PARK SCIENCE 

A RESOURCE MANAGEMENT BULLETIN 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
PARK 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 

FALL 1989 

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

implications for planning and management 

ARTICLES 

- Managing Artificial Environments 

with RTE Species ......................... 3 

- Another Case for King Solomon: White-tailed 

Deer Workshop Addresses Inter-regional 

Issues and Conflicts ...................... 4 

- Crater Lake NP Research Continues 

To Excite, Amaze .................. ........ 5 

. Elwha Fishery Resiorai~on Project Reviewed ... 6 

* Tips About Some Chronometric 

Dating Techniques ................... ...... 8 

- The Use of National Parks by Older 

Americans Suggests New Service 

Panerns Needed ........................... 9 

. Global Change and Biosphere 

Reserve Workshop Held ...... ............ 14 

* Earthwatch: A Source Of Funds, 

Labor For Park Scientists .................. 15 

. Ideas For The Future: Amewa’s NRAs ....... 15 

. Yellowstone’s Northern Range Rewted ...... 18 

* Virginia NPS Sites Surveyed For 

Rarest Plants, Animals ...... ............ .20 

* Three BRs Meet To Examine Roles ........ .20 

- Endangered Species Restoration 

At Gulf Islands Seashore .................. 21 

* Resource Management Specialists to Meet ... 21 

* Counting Grizzly Bears in 

Northwest Alaska .......................... 22 

DEPARTMENTS 

.-. 

- Letters ................................... .5 

* Superintendent’s Corner ................... 5 

. Regional Highlights ....................... 10 

- Reveg Notes .... ............. ........... 13 

* Information Crossfile ......... ............. 16 

. MAB Notes .................. 19 

* Meetings of Interest ...................... 21 

MISCELLANEOUS 

; Shenandoah Watershed Study ............... 11 

- Yosemite Monitoring And Mitigating 

Wilderness Impacts .......... ... ....... 13 

- New RNA Report Focuses On 

Information Exchange ................. 13 

- Rare Plant Surveys In Mount Rainier NP ... 13 

* In Situ Conservabon .......... .. ....... 14 

. Biodiversity Guidelines .. ................. 15 

- Michael Soukup To Direct South 

Florida Research Center .............. ... 15 

- Inventory 01 Glen Canyon Visual Resources 17 

- Pacific NW Native Plants Meeting ............ 21 

* Natural Areas Conference Topics ............ 21 

- 8th International Bear Conference ........... 23 

Cover: The peacefully idyllic scene on the cover&his 

issue belies the quandary itpresents to park management atDelaware Wafer Gap NRA. (See storyonpage 

3.) 

Guest Editorial 

Good hard scientific data, as a phrase, is hardly 

synonymous with “sugarcoating,“yet when itcomesto 

tough, unpopular management decisions, such data 

often can make a bitter pill go down more easily. 

I’ve had my share of such situations in the course of 

my eight years as Director of the Indiana Department 

of Natural Resources and my six years as a member 

and sometimes-chairman of the Great Lakes Fishery 

Commission, and I know lirsi-hand how important it is 

to have the facts AND to be able to put your hands on 

them when you need them. 

So the first thing I want to tell scientists and resource 

managers in the field is that I am committed in every 

way to GIS - Geographic lnlormatlon Systems - as 

one of the most important tools of the future. It gives us 

a tool far developing common bonds between our 

parks and the regional geographic systems of which 

they are a part. Compatlbliity, so that data can be 

shared throughout the System, and retrievability, so 

that the immediacy of so many 01 our problems can be 

met with immedlale, mformed response: these are my 

primaryconcernsas I tackletheresponsibil~tyofdirecling the National Park Service. 

IndIana was my training ground and it was a microcosm for the tasks now at hand. There I managed 

parks, forests, reserws, fish and wildlife areas, and 

was responsible as well for state museums and memorials, historical resources. and coal mine reclamation. 

It was in lhis position that I learned other valuable 

lessons. I found that by minimizing confrontation and 

looking instead for common goals, it was possible to 

make common cause of unlikely partners. The results 

can be surprisingly satisfactory for conservers and 

developers, for the environment and the human society it supports. 

I take very seriously the fact that our great National 

Park System is an environmental barometer for the 

world-and the opportunity this gives us to contribute 

baseline information about worldwide conditions and 

change. We have taken global climate change as a 

NPS Director James M. Ridenour 

Departmental responsibility-to study ii, to understand 

it, and to cooperate in efforts to meet those changes 

with all the wisdom and stewardship we can muster. 

