B 

PARK SCIENCE 

A RESOURCE MANAGEMENT BULLETIN 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

VOLUME 4 - NUMBER 1 FALL 1983 
SCIENCE 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 

FALL 1983 

A report to park managers of recent and ongoing research in parks with emphasis on its 

implications for planning and management 

In This Issue 

Page 

Cross Disciplinary Approach to 

Complex Problems Supplied ................ 3 

Letters to the Editor ....................... 6 

Resource Baseline Mapping Training .......... 7 

Tultles and Burros in Headlines .............. 8 

Outdoor Recreation Addressed .............. 6 

Shenandoah White-Tailed Deer .............. 9 

Coyote Study at Monument ................. 10 

Information Crossfile ....................... 10 

Vuiiure Research at Gettysburg .............. 12 

Cowles Symposium Held ................... 13 

Razed Sites Restored ...................... 14 

Tetons Sponsor Resource Training ............ 15 

Cooperative Regional Projects ............... 15 

Regional Highlights., ..................... .16 

Peregrine Perils .......................... 17 

Aquatic Research at Voyageurs NP .......... .16 

NPS Loses a Friend ....................... 16 

Books on Indiana Dunes .................... 19 

Wauer Gives Paper. ....................... 19 

Anadromous Fish Described ............... .19 

Renewable Resource Conference ............ 19 

Cumberland Island Fire ................... .20 

Superintendent’s Corner ................... .23 

Smoke and Visibility in Washington .......... .23 

Cover Photo: Sara Molden (left) and Annie Esperanza, resource management employees of Sequoia/ 

Kings Canyon NPs. weigh small woody debris (1” to 

4” in diameter) as part of the pulse study (See story 

page 3). 

;omebmes IIS hard to see the movmg shape of change espenaiiy ff if involves a system you, yourself, are 

t of Several Items ;” this issue, If they are newed as one whole pwe of ;nformation, offer some mteresbng 

ights mto the changing nalure of resource management in fhe Nalionai Park Service. 

‘he Resource Management Trainee program is lhe subject of three separate submissions that floated into the 

toriai office this quarter from cenfer he/d. One of these items came from the Western Ragion andcan be found 

.ettafs lo the Editor. signed by the Region b Chief of the Natural Resources Management Divfsio”, a” air qua/- 

speciaiist, a” aquabc ecologist and a plant/fire ecologist. 

‘he other hvo came from Bruce L. Freet, a Resource Management Spacfafist at Big Cypress National Preserve 

tie Southeast Region. The longer of Fraal’s hvo submissions appears on p. 7 and deals with a DSC training 

ision on remote sensing and mapping and the tremendous management advantages these t&s afford. 

yond Freef’s descnptio” of these benefits is the obwous exhiiarabo” he feels over the opportunity to pttiorm 

lra effectively 

The third item (this one might almost ba said to have come from ien, rather than center field, since it was forrded from another publication that could not use it) is addressed specifically to Resource Management 

inees. We N” ;t here because it offers another Insight into a veiy pos;tive, almost revolut;onary movement that 

?s even beyond bringing park management into the mainstream of the computerized information age. It tells 

that the Service ;s peculiar/y blessed with a group of young me” and women earnest, eaga dedicated, enthutstic, and “in touch”- with one another and with theirjobs. 

They are defrnitefy on the move and the Service WI// never again be quite the same. Here is the item: 

Sharing Your Resource Management I.D.P. 

By Bruce L. Freet 

I f they have not already done so, I wish to encourage other Resource Management Trainees to develop their 

1°C lividual Development Plan (IDP) component files and make them available as a park-wide self-study program. 

Fo I the trainee, the 1.D.P outlines an ambitious training program of formal coursas, self-study, and on-the-job 

exl xriences including more than 30 subjects or components. With the sincere commitment of regional coordin iators, park management, and trainees, 37 trainees should complete their Individualized packages by the end 

Of FY 64. 

tht 

:: 

be 

as 

ed 

The potential of the Resource Management Trainee Program to influence future NPS decisions far exceeds 

! few enrollees of today. As the training progresses, each trainee essentially builds a library of resource manement information and techniques by component. Many of these subjects coincide with the project statements 

Resource Management Plans. The importance of the library concept lies in the ease in which information can 

shared with others. If the information is Indexed by component, it can be organized by file folders. However, 

more materials are collected, folders will be gradually replaced by notebooks. These are easy to organize and 

it. Other interested employees can “check-out” components for their own self-study and career development. 

See what we mean? 

RUSSELL E. DICKENSON, Director 

National Park Service 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

Editorial Board: 

Daniel J. (Jim) Tobin, Regional Director, and 

Donald R. Field, Senior Scientist, Pacific Northwest Region; 

Asst. Supt. Roland H. Wauer, Great Smoky Mountains NP, and 

John Dennis, biologist, Washington Oflice; 

Supt. William M. Lukens, Padre Island NatIonal Seashore, and 

Asst. Supt. Dale B. Engquist, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. 

Jean Matthews, Editor: Oregon State University NPSICPSU. Room 110 Forestry Sciences Lab. 

3200 Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331(503) 757-4579: E-420-4579 

ISSN-0735.9462 

2 
Cross Disciplinary Approach 

To Complex Park Problems 

Supplied by ‘Pulse Studies’ 

By Jean Matthews 

As environmental problems proliferate and ecosystem functions are increasingly compromised, it 

becomes both more difficult and more urgent to understand how pristine, or near-natural, ecosystems 

function. To the resource manager’s mind, too often 

the outside pressures impacting the systems are insufficiently documented, and in any event a mindboggling number of variables usually is involved. 

In the past four years, an innovative approach 

called a “pulse study’ has been applied at strategic 

places in the West - measuring, monitoring, recording, and hypothesizing-looking for relationships that 

can lead to more effective management of natural 

resources. 

The cover story of Vol. I, No. 1 of this publication 

(Fall 1980) dealt with the pulse study of Olympic NP’s 

Hoh River valley. Three years later, still going strong 

under the same leadership. another such energetic 

effort has been made at Sequoia and Kings Canyon 

NPs in California. 

Jerry Franklin, research scientist with the USFS 

Forestry Sciences Lab in Corvallis, Oregon, is the instigator and prime mover of the pulses. a term that 

seems to refer both to the hearibeat of the ecosyStem 

under study and to the concentrated periods of research that go into “taking the pulse.” 

Initial Pulse 

At Sequoia/Kings Canyon, the initial pulse took 

place in September 1982. (See Supt. Soyd Evison’s 

enthusiastic endorsement of the pulse in the Letters 

section of ParkSc;ence, Spring 1983 issue). The final 

field phase was conducted June 26 to July 9, 1983. 

Under Franklin’s leadership, approximately 15 researchers examined the interactions between streams 

and an arid mixed-conifer forest (giant sequoia, white 

fir, Jeffrey pine, and red fir) and the contribution of 

rip&n vegetation to stream productivity. 

The actual study plots were laid out with an eye to 

answering management questions for the park and to 

testing concepts suggested by previous pulse studies 

in the Hoh. at the H.J. Andrew (USFS) Experimental 

Forest, and at other locations. Researchers examined log decomposition and the roles played by insects and the mountain meadow plant communities 

associated with sequoias. Permanent sample plots 

were established in several of the forest types so additional data can be collected on size and age of 

trees. 

Parlicipants are the investigative lifeblood of the 

pulses; they come from as many institutions and 

agencies as are needed to make the research picture 

whole. Team Leader Franklin, however, is the heartbeat - clowning, coaxing, badgering, inspiring his 

chosen group into a closeknit, interacting unit. It’s at 

night, around the campfire, that Franklin’s magic club 

(no puerile wand for him) beats what could be merely 

a mult;disciplinary exercise into en inlerdisciplinary 

triumph. 

How It Works 

Operationally speaking, it works something like 

this. 

All day long the various teams are out in the field, 

loadmg up on observations and data, according to 

their pre-arranged assignments. At night they unload 

their mental baggage at a Franklin-led, total attendance get-together. As each group reports, a//groups 

pay attention. Light from a dozen different disciplines 

is brought to bear as hypotheses are proposed, exposed, thoroughly chewed over, sometimes accepted 

conditionally, more often shot down and disposed of. 

The process serves to short-cut the usual route of 

publishing in the journals and then awaiting scholarly 

response. 

The touchstone against which the gold of hypothesis is tested is the variety of education and experience represented by the multi-disciplinary science 

team, the technicians, and the resource management 

types who participate. As the discussions proceed, 

discipline distinctions blend into any number of shadings. The sharp edges of riparian, limnological. geological, or hydrological wisdom tend to soften and 

interconnect. The result often is a new light thrown 

into the area being discussed; the resident scientist 

in that area comes up with an “Ah ha!’ reaction. 

(Not every idea floated gets such favorable treatment. There are also a lot ot “boos” and “no-ways”: 

hubris and humility live in precariously close quarters 

at the pulse study campsite.) 

Management Interacts 

In all this discussion and Interaction, management 

personnel from the host park sit in - interjecting the 

management perspective into all that transpires. 

The team maintains its missjon and identity even 

as its membership changes. Some stay on forthe entire pulse; many come and go, lending change and 

continuity and giving the constantly emerging results 

a sort of life and longevity of thew own. Ecosystems 

will continue to evoke; problems will change; the visAir sampling set-up is described by Bruce Wiersma 

(right) to Drs. Yur; G. Puzachenko (iefl) and Valery A. 

Petrukhm. Dr Wiersma is with lhe natiOna/ engineering lab EGBG Idaho, Inc.; Puzachenko is from the 

Russian lnstitote of Animal Evolutionary Morphology 

and Ecology; Petrukhin is from the Russ;an Hydrometric Survey, Executive Secreetanat of B/at& 

Env;ronmentai Agreement. 

itor component of parks and the interpretation and 

management will continue to evolve also. The whole 

scene benefits enormously (according to the testimony of both park managers and resldent scientists) 

from such dynamic group efforts to keep abreast of 

conditions that converge and must be dealt with on 

human terms. Some of the “pluses” (an interesting 

anagram of ‘pulses”) were described by NPS Research Scientist Doug Houston, commenting on the 

Hoh pulse at Olympic NP, which now dates back four 

years: 

“The pulse teem generated some very 

interesting hypotheses abOut the effects 

The pulse’s “mtten wood group,” [mvertebrate people) pursue their quarry n one of the study p/oB. From left 

John Oswald, OSU research assistan$ Gary Parsons, research scientisf at Sequofa;KmgS Canyon, and Jack 

La/fin, associate dean of science and professor of entomology at 0% 

3 
Cross Disciplinary KMW 

of elk and other ungulates on old growth 

forests-their subtle impacts on forest re 

generation and plant species composition. They looked ino the roles of down 

trees in the streams and on the forest 

floor. These are all effects we had not been 

aware of; we can now look for them and 

deal with them.” 

One siarlling finding in the Hoh study was the result 

of establishing elk exclosures in the grassy plots. 

Ken Cummins, stream team leader, about to go wet 

su;td~ng in Log Meadow 

Without grazing, in only four years these plots are fiiling in rapidly with shrubs and ferns. NO grass. A future ParkScience will describe these fmdings and the 

management implicationsslemmingfrom them. 

The work of Bruce Wiersma, an air quality scientist 

now working for private industry at the international 

level, demonstrates two distinct ways in which the 

pulse approach functions as an integrator and synthesizer. Wiersma’s own work involves tying air quality network to network - NPS air quality prcgrams, 

state air programs, university programs, individual 

park programs, and the pulse study group with its 

broad science and agency composition-all different 

sets of sensors focusing on one small slice of ecosystem. Wiersma brings these insights to the pulse 

study, whose way of functioning is almost exactly the 

opposite. Where Wiersma concentrates on getting 

one kind 01 reading from all over Ihe world (air quality), the pulse study concentrates on gelling as many 

readings as possible from one small slice of the ecosystem, with the goal of gaming new iwghts into how 

all (or any of) the components act, interact, and work. 

This kind of information is well-designed to address 

overall park management problems. 

Sierran Pulse 

The first pulse at Sequoia/Kings Canyon took 

place from Sept. 12 to 24, 1982 and involved 41 researchers from eight different institutions and organizations. This included seven individuals from the research and resource management staffs at Sequoia 

NP. Disciplines represented were plant ecology, 

geomorphology, hydrology, entomology (aquatic and 

terrestrial), aquatic biology, forestry, and geography. 

Focus of the first pulse was largely on collections 

of basic descriptive data on the stream, riparian, and 

forest systems at the selected study sites. These included lour stream segments associated with mixedconifer forest (Suwanee and Dorst Creeks), giant 

Sequoia forest. and a meadow. Over 400 m of stream 

reaches were analyzed and mapped. Characteristics 

studied included channel morphology (including 

cross-sedions), woody debris, retention features 

other than wwdy debris, flow patterns, retention 

characteristics (based on leaf release study), and 

biomass and composition of the riparian vegetation. 

Four hectares of adjacent forest were analyzed with 

Measuring a trout from one of /he numerous deep streams thal were completely masked by meadow growth, 

are Stream Team Leader Ken Cumm!ns (leflj and high school volunteer Colter H&se/. 

4 

New woody debris !li Suwanee Creek is ppicai of 

the interaction taking place at Sequoia Kings Canyon 

NF! 

Dynamic Group Leader Jerry Franklin, exhausled 

from excessive whfsl/eblowing, ‘%&es five’ at /he 

foot of a tower;llg sequoia. 
stem mapping and measurement of all live trees, 

snags, and down lags and descriptions of the understoly vegetation. Material was collected for construe 

tion of biomass equations for the major riparian 

species and for biomass estimates in Log Meadow. 

Long-term Plots Established 

Other accomolishmenls included establishment of 

long~ternt snag decay plots. collection of data on d eOne peculiarity of the Sequoia/Kings Canyon area is the fact that no “cobbles” (as in 

Oregon streams) can be found. The rock outcrops tend to disintegrate directly into sandsize particles. The Oregon and Washington 

cobble/pebble stage is one in which benthic 

life abound. 

The tongue-in-cheek suggestion of one observerat an evening campfire: 

“If would be interesting to run an empirical 

test on how many people fall into a stream 

when trying to cross it in the Pacific Northwest 

as opposed to the SequotaiKings Canyon environment.’ 

The critical factor, presumably, would be 

the slippery life forms that make footing 

chancy in the Northwest, as opposed to the 

lack of such slimy life on logs and stream bottoms in the Sequoia/Kings Canyon area. 

composition of down logs (includtng the role of insects), establishment of an upland mixed-conifer 

reference stand (area of mapped and measured 

forest), collection of increment cores for an agestructure analysis of the Suwanee mixed-conifer 

stand, and extensive sampling of meadow vegetation 

within the mixer-conifer zone. 

Data bases for the establishment of volume equations for local trees and on fitter fall (leaf and fine 

woody debris) were developed in mixed-conifer and 

giant Sequoia stands and littertraps were set up in 

Crescent Creek. These are being collected by NPS 

personnel at three to four week intervals. Data will be 

valuable for both this study and the baseline studies 

for appraisal of effects of acid precipitation. Stream, 

air, and soil temperatures are being monttored at 

Crescent Creek using two dual-probe, 31.day Partlow thermographs. 

The June/July phase of the pulse involved 50.odd 

scientific personnel, including four Russian scientists. 

Work concentrated on aquatic process studies (e.g. 

production), aquatic insects and fish in the selected 

streams, and establishment of additional upland 

forest sample plots (reference stands) for study of 

forest composition, structure, and function. Other 

work included additional analyses of log decomposition (especially invertebrate roles), extension of 

meadow analyses, fungal ecology, vertebrate use of 

riparian zones, and physiological studies of rfparfan 

plants. 

Publication Underway 

Currently in production is a single large document, 

data-rich, with maps. coverfng all aspects of the work. 

Individual publications (mostly in refereed outlets) 

have been assigned, and major participation in the 

1994 spring NPS Regional Science Conference in 

Californta has been arranged. 

In typrcal Franklin style. the memo that ties all this 

work into retrievable form and makes it publiclyavailable reads: 

“No bent noses, please, over omissions. This is just 

an efforttoget your minds rolling.” 

