290,643 

Rocky Mountain Network 580,733 95,000 

Greater Yellowstone Network 665,742 142,100 

Southern Colorado Plateau Network 1,185,253 444,403 

Southern Plains Network 310,302 171,000 

Sonoran Desert Network 615,521 533,500 

Chihuahuan Desert Network 709,820 13,000 

North Coast and Cascades Network 787,636 163,100 

Northern Semi-Arid Network 481,769 139,792 

San Francisco Bay Network 682,333 158,765 

Mojave Desert Network 780,669 100,000 

Mediterranean Coast Network 731,032 149,504 

Sierra Network 602,002 107,500 

Pacific Islands Network (Hawaiian parks) 900,000 217,860 

Klamath Network 731,392 79,032 

Guam 129,669 41,669 

American Samoa 190,210 61,210 

Saipan 86,528 26,528 

Totals 25,893,999 5,906,293

National Park Service 51 
Appendix D – Allocations for Inventories other than Network Biological Inventories 

Allocations for Inventories other than Network Biological Inventories 

Organization Title FY 2001 Funding 

BIOTIC INVENTORIES 

NPS Database Contract $ 135,000 

NPS IT IS Development 20,000 

Grand Teton NP Vegetation 2,500 

Bandelier NM Vegetation 2,500 

Thomas Stone NHS Vegetation 109,447 

New River Gorge National River Vegetation 70,770 

Rocky Mountain NP Vegetation 20,000 

Northeast Regional Office Vegetation 85,700 

Yosemite NP Vegetation 2 75,000 

Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP Vegetation 195,300 

Glacier NP Vegetation 199,500 

Delaware Water Gap NRA Vegetation 146,000 

Morristown NHP Vegetation 11,300 

Coastal and Barrier Network Vegetation 57,500 

Mid-Atlantic Network Vegetation 160,400 

Cape Cod NS Vegetation 8,000 

Black Canyon of the Gunnison NM Vegetation 11,000 

Great Smoky Mountains NP Vegetation 35,000 

Florissant Fossil Beds NM Vegetation 137,814 

Fort Union Trading Post NHS Vegetation 45,000 

Effigy Mounds NM Vegetation 128,081 

Alaska NP’s Vegetation 500,000 

Olympic NP Amphibian Inv (cont. FY00) 108,000 

Fort Necessity Herp Inventory (cont. FY00) 35,000 

Friendship Hill Herp Inventory (cont. FY00) 35,000 

Gettysburg NMP Bird Inventory (cont. FY00) 30,000 

Hopewell Furnace NHS Bird inventory (cont. FY00) 30,000 

Valley Forge NHP Bird Inventory (cont. FY00) 30,000 

Eisenhower NHS Bird Inventory (cont. FY00) 30,000 

Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS Bird Inventory (cont. FY00) 30,000 

Johnstown Flood NM Bird Inventory (cont. FY00) 30,000 

Grand Canyon NP Bird Inventory (cont. FY00) 44,600 

Yukon-Charley Rivers NP Bird Inventory (cont. FY00) 81,200 

Alaska NP’s Habitat Delineation 197,000 

52 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Appendix D – Allocations for Inventories other than Network Biological Inventories 

NPS Base Cartography 80,000 

NPS Map Digitizing 55,000 

NPS Horizon Report Format 100,000 

NPS Water Body Classification 50,000 

Sagamore Hill NHS Water Quality 4,700 

Hopewell Furnace NHS Water Quality 29,500 

Richmond NBP Water Quality 28,000 

Walnut Canyon NM Water Quality 2,800 

Navajo NM Water Quality 17,000 

Alaska NP’s Water Quality 24,000 

Appalachian Trail Bibliography 40,000 

Columbia-Cascades SO Bibliography 70,000 

Intermountain Region Parks Soils 26,100 

Denali NPP Soils 87,200 

Big Bend NP Soils 12,000 

Crater Lake NP Soils 79,500 

Channel Islands NP Soils 126,500 

Redwoods NP Soils 112,800 

Grand Canyon NP Soils 177,000 

Padre Islands NP Soils 100,000 

Big Bend NP Soils 15,000 

Great Smoky Mountains NP Soils 195,000 

Hovenweep NM Geology 1,500 

Glen Canyon NRA Geology 50,000 

Death Valley NP Geology 50,000 

Great Smoky Mountains NP Geology 5,000 

Guilford Courthouse NMP Geology 1,500 

Kings Mountain NMP Geology 22,000 

Badlands NP Geology 4,000 

National Park Service 53
Appendix E- Natural Resource Preservation Program Projects 

E-1a. Natural Resource Management Projects – Fully Funded – Table included in text of 

report. 