Our parks and biosphere reserves are prime sensory stations for feeling and dealing with global 

environmental conditions. They also afford us 

unparalleled “classroom” opportunities for educating 

the public, for bonding us to our historic and cultural 

past, for aporeciating our natural grandeur, and for 

inspiring us to work toward a future worthy of our roots. 

An informed public is our best hope for meeting the 

challenges posed by change; our park-based science 

and resource management is the wellspring ofthisvilal 

information. 

James M. Ridenour 

Director, Natjonal Park Service 

Regional Chief Scientists 

Anderson, Willtam H. Hisbert, Ron 

NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION MIDWEST REGION 

1100 Ohlo Drive, SW. 1709 Jackson St. 

Washmglon, D.C. 20242 Omaha, NE 68102 

8 ,202, 342-1443 6-664-3436 (402) Z-3436 

Mary Foley, Ading 

NORTH ATLANTIC REGION 

15 state street 

Boston. MA 02109 

8.2235129 (617) 223.5129 

Donavio, Dominic 

SOUTHEAST REGION 

75 spring St. S.W. 

Atlanta, GA 30303 

8-841-4916 (404) 331-4916 

Huff, Dan 

ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION 

PO. Box 25827 

Denver, CO 80225 

8.327-2650 (303) 969-2650 

Fletcher, Milford 

SOUTHWEST REGION 

PO. Box 720 

Santa Fe. NM 87501 

8-478-1829 (505) 988-1870 

Larson, James W. 

PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION Karish, John R Kitgore, Bruce 

83 S. King St.. Suite 212 MID ATLANTIC REGION WESTERN REGION 

Seattle. WA 98104 Ferguson Bldg., Room 209-B 450 Golden Gate Ave. 

8-399.4176 (206) 442-4176 Pennsylvania State University PO. Box 36063 

University Park, PA 18802 San Franwco, CA 94102 

Lovaas, Allan L. 8 (814) 865-7974 8.556-4968 (415) 556-4968 

ALASKA REGION 

2525 Gambell St., Room 107 

Anchorage, AK 99503-2892 

8 (907) 257-2568 Please address requests for information to appropriale Regional Chief Scienfisl. 

2 
Managing Artificial Environments 

with RTE Species 

Editor’s Note: Ever since Eden, mankind has had to deaf with choices. Having to decide is nothing new But the 

ethical dimensions facing us at every turn now-whether we’re looking inward to the human womb or outward lo 

the National Park System-are a whole new and distressing ball of wax. For Nabnal Park resource managers, a 

question even more important than “When does Bfe begm?” IS “What is natural?” Charged as we are by our 

mission tomaintain naturalareas in a state of “naturalness,” we are increasingly beset by situations that challenge 

us to define that sticky term. 

Following are two articles that deal with this dilemma. Whatever the outcome in these hvo cases (deer vs. plants 

and beavers vs. p/a&J, we can be sure that the overarching quesfion of where to draw lines and on which side to 

“rule m favor” will remain with us. In the meantime, we can fake pride in the human ingenuify shown at Delaware 

Water Gap, where a delicate human finger is trying to balance the scales. 

By Elizabeth Johnson 

The only limestone len in Delaware Waler Gap 

National Recreation Area and in this part of the Pennsylvania occupies a 3-4 acre site, partially in a 

powerline right-of-way. The area under the wires is 

cleared periodically of woody vegetation allowng for 

thedevelopmentofdense herbaceousgrowih. Populations of three plant species cataloged as rare, threatened and endangered in Pennsylvania grow in the 

treeless portion 01 the len. Each species has special 

requirements for its survival which are met here by the 

periodic clearing. Open area must be malntained la 

perpetuate capillary beaked-rush (Rhynchospora 

capiilacea), it is not tolerant to shading. Brook lobelia 

(Lobelja kalmiij reaches the southern limit of its range 

at the site, and may be declining due to competltion 

from other herbaceous species. Shrubby cmquefoil 

iPotentil/a frulicosa) (pictured in Park Science, Fall 

1988, p. 211, also occurs at the southern limit of Its 

rangeand isavigorouspapulationat present, probably 

because powerline clearing activity reduces competition from canopy species. 