Pulse leaders enloy a good iaugh oversome heatbroken hypolhesrzer’s ruined conslruct. From left Ari McKe” 

ecologist and manager of the Andrew Exper~mentai Forest; Pulse Leader Jerry Franklin: Dana Abe/f, ecolcgrst 

from Daws, Caiiforma; and Dean Tayloc OSU forestry research assocfate. 

Stan Gregory (ieftj 01 OSU Fish and W0diite Department, and Jim Brock, biologist from Idaho St&e 

University Bsten as Karen Luchessa, pr;nc~pai mvestigator for stream channel mepp,ng, outlimx the dayb 

work. 

On a Sierran bald at about the 7000.foot /eve/, an atmospherjc group inspects the precipitation event collector 

forchem;cai anaiyses. From ieff, Dan Drisco, Sequora:l(mgs Canyon NP resource management Spenatlst; Kiritf 

D. Zykol: Ray Herrmann, NPS Wafer Resources Lab Chief; Yuii A. Sterfkov. Vaaieiy A. Petrukhin, and Yuri G. 

Pozachenko. The Russian particrpants ,n the pulse study were there courtesy of the U.S./U.S S. R. B&#er.?t Environmentei Agreement. 

5 
lefters to fhe editor 

To the Editor: 

We read with great interest the letter written by William E. Brown, Regional Historian, Alaska Regional 

OHice, which appeared in the Spring 1983 issue of 

ParkScience. We certainly support Mr. Brown’s views 

that “on site” natural resowa managers are needed 

throughout the National Park Service. Furthermore, 

we are pleased to repoti that the Regional Director of 

the Western Region has taken necessary steps to 

satisfy this need. 

In a recent audit of our field positions we determined that 60 full time and less-than-full-time permanent employees in the Western Region manage natural resources on an uncompromised basis. This 

figure excludes seasonal employees and Regional 

Office people who also work full time on natural resources related issues. These 60 positions represent 

approximately half of the total number of all Natural 

Resource Management positions in the National Park 

Service. Properly managing natural resources in 

parks is much more of a complex problem than simply writing such responsibilities into a position description. Responsibility should be inseparable from 

action, requiring full-time dedication and efforl. Other 

park workloads should not dilute efforts and attentions of the natural resource manager, 

In light of all the discussion over how to recruit natural resources management specialists, potential 

career ladders for the individuals and how to fund 

such positions in those parks which demand such expertise, we continue to experience similar confusion 

and consternation as do some others. The National 

Park Service remains extremely fragmented in its ap 

preach to these problems, and concrete national cons~stency on this issue continues to elude the Serwce. 

It is hard to conceive that there appears to be less 

than 100 percent support nationally for the new Natural Resources Management Trainee Program. We fail 

to understand how some individuals can question the 

merit of the program and its goals. Some are apparently agreeable to dilution of its efforts and suppoltive 

of pessimistic talk with respect to future continuation 

of the program. In shod, many disparaging contradictions surface when we discuss the needs for presew 

ing ecological processes through concerned active 

management of the natural resources of parks. 

In summary. we applaud Mr. Brown’s recognition of 

this problem and are enlightened to know that others 

feel as we do. Recognition of our deficiencies in natural resources management expertise within parks is 

the first step toward emphasizing a viable solution. 

Prioritizing our limited dollars in such a way that natural resource management specialists and the wherewithal to do a job be placed in parks where sufficient 

demand exists, is the task at hand. 

Sincerely, 

Francis H. Jacot 

Chief, Division of Natoral Resources Management 

Milton Kolipinski, Ph.D. 

Aquatic Ecologist 

Donald Christensen 

Air Quality Specialist 

Thomas Gavin 

Plant/Fire Ecologist 

To the Editor: 

Editorb Note: Proceedings of the hvc-day June 

1983 conference, Acid %n in the Rocky Mountain 

West, are available for 510 each from the Colorado 

Depadment of Health, Gffice of Health Protection, 

4210 E, lfth Ave., Denver; CO 80220. Because acid 

rain is a high prior@ item on the national agenda and 

an increasing/y sigmffcanr resource managemen! 

problem for the NPS, Park Science offers the following subjective acwunt of what occurred as vlewedby 

one NPS scientist padicipant. 

In June I attended a conference on Acid Rain in the 

Rocky Mountain West, sponsored by the Colorado 

Department of Health and a lengthy list of co-sponsors including the National Park Service. It focused 

for two days on what is known abut western acid 

rain, and just as impodantly, what IS not known. To my 

mind, the conference defied objective reporting, but it 

was too interesting to ignore - especially in such a 

publication as Park Science, where views on scientific subjects are supposed to be aired. 

In the words of the planners, the conference progressed “from the realm of science into the realm of 

religion,” and ended with a short exclamatory session 

between the Environmental Defense Fund people 

and representatives from Ford Motor and Kennecotf 

companies. I would like to comment on the conference -the good, hard scientific facts it repotted and 

the smattering of speculative conjecture. 

Acid fain is an emotional issue, charged on both 

sides with believers and non-believers. The Rocky 

Mountain West conference was a microcosm of the 

national debate and for two days emotions ran high. 

It is a fairly well accepted fact that for acidic fallout 

to be damaging to an environment there must be a 

sensitive receptor. Croplands are rarely ‘sensitive reNRM Trainee Program 

Evaluation Underway 

The Natural Resource Management Trainee Program IS an exciting new direction for the Service to be 

taking. In keeping with its being a new direction, it has 

been undergoing several types of evaluation - selfevaluation in parks, regions, and WASO; and now external evaluation as the result of a WAS0 arrangement with Dr. Paul Nowak, Director of Continuing 

Education and Chair of the Behavior and Environment Program of the School of Natural Resources, 

University of Michigan. 

Dr. Nowak and his colleagues conducted a pilot 

swey of trainee attitudes toward the program at the 

Forf Collins/Denver air quality course. Using the results of this survey, they prepared a more detailed 

questionnaire to evaluate perceptions about the program. They mailed this questionnaire to trainees, 

supervisors, superintendents, and coordinators in 

mid-August. 

In early November Dr. Nowak will convene a work 

shop of trainees, superintendents, and coordinators 

to present his findings. From these findings, the work 

group will recommended programmatic changes and 

revisions for the Trainee Program. 

John Dennis, Ecologist 

Natural Resources Division, WAS0 

6 

ceptors” because their soil chemistry is highly manipulated by farmers to maintain optimum crop-growing conditions. On the other hand, high elevation 

lakes and streams can be quite sensitive, depending 

on the inherent buffering of their surroundings to the 

incoming acids. 

Of the first session, four papers dealt with areas 

found by researchers to be sensitive to acidic rain. Alkalinity was defmed as the buffering capacity available to counter incoming acids; there was no dispute 

that alkalinity decreases with increasing elevations. 

Well presented arguments made thecaseforthesensitivity of high country areas of much of Colorado: the 

Flattops Wilderness Area, the Galena Lake/Mexican 

Cut area near Aspen, and Rocky Mountar NP 

Not so convincing was research claiming to document the loss of alkalintty from acid rain. Much of the 

work was conducted in resetvoirs and other manipulated receptors such as croplands. The contention 

that a 20 percent drop in buffering capacity has occurred overthe last 15 to40 years implles a loo-fold 

increase in the acidity of rainfall - a claim not sup 

ported by national deposition chemistry data. 

The afternoon sewons of the first day were highlighted by two outstanding papers on the nature 01 

wdity in Colorado. Fred Fehsenfeld rep&d indisputable evidence of nitric oxide pollution in the mountains near the Continental Divide when updraft winds 

blow from the Denver metropolitan area. Since there 

has been much speculation on the source of acidic 

rain in the mountainous areas of the West, this paper 

was exciting in that it confirmed at least one source. 

Adding to this excitement was the presentation by 

Michael Grant of the results of a statewide network of 

precipitation collectors Point sources. notably Four 

Comers area and the Denver metropolaan area were 

implicated in contributing to noticeably higher sulfate 

and nitrate concentrations downwind. The reporting 

that pH values throughout much of the western pad 

of the state, including the high elevation areas, averaged 5.6 or less, sent repotters off to formulate headlines of the occurrence of acid rain, the sensitivity 01 

our resources, and the gravtty of the problem. So 

ended the first day, with conference partiupants in a 

general uproar. 

Day two 01 the conference will be known as the day 

of the voice of reason. The first day had given good 

press to some questionable conclusions, the second 

day was to highlight uncerlainity, Acid rain is an emotional issue in part because researchers give conflicing results. The tools are not available for allowing us 

to say yes or no unequivocably to the sources of acid 

deposition and to the effects it causes. One of the 

tools affording us the luxury of conclusions IS a longterm monitoring network. The chemistry of precipitation is of dynamic and varied mmposttion. This was 

clarified in a presentation by Jim Gibson, coordinator 

of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program. He 

pointed out spatial changes in rainfall chemistry, the 

perceived “acid rain” in parts of the west can be attributable in part to airborne gypsum, a natural 

phenomenon. Also discussed were the temporal 

trends now in question. Does rainfall appear more 

acidic today than 30 years ago due to the rain of pollutants, or due to artificially high pH’s of the droughtwracked ‘50’s? 

Setting the tone of the day, Gibson discussed the 

limits of our knowledge and just how to interpret 

them. Carrying on in this vein, other nationally known 

scientists came back again and again to the uncer. 

tainties involved in measuring the acid deposition 
phenomenon. An unknown amount, possibly 50 percent of total deposition, comes as dryfall. At present 

there is no accurate way of quantifying dry deposition. The best scientists in their fields are up against 

the state of the ad in modeling transport measunng 

dry deposition, or predicting damage thresholds. and 

their predictions are necessary for adequate government standards decisions on how to regulate. 

This conference emphasizes that we have coma a 

long way. One could say with certainty that regions of 

the Rocky Mountains are sensitive to the effects of 

acid rain. One could talk with confidence about the 

chemistry of the region: whether there was “acid rain” 

with all its unpleasant connotations was less certain. 

One could only speculate on where out pollution 

comes from, and it was pure conjecture that one 

could predict where the emissions from a pornt 

source would end up. 

The final session began with a plea for statements 

from the scientific community to help the policy makers devise some way to gauge change, set emrssrons 

regulations, and then enforce these regulations. This 

came from Dennis Haddow, speaking directly for the 

agencies with Class I responsibilities: The U.S. 

Forest Service and the National Park Service. No 

matter how nebulous the results of acid rain research 

are today, he Implied, policy makers have to act, and 

those of us with Class I responsibilities have to act 

soon. “God gave us this land,” said Bob tihnke 01 

EDF in the next presentation, “and we have not yet 

reached that sad point in time where we have to destroy our last vestiges of wilderness.” A representative of the Kennecott Mining Company gave the other 

side of the picture. The control of stack emissions are 

costs that must be passed on to the consumer, for to 

bear the costs themselves will put many Industries 

out of business. Big industry did not deny the existence of acid rain, but rather conceded it is an industrially caused problem. The cost of cleaning it up and 

preventing further acidification, however, presents 

another story The problem becomes one of forcing 

more costs on an already strapped industrial economy, or allowing some degradation (how much?) of 

pristine natural areas, ot some combination of both of 

these. At this point, the discussion is no longer a scientific question, but rather a polibcal one. 

Earlier in the day Congressman Tim Widh spoke 

knowledgeably about acid deposition nationally and 

just how Congress might go about writing legislation 

to deal with its cleanup. Government works by COMPROMISE; on one side should have to bear the costs 

of a problem that affects the entire country, resources 

and economy alike. 

To bring these disparate groups together for two 

days to discuss such an emotionally charged topic as 

acid depostion, to air the facts, the speculations and 

the exploratory routes toward solution was a big task. 

The conference planners must be highly commended. 

Jill Baron, Biologist, NPS Water Resources Lab, 

Colorado State Unaersity Fort Collins, CO 30523 

Resource Baseline Mapping 

Training at DSC Described 

Editor’s Note: The following articie was &ten for 

other Resource Management Trainees, but is included here because if cvnfa;ns much of interest to 

NPS scientists and managers in general. 

By Bruce L. Freet 

Recently I combined a trip to the Air Quality Course 

with an orientation and training session at the Denver 

Service Canter (DSC). I spent three days at DSC and 

fulfilled several aspects of the information Baseline/ 

Ecosystem Mapping component of my individual development plan (IDP). Some of the other Resource 

Management trainees have satisfied similar goals by 

attending the USGS Remote Sensing and Mapping 

course or the USFS Vegetative Mapping coursa, but 

I believe that a training session at DSC might be more 

pertinent to our needs. 

Because it is part of the same agency we work for, 

the DSC staff shares common management phrlosophies and goals, is interested and conversant with the 

rasource issues of our particular areas, and so can 

establish an interactive working relationship with us. 

Most of the DSC staff I dealt with had biological science backgrounds and understood my needs. 

Gary Waggoner of the Remote Sensing Section 

was my host and created an itineranl that included 

baseline mapping materials and techniques, computer hardware and software for ecosystem maps 

(diglal data base), a search for past and present 

aerial photography at the National Cartographic Information Center (USGS), a search of the Technical Information Center (DSC) files for historical documents 

and maps, plus discussions with mtcrographics personnel, regtonal planning teams and WAS0 staff for 

minerals management and air quality 

The majority of my time was devoted to developing 

a strategy for mapping resourca baseline data. It 

needed to be practical NPS-operations-oriented, and 

yet provide the accuracy and compatibility for eventual computer entry Objectives, costs, and benefits 

were examined. The flow chart evolved from these 

discuwons. For example, we decided that all resource data should be mapped by theme or subject 

(archeological safes, wrldfirelyear, exotic plant encroachment. etc.) on indwdual four mil. frosted mylar 

overlays, using mylar maps as the base. Whereas the 

dimensions of paper maps will vary with changes in 

temperature, humidity and use, the mylar maps are 

stable. This assutes greater accuracy, which is essential when the data are computerized later. The 

mylar bases (chromatin maps) are more expensive 

than paper, but thetr dimensions do not change over 

the years and they can be used to make very inexpensive black-and-white diazo paper copies (a few 

cents per copy). 

We also discussed the benefits of using Universal 

Transverse Mercator (UTM) points for mapping resource data with some modifications for mapping 

fires. Because of their irregular size and shape, 

wildfires and prescribed fires will employ UTM coordinates to designate the ignition point. Size and shape 

will be deprcted by actually drawing the fire pertmeter 

on mylar overlay keyed to the chromatin base maps. 

(These can be precisely reproduced by the computer). Information management is complicated to 

some degree by the Individual Fire Report, DI-1201 

form and the FIREPRO data form, which require IOMtion by either Township and Range or labtude and 

longitude. However, the latitudelongitude coordinates can be converted to UTM coordinates and vice 

versa using the Remote Sensing Section’s computer 

programs. 

At the National C&graphic Information Center 

(NCIC) we conducted a preltminary file search on 

microfiche for black/white and color aerial photographs and on slides for Landsat 4 satellite imagery 

(digital data). We also requested that USGS search 

their files for high altitude photographs. These could 

form a rasource baseline for Big Cypress National 

Preserve. From our inibal findings, priorities were 

established to purchase cettatn photographs and 

magnetic tapes. This will be done through DSC. In 

the future, we can contract with DSC to classify and 

oeo-reference the information on the maanelic tapes 

ia form a digital data base. 

PHOTOS 

MANUAL PHOTO 

INTERPRETATION 

REMOTE SENSING 

IMAGES 

DIGITAL DATA 

COMPUTER 

CLASSIFICATION 

PHOTOTRANSFER 

TO MAPS 

(Zoom Transfer Scope) 

GEO-REFERENCING 

‘DIGITIZE/SCAN DIGITAL DATA BASE 

RESOURCEINVENTDRVMAPS 

DIGITAL DATA BASE 

‘If good base line map data exist for an NPS area, it can be entered here and the above 

phases bypassed, Inquirefurther. 

7 
Resource Baseline (mantis 

Photointerpreting the aerial photographs and then 

digitizing the results far entry into the computer is 

another way to create a digttal data base. A third option is to digitize an NPS area’s existing resource inventory/ecosystem maps for entry into the computer. 

The accuracy obtained depends almost entirely upon 

the scale of your source materials. For Big Cypress, I 

chose to use 1:24,000 map scale and resowce inventory map overlays to further define the digital data 

base. 