E-1b. Natural Resource Management Projects – New and Ongoing 

Region State Park Project Total 

Funding 

FY 2001 

Funding 

AKR AK Denali NP and Pres Managing human use and wildlife resources $260,000 $75,000 

AKR AK Glacier Bay NP Quantifying commercial and sport fishing 

harvest 

$160,000 $66,000 

AKR AK Katmai NP Alagnak River management plan $394,000 $151,000 

AKR AK Kenai Fjords NP Carrying capacity Exit Glacier $275,000 $84,000 

AKR AK Noatak National Pres Population abundance and demography of 

Dall’s Sheep 

$280,000 $90,000 

IMR AZ Petrified Forest NP Preservation of petrified wood $168,000 $56,000 

IMR TX Lake Meredith NRA Control non-native saltcedar $132,000 $44,000 

IMR WY Fossil Butte NM Assessment and protection of new 

paleontological sites 

$168,000 $56,000 

IMR WY Grand Teton NP Monitoring of wolves $396,000 $133,000 

IMR WY Yellowstone NP Native cutthroat trout conservation in 

Yellowstone Lake 

$226,000 $26,000 

IMR WY Yellowstone NP Trout conservation $445,000 $251,000 

MWR AR Buffalo NR Assessment of fish $405,000 $175,000 

MWR MI Isle Royale NP Impact to natural fire regime due to moose 

browsing 

$204,000 $74,000 

MWR MI Sleeping Bear Dunes NL 

+ Pictured Rocks NL 

Restoration biodiversity $364,000 $121,000 

MWR SD Badlands NP Baseline mapping of fossil bone beds $235,000 $75,000 

NER MA Boston Harbor Island 

NRA 

Establish ecological and social carrying 

capacity 

$239,000 $80,000 

NER MA Cape Cod NS Effects of off-road traffic on biotic community $173,000 $53,000 

NER MA Cape Cod NS Effects of ground water $195,000 $82,000 

NER NY Fire Island NS Adaptive management of deer, people, plants $360,000 $120,000 

NER VA Shenandoah NP Acidic impacts on fish $316,000 $289,000 

PWR CA Channel Island NP Rescue island fox population $416,000 $167,000 

PWR CA Golden Gate NRA Cape ivy management $600,000 $173,000 

PWR CA Pinnacles NM Protect vulnerable park resources $153,000 $51,000 

PWR CA Point Reyes NS Coastal dune restoration $333,000 $103,000 

PWR CA Redwood NP Remove English ivy $218,000 $84,000 

PWR HI Haleakala NP Biologically rich lands $427,000 $93,000 

54 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Region State Park Project Total 

Funding 

FY 2001 

Funding 

PWR HI Haleakala NP (+3 other 

HI parks) 

Stabilize threatened and endangered plant 

species 

$549,000 $180,000 

PWR NV Great Basin NP Cutthroat trout $164,000 $54,000 

PWR WA Olympic NP Evaluation of goat management $79,000 $20,000 

PWR WA Olympic NP Conduct demographic monitoring of Northern 

spotted owl 

$190,000 $63,000 

SER FL Gulf Island NP Post nesting satellite tracking of Loggerhead 

turtles 

$54,000 ,000 

SER LA Jean Lafitte NHP & Pres Modeling risk of Chinese tallow invasion $196,000 $57,000 

SER NC Cape Lookout NS Immunocontraception and EIA testing feral 

horses 

$81,000 ,000 

SER SC Congaree Swamp NM Species diversity and condition of fish 

community 

$71,000 ,000 

SER TN Great Smoky Mountain 

NP 

Complete natural resources inventory and atlas $310,000 $80,000 

SER TN Great Smoky Mountains 

NP 

Inventory and delineation of remnant Fraser Fir 

stands 

$45,000 ,000 

SER TN Great Smoky Mountains 

NP 

Brook trout reclamation of Sam’s Creek $215,000 $70,000 

SER TN Great Smoky Mountains 

NP (+13 other SER 

parks) 