All is well. The powerline right-at-way is kept clear 

without herbicides, the fen is frequented by few 

besides botanists and black bears. Enter the beaver 

[Castor canadensis). The beaver were particularly 

industrious, excavating and constructing a 2 foot high 

earthen dike, that extends a horizontal distance of 

almost 200 leet IO create an arlificial impoundment. 

The beaver-created wetland has artificially raised the 

water level in the fen area, creating new habitat for the 

stale endangered bog tultle jCiemmys mutlenbergij, 

which is found in the area, as well as for other reptiles, 

amphibians, mammals, birds and insects, many of 

which may be rare, threatened or endangered. 

While the plant species in the fen may adjust to the 

new water level, they may not be able to compele with 

otherwetlandspecies that will benefitfromthe influxof 

nutrients brought by the additional water. 

Thequestion becomes: Howcanwe have it all-rare 

plants. bog turtles, wetlands, beaver? The scales 

appear to be somewhat balanced in this arlificialnatural situation. Beaver have created additional wildlife and plant habitat that may Impact fen habitat 

artificially maintaIned by human clearing activities. 

The answer at Delaware Water Gap NRA has been to 

install a “beaver tooler” in the dam (See Journal of 

Wildlife Management 27133: 471.476). These corwsl of 

several lengths of perforated PVC pipe inserted at a 

level that WIII maintain enough water to satisfy the 

beaver while avoiding Impact to the fen. Continuous 

monitoring of the situation and constant adjustment to 

the system are vital. Local volunteers and State Natural Heritage Program personnel provide assistance. 

We doubt that the beaver will stay in this area long, 

since thelr food source is finite, and we want to insure 

that the rare plants remain when they move on. 

Johnson is Resource Management Specialist at 

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. 

Lobelia kalmii 

Potentilla fruticosa 

3 

Related story on page 4 
Another Case for King Solomon: 

White-tailed Deer Workshop Addresses 

Inter-regional Issues and Conflicts 

From April 15-17, 1989. NPS research scientists, 

managers and resource management specialists met 

with Umversity-based ecologists and wildlife managers to discuss present issues and future management options for white-tailed deer herds resident in 

National Park Service areas in the east. The training 

workshop, held in Atlanta, was arganlzed by Michael 

Soukup and Allan O’Connell of the North Atlantic 

Region, and was hosted by the Scwxe and Resource 

Management Division al the Southeast Region. The 

inltialive was sponsored by the Wildlife and Vegetation 

Division, NPS Washington Office. Attendees represented parks and regional oftices in the North Atlantic, 

Mid-Atlantic, National Capital, Southeast, Mldwest and 

Rocky Mountain Regions. as well as the Wildlife and 

Vegetation Division. 

Whtte-tailed deer [Odocoileus virginianusj are the 

most common large herbivore in the NPS areas east of 

the Mississippi, and they also inhabit western parks 

such as Yellowstone and Big Bend. Well-adapted to 

successional forest and field communities, white-tailed 

deer populal~ons have increased in recent decades, 

causing a series ai managerial problems, including 

frequent traffic accidents, heavy browsing of native 

forest communities, reduction of herbaceous plant 

populations, anddepredationof cropsand horticultural 

plants. Under intensive hunting or predation. or in poor 

habitats, deer populations can remain low. In fact, 

managers of a few park areas, such as Big Cypress 

National Preserve, are concerned that deer numbers 

may be below desirable levels. In these areas deer are 

an important prey item for the endangered Florida 

panther, lound in both the Everglades and in Big 

Cypress. 

Several presentations at the meeting documented 

concerns about intensive deer grazing and browsing. 

North Manitou Island of Sleeping Bear Dunes National 

Lakeshore has an introduced population of white-tails 

that has removed most tree seedlings and saplings. 

Catoctln Mountain Park is experiencing bark strIpping 

from deciduous trees and depredation of rare plant 

species. Deer al Fire Island National Seashore are in 

the process of removing most of the herbaceous species from the understory of the Sunken Forest, an 

unusual maritime forest community. Historic parks, 

suchas Morr~stownandValley Forge, haveverynoticeable browse lines. Gettysburg has large herds of deer 

that invade crop lands, including areas managed by 

the park as part of the historic scene. Exclosure projects in several of these parks indicate eliminating deer 

grazing allows regeneration of forest understorles. 

Although white-tailed deer are very popular with 

parkwsitors, they sometimes become safely hazards. 