Using either SAGIS (Systems Applications Group 

Information Svstem) or ELAS (Earth Resources Laboratory Applications Software - a NASA product), 

one can make virtually unlimited comparisons between and among different data themes. Both systems have extensive editing capabilities, allowing 

changes to the data base to be made easily at any 

time. Each requires special computer hardware; 

SAGIS runs on a Bureau of Reclamation mainframe 

computer in Denver while ELAS runs on the Remote 

Sensing Section’s own minicomputer. There may be 

limitations to tying in to either of these systems from 

the field, but Denver is keenly aware of the potential 

problem and is working on solutions. In any event, I 

recommend thmking about gening your data base 

into a form that could readily be entered into a computer when desired. 

Resource Management trainees can benefit 

enormously by organizing a training session at DSC 

as regional group. DSC will need some funding assistance to conduct the training, but as trainees, you can 

transfer funds to DSC from your special accounts. 

The best option in terms of cost and individual atlention might be to have five trainees per DSC session. I 

would anticipate that you would want some unstructured time while there in order to pursue your individual interests. You should contact Dr. Maury 

Nyquist, Chief, Remote Sensing Section, and/or Dr. 

Harvey Fleet, Program Manager for Digital Cartog 

raphy, to arrange for a training session. (303.234. 

4527). 

Before going to DSC it would be helpful to read Remote Sensing of Wildfife Flesources: A Slate of the 

Ari Review by Robert C. Aldrich (GTR RM-71 Rocky 

Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, 

USFS. USDA, 240 W. Prospect St., Fort Collins, CO 

60526). Three short alticles have been published in 

Park Science (Spring 1961 and Winter 1963) which 

discuss natural resource data base construCtion at 

the DSC. Also check the DSC telephone directory or 

staff roster to see what other contacts vou rnav wish 

to make. 

1 I 

Free1 is Resource Management Speck& at Big 

Cypress Nafional Preserve. 

Correction 

An error occurred in the Wilderness 

Campsite Selection story by Dave Cole 

and Jim Benedict in the Summer 1963 

issue. In Paragraph 10, on page 5, the 

sentence should read “A night or two of 

use every year is sufficient [not insufficient] to do considerable damage.” 

Turtles and Burros Make SWR Headlines 

By Milford R. Fletcher 

The top science news from the Southwest Region 

can be summed up in two phrases: “More on the 

Heartbreak TutlIe,” and “Feral Burro Roundup at Bandelier National Monument.” 

species of fungi and three speciesof colonial bacteria 

which may be implicated in the failure. 

We reported previously on the reintroduction of the 

Atlantic Ridley tultle efforts, (Pak Science, Winter 

1962). The project has been going well and over the 

last six years we have received some 13,000 eggs 

from Mexico. The normal procedure is to collect the 

eggs directly from the turtles in Mexico, place them in 

styrofoam boxes filled with sand from Padre Island 

National Seashore, and transfer the sand-filled boxes 

and eggs to Padre Island in Texas. At the island, the 

tuliles are hatched, imprinted, and transferred to the 

Nattonal Marine Fisheries in Galveston, Texas, for 

ralslng to approximately one year of age. 

We have researchers working to determine the embryonic stage of development at which death occurred. Turtle eggs are very susceptible to damage it 

they are moved during certain times of the incubation 

period Whether this contributed to the death of the 

embryos will be determined when Padre Island and 

Mexican researchers get togetherto compare notes. 

Although the situation does not mean a complete 

loss of a year’s class, the fact remains that the 1983 

class is comprised of only 230 tultles as opposed to 

the yearly program average of 1,600, and it may have 

a longterm effect on the reproduction structure of the 

Padre Island imprinted population. 

This year we received 2,006 eggs from Mexico and 

242 hatched without incident. The remaining 1,764 

failed entirely to hatch. 

A number of possibilities may have caused this 

catastrophe. We are lwking for the presence of pesticides heavy metals, or other environmental contaminants in the eggs and sand. We also are having the 

Nattonaf Marine Fisheries culture and identify two 

1 

We are baffled over the cause of this lailure, but 

every effort is being made to learn as much as pow 

ble from the incident. The program has been very 

successful during Its first five years and we are commined to seeing the whole to-year prqect through lo 

its conclusion. 

The removal of feral burros from Bandelier National 

Monument under an order by the 10th Circuit Court 

of Appeals in Denver early in 1963 was begun on May 

16, 1963 by the New York-based Fund For Animals, 

Inc. The Fund was allowed 60 days to capture and remove as many of the burros as possible before the 

NPS exercised its option of direct reduction. 

A string 01 attempts, beginning with roping (which 

proved non-productive), the placing of snares along 

established burro trails (which netted one burro), 

tranquilizing dart guns (which involved expensive 

sling-Ioadlng by hellcopter of the tranquilized animals 

and transpoltation to the corral), and pursuit by saddle horses and hounds-all were tried. 

Eventually, 12 burros were verified by rangers as 

having been captured at Band&r. Another 14 burros 

that appeared in the base camp corrals were not verified as having been captured at Bandelier. The 26 

burros involved 634 NPS hours of monitoring and 966 

total capture hours by the Fund for Animals. The capture hours worked out to37 per captured burro. 

At/antic Ridley Turtles ffghl their way out of their 

shells. 

It is our opinion that once the boundary fence is 

completed on the west side of the Monument (sometime in January 1964), there will no longer be a problem with feral burros. 

Outdoor Recreation Issues Addressed 

“Government’s role in outdoor recreation will continue to adjust to political. economic and social 

changes, and the private sector will react to govemment and market signals. Ultimately, a new balance 

between government and the private sector will 

emerge.” 

These lines are from the Executive Summary of a 

new document just released by the American Forestry Association. Renewable Resources Recreation in 

the United States: Suppi): Demand. and Crifrcai Policy Issues, by H. Ken Cordell and John C. Hendee. 

deals with the supply situation, the demand situation, 

and predictions in the areas of primdive, semiprimitive, roaded natural and rural, rural, and urban recreation opportunities. 

General recommendations are for a more responsive delivery system, acknowledgement of the importance of outdoor recreation in American lile, a major 

research effort to better predict future recreation demands, decentralized recreation delivery systems, 

fiscal sokency and equitabilty, and expanded coordination, cooperation, and partnership between the 

public and private sectors. 

The 6%page publication is being used as a basic 

source document by several federal and state agencies and was one of the principal information sources 

for the recent Outdoor Recreation Policy Review 

Group. It is available for $5 from the American Forestry Assn., 1319 16th St., N.W., WashIngton, D.C. 

20036. 
Shenandoah White=Tailed Deer: 

Ecology and Management Implications 

By John J. Scanlon and Michael R. Vaughan 

natural rasourcas to maintain and perpetuate their inEach national park is charged with manag$ng its 

herent integrity. Specific natural resources IO padiculx parks can pose difficult management problems, 

and the white-tailed deer population in Shenandoah 

National Park (SNP) is a good example It also demonstrates how the NPS has resoonded to the challenge. 

Visitors 10 SNP often comment on the scenic vistas 

alonq the 105 mile Skyline Drive, and on the whitetallei deer along the raadsides. Of all the natural resources SNP has to offer its nearly 2 million annual 

visitors, this deer is one of the most observable resources in the Park. High concentrations of deer exist 

near campgrounds, picnic areas, and along the 

grassy roadsides of Skyline Drive. Visitors enjoy 

seeing these deer but Park personnel are apprehensive about visitor safety The number of deer-motor 

vehicle accidents in the Park is high each year (15 in 

1980. 36 in 1981, and 29 in 1982); visitors who slop 

along the road to watch deer may cause traffic jams 

and unsafe driving conditions. 

Park admmistrators, in an effolt to obtain sound 

biological information on which to base white-tailed 

deer management practices, initiated a shod term research pro]& with the Virginia Cooperative Wildlife 

Research Unit at Virginia Tech to study the population 

characteristics and ecology of SNP white-tailed deer. 

The distribution and movement patterns of deer in the 

Park were the major study objective. A second goal 

was to determine the nutrftional condition of deer and 

to evaluate the impact of these animals on their 

habitat-especially on the native vegetation. Collection of field data was completed in December 1982. 

Study Procedures 

To accomplish the first objective it was necessary 

to monitor the movements of individual deer within 

the Park. Two study areas were established in reg 

ions of the Park where high deer populations were 

known to exist; 25 animals within each area were livecaptured, fitted with numbered, wlored collars for 

easy identifsation. and released. Subsequently, 

when a collared deer was sighted along the Skyline 

Drwe or along atrail, the individual identification number of the deer and the location of the sighting were 

recorded. Over time, as the number of sightings for a 

pallicular deer mounted, movement patterns became 

apparent. 

Park rangers in the interpretive division introduced 

the study to visitors during formal programs and informal conversations. The response from visitors was 

positive, and once informed about the research, visitors made a valuable contribution by reporting sightingsof collared deer. 

Most of the 50 deer were captured on or near the 

Skyline Drive, but a total of seven were captured in 

backcountry areas two or more miles from the Drive. 

Because these animals were not as likely to be 

slghted as deer along the Drive, these seven animals 

received a colored collar with a small radio transmitter attached to it. This enabled researchers to monitor 

the daily movements of these deer and to approach 

them unnoticed for visual observations. Careful observations helped researchers determine which Park 

areas the deer used for activities such as feeding, 

Four of the deer captured along the Skyline Drive 

fawning, and establishing breeding territories. 

also received radio-collars. This was important for a 

number of reasons. Daily monitoring of deer in the 

backcountry and along the Skylme Drive allowed researchers to determine how these animals interacted. Also, the areas over which they ranged in the 

course of their daily activities (home ranges) could be 

compared. Locations of deer originally captured 

along the Skyline Drive could continue during %mes 

when they were not highly visible, such as during 

fawning and cold winter weather. 

Seasonal Movements 

Some deer originally captured in the backcountry 

occasionally moved out of and back into the Park. 

During late summer, when daily movements were 

greatest, these deer frequented areas near the 

Skyline Drive. For example, one adult doe captured 

two miles from the Skyline Drive in October 1981 and 

who used only backcountry awas throughout the fall, 

winter and early spring, moved more than three miles 

to have her fawn in a lush area directly along the 

Skyline Drive. Also. some deer originally captured 

along the Skyline Drive moved as much as three 

miles into the backcountry and thus to lower elevations for short periods during severe winter weather, 

only to return to a particular area along the Drwe 

when atmospheric conditions improved. 

These data seem to indicate that the high concentrations of animals found along the Skyline Drive and 

those found in the backcountry do not constitute distinct populations. Rather, deer in the Park apparently 

exist along a continuum. At one extreme are deer that 

spend all of their time close to the Skyline Drive; at 

the other, deer that spend all of their time in the backcountry The deer population in Shenandoah NP 

probably has representatives all along this gradient, 

with a high concentration near, but not at, theextreme 

by the Skyline Drive. a smaller concentration near the 

extreme of the backcountry, and an intermediate level 

at the center of the continuum. Rather than a clear 

separation of populations, there appears to be a gradation and interactlon of deer from the Skyline Drive 

and into the backcountry areas. 

Though there IS some interaction of deer throughout the Park the home range of deer associated with 

the Skyline Drive is considerably smaller than the 

home range of deer associated with the backcountry 

This is true for bucks (average home range of 7.2 km2 

in the backcountry vs. 3.3 km’ near the Skyline Drive) 

and does (3.8 km* in the backcountry vs. 1.2 km2 

near the Skyline Drive), and likely resuks from the 

year-round availability of grass for forage along the 

Skyline Drive. Deer that were killed by cars along the 

Drive were necropsied to determine nutritional condition and were often found to have stomach contents 

of up to 60 percent grass. 

Deer have a great impact on their habitat throughout the Park, and this impact is especially noticeable 

near the Skyline Drive where abundant grass sup 

ports artificially high deer populations year-round. 

Woody browse is used extensively by deer in the 

backcountry and especially in wooded areas along 

the Skyline Drive. Enough dear are likely removed 

from the P&s population each year through predation, road kills and hunting of animals that move outside the Park boundary to prevent gross over-use of 

the habitat, but the impact of deer on native vegetation still is greaterthan tt would be without man’s mfluence on the animal’s habitat. (While the Park mntains 

Visitor pleasers are fheseperky white-taOed deer highly visible aiong the Sky/u%- Drive. &d/o collars help park 

management keep hack offher movements. 

9 
Shenandoah cConhnuedI more closely represent the nitive Blue Ridge Mountain conditions that the Park was established to proabout 300 miz of land, it is long (105 mi) and narrow tect Visitors could then be encouraged to leave their 

(Z-10 mi) and so has over 500 mi of boundaly with pri- cars for short hikes so that sightings of deer would 

vate and state owned land open to hunting.) occur in a more natural environment. 

Management Strategies 

The options far managing the SNP deer population 

range from hands-off management to severe crop 

ping of the population in high concentration areas. 

Regardless of the management strategy selected, 

the high concentrations of deer along the Skyline 

Drive should not be managed separately from the 

other deer in the Park. Instead, the habitat provided 

for deer as a result of human impact (along roadsides, in campgrounds, etc.) might be modified so 

that its appearance and composition is no more attractive to deer than the backcountry areas, which 

It may prove feasible to manipulate forested rag 

ions in high visitor use areas so that they are maintained in natural, early successional stages which are 

very attractive to deer. There is ample evidence that 

native American Indians did this, and modern day visitors can benefit in the same way. This type of management would increase the likelihood of visitors’ 

seeing deer along high-use trails near the Drive while 

decreasing the likelihood of deer-motor vehicle accidents along the Drive. 

Vaughan is Unit Leader of the Vfgfnia Cooperative 

Wifd/ifa Research Unit, USFWS; Scan/on is a Research Technician with the Unit. 

Coyote Study Underway 

At Lava Beds Monument 

By Suzanne Shoemaker 

Local ranchers have long contended that Nodhem 

California’s Lava Beds National Monument (LABE) 

and adjacent T&lake National Wildlife Refuge 

(TLNWF) protect and harbor coyotes responsible for 

livestock depredation on surrounding lands. Similar 

claims are made concerning other wildlife sanctuaries in the western United States. Based on currenf 

knowledge, management personnel can neither confirm nor deny these claims. 

A radio-telemetry study currently is underway to investigate daily and seasonal movement patterns of a 

protected population of coyotes on LABE and 

TLNWR, in particular, to learn if these coyotes make 

regular excursions off the protected area. 

Food habits of coyotes on undisturbed rangeland 

(LABE) are being compared with those on irrigated 

cropland (TLNWR) by scat analysis. A concurrent 

study of the relative abundances of small mammal 

prey in representative habitat types will aid in determining coyote food preferences. 

It is hoped this information will shed light on the extent to which land use practices have altered coyote 

movements and food habits on the study area. 

Shoemaker is a graduate student working with 

David de Cafesta, associate professor of Fish and 

wildlife at Oregon State Ltnivers,t,! 

Baying the trap for coyotes at Lava Beds National Monument are Dave decaiesto, left and Graduate Assistant 

Gay Whitmer Jaws of the trap are padded to prevent injury to the coyote, and a bag of tranquilizer is attached 

Chewing the bag calms the ammal and makes it iess kkely to injure itself while it awaits tagging and release. 

10 

information 

Crossfile 

“The western Untted States has scores of vol. 

canoes likely to erupt in the future; some of them may 

be waking from long slumbers.” 

This is the “overline’ on “Volcanoes to Keep an Eye 

On,” by Rtchard A. Kerr, an alticle appear&g in the 

“Research News” section ot the August 12 issue of 

Science (Vol. 221). The report is based on a recently 

released preliminary lkst of more than 35 U.S. volcanoes likely to erupt in the future. The report, by 

R.A. Bailey, PR. Beauchemin, FP Kapinos, and D.W. 

Klick, is titled The Volcano Hazards Program: Db- 

~ectives and Long-Range Plans (USGS Open-File 

Report 83.400, 1983), and it cauttons that Mount St. 

Helens could be “only the harbinger of renewed vol. 

canic activity in the western United States.” 

Kerr’s article describes 75 centers of activity arrayed in linear bands extending from the north-south 

trend of the Cascades in Oregon and Washington 

eastward through Idaho to Yellowstone, and southeastward along the entire CalifornwNevada border. 