Invasive exotic plant management in smaller 

parks 

$249,000 $83,000 

Total $3,466,000 

$18

$30

$24

$15

E-2a. Threatened and Endangered Species Projects – Fully Funded 

Region State Park Project Total Funding FY 2001 

Funding 

PWR CA Mojave National Pres Maintenance of Tui chub habitat $80,000 $80,000 

PWR HI Haleakala NP & 

Hawaii Volcanoes NP 

Control feral cats $126,000 $126,000 

PWR WA North Cascades NP Implement human/bear management 

plan 

$98,900 $44,400 

SER TN Big South Fork NRRA Conduct genetic analysis for 

duskytail darter 

$21,000 $21,000 

Total $271,400 

National Park Service 55
E-2b. Threatened and Endangered Species Projects - Ongoing

Region State 

Park Project 

Total Funding FY 2001 

Funding 

IMR AZ Grand Canyon NP Inventory for Mexican spotted 

owls 

$104,000 $52,000 

IMR UT Capitol Reef NP Endangered plant inventory $163,000 $53,000 

MWR WI St. Croix NSR Mussel communities in the St. 

Croix 

$40,000 $20,000 

PWR CA Mojave NPres Baseline survey of desert tortoise $136,000 $52,000 

SER SC Cape Hatteras NS + 

Assategue Island NS + 

Cape Lookout NS 

Seabeach amaranth: habitat 

assessment and restoration using 

remote sensing data 

$103,400 $51,400 

Total $228,400 

E-3a. Disturbed Lands Restoration Projects – Fully Funded

Region State 

Park Project 

Total 

Funding 

FY 2001 

Funding 

SER FL Big Cypress NPres Restore Turner River headwaters $100,000 $50,000 

SER KY Mammoth Cave NP Plug improperly abandoned oil & 

gas wells 

$106,000 $106,000 

SER LA Jean Lafitte NHP & 

Pres 

Backfill dead-end oil & gas canals $250,000 $50,000 

Total $206,000 

E-3b. Disturbed Lands Restoration Projects – Ongoing 

Region State Park Project Total 

Funding 

FY 2001 

Funding 

AKR AK Denali NP & Pres Remove hazardous conditions at the 

Kantishna Mining District 

$149,500 $79,000 

AKR AK Denali NP& Pres Caribou Creek restoration $200,000 $82,000 

IMR NM Florissant Fossil Beds 

NM 

Removal and restoration of earthen 

dams 

$142,000 $98,000 

IMR TX Palo Alto Battlefield 

NHS 

Restore Resaca wetlands $116,200 $66,200 

MWR AR Buffalo NR Stream restoration in Boxley Valley $167,000 $64,000 

NER NY Fire Island NS Plug and abandon flowing water 

wells 

$74,600 $58,800 

PWR 

Channel Islands NS 

Protect endemic island oak and 

rehabilitate eroding areas 

$85,300 $46,200 

PWR CA Golden Gate NRA Lower Eastkoot Creek restoration $154,500 $77,500 

PWR NV Great Basin NP Restoration of the Bonita Mine $214,200 $72,300 

Total $644,000 

CA 

56 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
E-4. Servicewide Projects 

Project Funding 

Haskell Indian College Agreement $6,300 

Director’s Awards for Natural Resource Stewardship and Science $23,000 

Partnerships with Professional Organization $50,000 

Natural Resources Year-In-Review Report $58,700 

Park Science $46,300 

Research Permit/IAR Integration $18,000 

MAB (Man in the Biosphere) $50,000 

Training on Research Permit and Reporting System $58,000 

National Cave and Karst Institute $75,000 

Develop RAMS $57,000 

Southeast CESU $10,000 

Soundscape Monitoring Projects $200,000 

Chesapeake Bay CESU – Chestnut Management Symposium $27,000 

Arizona CESU – Migratory Bird Symposium $17,000 

Unexpended Funds $18,700 

Total $715,000 

National Park Service 57
E-5. Small Park Projects Funded in FY 2001 

Region State Park Project Funding 

AKR AK Klondike Gold Rush NHP Aerial photos sheep camp $5,000 

AKR AK Klondike Gold Rush NHP GIS basemap for Dyea area $5,000 

AKR AK Sitka NHP Indian River macroinvertebrate study $10,000 

IMR Z Navajo NM GIS systems $14,500 

IMR AZ Tonto NM Fence boundary $14,900 

IMR AZ Tumacacori NM Inventory $14,000 

IMR AZ Walnut Canyon NM Survey rockmat $7,500 

IMR CO Bent's Old Fort NHS Landscape restoration $15,000 

IMR CO Florissant Fossil Beds NM Website development for literature $12,000 

IMR CO Florissant Fossil Beds NM ID plants and insects $3,000 

IMR MT Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS Defer cattle grazing on native range $15,000 