Of high concern arethe property damage and personal 

injuries resulting from deer-automobile collisions and 

incidents such as those at Fire Island, where deer 

confront people strolling down island boardwalks. In 

the east, small park areas 01 those surrounded by 

suburbs often have greater difficulties with these sorts 

of human-deer interactions than do the larger parks. 

The presentations by wlldlife biologistsdocumented 

deer population levels, nutritional condition, reproductive rates and parasite burdens. A series of telemetry 

studies has been completed, indicating deer herds are 

variable from park to park in terms of theirfidelityto the 

park area. Deer at Valley Forge and Morristown are 

unlikely to travel far outside the park, whereas a percentage of the deer population at Saratoga NHP move 

seasonally across park boundaries. The size of deer 

home ranges and the amount of movement between 

park and private lands influence management options. 

During the workshop a wgorous debate arose 

between the wildlife biologists from the Stale University of New York at Syracuse and the plant ecologists 

and the wildlife biologists from the southeast. The 

SUNY researchers suggested that it was not clear 

whether the fluctuations in the deer population we are 

obserwng today are “unnatural” and may have 

occurred historically. They therefore question any 

decision to Intervene in (i.e., reduce) these populations 

in natural zones. This leaves the diniculty that the NPS 

must try to differentiate between increases in deer 

numbers due to “natural processes”and those due to 

“human intervention.” 

The researchers from the southeast, in contrast, 

argued tha! the high deer populations had not been 

histortcally present, were reducing vegetation diversity 

in forests and wood lots, and may eventually modify 

the forest canopy structure as well. The increase in 

edge zone area in eastern sties with mixed fields and 

forests, provides optimal habitat for deer, but does not 

represent the historic distribution nor scale of dwturbance patches. The plant ecologists suggested that, 

under present enwonmental conditions, when deer 

herdsdecllnedue todiseaseautbreaks, the temporary 

reduction in grazing pressure is not adequate lo 

release the forest understory. 

This discussion led to a major point at the Conference: Each park must clearly articulate its management goals for vegetation and wildlife. These 

can beverydifferentin(and within)differentparks, 

and it is not as simple as it sounds. 

Some parks with legislated hunting are attempting to 

reduce or stabilize deer herds through public hunts. 

Park managersalsoreparted poachlng asacontinung 

impact on deer, and some site managers fell automobile accidents were a factor keeping deer herds in 

check. Cumberland Island Na:ional Seashore 

reintroduced bobcats in the fall of 1988, and although 

bobcats may not lower the deer population significantly, early results from the project do indicate bobcats are consuming deer as one of their favored prey 

items. 

A number of parks are considering some form of 

deer hunting or controlled deer removal to lower popuMom-primarily forthe purposesolvegetation restoration 01 preserving cultural biotic resources, such as 

historic woodlots. Increased interest in animal rights 

inhibIted a recent taktng of deer on Fire Island by stateselected and supervised hunters, even though waterfowl, small game and occasional deer hunting has 

routinely been provided in the past under the “shall 

permit” language of the enabling legislation. An arguable linkage of the taking with ongoing research and 

monitoring was seized upon for politIcal advantage. 

Hal Greenlee of Gettysburg described his park’s 

careful. long term program 10 communicate the problems created by large deer populattons to the general 

public and discussed strategies for gaining accep 

tance for projected management activities. Gettysburg 

staff also have communicated extensively with Pennsylvania state oflicials in preparation for a deer management program. Like the animal rights activists, prohunting organizations are attempting to thwart certain 

park management strategies. and in this case have 

threatened to sue if the NPS attempts to use contraception to control deer herds in an NPS area in 

Pennsylvania. 

The meeting concluded with a group discussion of 

future needs and management strategies. All 

attendees agreed that white-tailed deer management 

is a major, and potentially controversial, national level 

problem which will require a much more coordinated 

program in the future. All present also agreed that 

huntmg was an unacceptable solution in some small 

parks and urban areas. Although contraception IS not 

yet technologically feasible as a general, rwpensive 

managemenl alternative. new methods. such as 

immune-sterilization, should be scientIfically tested. 

Contraception is acceptable to some, but not all, animal rights advocates. For larger parks, and those 

where deer move freely across the park’s boundaries, 

contraception may never be a viable alternative. 