Another band curls from southeast Utah throughout 

Arizona and New Mexico 

*** 

“The interactions of acid rain, acid soil, and vegetation need to be carefully examined on a watershed 

basis in assessing benefits expected from proposed 

reductions in emissions of oxides of sulfur and nitrogen:’ according to Edward C. Krug and Charles R. 

Frink. Their arlicle, ‘Acid Rain on Acid Soil: A New 

Perspective,” appeared in the August 5 issue Science (Vol. 221). Krug is an assistant soil scientist at 

the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and 

Frink is chief of the Department of Soil and Water and 

vice director at the Station. 

*** 

The massively destructive spruce budworm, villain of defoliation outbreaks in every western state 

except California in the past 60 years, is the object of 

an accelerated research and development program 

jointly entered into by the U.S. and Canada in 1977 

and now in the fifth year of a six-year charter. A report 

on the progress of this research - building on 30 

years of studies by Federal, State, and local agencies 

and institutions -appeared in the March 1983 issue 

of USDAiFS Fore&y Research West. 

The story, by Sam Frear, tells of 300 studies that 

will be completed by 1984. providing data on budworm populations, damage evaluation, stand dy 

namics and prognosis, economic impacts, sustained 

biotic controls, suppression strategies, and past management systems. A technology transfer workmg 

group has concluded that the most effective infotmation base at the end of the program will be a threevolume U&S manual. The documents will summarize the basic entomological and host tree research 

effects on, and guidelines for, protection of individual 

trees and stands, and the implications of the budworm on a forest and regional basis for forest planning and policy. 
* 

A July 26 story in the*&w York Times trumpets 

to the world the news that “animal and plant life is returning to the Mount St. Helens volcano.” John S. 

Edwards, a University of Washington zoology professor who is one of 200 scientists wnducling research 

on the volcano. states that animals and plants of the 

Northwest are good at colonizing as a result of the 

history of volcanic eruptions in the region. ‘The initial 

interest was on volcanology and geology,” Edwards 

said. “but from here on out. it’s a bioloaical ohe- ” 

nomenon.” 

James A. MacMahon, a Utah State University biolWV orofessor. is auoted in the Times, saving Yhe 

a&&g part of it tb ma is just how many plants and 

animals suwivad the blast, let alone how maw have 

*** 

An article by Jeremy Harrison, “Maintaining a 

Database On the World’s Protected Areas:’ in Parks, 

Vol. 7, NO. 4 (1983), discusses the need for centralized information sources in such areas as technical evaluation and management of protected areas, 

genetic resource conservation, and a wide range of 

related research topics. Harrison is a member of the 

IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre staff, responsible for running the Protected Areas Data Unit He 

makes a strong plea far the development by intemational agencies of data collection systems that provide quick, large-scale owlviews, plus details of the 

subject area. 

He describes the Protected Areas Data Unit 

(PADU) inaugurated in May 1981 as part of the 

IUCN’s Conservation Monitoring Centre - its updating. correction, and use, and its extremely manipulable character. (“Information from the data files can 

be sorted/selected using any combination of characters of groups of characters within the file. Lists could 

be produced laid out by political unit, or by 

biogeographical unit, in alphabetical order, by order 

of size, and so on .“) 

*** 

The June 10 issue of Science (Vol. 220) contains 

abstracts of five papers dealing wth patterns of plant 

and animal extinction. taken from the Sixth Annual 

Spring Systematics Sympowm at the Field Museum 

of Natural History, Chicago, held May 13-14, 1983. 

Papers reviewed dealt with the importance of mmpetitian in plant extinctions by Andrew Knoll of Harvard; 

the modern ver%on of the meteor impact hypothesis 

relating to the CretaceousiTertiav extinction by 

Walter Alverez of the University of California, Berkeley; plant extinction patterns in mountain refuges in 

the U.S. Southwest by Bruce Patterson of the Chicago Field Museum’s Department of Zoology; speciation and extinction in hominid evolution viewed in 

parallel with shifts among contemporary herbivores 

and carnivores by Alan Walker of Johns Hopkins University and the relevance of bird population and 

habitat data to old and new extinctions by Jared Diamond of the Univenity of California at Los Angeles. 

Proceedings of the 1963 Systematics Symposium 

are being published by the University of Chicago and 

will be available in the spring of 1964. 

*** 

Trends h Computem in Parks end Recreetkm is 

the theme of the latest issue of TRENDS. Vol. 20. NO. 

1, Published jointly by the NPS and the fiational Recreation and Park Association, the magazine deals 

with the positive steps in the computer field being 

taken by the park and recreation profession, the prob 

lems yet to be overcome, and the question marks that 

crowd the future. Alticles cover maintenance scheduling and management systems, labor cost-tracking 

systems, computer assisted resenatons, and plant 

management systems. ‘The Paperless Mfice” looks 

to computers to pick up the productivity lag among 

white-collar (4%) compared to blue-collar workers 

(64%) as information becomes an economic commodity accounting for 50 percent of the GNP 

*** 

Three recent publications from the USDA Forest 

Service Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment 

Station of soecial interest to the National Park Sew 

iceare: 

(1) Assessing and Monitmfng Sack-country 

Trei/ Conditions, bv David N. Cole, Res. Pap. INT303,lO p. 

(2) Moniforing the Condfdon of Wifdemess 

Campsites, by David N. Cole, Res. Pap. INT-302, 

10 p. 

(3) problems and Practices in W/&mess Management: A Survey of Managers, by Randel 

Washburne and David N. Cole, Res. Pap. INT-304, 

56 p. 

Limited copies are available for distribution and 

may be had by writing the Station at 507 25th St., 

Ogden, UT84401. 

* 

The Hon. John Robeis: Canada’s minister of the 

environment, ooened the June 14 conference in 

Quebec Cltyon Acid Rain and Forestry with thestatement that 4,600 Canadian lakes now are dead; 

another 12.000 are moving toward the same condition; 16 percent of the lakes and 21 percent of the 

stream miles in the U.S. east of the Mississippi show 

acid rain damage. (This last statistic comes lrom the 

US. Congressional Office of Technological Assessment.) “Some of the best-documented acid rain 

losses to sportfishing stocks are American losses,” 

Roberts said. “These include elimination 01 all fish in 

180 lakes in the Adirondack vacation area of upstate 

New York.” 

Roberts compared the acid rain situation to the 

early 1970s threat to Lakes Erie and Ontario, when 

the process involved dealing with an escalating environmental problem on the basis of “managing risk - 

of taking decisions with necessarily limited scientilic 

understanding - lkmited in the sense that at the time 

the decision must ba made, scientific knowledge was 

not yet complete and would undoubtedly produce 

fulther useful data later. 

‘In my opinion,” said Roberts, “we are now in the 

same position with regard to acid rain. We are ready 

to deal with acid rain on the basis 01 managing risk, 

using the knowledge we have so far.” 

*** 

An important new clue to the uses to which prehistoric tools were put is reported in the June 17 (Vol. 

220) issue of Science. The alticle is entitled “Prehistoric Blood Residues: Detection on Tool Sudaces and 

11 

Identification of Species of Origin,” by Thomas H. Loy 

of the British Columbia Provincial Museum, Victoria, 

BC V8V 1 X4. 

Detailed microscopic and chemical examination of 

tool swfaces (chert, basalt, and obsidian tools from 

1000 to 6000 years old) show definite surface blood 

deposits, the presence of amino acids, hemoglobin, 

and red blood cells. Animal and plant tissue, feather 

barbules, and hair fragments also have been ob 

served. The blood residues have been identified as 

belonging to humans, caribou. Columbian blacktailed deer, Stone Mountain sheep, moose, grizzly 

bear, snowshoe rabbit, and California sea lion. 

The tools examined came from open-air sites along 

the western coast and the northern boreal forest of 

Canada. 

*** 

The ability to construct age profiles of fossil accumulations, using single teeth, is considered in an 

atticle by Roger Lewin appearing in the July 29 (Vol. 

221) issue 01 Science. Lewin begins with the premise 

that the need for reliable motiality profiles in fossil assemblages is clear, and then asks ‘How do you get 

there?’ He discusses a technique described (in 

Paleobiology Vol. 9, No. 70, 1983) by Richard Klein 

and Kathryn Cruz-U&Q of the University of Chicago 

that is based on the cumulative wear that teeth suffer 

through an animal’s lile. (Mandibles have an order of 

magnitude better preservation than other parts of the 

skeleton, and teeth have an order of magnitude better 

preservation than mandibles.) 

Lewin describes the formulation involved in such 

profile building and then quotes Klein and Crur-Uribe 

as calling it “an extremely tedious process to perform.” Because the tedium is a source of all tco easy 

error, Klein and Cruz-Uribe have devised a program 

that generates a mortality pmfile divided into 10 percent-of-potential-life-span intervals - a program the 

Chicago pair say “should substantially reduce the 

tedium and possibility 01 error.” 

*** 

Do plants have some secret way 01 fighting oft 

the moose of Isle Royale? 

Will the wolf population (now at a fighting trim of 23, 

in three packs), remain more or less the same lor the 

neti several years? 

An information-packed feature story on the Michigan natural science study of wolves and moose on 

Isle Royale graced the front page of the Wall Sfreet 

Journalon Sept. 16,19&3. Written by Robert L. Simison, the article describes the history of wolf/moose 

relationships since the first wolves trotted across the 

ice to the island (15 miles) from Canada in 1949. The 

studies, begun by Dr. Dward Allen, are now being 

carried on by Rolf Peterson -‘Wolf man of Isle Royale 

National Park.” 

Instead of an arrived at “delicate natural balance,” 

a “seesaw of suwivall seems to be the order of nature. Wildly fluctuating populations of both species 

have been recorded, with factors never known or 

considered now entering the equation. 

Presently, Peterson is ‘Ylying to sort out how the 

seesaw is affected by snowfall patterns, a nasty liltle 

tapeworm, the mysterious intricacies of wolf society, 

and the eating habits of moose,” according to Simi. 

son. At least three more years of research are needed 

to test the current theories. 
Vulture Research Begins at Gettysburg 

Like some Halloween apparition, this lone Gettysburg vulture surveys the scene. 

By Victoria Brenner Greenlee 

It all began a few years ago with a friendly argument between the newly arrived Natural Resource 

Management Specialist and the YCC Camp Director, 

a native of the area. In reality, it may have begun over 

100 years ago, and the story gained in status and embellishment until it became local folklore, recounted to 

thousands of historically-minded Americans by the 

Battlefield Guides at Gettysburg National Military 

Park (NMP) in Pennsylvania. 

The argument, and the legend, hold that today’s 

unusually large colony of vultures on the battlefield is 

a direct result of the aftermath of the three day battle. 

Also, being very long-lived birds, some of those birds 

now soaring above the Round Tops and eyeing visitors and Park staff may have cast the same hungry 

eyes al the bodies of the unfortunate horses and soldiers in July, 1863. Naturally, belog a native, the 

YCCer supported the folklore while the Park staffer 

cast a jaundiced eye at the whole idea. 

After a bit of background study, Natural Resource 

Management Specialist Hal Greenlee found that Gettysburg’s vulture population was indeed unusual, not 

just its size, but also in the fact that it included a large 

concentration of black vultures, whose known range 

is more southerly in nature. He found that very little 

authentic scientific research had been done on vullures anywhere in the United States, and after sew 

eral years of talking, asking, cajoling, and conjecturing he was able, with the helpof NPS Regional Scientist John Karish, to set up such a study. 

Turkey and black vultures are important components of the fauna of Gettysburg NMP from ecological, aesthetic, and historical points of view. Ecologically, the vultures are the largest wan scavengers 

regularly observed in the park. They are capable of 

rapidly removing the carcasses of dead animals in or 

near the park and thus recycle the nutrienls involved. 

From aesthetic and recreational points of view, the 

vultures, as the largest soaring birds and most conspicuous social animals in the park, afford visitors the 

OppOttunity to view exceptionally beautiful acrobatic 

performances and interesting animal behavior at 

close range. The birds also are tied closely to the history of the park because, whether or not vultures 

ware actually present before the the battle, it is likely 

that the carrion provided by the large numbers of 

dead horses resulting from those three days in July 

1863, did indeed attract vultures from other areas. 

Because Gettysburg NMP is currently involved in a 

large-scale vegetative restoration program designed 

to restore the 1863 historic scene, such restoration 

would be incomplete without the Gettysburg vultures. 

The current population ranges from about 200 birds 

in summer to 800 in winter, The terrain in the area of 

their identified roosts is wooded and rocky with farmfields, pastures, and historic farm buildings nearby. 

The casual observer can see vultures in all these 

locales at any season. In some cases, the observer 

can get close enough to see clearly such features as 

the featherless head, small eyes, ear openings, etc. 

In 1981. it people interested in promoting re 

search on black turkey vultures in the eastern United 

States met at the Park to discuss the voids in knowledge of the ecology and management of vultures and 

to Initiate a long-term research program in the Park. 

In addition to Resource Management Specialist 

Greenlee and Regional Scientist Karish, representatives anended from the School of Forest Resources 

of the Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania 

Cooperative Fisheries and WildlIfe. Research Unit 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Science, Virginia 

Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI & SU), 

and Eastern National Park and Monument Association (ENPMA), a non-profit organization operating in 

many eastern national parks. 

As a result of the meeting, a two year, in-depth 

study of the vultures has been undertaken by the universities involved. National Park Service contributions will consist of logistical suppolt and coordination, housing for the researchers, use of a vehicle for 

the program duration, and use of equipment such as 

sponing telescope, binoculars, etc. The ENPMA has 

agreed to fund palt of the project, their first plunge 

into natural research, at a rate of $7,500 per year. 

These funds are being used to purchase radio transmitters, tags, airplane and helicopter tracking time, 

etc. At present, it appears that the USFWS has had 

to drop out of the study due to recent budget cuts, although they are fundlng palt of Penn State’s study. 

Anthony Wright, a Master’s degree student at the 

Pennsylvania State University arrived in Gettysburg 

in December 1982 to begln the part of the study to be 

accomplished by that University. He is living in the 

historic Slyder farmhouse an what is known as the 

Granite Farm, right in the middle of one of the identified winter roost areas. During the past winter and in 

1983.84. he and other Penn State Biologists will be 

estimating population densities of black and turkey 

vultures at nocturnal roost sites, examining fluctuations in winter densities at these sites and determining which areas of the park function as actual roost 

sites, as opposed to staging areas prior to roosting. 

The emphasis of the Penn State study next winter will 

be given to describing and comparing habitat features of roost sites, determining diurnal use by both 

species of vultures and determination of habitat preferences and requirements. 

Methods used include regular censusing of potential roost sites at dawn and dusk using a spotting 

scope and/or night-vision scope. A minimum of 11 

habitat variables will be quantified around each roost 

tree. Statistical analyses will be made comparing actual roost sites with control sites. Land use features 

surrounding roost sites and distances from these 

sites to the nearest human dwelling, road, or atiivity 

WIII be measured. 

Wright and his advisors Dr. Richard H. Yahner and 

Dr. Gerald L. Storm also are utilizing the services of 

selected members of the local Audubon Chapter in 

making theirobsetvations. 

During the summer just passed, John Coleman, a 

Masterk Degree student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and his advisor, Dr. James 

D. Fraser worked at the site with a team of researchers. Objectives of the two-summer Virginia Polytechnic Institute program was to estimate the summer 

home range and foraging distances of Gettysburg’s 

Awaiting processing, these trapped vultures stand in a holding pen. They wiii be wghed, tagged, and their 

bloodsampled 

12 
black and turkey vultures, to determine whether important areas ol congregation for feeding do exist, 

and, if they do, to locate and describe them. Their 

work involved capturing vultures using walk-in-traps, 

noose carpets, and cannon nets. Some captured 

birds were fitted with radio transmitters while others 

were marked with canle eallags and patagial markers. Standard measurements were made on captured 

birds and blood was taken for hormone analysis. The 

radio-equipped birds will be followed by automobile 

and aircraft 

Both research teams are doing a complete review 

of the historical literature available on the Battle of 

Gettysburg 10 glean facts about the presence or absence of vultures during the battle. Results of the 

studies will be published as Master’s theses by 

Wright and Coleman. 