IMR NM Aztec Ruins NM Revegetate rooms & picnic area $5,000 

IMR NM Fort Union NM Base inventory $12,000 

IMR OK Chickasaw NRA Soil Survey $5,000 

IMR OK Washita NB Tamarisk eradication $8,300 

IMR TX Alibates Flint Quarries 

NM 

Assess wildfire impacts $2,500 

IMR TX Lake Meredith NRA Non-native species $6,000 

IMR TX Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Re-establish vegetation $3,500 

IMR TX Palo Alto NHB Mesquite eradication $8,000 

IMR TX San Antonio Mission NHP Exotic chinaberry $9,900 

IMR UT Golden Spike NHS Vegetation management plan $8,000 

IMR UT Timpanogos Cave NM Photo-monitoring $15,000 

IMR WY Fort Laramie NHS Vegetation management plan $12,000 

IMR WY Fossil Butte NM Paleontological data $14,900 

MWR AR Pea Ridge NMP Disease threaten safety $15,000 

MWR AR Hot Springs NP Stabilize rock slope at Hot Springs $10,000 

MWR IA Herbert Hoover Bank stabilization $5,000 

MWR IN Lincoln Boyhood NM Insect inventory $10,100 

MWR MN Grand Portage NM Fire history $9,800 

MWR MN Grand Portage NM Inventory of butterflies $2,400 

MWR MN Grand Portage NM Snowmobile activity $4,900 

MWR MN Pipestone NM Tallgrass prairie $8,000 

A

58 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Region State Park Project Funding 