Present legislation does not permit hunting in most 

historic and cultural parks, as well as most large natural area units. Larger natural areas have the option, in 

some cases, of encouraging or reintroducing predator 

populations, while most of the historic areas are too 

small for this strategy to be viable. The group suggested using Gettysburg as one prototype of the 

historic/small park problem, and obtaining national 

level support for dealing with the legal, technical and 

public relations issues. A final report on the meetmg, 

designed as a resource paper for park managers. is 

being prepared. Parks interested in becoming part of 

the white-tailed deer mailing list and information network should contact Maw Folev in the North Atlantic 

Regional office. ’ ’ 

Bratton is a Research Scientist at the NPSICPSU, 

Institute of Ecology U/GA, Athens 30602. 

JAMES M. RIDENOUR, Director 

ISSN-07359462 National Park Service 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

Editorial Board: 

Gary E. Davis, Marine Research Scientist, Channel Islands NP 

John Dennis, Biologist, WashIngton Onice 

James W. Larson, Editorial Board Chairman and Chief Scientist, Pacific Northwest Region 

Harvey Fleet, Chief, Digital Cartography, GIS Division, Denver 

Jean Mailhews, Editor: Oregon Slate University NPSICPSU, Room 110 Forestry Sciences Lab, 

3200 Jefferson Wav, Corvallis. OR 97331 15031757.4579: 8-420-4579 
Crater Lake NP Research 

Continues To Excite, Amaze 

Remarkable spectacular bizarre 

These are among the words being used by research 

scientists about what they are finding during deep 

dives to the bottom 01 Crater Lake in this. their third and 

final year of the three year hydrothermal research program Ihere. 

In addition to waler samples whose chemical analysis indicate that a connection with a deep mantle 

source still exists on the lake floor, one of the project’s 

two principal investigators has discovered a scattering 

of murky aqua blue pools on the lake bonom. 

Dr. Jack Dymond, who found the first such pool on 

August 14 during the submersible Deep Rover’s fourth 

1969 dive, called them “bizarre. remarkable - I’ve 

never seen anything like it before.” 

Thefirslpoolfound risesslightly off the bottom witha 

yellow rim, kidney shaped, and approximately 3 to 4 

feet wide by 6 feet long. The temperature of the aqua 

blue fluid in the pool IS 1 degree Celsius warmer than 

the surrounding lake water. Dymond believes it may be 

a soluhon with high levels of dissolved salts. 

Dymond’s co-principal, Dr. Robert Collier, on August 

6 relocated the unusual bacterial mats found last summer and probed them, finding temperatures inside the 

mats to be 10.1 C., approximately 6.7 C. warmer than 

the surrounding lake waters. 

Mark Bukten~ca, a Crater take NP aquatic biologist, 

has gathered rock samples along the lake floor as part 

01 research sponsored by USGS. Buktenica took the 

one-person Deep Rover to a depth of 1,500 feel near 

Llao Rock and worked up the sleep caldera wall, collecting 10 rock samples. 

USGS geologist Charles Bacon, a longtime 

researcher at the lake, was excited by the rocks. which 

he predicts WIII help in understandlng the formation of 

Mount Mazama and the explosion that created the 

lake. 

Jim Milestone, Crater Lake NP biologist, described 

further research this summer as having added significantly to what was learned about the bacterial mats 

discovered In 1986. The mats were thought last year to 

be only a few inches thick, but this year’s work shows 

the mats are actually about 2% feet thick. 

“It’s pretty spectacular,” Milestone said, “to see 

these thick, flocculent mats:’ (See Park Science, 

Spring 1969, pp. 3-4.) 

Findings from the 1969 unmer research will be 

reported in the Win&r 1990 issue, which will be distributed early in January. 

The following buletin arrived at precisely 

press time for Park Science: 

“Scientists have found the warmest 

water ever detected in Crater Lake. 

“Oceanographer Jack Dymond measured a Watt temperature of 64 degrees F 

in a bacteriai mat near the lake bottom this 

w&r (August 25) according to Jim Milestone, biolo@slforCrater Lake NP. Thatemprature is 25 degrees higher than the 8~ 

rounding lake water, which is about 38 

degrees F. The new mark is nearly 15 

degrees warmer than the warmest deep. 

water temperature recorded last summer. 

“The new temperature reading could 

evenfually be significant because Ihe 

USGS defines ‘hydrothermal water’ as 

water that has a temperature of at least 10 

degrees C or 18 degrees F higher than the 

surrounding water.” 