The results of all this natural research will be incurpnrated into the educational programs developed for 

visitors, adding a new dimension to their enjoymenl 

of the Park. Increased informalion about the habitat 

requirements ol the vultures will help Park oflicials 

plan and implement programs, such as restoration of 

the historic scene, so as not adversely to affect Ihe 

vulture populations. National Park Service personnel 

Radio transmission equipment and tag are afixed to lh!s vulture by John Coleman (left). wildkfe biology 

grsduale student al Vrglnis Polytechnic fnstrfute and State Univers,rV his pm(essor Dr Jfmes D. Fraser (center), 

and Rose Norris, undergraduate wldiife brology student at VP/&W assstmg in the field research. Th,e fadlo 

equipment is made by the same outfit that has been fitt!,ng the CaBfomf.2 condors ,with tracking devices. SIX of fhe 

vultures now are so eqllrpped andare furnishfng information on range and behawor patterns. 

will have explicit data and expertise available 10 

counter any unfounded criticisms of Park manage 

ment policies. Results also will contribute to develop 

menl of urban forestry practices by identifying important wooded tracts used as roost sites. Features 

characterizing these sites can be delineated and incorporated into management recommendations of 

wooded habitats for vulture roost sites at other eastern Parks. 

A compendium of historical lact regarding Ihe vultures and the battle will be available to serious historians for the first time. The study will complete a priority research need, identified in Gettysburg’s National 

Resource Management Plan at little cost lo the Park 

and provide the scientific basis for a possible Eastern 

National Park and Monument Association publication 

on the subject In addition to National Park Service 

benefits, this project will be affiliated with the Soulheastern Vulture Research Project, so valid informaiion obtained at Gettysburg will be available 10 all interested parties. Because vultures are thought to be 

decreasing in Ihe Southeast, this benefit may takeon 

increasing importance in future years. 

Greenlee ;s a Volunteer-in-the-Park at Gettysburg 

A collsgislgroup of vuifures roost together in the Gettysburg oaks. National Mi/itsfy Park. 

Cowles Symposium Held At Grand Forks Meeting 

The annual meeting of the Ecological Society of 

America, held in Grand Forks, ND, August 7-11. 

1983, was attended by Dr. Ron Hieberl, Dr. Doug Wilcox, and Mr. Norm Henderson of the Indiana Dunes 

Division of Science staff. All presented papers on current research activities at the Lakeshore. The papers 

were as follows: 

Hieberi, R. D. Succession in razsd residential Sites 

at the Indians Dunes National Lakeshore. The paper 

reported on effects ol past land use on vegetation of 

razed residential sites. 

Henderson, N.R. Black oak wwdlands of the 

southern Lake Michigan sand dunes: structure, succession and fire. This paper reported findings on the 

effects of past fire history on the structure of oak 

woodlands at the Lakeshore. 

Wilcox, D. The aquatic mscrophyie counterpart to 

p/ant succession studies at Indians Dunes. This 

paper reported on studies ol aquatic plant succession 

in the interdunal ponds at Miller Woods. 

As a pati of the meetings, a Henry Chandler 

Cowles Memorial Symposium was held, featuring 

presentations from former students of Cowles and 

others receiving degrees from the University of 

Chicago. The meeting emphasized Ihe outstanding 

contribulions lhat Cowles made to the field of Ewlogy, the Ecological Society of America, and the University of Chicago, Friends and students of Henry 

Cowles depicted him as a teacher who was sincerely 

interested in his students and who taught them to 

solve problems. Speakers also referred 10 Cowles’ 

sense of humor; examples included Cowles’ eating a 

13 

banana in one bite while on a field trip to the dunes. A 

tape of the proceedings will bs acquired for the Lakeshore. 

Dr. James Teeri, who presently holds the position 

created lor Henry Cowles at the University of Chicago, reported on current activities. He expressed a 

strong interest in reestablishing close ties between 

the University and the Indiana Dunes. He also vokm 

teered to share approximately 1,000 slides taken ol 

the Indiana Dunes by Henry Cowles between 1896- 

1930. These photographs are of high quality and 

should be a great asset 10 interpreting Ihe changes in 

vegetation in the Lakeshore over the last century Dr. 

Hiebeti of our staff and Dr. Teed will meet soon to develop cooper&ion in research for the future. 
Razed Residential 

Sites Restored 

At Indiana Dunes 

By Ronald D. Hi&art 

The Indiana Dunes, located along the shoresofthe 

southern tip of Lake Michigan, have been recognized 

since the turn of the century as a qua landscape 

supporting unusual vegetation assemblages. The 

publications on plant succession in the dunes by 

Henry S. Cowles (1900, 1901) established the area 

as the “birthplace of ecology” and as a natural laboratoly to study natural processes. Efforts to save the 

area from development began as early as 1909. 

The first director of the National Park Service, 

Stephen Mather, held hearings an a proposal to make 

the dunes a national park in 1916. However, it was the 

state of Indiana which acted first to save the dunes 

when it created a 2,200 acre state park in 1923. It was 

to take the effortsof many dedicated conservationists 

another 43 years before authorization of the Indiana 

Dunes National Lakeshore would become a reality. 

Through the original authorization and additional 

legislative authorizations in 1976 and 1980, the 

Lakeshore now consistsof over 13,000 acres. 

Unfortunately, the dunes were not exempt from development during the first half ot the century; the area 

surrounding the park became one of the largest industrial complexes in the United States. In addition, it 

attracted low density residential development. The 

South Shore RaIlroad made it oxwenient for people 

to commute daily to Chicago from the dunes. More 

than 600 past and present residential sites lie within 

the boundaries of the Lakeshore. About half have 

been razed to date; the others are under reservationof-use agreements, some extending until the year 

2010. Most of the residential sites are located within 

areas of the Lakeshore designated “natural zone.” 

The management goals in areas thus designated are 

to restore and/or manage for the protection of natural 

ecosystems for the education and enjoyment of the 

public. 

Residential use modifies the natural communities 

directly and indirectly in many ways. Natural vegetation is removed; exotic plants and non-biodegradable 

materials are introduced; and soil characteristics ara 

modified. Studies are in prcgress to aid in understanding the effects of these perturbations on the recovery process, and to Identify specific problems that 

can be mitigated or eliminated through actwe management. 

The study began with a survey of 250 razed wsident&l sites to get a feeling for the extent of the problem, to identify specific factors which appear to influence the revagetation process, and to select sites for 

study. Factors which appeared to affect succession 

were (1) introduced exotic species, (2) thedistance to 

and composition of seed source, and (3) past land 

use (i.e. lawns, building site, drive, garden). 

Based on the above observations and a thorough 

review of existmg literature on secondary succession, 

studies were designed in an attempt to describe the 

succession process and to determine the effects of 

past land use, seed source, and site condition over 

time. Thirty sites were selected; 15 on uplands, SWrounded by black oak w&lands, 15 in lowlands, SW 

rounded by swamp white oak/maple dominated 

forests. Sites cleared in 1971, 1973, 1975, and 1979 

are represented. Each site was mapped, indicating 

Sampling vagefafion at an old home s,ta, Wcki Dunewtz and Dale Otto (lop) se1 up lheir sarnpieplot. The center 

p~!ura shows a vpicai gravel road four years ailer abandonment. An “old /awn* m the iowar picture provides a 

rich research rasource for Ron Mebert and bioiogrcal technfnans as lhey seek answers to questions of the strugg/a for dominance between lawn grasses and native species 

14 
size, past land uses, and woody vegetation over 1 m 

in height. The site boundaries also were described. 

Herbaceous and small woody vegetation within old 

lawns, building sites, drives, and gardens were sampled at each study site in 1982 and will be resampled 

in 1983. Permanent photo stations also were established to estimate vertical cover (ground cover and 

verbcal cover are being used to estimate relative productivity) and to allow monitoring over time. 

The initial field studies WIII be completed in the fall 

of 1983. The data collected in 1982 have not bee” 

fully analyzed, yet, but some preliminary obsew 

tions are possible. First, succession on razed residential sites does not 111 the descriptions of old field 

succession in the Midwest. Past land uses appear to 

significantly influence the rates and patterns of revegetation. As would be expected, revegetatlon in old 

gardens most closely resembles that observed in old 

lads. Establishment of native species I” actual building sites is relatively rapld. and in lawns very slow. 

Species richness on old drives is relatively high, but 

consists mainly of exotic and/or weedy native 

spews. 

A few exotic species appear to retard recovery of 

sites and/or are spreading into surrounding natural 

communities. These include black locust. several 

species of honeysuckle. tree of heave”, and multiflora rose. Means of eradicating andlorcontrolling the 

spread of these species deserve further attention. For 

example, Kentucky blue grass and fescue lawns are 

found to be persistent for a minimum of 10 years and 

to retard establishment of native species. Thus, 

methods to decrease the dominance of these lawn 

grasses are being investtgated, including tasting the 

effects of fire and stratification. 

Also, the proximity and quality of seed source correlates highly with species composition within the disturbed site. For example, if the area IS surrounded by 

mature native cammunitw colonization by native 

species is rapid and vice versa. Finally, if the site is 

cleared of “on-degradable materials and exotic 

species, topped with a layer of bare soil, and aquality 

seed source is adjacent to the site, recovery towards 

that of the surrounding natural community is rapid. 

The vegetation of the Lakeshore appears to have a 

high degree of resiliency. 

Based upon these preliminary obsewations. the 

specifications for future demolition contracts are 

being modified to include stratification of lawns, removal of all non-biodegradable materials and longlived exotic species. Also, the sites are being topped 

with native soil so as to provide a” open habitat for 

establishment of native vegetation. I” addibo”. the 

initial survey identified potential safety and health 

hazards (i.e. open cisterns, caved-i” septic tanks). 

This information has aided administration in sening 

priorities for which sites would be cleared first. 

The present prescriptions for the razing of residential sites at the Lakeshore will mostly likely be modified based upon additional insight gained from 

further studies and complete data analysis. However, 

the utility of the information gained from these studies 

already is apparent as a guide to the management of 

the Lakeshore’s natural resources. There is reason to 

be optimistic that former residential sites eventually 

will blend in with their surrounding natural communibes. 

Tetons Sponsor 

Resource Training 

By William Supernaugh 

A Bootstrap Program -that is the best description 

01 Grand Teton National Park’s “Orientation to Natural 

Resources Management” held April 2+X8,1983. The 

24.hour covrse is a fresh approach to meeting a specific park’s objectives and training needs. While modeled in part aHer Albright Training Center’s 40.hour 

course. “Natural Resource Management - Midlevel,” 

course coordinator John Daugherly modified the 

agenda to conform to the resource management program of Grand Teton. The 35 attendees were representative of the park staff in general-coming as they 

did from maintenance, protection, interpretation, and 

administration. 

The impetus for the training course arose during 

early 1982 while the park staff was grappling with the 

evolving Resource Management Plan. As Project 

statements were developed, the authors detected a 

sense of unsureness regardtng interdlvisional responsibility for carrying out various portions of the 

plan. The whys and how of backcountry and river 

management, wildlife control programs, restorabo” of 

acquired land, and similar specific programs were not 

always understood by members of the staff who were 

not directly involved with a particular endeavor. Supt. 

Jack Stark and Asst. Supt. Bill Schenk endorsed the 

proposed training course as a means of building a 

parkwide understanding of their resource management objectives, a” awareness of administrative and 

legal constraints on management alternatives, and a 

greater familiarity with the nitty-gritty details of many 

of the monitoring, management, and research activities being carried on within the park. 

The three-day course gave park employees a” op 

parfunity to learn of the evolution of natural resource 

management within the Park Service as presented by 

Yellowstone Supt. Bob Barbee; the planning process 

and resource management responsibilities were 

explained by Denny Galvi”, Denver Service; NEPA 

and complementary enwonmental protection laws 

and regulations were wered by Bill Supernaugh, 

WASO. A panel discussion of public ~“voivement responsibilities and strategies in developing support for 

resource programs leaned heavily on the past experiences of Superintendents Stark and Barbee. 

Regional Chief Scientist Jim Reid covered the Significant Resource Problem (SRP) submissions and 

the role of research in managing park resources. 

Teto” Resource Speclalist Bob Woods, along with 

park biologists Bill Bamwre and Pete Hayden, addressed specific projects included within the p&s 

draff plan, thus giving a better understanding of what 

was needed in the way of personnel and logistical 

support. maintenance requirements. potential user 

conflicts. items of local concern, and alternative ways 

to solve problems - including those which were considered and rejected. 

Additional coverage included human use and occupatio” of Jackson Hole, status of the grizzly bear, and 

an introduction to the ecology of the area. 

I was greatly encouraged to see a class of such diverse background focus on the rasourca management theme, as each member of the staff viewed the 

program from the perspective of his/her job. Open 

discussions among Division Chiefs can only help 

15 

clarify the role and responsibility each may have for 

implementing or suppoding part of a” integrated program. The apparent value of such a cwrse is that it 

meets the basic “need-to-know” requirement of 

employees working in a medium to large park with 

scattered work sites and duty stations and having a 

fairly complex resource management operation. Secondly, communication ladders and bridges become 

established, permitting freer lnformatio” transfer up 

and down the chain of command as well as back and 

forth among divisions. Lastly, there was strong evidence of improved ‘ream building” with staff members coming together to lend their talents, Interests 

and job skills to the development and implementation 

of a park-wde resource management effoti. 

Persons interested in developing a similar course 

for their park are encouraged to contact John 

Daughelty or the Training Committee at Grand Teton 

National Park. 

Cooperative Regional 

Projects Described 

A proposal to use Biosphere Reserves as the focus 

of integrated projects on a regional ecological scale 

to demonstrate solutions to conservation and tesource management problems was made to the First 

International Biosphere Reserve Congress, held in 

September in the USSR. The paper, entitled “Ccoperative Regional Demonstration Projects: Environmental Education in Practice,” was dellwed by Ver- 

“on C. (Tommy) Gilbert, Regional Representative for 

Environmental Training and Management in Africa 

(ETMA), P 0. Box 67839, Nairobi, Kenya. 

Gilbell pointed to two Ma” and the Biosphere 

(MAB) projects that have influenced development of 

the Cooperative Regional Demonstration Project 

(CROP) approach - the Biosphere Reserves at La 

Michilia and Mapimi I” Durango, Mexico. There, 

under the leadership of Dr. Gonzalo HalfHer and his 

colleagues in the institute of Ecology in Mexico, scientists, politicians, and local people work tcgefher to 

improve conservation of natural resources of the reg 

ion and at the same time raise the wmomic and social level of people living in and around the reserves. 

Gilberl quotes Dr. Halffter: “It is not Utopia” to believe that new strategies for ecological development 

can spring from the Reserves: on the contrary, this is 

a” objective of no less importance than the consenalion of the germ plasm.” 

The situation in Kenya was characterized by Gilbell as “increasing, honiving, long-term loss of natural resources for short-term returns” and one that was 

likely to get worse unless there was “concerted “ational acdo” organized and expressed right down to 

the users of the country’s resource base.” 

Gilbert’s last position with the National Park Service before retiring in 1981 was NSPlAlD Environmental Project Manager. Before accepting the African assignment, he served a term as Director of the International Science and Technology Institute in Washington. D.C. 
regional 

highlights 

North Atlantic Region 

John Portnoy, our regional Research Biologist, has 

been reassigned to the Planning Division, Cape Cod 

National Seashore. as part of the regional realignment process. 

We have successfully established a coastally 

oriented Cooperative Research Ucit at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. This major component 

of our three-region (NAR, MAR, SER) Barrier Island 

initiative, has been funded through the Significant Resowe Problem (SRP) process. The flexibility of the 

Cooperative Research Unit approach plus a negotiated matching fund ratioof 1 :i makes this an exciting 

opportunity for solving management problems in the 

coastal parks of our three Regions. NAR Chief Scientist P.A. Buckley has been assigned as Director of 

that Unit and will leave Boston this fall to take up 

those duties at Rutgers. 

Southeast Region 

The South Florida Research Center at Everglades 

NP announces the following list of publications. available through the Nattonal Technical Information Service, U.S. Deet. of Commerce, 5265 Porl Roval Rd., 

Springfield, \in 22161: 

SFRC-63101 Status 01 the Eastern lndioo Snake 

in Southern Florida National Parks and ticinity by 

Todd Steiner, Oron L. Bass, Jr., and James A. 