MWR MO Fort Union Trading Post 

NHS 

Erosion management – Phase I $10,000 

MWR MO George Washington Cover 

NM 

Vegetation management plan $9,800 

MWR MO Wilson’s Creek NB Exotic species $15,000 

MWR MO MWR Multi-Park Orthrophoto rect. – Heartland I&M 

Network 

$23,600 

MWR ND Arkansas Post NM Stabilize banks $9,900 

MWR ND Knife River Indian Village 

NHS 

Noxious plant control $15,000 

MWR NE Agate Fossil Beds NM Weed control $7,500 

MWR NE Scotts Bluff NM Rodent-proof structures $15,000 

MWR OH Hopewell Culture NHP Lands restoration $15,000 

NCR MD Antietam NB Riparian buffer $10,000 

NCR MD Catoctin Mountain Park Vegetation monitoring and 

management 

$6,500 

NCR MD Catoctin Mountain Park Invasive exotic brochure $2,000 

NCR MD Chesapeake & Ohio Canal 

NHP 

Harperella $10,000 

NCR MD Chesapeake & Ohio Canal 

NHP 

POGO upland forest $2,800 

NCR MD Chesapeake & Ohio Canal 

NHP 

Analyze breeding bird data $10,000 

NCR MD Chesapeake & Ohio Canal 

NHP 

Wayside and brochure $6,500 

NCR MD National Capitol Parks – 

East 

Butterfly inventory $1,900 

NCR MD National Capitol Parks – 

East 

Bird checklist brochure $3,500 

NCR VA George Washington 

Memorial PKY 

Dike marsh fish inventory $10,000 

NCR VA George Washington 

Memorial PKY 

Mosses, liverworts, lichens $6,800 

NCR VA Manassas NB Vegetation mapping $5,600 

NCR VA Wolf Trap Farm Park Water quality equipment $4,600 

NCR VA Wolf Trap Farm Park Wayside exhibit $2,800 

NCR WV Harpers Ferry NHP Peregrine falcon restoration $5,000 

NER CT Weir Farm NHS Dam restoration $10,000 

NER MA Boston Harbor Island 

NRA 

Native vegetation $20,000 

NER MA Saugus Iron Works NHS Watershed project $24,000 

NER PA Gettysburg NMP Re-evaluate effects of deer $54,000 

PWR AS American Samoa NP Assess Tutuilla stream biota and 

condition 

$40,900 

PWR CA Cabrillo NM Abundance and distribution of small 

mammals 

$19,700 

PWR CA Fort point NHS Monterey Cypress removal $7,800 

PWR CA John Muir NHS Mount Wanda exotic tree control $10,000 

PWR CA Muir Woods NM Remove cape ivy $1,000 

PWR HI Kaloko-Honokohua NHP Green sea turtle status, health, and 

habitat 

$19,900 

PWR HI Kalaupapa NHP Repair Kauhako Crater/ Kukaiwaa 

fences 

$19,700 

PWR ID City of Rocks NPres Map non-native plants $16,000 

PWR ID Hagerman Fossil Beds 

NM 

Fossil protection $15,000 

National Park Service 59 
Region State Park Project Funding 

PWR ID Hagerman Fossil Beds 

NM 

High-resolution photo analysis $16,000 

PWR ID Hagerman Fossil Beds 

NM 

Tracer tests $6,000 

PWR OR Fort Clatsop NM Map Reed canarygrass $3,000 

PWR WA San Juan NHP Thin American camp (year 2 of 2) $10,000 

PWR WA San Juan NHP Survey marbled murrelets $10,000 

PWR WA San Juan NHP Control exotics $12,000 

PWR WA Whitman Mission NHS Revegetate 5 acres $7,000 

PWR WA Whitman Mission NHS Pesticide monitoring $6,000 

PWR WA Whitman Mission NHS Baseline on natural quiet $15,000 

PWR WA Whitman Mission NHS Compile history of vegetation 

manipulation 

$10,000 

SER FL De Soto NM Vertebrates inventory $6,700 

SER GA Fort Pulaski NM Conduct baseline water quality survey $12,000 

SER GA Jimmy Carter NHS Develop Integrated Pest Management 

plan 

$9,000 

SER KY Multi-Park (MACO) Vital Signs workshop coordination $15,000 

SER KY Multi-Park (MACO) Network vegetation mapping needs 

assessment 

$10,000 

SER LA Cane River Creole NHP Inventory plants and animals $10,700 

SER NC Carl Sandburg NHS Exotic plant management $6,000 

SER NC Carl Sandburg NHS Hazard tree removal $7,000 

SER SC Kings Mountain NMP Vegetation management plan $22,000 

SER SC Multi-Park (KIMO & 

COWP) 

Resource management assistance $32,000 

SER TN Obed W&SR Analysis of historic Obed flow data $10,000 

SER TN Shiloh NMP Long-term monitoring of aquatic 

resources 

$6,600 

TOTAL 1,000,000 

60 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
Appendix F- Allocation of Water Quality Vital Signs 

Allocation of Water Quality Vital Signs

Monitoring Funding, FY 2001

NETWORK REGION NUMBER OF 

AFFECTED 

PARKS 

WQ 

ALLOCATION 

$(000) 

Central Alaska Alaska 5 98 

Heartland Midwest 15 82 

NE Coastal and Barrier Northeast 8 90 

National Capital National Capital 11 71 

Cumberland/Piedmont Southeast 14 59 

Appalachian Highlands Southeast 4 70 

North. Colorado Plateau Intermountain 16 108 

Greater Yellowstone Intermountain 3 71 

Sonoran Desert Intermountain 11 64 

North Coast & Cascades Pacific West 7 82 

San Francisco Bay Pacific West 6 70 

Mediterranean Coast Pacific West 3 76 

TOTAL: 2001 Network 

Monitoring 

7 NPS REGIONS 103 941 

Cooperative Agreement, 

Colorado State University: 

Data Management 203 

Program Administration, 

Support, Technical 

Guidance, Travel 131 

GRAND TOTAL 1,275 

National Park Service 61
Appendix G. Water Resource Protection Projects - FY 2001 

PARK REGION PROJECT TITLE (s) FUNDING 

$(000) 