Kushlan; 

SFRC-83102 Population Structure, Food Habits, 

and Spawning Activity of Gray Snapper, Lurjanus 

gdeseus, in Everglades National Park by Edward S. 

Rutherford, Edith B. Thue, and David G. Buker; 

SFRC-83103 Age and Growth of Four Everglades Fishes Using Otolith Techniques by P. William Haake and John Mark Dean. 

For more information, call Jessie Brundige at 

350.4653. 

. f t 

Two new reports have been added to the Research/Resources Management Series published by 

the Southeast Regional mice. They are: 

RiRM Report SER.64 Impacts and Influences 

on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: An 

Annotated Bibliography with a Discussion and 

Review of Selected Findings, Recommendations, 

and Conclusions by David E. Carpenter. This 245. 

page document describes and provides references to 

works contaInlog information about external impacts 

and influences on Great Smoky Mountains. Subjects 

covered Include development in the southern Ap 

palachlan region, demographic changes, federal 

lands management, highways and road development, timber tuning, 011 and gas exploration and development, and air and water pollution. Copies of this 

repolt can be obtained through Stan Canter or the 

Uplands Field Research Laboratory at Great Smoky 

Mountains National Park. Gatlinburg, Tennessee 

37738. 

R/RM Report SER.65: Coastal Erosion at Cape 

Hatteras: A Lighthouse in Danger by Lorance D. 

Lisle and Robert Dolan, University of Virginia. This re 

port analyzes records and surveys of the shoreline 

position of Cape Hatteras dating back to 1852, and 

predicts a 2005 A.D. shoreline position approximately 

100 meters wesf of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, 

based on the results of the University of Virgin\& 

COAST computer analysis program. Copies are 

available through the Southeast Regional Office, 75 

Spring Street SW.. Atlanta, Georgia 30303. 

In an arlicle foe&J dn cblonial water birds in U.S. 

National Parks, James A. Kushlan of the South 

Florida Research Center at Everglades NP suggests 

that ecosystem management in reserves cannot, 

alone, protect populations-that “a regional strategy 

is imperative.” 

The article, which appeared in Environmental Manageman/, Vol. 7, NO. 3, starts from the fact that “reserves seldom encompass complete ecosystems” 

and suggests that ‘Yhe varymg management 

strategies found within the array of existing and potential resewes must be the foundation for the conservation of some special species.” He concludes 

that “because happenstance should not dictate the 

future of colonial water bird populations, region-byregion management plans that speedy the role of each 

management area and assign goals may be useful.” 

. f . 

Southeast Regional Director Bob Baker and other 

Regional officials heard a presentation entitled, “Acid 

Rain: Its Causes and Consequences in the Environment,” given by Dr. Ellis B. Cowling in the Regional 

Gffice on Aug. 23. Cowling, Associate Dean for Research, School of Forest Resources at North Carolina 

Slate University, and Chatrman of the United States’ 

National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP), 

reported that readings taken during the past few 

years show acid rain affects every state east of the 

Mississippi River. Areas most sensitive, he said, include the southern Appalachian region where Great 

Smoky Mountains National Park is located. 

He commended the NPS for its cooperation and 

continuing acid rain research elforts. “One of the 

greatest strengths of the National Park Service, in 

comparison to some of the other agencies within the 

NADP program, is that it has people on the ground 

who care.” said Cowling. 

Western Region 

Excltlng research findings are issuing from a University of California-Berkeley Museum of Paleontology study in Petrified Forest NP This study, now in its 

third season, has uncovered more than 20 new 

species of late Triassic thecodonts and early Jurassic 

dwxaurs. Dr. Kevin Padian is the principal investigator of this independently funded project. One new 

species, Anamanasuchus ractoti, has been named 

after Supt. Roger Rector, who has been very supportive of the UC-Berkeley project. Dr. Padian is preparing a large NSF grant proposal in an attempt to expand the study into a maior research effort over the 

nextthreeyears. . . , 

Dr. Chuck Stone, Research Scientist at Hawaii Volcanoes NP and Dr. Michael Soon, Team Leader of the 

USFWS Hawaiian Forest Bird Survey Team, have announced a symposium on Protection and Management of Terrestrial HawaIian Ecosystems, to be held 

at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park June 12-13.1964. 

. * f 

Dr. Reginald R. Barrett, Wildlife Professor in the 

University of California, Berkeley Department of 

Forestty and Resource Management recently completed a seven month sabbatical in Hawaii Volcanoes 

National Park working with the park s&H on the feral 

pig problem. 

16 

Dr. William Halvorson, Dr. Christine SchonewaldCox and Jonathan Bayless officially transferred from 

WAS0 to the Western Region Natural Science Program rolls on July 31, 1983. Dr. Halvorson will be duty 

stationed at Channel Islands NP and will move soon 

to California. Dr. Schonewald-Cox and Bayless will 

be duty stationed at the Uwersity of California, Davis 

CPSU and will move to California in May, 1984. 

. I * 

Reprints now are available for three alticles by 

Charles van Riper Ill that have appeared within the 

past year in Condo< the W&n Euliefin, and The 

Auk. From Condor (64:117-119) comes “WithinTerritory Division of Foraging Space by Male and 

Female Amakihi (Laxops virens),’ by Alan 6. Kamil 

and van Riper; horn the W&on Bulletin (94:4. 463. 

467) comas “Censuses and Breeding Observations 

of the Birds on Kohala Mountain, Hawaii,” by van 

Riper; and from The Auk (99:667-674) comes “Temperature Regulation in Two Endangered Hawaiian 

Honeycreepers: The Palila (Psittirostra bailleui) and 

the Laysan Finch (Psinirostra cantans),’ by Wesley 

W. Weathers and van Riper. 

Van Riper is leader of the NPS/CPSU at Wickson 

Hall. Universitv of California. Davis. CA95616. , * f . 

Four Western Region natural scientists, Denny 

Fenn, Gary Fellers, Charles van Riper and Gary 

Davis, recentlv iained with Denver Service Center, 

Western Archdoiogical and Conservation Center and 

Channel Islands NP staff in a special Interdisciplinary 

Science Team pulse on Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz 

Islands to gather data in support of the planning effori 

at Channel Islands. Doug Cornell, DSC planning 

team leader for Channel Islands, coordinated the 

pulseeffolt. . t , 

David J. Parsons, research scientist at Sequoia/ 

Kings Canyon NPS, is either the sole or the contributing author of four papers published recently on parkrelated subjects. Significant inaccuracies in the 

reporting of backcounby use permit data and thwr 

effect on management decisions are discussed in 

“Wilderness Permit Accuracy: Differences between 

Reported and Actual Use” The arlicle appeared in 

Environmental Management, Vol. 6, No. 4. and was 

co-authored by Thomas J. Stohlgren, also of NPS, 

and James M. Kraushaar of the University of Vermont 

School of Business. 

The Proceedings of Symposfum on Dynamics and 

Management of Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems, 

published as General Technical Repott PSW-58 by 

the SW Forest and Range Experiment Station, USFS. 

contains the following papers: “Fire Management and 

Vegetation Effects in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems: A Summary and Synthesis.” by Parsons; “Postfire Recwely of Chamise Chaparral in Sequoia NP,’ 

by Gail A. Baker, Philip W. Rundel, and Parsons; and 

“Using Stem Basal Area to Determine Biomass and 

Stand Structure in Chamise Chaparral,” by T.J. 

Stohlgren, N.L. Stephenson, Parsons. and PW. 

Rundel. 1 * t 

Technical Repori No. 13, Levels of Se/e&d Micron&tents in Soils and Vegetation and Dietav Impiications for Tue E/k at Point Reyes National Seashore. 

is available now from the University of California, 

Davis, CPSU 95616, according to Charles van Riper 

Ill, Unit Leader (916) 752-7119. Authors are M. Akeson, Research Assistant; L.D. Whitbg, soil marphologist; R.G. Burau, soil chemist; V.V. Rendig, soil 

chemist, and R.D. Meyer, specialist. 

The investigation was conducted to provide further 

insight into the suspected dietary nutrient imbalance 
Hacking Runs Gamut of Peregrine Perils 

By Jonathan B. Jarvis 

Planning for the 1963 manipulation of the endangered peregrine falcons at Crater Lake NP began 

much as it had in the previous two years, (Park Science Vol. 2, No. 4). A cooperative effort by the Park, 

the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), 

and the Predatory Bird Research Group (PBRG) of 

Santa Cruz, Calif., established a site observer in 

March at a station near the historic aerie. 

Anticipating the return of the nesting pair of peragrines, plans were made to replace the eggs with 

fledglings as had been done the past Iwo years. 

Logistical support for the site observer, Randy Wilson, was only slightly hampered by a record snow accumulation of 21 feet. 

The first bird to arrive at the aerie was a male, identified from markings as the nesting male of past 

years. For 30 days he wailed from the vicinity of the 

ledge. In late April, a female peregrine arrived, but the 

color markings and a leg band indicated she was not 

the nesting female of past years. She was at least a 

Regional Highlights ww 

affecting the lute elk at Tomales Point. Point Reyes 

NS. Most importantly, copper levels in plant species 

and in soils were found to be low. Dietary imbalance 

for tule elk and other ungwates may b-a closely related 

to stress associated with grazing animal denaty, it 

was concluded. Five management recommendations 

are included in the report 

Pacific Northwest Region 

A 65.page report, covering the second of a threeyear experimental management program and titled 

Mountain Goat Ecology and Management fnvesfigakens at Olympic Natfonai Park, is now in publication 

form. Its authors, J. Aho, D. Houston, B. Moorhead, 

E. Schreiner, and R. Starr are all NPS employees. 

The third report, covering this year’s experimental 

management program, will complete the study of 

Olympic NP goats and their capacity as an exotic 

species to alter pristine ecological relationships, and 

should contribute substantially 10 the ecological mformation on mountain goats -one of the least known 

unaulatesof North America. 

. . t 

Gary E. Machlis, CPSU Sociology Project Leader 

at the Universitv of Idaho and Donald R. Field, CPSU 

Sociology Project Leader at Oregon State University 

are ednon of a book soon to be published by Oregon 

State Press (publication dale Spring 1964). The tentative title is Onfnterpretation:SocioiogyfortheCommunication of Naturaland Culhnal History The theme 

of the book is the application of sociology to interpretation. The volume is a collection of readings from 

over 10 years of research on selected clientele 

groups for whom interpreters provide natural and cuttural history programs. 

f 1 * 

Donald R. Field, senior scientist (sociologist) and 

former Chief Scientist of the PNR, now at the Oregon 

State University NPSICPSU, has received the 1963 

Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt award for excellence in recreation and park research from the National Recreation and Park Association. The award 

was presented on October 2 by Harry G. Haskell, Jr., 

chairman of the NRPA board of trustees, at the NRPS 

Congress in Kansas City, MO. 

two-year-old adult and quite possibly one oi the two 

females fledged at the aerie in 1961. Since the nesting female of past years was thought to be an older 

bird, her failure 10 return was interpreted as indicating 

she had not survived the winter migration. 

Disaster Strikes 

Park staff spirits soared as courtship and prey exchanges were observed between the male and the 

new female. However, after just one week of courtship, disaster struck. The male failed 10 return from a 

hunting trip, presumably having fallen pray to a& 

dental death or to intentional shooting by man. 

For days the lemale wailed from the ledge, calling 

for her mate to bring food. Seven days after the male 

had disappeared, a new peregrine, thought to be an 

immature (one-year-old) male, arrived at the aerie. 

The lemale and this new immature began interaction 

and bonding behavior. 

Soon thereafter, an egg was laid on the ledge, but 

since no copulation had been observed, the egg was 

thought to be unfertilized-probably laid as the result 

of the intense courtship activity. This conclusion was 

vetified by the lack of interest and incubation by the 

female as she intensified the courtship and bonding 

with the immature male. 

While the bonding raised new hopes for a viable 

nesting pair next year, hopes for a 1963 success were 

dashed. The immature male and the mature female 

would not be capable of producing a successful nesting this year. 

Alternatives Considered 

Park and ODFW personnel met to determine the 

alternatives for saving Oregon’s only known peregrine nest. Wilson reporfed he had now seen a total 

of three banded peregrines in the aerie vicinity; an 

adult female, an immature female, and an immature 

male. This indicated that the previous years’ manipulations were at least a 75 percent succass. with the 

return of three out of four birds. 

It was noted that with the loss of the adult male, the 

Park had a cumulative shortage of male peregrines 

for future nestings. The best alternative suggested 

was a “hacking” operation -a falconer’s term for the 

imprinting and releasing of birds into an area. With 

this procedure, the Park population could be augmented with young male birds. 

The aerie operation thus far had expended most of 

the Park’s programmed funding for the peregrines, so 

to support the hacking operation, Park staff turned to 

the private sector. Proposals to Weyerhaeuser Company and to Recreational Equipment, Inc. produced 

$500.00 for helicopter support and $550.00 of camping equipment respectively. ODFW and the Park 

pooled money to purchase the persgrws from the 

PBRG in Santa Cruz and Park staff organized to provide logistical supporl to a remote location. 

With the assistance of a USFS helicopter a “hack” 

site was located that provided reasonable accessibility, freedom from predators and distance from the historic aerie 10 prevent territorial conflicts with the returning immatures. The area was surveyed for the 

presence of great horned owls, a natural threat lo 

peregrines, and found to be free. 

Hack Box Flown In 

On June 30, a 4’ Y 4’ x 6’ hack box was flown to 

the site and cabled to a ledge within the Crater Lake 

17 

caldera. Three days later, Iwo male and one female 

peregrines were flown from California 10 Chiloquin, 

Oregon. They were then driven 10 a helisport on the 

Park boundary and flown via heliwpter to the site. 

Placed in the cage-fronted “hack” box, the three birds 

got their first breathtaking view from 1,OOOfeel above 

the Lake surface. 

On the cliff edge 500 feet above the hack box, a 

camp was set up for hack site observer Randy Wilson. Wilson’s duties included observing and recording the peregrines’ progress, as well as scrambling 

down a skree slope before dawn each morning to 

provide the peregrines with a daily quotient 01 three 

quail each. 

The quail, provided by ODFW, were cleaned and 

frozen and proved to be a major logistical problem of 

the operation. To prevent spoilage in the remote location, Wilson could store only a week’s supply by bury 

ing a cooler in the snow. By the end of the “hacking,” 

the paregrines had eaten over 400 quail! 

One week after the peregrines were placed in the 

hack box, they were banded, fined with leg mounted 

radio transmitters and released lo the ledge. On July 

11, all three tested their wings with the first flight. Until 

they developed their acrobatic skills, they were now 

the most vulnerable 10 predation by golden eagles 

and great horned owls. Only one day after release, 

Wilson observed an immature golden eagle attempt 

to catch the female peregrine. 

Stress Produces Lethargy 

Although the eagle attack was unsuccessful, its 

stress effect on the female was enough to produce 

lethargy, making the bird increasingly vulnerable to 

any repeat attempt by the eagle. For several days, 

Wilson and an assistant were able to fend off the 

eagle by shouting and rapid movements as it approached, but the eagle became increasingly accustomed to their actions and it was feared the female 

would be lost. 

Acting on advice from the PBRG, Park rangers set 

up a vigil over the hack site, armed with blank-loaded 

shotguns that would fire a load noise to frighten the 

eagle. Fortunately, the two male peregrines developed their flying skills rapidly and eventually chased 

the eagle away. 

Though flying well, the peregrines still were entirely 

dependent on the daily quotient of quail. Therefore, 

Park staff was concerned when the quail began disappeanng soon after they were left on the ledge. A 

live trap brought 10 the ledge caught an immature 

pine marlen the first night. It was transported 15 miles 

away to another area of the Park and released. The 

problem was not solved until three more pine martens 

were live trapped from the ledge and transported to 

other parts of the Park for release. 

During the remainder of the operation, the peregrines ranged further each day lrom the security of 

the hack site. Reports came in of them being seen 

many miles from the ledge as they explored their new 

territory In mid-August, they began returning with full 

crops and showed less interest in the provided quail. 

Finally, on August 29, the park closed the hack site 

and discontinued feeding, confident that the three 

could fend for themselves. With luck, they will return 

in coming years to reestablish Oregon’s only known 

nesting pair of these magnificent birds. 