ALL ALL Support to the Office of the Solicitor 154.5 

ALL ALL Water Rights Docket Scanning 19.0 

MANY IMR, PWR Water Rights Application Review 9.0 

LAME PWR Spring Flow Monitoring, Preparation for 

Administrative Hearings 

339.0* 

BLCA IMR Preparation for Negotiation/Litigation, 

Adjudication of Colorado Water Division 4 

75.0 

BUFF MWR Investigation of Water Related Values 144.0** 

DEVA PWR Devil’s Hole and Spring Flow Monitoring, 

Evapotranspiration Study, and Groundwater 

Modeling 

174.0* 

AZ Parks IMR Preparation for Negotiation/Litigation, 

Adjudication of the Little Colorado River Basin 

in Arizona 

16.8 

GRSA IMR Support for Creation of Park and Preserve 41.6** 

GRCA IMR Hydrologic Investigation, Spring Protection 271.0** 

ARCH IMR Preparation for Negotiation/Litigation, 

Adjudication of Southeastern Utah 

33.0** 

OBRI SER Stream Flow Monitoring, Surface Hydrology 

Study 

35.5** 

CRLA PWR Preparation for Hearing, Adjudication of the 

Klamath River Basin in Oregon 

5.12 

UT Parks IMR Preparation for Negotiation/Litigation, 

Adjudication of Various Areas in Utah 

56.3 

YELL IMR Implement Reese Creek Water Rights Agreement 11.1** 

ALL ALL Technical and Administrative Support to All 

Projects 

112.5* 

TOTAL FOR WATER RESOURCE 

PROTECTION PROJECTS 

1,497.42 

*

 Projects that were expanded due to the $ 823,000 increase in funding. ** Projects that were started due to the $ 823,000 increase in funding. 

62 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
APPENDIX H - USGS Biological Resources Division Park Oriented Biological 

Support Summary of Progress Made in FY 2001

Title of Project FY 2001 Progress 

Repatriating black bears to the Big 

South Fork of the Cumberland 

Withdrawn from POBS, converted into a larger proposal to 

NPS, and subjected to NEPA analysis. 

Determining causes and rates of adult 

elk mortality in Yellowstone 

Study progressing according to schedule, with continued 

monitoring of elk radio-collared in FY 2000. Cow elk 

mortality to date due as much to human causes as to predator 

causes. 

Effect of Euphorbia esula on 

pollination and seed set of native 

plants 

Study progressing according to schedule, with continued 

collection of field data. Analysis of data pending. 

Effects of fire at Joshua Tree National 

Park 

Study focused on completing necessary layout of experimental 

burn plots, burn plan, and environmental and endangered 

species act compliance activities. Prescribed burning 

scheduled for Calendar Year 2002. 

Implications of 1998/1999 mortality 

pulse to genetic diversity and 

population of the grizzly bear 

population in Glacier National Park 

Initiated genetic analyses of hair samples that were assembled 

in the previous year. Prepared database to receive genetic 

analysis data once data delivered by the lab conducting the 

analyses. 

Expanded collection and collation of 

erosion data and landscape change 

information to protect pinyon-juniper 

woodland resources at Bandelier NM 

No report available. 

Population estimation and 

development of a land-based 

classification protocol for bighorn 

sheep in Grand Canyon National Park 

Fieldwork initiated in summer 2001. Two-year research 

permit issued in 2001 following completion of detailed study 

approach that responded to park constraints on wilderness 

activities, ground disturbance, and other proposed field 

activities. 

Predicting exotic plant species 

locations in Rocky Mountain National 

Park 

No report available. 

Red-throated loons of Bering Land 

Bridge National Preserve: Ecological 

predisposition to present and future 

perils 

No report available. 

Streamflow-vegetation relations to 

quantify Federal reserved water rights 

Because high stream flows and logistical difficulties prevented 

conducting planned fieldwork in 2000, fieldwork was 

conducted in summer 2001. 

Post-fire burn assessment by remote 

sensing on National Park Service 

lands 

Remotely sensed images of one or more fires in six parks have 

been analyzed using the research protocol. Preliminary results 

show GIS system can provide quantified analyses of burn area 

delineation and probable long term effects on existing 

vegetation. Project results have helped stimulate other 

research projects. 

Exotic species invasion and structural 

damage along horse trails in sensitive 

natural areas at Ozark National Scenic 

Riverways 

All fieldwork has been completed and final report is in 

preparation. 