Jarvc; is the Resource Management l?afnee at 

Crater Lake NP 
Action Plan For Aquatic Research At Voyageurs NP 

By Larry W. Kallemeyn 

Approximately 65,000 acres of Voyageurs National 

Park’s 219,000 total acreage is covered by water: 

over 95 percent of the water area is cccupied by Lake 

Kabetogama and those potiions of Ramy, Namakan, 

and Sand Point Lakes that lie within the park. In addition to the four main lakes, there are 26 smaller lakes, 

ranging in size from 20 to 740 acres. Small impoundments created by beaver dams also are abundant. 

Most actwities in the park center on the large lakes; 

recreational fishing is the principal visitor activity. 

Approximately 800.000 personhours are expended 

on Ihe fishery annually with walleye, northern pike, 

sauger, and smallmouth bass being the principal 

species harvested. 

Resources Issues 

Regulated lake levels and acid precipitation have 

been identified as resource problems in the parkB 

Resource Management Plan. Lake levels in the large 

lakes in Voyageurs NP are controlled by a dam at the 

outlet of Rainy Lake and by two dams on the outlet of 

Namakan Reservoir that control the water level in 

Namakan, Kabetogama, and Sand Point Lakes. Because pniions of all the lakes except Kabetogama lie 

in Canada, the dams and lake levels are regulated by 

the International Joint Commission (IJC). From 1909 

to 1960 the average annual water level fluctuation in 

Rainy Lake was 3.6 feet; on the other lakes it was 9.3 

feet. Estimated “natural” fluctuations for this same 

period would have averaged 6.7 feet for Rainy Lake 

and 6.4 feet for Namakan Resewoir. Thus it appears 

the present method of using larger than normal fluduations on the Resewior to maintain artificially low fluctuations on Rainy Lake could be hawng an adverse 

impact on the aquatic ecosystem. 

Due to the low buffering capacity of the park waters, acid precipitation, which has been documented 

in the park, definitely has the potential for an adverse 

affect on the park’s flora and fauna. Alkalinity readings in most of the park lakes are less than 20 mgi 

liter, which indicate the lakes have a limited capacity 

for neutralizing the acids that enter from the atmosphere. 

The recreational use of the fishery resource was 

not specifically addressed when the Resource Management Plan was written in 1961, However, results 

of creel cenwses conducted in 1977 and 1978 by the 

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and in 

1961 by Voyageurs NP personnel have shown that 

the fishery is intensive enough to have a significant 

impact on the fish community The fishery is concentrated on the large species such as the walleye and 

northern pike, and the selective removal of these key 

predators probably is having an additional indirect influence on the other members of the fish community 

Aquatic Research Program 

Research relating to these issues conducted prior 

to 1963 was restricted by a lack of funds and manpower. During the winter of 1962.63 an aquatic research Action Plan was developed and added to the 

Management Plan. It called for addressing simultaneously the three resource issues. For each of the 

broad areas of investigation, specific research elements were identified and it was decided whether 

Voyageurs NP researchers or contractors would do 

the work. This plan was usad to obtam additlonal 

funding from the Midwest Region’s Science office and 

the NPS Significant Resource Problems program. 

The investigation dealing with the impact of water 

regulation has five research elements (1) a study of 

the hydrology of Namakan Reservoir and Rainy Lake 

and analysis of the impaa of fluctuating water levels 

on (2) the littoral biota. including the vegetation and 

benthic organisms, (3) the fish community with special 

emphasis on the walleye and northern pike, (4) shore 

and marsh nesting brds. and (5) beaver and muskrat 

colonies. 

The hydrology study is being conducted by the 

NPS Water Resources Field Support Lab; the CPSUs 

at Michigan Technological University and the University of Tucson are doing the benthos. beaver and 

muskrat, and bird studies. The littoralvegetation work 

is contracted to the University of Minnesota, Duluth. 

Research personnel from Voyageurs NP are carrying 

out the fishery study and coordinating the other work 

involved. Technical support for portions of the 

fishedes investigation is being provided by the Minnesota Depadment of Natural Resources. 

If the studies show that the current water management program is having an adverse impact, the research approach should help the Park Service devise 

useful recommendations to the IJC for alternative 

regulatory systems. Should the IJC then make some 

change, the data collected in these studies will serve 

as baseline information against which we can evaluate the new regulatory system’s impact 

The emphasis with regard to acid precipitation has 

been to encourage work by other agencies. since the 

park lacks equipment or facilities for conducting detailed studies in that area. Completed work includes 

a water quality and zooplankton study funded by the 

NPS Midwest Region’s Science Office, and a water 

quality and precipttation chemistry study conducted 

by EPA. Currently the USGS and Minnesota Pollution 

Control Agency are monitoring water quality and precipitation chemistry in the park. The NPSiCPSU at 

Michigan Technological University in FY 1964 will 

begin monitoring a small watershed in the park for 

conducting a time-trend analysis of stream discharge 

and pH. Park personnel’s involvement in the acid rain 

program consists of assisting these other agencies I” 

monitoring some basic limnological parameters, e.g., 

water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductlvity, alkalinity, transparency, and zooplanMon composition and abundance. 

Because of the potential impact of the recreational 

fishery on the fish community as well as its importance to park vistors, a program to collect and 

analyze fish harvest data was begun in the spring of 

FY 1983. The program’s principal objective is to estimate accurately the annual harvest and fishing pressure and to obtain growth and mortality estimates for 

the various fish species. Through a cooperative 

agreement, funding is being supplied to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to measure 

fishing pressure and harvest on the four maior lakes 

in the park. In addition, park personnel are testing an 

aerial census as another means of monitoring fishing 

pressure. They also are testing a postal creel card as 

a means of measuring fishing halvest and pressure 

on the park’s 26 similar lakes. 

The various studies being conducted in this program complement each other in that data collected in 

one study can be used to good advantage by researchers conducting another study. This is patiicularly true of the data thal are being collected in the 

studies dealing with the Impact of the water management on the fish community and the recreattonal 

fishery When completed the results of the program 

should provide a broad spectrum of information resource personnel can use in managing the park’s 

aquatic resource. 

Kallemeyn ;s a aquatic research biologist at Voyagaurs NP 

The National Park 

Service Loses a Friend 

By Russell Dickenson 

Director, Naoonai Park Se~fce 

Dr. A. Starker Leopold, a friend and advisor to the 

National Park Selvice for many years, holds a special 

place in our memones. The most notable and timeless, perhaps, of his contributions was the 1963 report, Study of Wildlife Problems in the National Parks, 

written while he served as chairman of the Special 

Advwly Board on Wildlife Management under Interior Secretary Stewart L. Udall. 

This study later became generally known as the 

Leopold Report, providing recommendations that 

have guided development of Service policy and wildlife management for the ensuing 20 years. 

Dr. Leopold continued advising the Service through 

palticipation in the Natural Sciences Advisory Committee, estabkshed in 1964 and desbned to figure importantly in subsequent NPS resource policies and 

programs. While on the University of California faculty Dr. Leopold lound time to serve a year (in 1967 and 

1966) as Chlaf Scientist of the National Park Service. 

because, he said, “I wanted to help get the research 

program off the ground.~ 

After he resigned from this post he crmtinued to 

18 

serve in various capacities including member of the 

Advisory Board on NatIonal Parks, Historic Sites, 

Building and Monuments (now known as the National 

Park System Advisory Board), contributor of information to the Report of the Committee on Yellowstone 

Grilllies (1974) prepared by the National Academy 

of Sciences, and as vice-chairman of the Secretary’s 

Advisory Committee from 1972 to 1976. He served 

with Dr. Durward Allen as a sub-committee of two to 

produce two 1977 reports: A Review of Nalional Park 

Service Bear Management Programs, and a Review 

and Recommendations Relative to /he National Park 

Servfcs Natural Science Programs, both of which 

sewed as policy documents. 

More recently, Dr. Leopold sew-d as a member of 

a panel of experts to write the assessment of the role 

of science and technology in managing natural re. 

sources in parks, prepared by the National Academy 

of Sciences in 1960. 

In all, the NPS has been the proud beneficiary of 

the thoughts and energies of one of the most I* 

nowned naturalists our country has produced. It is 

with deepest sadness that I make my last farewell to 

Dr. Leopold, long time friend of our Nation’s parks and 

their natural resources. 
Wauer Gives Paper 

In West Germany 

Roland H. Wauer, assistant superrnlendent at 

Great Smoky Mountains NP attended a lo-day International Working Conference: New Directions for 

Conservation of Parks, June 5-15 in West Germany, 

where he delivered a paper on the evolul~on of resource management in National Parks of the U.S. He 

also discussed two projects of the NPSCPSU al the 

University of Idaho: an international survey of threats 

to parks, sent to 135 countries and garnering 70 percent response, and preparation of a new State of the 

Parks survey form plus software for conceptual models of impacts on park systems. 

Preliminary results from the international threats 

survey appeared in the Summer issue of PARKS 

magazine (Vol. 6 NO. 1, pp. 14.17), authored by David 

L. Tichnell, Gary E. Machlis, and James R. Fazro. 

(PARKS IS published by the NPS International Affairs 

oflice, Washington, D.C. 20240). 

Considerable interest was expressed among the 

international delegates and Wauer agreed to send 

the survey forms to all participants so that each of 

their countries could take part. 

A full repod on the trip by Wauer appears in the 

Summer issue of the George Wright Society’s 

FORUM (George Wright Society PO Box 65, Hancock, MI 49930) together with the 12 recommendations that grew out of the conference. 

Jean Packard, editor of PARKS, has elected to 

publish the paper on interpretation at Luneburger 

Heide Nature Park in West Germany. It was given by 

Gaby Kube. the parks chief of interpretation. 

Anadromous Fish in 

Olympic NP Described 

in Houston Report 

Anadromous Fish in Olympic National Pa&: A 

Status Repoti, by Douglas B. Houston, is a ‘Ii-page 

review of the distribution and abundance of salmon 

and trout populations in the only natural area administered by the NPS outside ot Alaska to have substantial numbers of native anadromous salmonids as 

part of the park fauna. 

Because most of these populations are harvested 

in commercial and sport fisheries outside park boundaries and because recreational fishing is permitted in 

park waters, this segment of the parks fauna is subject to management by other Federal and State agencies and by several Indian tribes. 

The nature and extent of the conflicts with the 

park’s primary purpose of preserving and restoring 

natural ecological processes are discussed in the re 

port, and management strategies are considered. 

The report is available from Olympic NP, 600 E. 

Park Ave., Port Angeles, WA 96362. 

The Year of the Books’ 

On the Indiana Dunes 

By Dale B. Engquist, Superinlendent 

Indiana Dunes Nalional Lakeshore 

The struggle to preserve the Indiana Dunes began 

well before the turn of the 29th Century and culminated in 1966 with the creation of an Indiana Dunes 

National Lakeshore. The classic struggle between 

conflicting land use values - between the forces of 

economic development and preservation-continues 

today, 60 years after creation of the lndrana Dunes 

State Park and almost 20 years after the National 

Lakeshore was born. 

To understand the Dunes today and to manage its 

resources one must understand its past, not only its 

natural history but its human and political history as 

Well. 

While voluminous literature on the Dunes exists, 

1983 has turned out to be the year of new books. A 

theologian has written Sacred Sands, two longtime 

residents of the dunes have authored Duel for the 

Dunes, and the Eastern National Park and Monument Association has published The Indiana Dunes. 

I highly recommend all three. The lessons to be 

learned from this parks history can serve us all well 

in meeting the challenges of present day park management. 

J. Ronald Engel’s book, Sacred Sands, the Strug 

g/e for Community in the Indiana Dunes, was released this spring (Wesleyan University Press, 

$22.95). Kay Franklin and Norma Schaeffer’s book 

Duel for the Dunes. Land Use Conflict on the Shores 

of Lake Michigan, will be published soon (University 

of Illinois Press, $18.95). Both books concern the 

long, often bitterly fought, battle that has pined preservationists against industry lllinors against Indiana. 

and very often the people against their own elected 

representatives. Both books chronicle the struggle’s 

long and significant cast of characters - Stephen 

Mather, poet Carl Sandburg, ecologist Henry Cowles, 

landscape architect Jens Jensen, Hull House’s Jane 

Addams. former lllinors Sen. Paul H. Douglas, and 

many more. 

The books do not, however, duplrcate each other. 

Dr. Engel writes horn the viewpoint of the philosopher 

and theologian. The dunes preservation movement is 

treated as part of the Mrdwests Progressive movement, as a ‘. banleground in the struggle for social 

justice and environmental preservation.” He concentrates on the early years - the altists, poets, scientists, social reformers, and thinkers. His book explarns why so many people have fought for so long a 

period and with such devotion for their dunes. For 

them, the dunes are a sacred symbol; the save-thedunes movement is a laic religion. 

Kay Franklin and Norma Schaeffer, both residents 

of the town of Beverly Shores, now surrounded by the 

National Lakeshore, are less philosophical, more 

pragmatic. Fuller treatment is given to politicians and 

bureaucrats. The book takes a closer look at the history of the dunes since authorization of the Lakeshore, including its present management, conflicts 

over further expansion, and NPS proposals for planning and development. 

Although the first NPS Director, Stephen Mather, 

was intensely involved in movements to establish a 

Sand Dunes National Park, the victories of preservation were won by the people. Indeed, the National 

Park Service and the Department of the Interior are 

treated m this book as “reluctant allies” in the struggle We who like to thinkalways of ourselves aswearing unblemished white hats may cringe somewhat at 

this characterization, but it is not without foundation. 

The Indiana Dunes (Eastern Acorn Press, $3.95), 

written by the Lakeshore’s chief interpreter, Larry 

Waldron, with photographs by former interpreter 

Robert Daum, sets forth the benefits of the preservation victories. The land, the lake, the plants, the 

dunes and bogs - all are described and illustrated. 

The book concentrates on natural history, showing 

why the dunes are often referred to as the birthplace 

of ecology in North America and how, in its present 

day land forms, one finds the history of continental 

glaciation better exemplified than anywhere else. 

Yet even this book, with its accent on natural history, cannot ignore the human factor. The people’s relation to the land, part and parcel of the natural history 

story, is summarized in the chapter on “People,” rntroduced by a 1956 picture of Sen. Paul H. Douglas, 

campaigning from the front seat of a jeep to Save the 

DUnaS. 

Renewable Resource Inventories 

Conference Held In Corvallis 

More than 300 natural resource management 

people from a dozen countries attended a conference 

Aug. 15-19 in Renewable Resource lnventorles for 

Monitoring Changes and Trends at the Oregon State 

University campus in Corvallis, Oregon. 

Five NPS attendees were Lillian Rummel, Nahonal 

Capital Parks, East, Washington. D.C.; John Miller, 

Grand Canyon; Jon Janris. Crater Lake; Gary Davis, 

19 

Channel Islands; and Gary Vequist, Glacier Bay. 

The conference was sponsored by nine agencies, 

societies, and foundations, in cooperation with the 

United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organizahon. 

the U.S. Forest Service, and OSU. Papers will be 

published by January 1984, and will be available 

through the OSU School of Forestry, Corvallis. OR 

97331. 
Cumberland Island 

Fire Effects Study 

By Kathryn Davison 

Over the last three decades the natural role of fire 

has become increasingly important in the national 

parks. Studies of vegetation and wildlife responses to 

fire have guided fire policies away from total suppression towards natural fire research and management. 

Activity has cantered m large western parks, however, and the effects of fire on many types of park 

ecosystems remain unstudied. 

The need for more information is especially urgent 

in the Southeastern National Seashores, located on 

sandy barrier islands where the annual rainfall is sufficient for the growth of dense vegetation, but the 

summer is usually dry, punctuated by violent thunderstorms. The abundance of dry fuel and high lightning 

frequency have made fire a significant part of the 

evolution and ecology of the coastal vegetation. A 

large body of literature exists concerning the various 

plant communities of the mainland Coastal Plain, but 

little research has dealt with fire management of barrier islands 01 national seashores. Since barrier islands have some unique plant communities and have 

vegetation patterns unlike those of the mainland, establishing adequate management for National Seashores requires further analysis of their fire ecology. 