Population monitoring and population 

dynamics of elk at Theodore 

Roosevelt National Park 

Monitored survival of 35 cow and 15 bull elk. Observed 

causes of elk deaths included hunter kills outside the park and 

entanglement in fencing. Initial calf survival data and cow 

pregnancy rates data collected but not yet fully analyzed. 

National Park Service 63
Assessing aerial survey methods to 

determine community composition 

and resource hotspots for waterbirds 

in coastal parks 

Fieldwork completed. Workshop conducted. Preliminary 

reports on data and methodological issues and a draft 

manuscript on marshbirds submitted to Cape Cod N.S. 

Developing indicators of freshwater 

emergent wetland ecosystem integrity 

for monitoring and management at 

Acadia National Park 

Selected 20 wetlands, conducted field sampling, examined a 

time series of aerial photography, and created a GIS database 

to support follow-up analyses. 

Historical salmon production in Lake 

Clark National Park and Preserve: 

relevance to emerging subsistence use 

issues 

Have determined ages of a few sites to help with estimation of 

when spawning habitats were first colonized following 

deglaciation. Unable to collect lake cores as planned last 

winter due to absence of lake ice which is necessary as a 

working platform. Plan to take lake cores in the coming 

winter. Will use analysis of the sediments in the cores to 

reconstruct long-term changes in salmon abundance. 

Evaluation of native freshwater 

mussel populations in the C&O Canal 

National Historical Park: Strategies 

for integrating management of 

biological with cultural resources 

Initial fieldwork delayed by late funding and by weather. The 

first phase surveys are now completed and detailed surveys are 

underway. 

Synthesis of over 60 years of surface 

and ground water data at Indiana 

Dunes National Lakeshore 

Physical and chemical data for surface water and ground water 

sites in and near Indiana Dunes N.L. have been obtained from 

the park, the USGS Water Resources Division, and the 

Environmental Protection Agency. Procedures to format the 

data, support data queries, and provide reports are being 

developed. 

Great Basin National Park freshwater 

mollusk inventory 

Mollusks have been collected and shipped to the research 

facility. Identification of collections has progressed slowly 

due to backlog of other pressing work. 

A clearinghouse for natural resources 

data at North Cascades National Park 

Of 36 identified categories of data, one category is barely 

started, five have obtained and are processing data, two have a 

completed draft, 18 are in final draft preparation or review, 

three are with the park for its review, and seven been finished 

and released. 

Inventory of cryptogams of Olympic 

National Park 

Collected more than 7,000 samples from trail access corridors 

in several watersheds. Identification and curation of samples 

in progress. 

Integrating beaver, water and willow 

in the Savanna model at Rocky 

Mountain National 

Park 

Model being developed using data collected from an earlier 

project. 

Ecological integrity of McDonald 

Watershed, Glacier National Park: 

Biotic indicators of water quality 

impairment and the reconstruction of 

Going-to-the-Sun Road 

No report available. 

Identification of population structure, 

meta-population extent, and 

evolutionarily significant lineages of 

the spotted salamander and wood frog 

inhabiting vernal pools in three 

national parks 

Tissue samples have been collected in preparation for DNA 

analyses. 

A decision support system for the 

Saint Croix National Scenic River 

Project experienced a change in principal investigator. 

Assembly and entering of data into the computer almost 

finished. 

64 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge 
APPENDIX I - Brucellosis Research Projects 

Title Purpose 

Anticipated 

Completion 

Epidemiology and 

pathogenesis of 

brucellosis in 

Yellowstone 

National Park 

bison 

To understand modes of brucellosis transmission and 

pathogenesis in YNP bison and to assess persistence 

of Brucella in the environment. 

October 2001 

Reproduction and 

demography of 

brucellosis 

infected bison in 

the southern 

Greater 

Yellowstone Area 

(GYA) 

To improve understanding of factors that affect 

potential risks of disease transmission and population 

growth in the growing Jackson Bison Herd (JBH) and 

to provide information important for developing 

demographic intervention strategies. 

September 2001 

part, rest during 3 

years assisting 

Jackson Bison & 

Elk Management 

Plan & EIS 

Brucellosis 

seroprevalence in 

moose of the 

southern GYA 

To see if moose populations that are declining in the 

southern greater Yellowstone area, an area which also 

has populations of elk and bison highly affected by 

brucellosis, are highly sensitive to brucellosis and if 

the disease has affected the moose populations. 