The South-Cut Fire, which occurred in July of 1981 

on Cumberland Island National Seashore, provided 

an excellent opportunity to document plant survivorship and regrowth after a natural fire on a barrier island. There had not been a fire on this pan of the Island for at least 15 years so that fuel loadings were 

high; 1991 was the last of four dry years, which had 

reduced considerably the water level of the freshwater marshes. The lightning-ignited fire swept over 

1,700 acres, but was largely restricted to four community types: oak scrub, pine scrub, mature pine, and 

freshwater marsh. Major boundaries of the fire 

formed along the edges of mature hardwood forests 

where penetration was limited to the shrub understory and litter (Fig. 1 and 2). Biologists from the NPS 

Cooperative unit at the University of Georgia prasently are comparing these five communities and their 

responses to this major burn in order more fully to understand the role of fire in the ecology of Cumberland 

Island. 

Burn Study Begun 

The Georgra Co-op began a study of the burn in 

December of 1981. Plots for tree data were laid out in 

the five major community types. Three levels of fire 

exposure were studied by maximum scorch height: 

ground (O-0.5”), shrub (0.5-3”) and crown (t3m). 

Herb, woody sprout and seedling regrowth were 

measured by percent cover and stem counts in transects along one srde of the plots. The sites were revisited in the spring, summer and autumn for herb 

and shrub regrowth measurements. Comparison 

plots in unburned communities were sampled where 

possible. A large percent of the oak scrub on the Island has burned in the last five years and all of the 

pine scrub burned in the 1981 fire, thus for pond pine 

communities unburned comparison sites are not 

available on the Island. The results of the study have 

not yet been analyzed. but some general observations have been made. The following is a description 

of each of the major community types and some 

notes about their responses to the fire. 

The mature hardwood forest is of pamcular interest 

because it was here that the fire stopped. This forest 

has a closed canopy of 20-25 meters inside of which 

a more humid microenvironment is enclosed. Litter 

dries out less rapidly here than in the more open oak 

scrub forest. Live oak, Quercus virginiana is the most 

common tree of both the mature hardwood and the 

more fire prone oak scrub forests. Other canopy 

species ot the mature forest include: sweet bay, Magnolia virginiana, red bay, Persia borboma, cabbage 

palm, Sahel palmetto, black gum, Nyssa sy/vatica, 

holly, //sx opaca, and red maple, Acer ruburn. The 

shrubby understory is often dominated by saw palmetto, Serenoa repens which can form a continuous 

layer under the oaks. Small trees of live oak, red bay, 

wax my&, Myrfca cerifera, sparkleberry, Vaccfnium 

arboreum, and staggerbush, Lyonia femigfnea are 

scattered in a distinct understory. There is little herb 

cover excepting isolated patches of braken fern and 

panic grass. 

Overstory Trees Survived 

The overstory trees, with the exception of maple 

and holly have thick bark and survived the fire very 

well. Where the fire entered the forest it was carried 

mainly by the saw palmetto through the understory, 

and most of the smaller trees were killed, However, 

all of the species that lost individuals to the fire are 

represented in the regrowth. Seedlings of maple, 

holly, wax mynle and red bay have been found in 

areas where the species had existed previously, The 

strongest form of regrowth in terms of numbers and 

percent cover has been root and rhizome sprouting. 

Saw palmetto survived the fire very well. Most of the 

leaves were consumed, but the large rhizomes were 

well insulated and quickly replaced the lost foliage. 

Live oak, red bay, staggerbush. and wax myrtle have 

gained much height and ground covet over the last 

year through root sprouts. No new tree species have 

appeared and as yet, none have been lost in the 

areas studied. There is some change in the age distribution of rndividuals for this community, but linle to no 

change in species composition. 

The oak scrub is a forest type which grows in relatively sterile, well drained sands in upland sites. The 

canopy is open and low, 10-15 meters. Three oaks 

form the majority of the canopy with live oak being the 

most common, followed by myrtle oak, 0. myriifolia, 

and Chapman’s oak, 0. chapmanfi. Other canopy 

species oclude: American olive, Osmanfhus amed. 

cana, red bay, staggerbush. and scattered slash and 

pond pines. A less distinct understory than in the mature hardwood forest consists of a dense growth of 

staggerbush. sparkleberry, saw palmetto, gallberry 

llexgiabra and dwad Vaccfniummyrsfn;fes blueberry; 

the open nature of the canopy allows the liner to dry 

rapidly, and the less distinct boundaries between the 

overstory and the understory present a relatively con20 

tinuous vertical arrangement of fuel. Fire can be carried easily into the canopy. 

Possible Futures 

The fact that most of the oak scrub on the Island 

has burned within the last five years and that this 

same area on the norfhem end burned about 25 

years ago to approximately the same boundaries 

suggests that this community is a pyric disclimax, and 

is being maintained by fires of natural origrn. In the 

absence of killrng crown fires. the oaks may eventually form a closed canopy and the community could 

then succeed to a more mature forest. However, the 

sterile soils allow only slow growfh of the trees. The 

time needed for trees to grow large enough to form a 

closed canopy is usually much longer than the time 

between fires, due to the climate and the accumulation of fuels. 

The mature pine community is characterized by 

even-aged stands dominated by one of three pines: 

loblolly, Pfnus taeda, slash, P efliottii or longleaf, F? 

palusfris. These may be mixed with live oaks. The 

canopy is high (22.29”) and p&ally open. Saw palmetto is common, but not dense. Much of the ground 

cover is grasses and other herbs. 

The response to the fire in this community varied 

greatly with fire severity Most of the areas experi. 

enced no NOW” fire. In this case, the larger pines survived and the community was little changed. However, in one area near the edge of the salt marsh high 

winds brought flames into the canopy of a stand of 

loblolly pines. All of the trees were killed. The mgrowth in this area is primarily herbaceous. The saw 

palmetto is resprouting here as it has everywhere 

else it occurs. A few seedlings of pine, wax myrtle 

and winged sumac Rhus copalina have been found, 

but they are not abundant, as most of the ground is 

covered with fallen trees and lush herb growth. 

Pond Pine Regrowth Variable 

The pine scrub or pocosin community is a swampy 

forest where pond pme, Pmus serotina, is the most 

common tree. The understory is much the same as 

in the oak scrub but, with lknle to no oak component 

except on the drier sites. Pine scrub grades mto 

swampy marsh on the wetter sites where marsh 

herbs are more common than the shrubs, and into 

oak scrub on the drier sites that have a very small 

amount of herb cover. 

All the pond pine on the north end of the Island was 

involved in the fire; the majority experienced severe 

crown fire. Those pines that drd surwa have 

sprouted epicormically’ to replace needles lost to the 

blaze. The serotinous” cones held on the trees 

opened in the heat; and many seedlings have been 

found, especiallyon the wetter sites. 

Regrowth of pond pine has been variable. Healthy 

root sprouts are growng in the drier sites among the 

sprouts ot saw palmetto, gallberry, heaths and oaks. 

Prne seedlings in these areas have not survived well, 

‘Growing from a dormant bud exposed to light and 

ax 

“Occurring in the lane< drier paH of the summer. 
being shaded out by the dense sprouts. 

On the wener sites, hardwoods and saw palmetto 

have not grow” back as densely. Here, the root 

sprouts of pond pine died a few months after they 

came up, but many healthy seedlings were found. Ii 

should be noted that the root sprouts of staggerbush, 

fetterbush, Lyonia lucida, gallberry, blueberries, and 

especially saw palmetto flowered and fruited much 

more heavily inslde the burn lhan outside, and were 

attended by a host of pollinating insects. This was 

parlicularly apparent in the oak and pine scrubs. 

Freshwater Marshes Bounce Back 

During the last days of the fire, the northern end of 

the sweet-waler marsh complex caught and burned 

southward to South-Cut Road which effectively 

blocked its spread. Spaftina bakerii, a hummocked 

cordgrass, is the most common species of these 

marshes, forming a nearly continuous band through 

the sweet-water complex. Due to the dry conditions 

the grasses carried a hot blaze over the marshes. 

The surrounding trees generally did not suwive, and 

most of the above-ground vegetation in the marsh 

was killed. However, the grasses. shrubs and fobs all 

FIGURE 1. PLANT COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTION ON THE 

N ” ,,,,, .__*..._ ..-..._ ..,. __--._.._..-. 

(ADAPTED FROM HILLESTAD & BOSEMAN, 1974.i 

LtlItlUU 

n FRESHWATER MARSHES q PINE SCRUB 

q F&J;; HARDWOOD q OAK SCRUB 

q bJIX;;;;~TND MATURE ---ROADS AND TRAILS 

21 
Cumberland Island Itontmuedj 

have grown back from the old root systems. The 

grazers (horse and deer) seem to prefer the burned 

over grasses to those in unburned areas. Grasses in 

identical marshes on either side of South-Cut Road 

are cropped down to six inches on the burned side 

and not significantly grazed on the unburned side. 

The freshwater marshes have replaced the biomass 

lost to the fire more rapidly than any other community 

in the study and in terms of percent caver may have 

benefited from the fire. 

These preliminary observations indicate first that 

natural fire is an imporiant ecological factor on Cumberland Island, and at least 15 percent of the upland 

vegetation of the island is subfect to natural tire on a 

15 to 30 year rotation. The island has some vegetation types, such as pine and oak scrub, that develop 

high fuel loadings. The marsh and scrubcommunibes 

of the island generally are fire tolerant, however, 

while even a hot fire has difficulty burning into the 

more fire sensitive but less flammable live oak forest. 

Fire is Important to ecosystem structure and function on the island and requires a sophisticated management planning. In this case, some of the problems 

encountered in western parks where natural fire pliys 

an important role, can be avoided by a resources 

management program which permits “management 

fire” and anticioates the develooment of hiah fuel 

loadings. 

Dawson is a graduate sfudenf in lhe Unfversffy of 

Georgia Department of Botany working wifh NPS 

Research Scientist Sue Power Braffon. 

FIGURE 2. BOUNDARY OF THE SOUTH-CUT FIRE 

ON CUMBERLAND ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE, 1981 

LEGEND 

BURN AREA 

--- ROADS AND TRAILS 

22 
I 

Smoke and Visibility 

In Washington State 

By Shirley Clark 

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 set forth a 

nabonal visibillly goal-to prevent future and lo remedy existing impairment of visibility in class I areas 

due lo man-made pollution. Three years later, EPA 

promulgated Visibility Regulations which required 

states to revise State Implementation Plans (SIPS) 

for visibility. 

The State of Washington had adopted a Smoke 

Management Plan in the early ’70s to deal with health 

and welfare effects of forest burning. The primary 

goal of the plan was to keep smoke out of the urban, 

heavily populated areas, so burns were conducted 

under wind and weather conditions that forced smoke 

into the mountainous areas of the state-where the 

class I areas are located! 

Stale officials believed that smoke from slash burning was affecting visibility throughout the state. After 

the visibility regulations were finalized. the State was 

eager to set up a monitoring program. Cooperation 

between the Slate and NPS resulted in visibility 

monitoring in the three class I areas managed by 

NPS. Photography, particulate monllaring, nephelomeler measurements, and visual observations have 

indicated that smoke from slash burning is affecting 

visibility in class I areas. 

The State held an informational meeting prior lo 

drafting a Visibility SIP This gave a chance for proponents of both visibility and burnmg to air their concerns about the plan and its approach. After release 

of the draft plan, public hearings were held and generally supportive comments were recewed. 

The plan included a lighter scheduling of bummg 

on weekends between July 1 and Labor Day weekend within 60 miles of a class I area. NPS had requested that time period to be emphasized initially 

because Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks receive 50% of annual visitation 

during that time and entenng visitation on weekend 

days IS over twice that on weekdays. AGO-mile buffer 

area around the three class I areas managed by NPS 

and the five class I areas managed by USFS encompasses most of western Washington. The resfricbons 

went into effect on July 1, and burning was not allowed on visibility imp&ant (according lo the weather 

forecast) weekend days between July 1 and Labor 

Day weekend within 60 miles of a class I area. 

The plan also included a goal by forest managers 

to reduce total emissions generated by prescribed 

burning in western Washington 35 percent below current levels by 1990. Ways proposed lo achieve this 

goal include refinement of burning techniques and increased utilization of wood residue. 

The plan is viewed by NPS as a good first step loward improving visiblllly in Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks. It appears that a 

reasonable compromise has been reached among 

the conflicting interests which the plan CoveIs. NPS 

will continue 1o cooperate with the slate on monitoring 

activities as the plan is implemented to document 

whether or not visibility improves. 

Clark is Air and Water QuaI@ Coordinafor for the 

Pacific Northwestern Region, NPS. 

superinfendent9s corner 

Editor’s Nate: The Supermtendent’s Corner 

this time is t&d by Daniel J. (Jim) Tobin, 

Jr., who was superintendent 

of Mount Rainier NPin April 1976, when he 

delivered these remarks to the third annual 

Science/Management Conference of the 

NPS/Pacitic Northwest Region. at Klamath 

Falls, OR. Tobm is now RegIonal Director of 

the Pacihc Northwest Regfon, NPS. 

A Superintendent’s 

Expectations of Science 

and Scientists 

By llaniel .I. (Jim) Tobin, Jr. 

Perhaps we should place this in 

perspective as my personal interest in, 

and/or reason for, utilizing natural 

science research al Mount Rainier 

National Park. Frrst and primarily, lview it 

as a management tool needed lo provide 

information, techniques or systems to 

manage the natural resources. More 

simply slated, I am looking for a problem 

solver. 

This means a problem must be identified 

by management and then in cooperation 

with a scientist. defined in languagethat is 

mutually understood. Following definition 

of the problem comes a negotiated 

understanding of: 

1. Does the problem warrant study, i.e., 

are there existing studies and 

recommended problem solutions? 

2. If the study is warranted: 

a. for how long 

b. al what cost? 

c. by whom? 

d. what will be the end product? 

These elements are probably understood 

by all. but I will add a little clarification. 

A. How long should a study run? This is 

extremely important as the problems 

may not permit an “all the time in the 

world approach.” 

B. Al what cost? A simple matter of 

budget and money lo pay bills. Our 

most recent experience has been that 

money is in short supply throughout 

the National Park Service. As a 

consequence, competition for 

available funds is keen and a theme of 

the day is “trade off.” This means if I 

must do research, what can I leave 

undone to pay the bill? 

C. By whom? I am interested m placing 

my research with a scientist of 

integrity. with good standing in the 

professional community. He must be 

23 

D 

willing lo stand by his conclusions 

should they generateconlroversyand 

must understand that he may be 

subject to management’s call should 

expert testimony be required in 

matters of litigation. 

What WIII be the end product? The 

answer to this is very much the WHAT 

I expect of science and scientists. 

There should be a written report 

identifying the problem studied: the 

method or methods of study utilized; 

results of the study; conclusions; and 

recommended management actions. 

I am not interested in a treatise written in 

professional terms prepared solely for 

publication m sclenllfic journals. The 

resultant professional criticism is a 

welcome by-product, but my needs are for 

lay language, illustrations and 

recommendations that show me how to 

Implement them. 

Please note that I said recommendations: 

that is what I mean. In management there 

is a frequent need lo explore several 

solutions lo a problem and lo give 

consideration lo political realities. both inservice and out-of-service. In such an 

arena I prefer receiving a display of 

possible solutions arrayed in a best lo 

least desirable formal with a brief 

rationale for each one. 

Now, what do I expect from scientists as 

they work wilhln the Park? I expect 

scientists lo be cooperallve guests when 

they come lo the Park to pursue their 

study. They are expected lo comply with 

the rules and regulallons to the fullest 

practicable extent. Should lhelr study 

require taking of specimens or engaging in 

other acllvities outside the realm of usual 

public use, the where and how must be 

arranged with management. I feel 

researchers within the Park should 

exchange information among themselves 

as to what their study is; where and how 11 

will be conducted. We are expending 

public monies. As members of the public 

we are all entitled lo the best possible 

return on the dollar. There ~sn’l room for 

duplication of effort. 

This approach may not please some of 

you, I realize. I have talked with research 

scientists across the country during the 

past year and am well aware that there are 

scientists dedicated lo the proposillon that 

pure research is to satisfy man’s curiosity. 

But, directed research designed and 

intended to solve a problem is an ethical 

compromise. These researchers have 

aptly illustrated that undirected research 

does, on occasion, add knowledge of Park 

resources and provide potential for