On-going 

monitoring based 

on opportunistic 

sampling of 

moose in the 

southern GYA 

Appearance of 

RB51 during 

pregnancy in bison 

exposed in-utero 

To determine through opportunistic study whether 

RB51 vaccine used in bison would infect fetuses and 

express itself as disease during first pregnancy of 

RB51 vaccinated animals. 

Completed in 

FY01 

Efficacy of 

calfhood 

vaccination with 

Strain 19 (S19) in 

elk 

To examine the ability of single dose calfhood 

vaccination with S19 to protect elk from brucellosis. 

September 2002 

Effects of oral 

RB51 exposure on 

grizzly bear 

reproduction 

To assess the effects of RB51 (a living vaccine of 

brucella) on grizzly bear reproduction and the 

requirements for delisting from the Endangered 

Species list, based on using opportunistically 

available female grizzly bears (problem animals 

scheduled for euthanasia) and two captive animals. 

The probably small number of breeding age females 

that will become available over the next three year 

limits the study design. 

September 2003 

Improvements in 

ballistic delivery 

systems for 

wildlife 

vaccination 

To improve current ballistic delivery methods to be 

less intrusive, less labor intensive, and more accurate 

and reliable because current methods for ballistic 

delivery of vaccine require too close an approach to 

animals, animal habituation, too much labor, and 

frequently fail. 

September 2002 

Effectiveness of 

ballistic vaccine 

delivery in calf 

and yearling bison 

in the Greater 

Yellowstone Area 

Use a serum biomarker incorporated into a mock 

vaccine biobullet to test the hypotheses that a high 

proportion of targeted bison could be effectively 

vaccinated without external marking and that 

vaccination range should increase. 

December 2001 

Operational 

program for 

ballistic delivery 

of Brucella 

vaccines to GYA 

bison 

Assist development, test effectiveness, and assess 

intrusiveness of an operational ballistic delivery 

program for vaccinating free-ranging bison. 

September 2003 

National Park Service 65
 Title Purpose Anticipated 

Completion 

Safety and 

efficacy of 

iopanoic acid 

(IPO) as a 

parenteral 

seromarker in 

bison 

Although iophenoxic acid (IPA) appears to be a safe, 

reliable serumbiomarker when delivered parenterally 

in bison, its persistence in bison serum, potential for 

oral transmission to people who consume bison meat, 

and potential to invalidate thyroid function tests in 

humans call for testing another biomarking 

compound, iopanoic acid (IPO), which has a shorter 

half-life in other species. 

February 2002 

Brucellosis 

management in 

elk: Implications 

for elk herd health 

To examine 1) the potential that management 

programs designed for brucellosis vaccination of elk 

could cause exacerbation of hemorrhagic septicemia 

(HS) in elk by bringing elk into contact with HS 

reservoirs, and 2) to assess the risk characteristics for 

HS in order to develop a brucellosis vaccination 

programthat minimizes the risk of HS outbreaks in 

elk. 

December 2003 

Bison chemical 

immobilization 

To assess whether tolazoline causes adverse effects 

during immobilization of bison with drugs and to 

evaluate if the current protocol provides effective and 

safe chemical restraint of bison. 

January 2002 

Efficacy of RB51 

in bison 

To test single and double RB51 vaccination of bison 

for protection against Brucella challenge. 

September 2002 

Persistence of 

RB51 in the 

environment as a 

model for field 

strain Brucella 

To determine the appropriate temporal separation 

between bison and cattle on grazing allotments based 

upon survival of Brucella in the environment using 

live vaccine strain RB51 as a model for field strain 

survival under field, but controlled, conditions. 

September 2003 

Disappearance rate 

of cattle and bison 

fetuses in the 

Greater 

Yellowstone Area 

To identify appropriate temporal separation between 

bison and cattle on grazing allotments in the West 

Yellowstone or Gardiner areas by determining how 

long an aborted fetus may remain in the environment 

in or near certain grazing allotments before being 

scavenged. 

September 2003 

Immune responses 

of red deer and elk 

to genetically 

altered RB51 

Based on pilot studies that have suggested a better 

immune response to a recently developed multiantigenic RB51 than to standard RB51, this study is 

to assess immune response to multi-antigenic RB51 

in red deer (as surrogates for North American elk) 

and bison. 

May 2002 

66 Funding the Natural Resource Challenge