I Superintendent3 Comes I 

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a 

69,000 acre unit of the National Park System recelvlng 

over 2.5 million visils per year. Outdoor recreation 

opportumties abound, including; canoeing, rafting. 

flshlng, hunting, hiklng, and sightseeing. These uses 

are dependent upon the preservation of a variety of 

outstandIng National resources mcludlng; a segment 

of the Appalachian Trawl. a unit of the Wild and Scenic 

River System, geological features such as the Delaware Water Gap, outstanding wildlife including a growIng population of Bald Eagle, over 63 sites listed on the 

NatIonal Register of Historic Places, and an abundance of hislorlc and prehistoric archeological sites. 

The safety of the public and the protection of these 

outstanding resources are entirely dependent upon 

ihe behawor of visitors and adlacent restdents of the 

area. In recent years we have undertaken a number of 

social science studiesto understand the backgrounds, 

values, and motivations of different user groups wthin 

the NRA. The information from this research is vital for 

us 1o determine how best to communicate the importance of the resources within the NRA, the opportunitiesthatexist foroutstanding recreation, howto use the 

NRA safely and, most importantly, how to use it with 

care and respect. 

Projects such as an appropriate rover recreation use 

study, a hunter survey, and the Vtsllor Services Project 

Survey have all contributed slgnificanlly lo our management decisions and planning. It IS time, however, to 

regularize our approach to understandIng the park 

visitor. We need 10 take stock of the data we have 

collected and where studies still need 10 be undertaken. Equally Important. we need to understand 

clearlywhere thesetypesofeffortscannotsignificantly 

assist us. 

During FY90 we are undertaking the development of 

a social science research plan for the NRA in cooperation with Dr. Gary MachIts. With fundlng resources 

always scarce, and given the inexact nature of social 

science, it is critical to have a comprehensive and 

carefully consIdered approach to this research. 

Major and continuing efforts to understand our visitors are long overdue in the National Park Service. We 

can III afford to employ the soctal sciences without a 

carefully constdered and long-term commitment. We 

hope that a social science research plan WIII be the 

vehicle to accomplish this objectwe. 

Richard G. Ring, Superintendent 

Delaware Wafer Gap Nabnal Recreation Area 

5 

letters 

The new regional MAB programs, such as the 

Southern Appalachian (SAMAB) Program, (see p. 19) 

represent an exciting development in Ihe evolution of 

Man and the Biosphere. This approach ideally will 

integrate resource preservation interests of the core 

area of Biosphere Reserves with the surrounding 

areas, which usually are devoted to a variety of land 

uses including recreation and development. The 

regional approach provides a framework for cooperalion among different agencies, states. communities, 

individuals, and, in certain cases. different countries. 

I see this development as very similar to the 

approach that has been used successfully in the 

National Park Service’s river conservation programs 

over the past 10 years. In both Congressionally mandated Weld and Scenic Rivers studies and in the state 

and local river conservation technical assistance programs, the North Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic Regions 

have been using cooperative strategies 10 further river 

conservation. Successful projects such as the Wildcat 

Brook Wild and Scenic River Study (conducted by 

NAR), illustrate how effective this cooperative 

approach can be for marshalling public support and 

obtaining longterm commitments 1o resource conservatlon from a variety of organizations. 

A similar strategy of community lnvolvemenl and 

cooperation is currently underway as part of the General Management Plan for Acadia NP and at Gettysburg National Military Park. Progress on these 

projects indicates this approach is proving successful. 

Given Ihe potential these projects have for prowding 

guidance 10 the new reglonal MAB programs. as well 

as to parks dealing with external threats, NPS could 

benefit from evaluating this experience, maklng this 

InformatIon available throughout the Servtce, and 

~nstitut~onai~zing this approach in NPS planrung guidelines. Thisopportunity to learn lrom experience In NPS 

programs should not be mlssed! 

Among references to buttress this positton are 

Amberger, Robert L. %alegic Management Needed 

to Maximize Park Resources.” Park Scjeoce, Vol 6 

(Winter 1966) pp. 16-19. 

Brawl, Warren Lee. Case Studresin Protecting Parks: 

Accompkhmenls ,n Protecting Parks from Ad/acent Land and Resource Development Impacls. 

USDOI National Park Service Natural Resources 

Report 67-2. Washington, D.C.: NatIonal Park Service, December 1967. 

Conservation Foundation. Natronai Parks for a New 

Generation: Visions, Realities, Prospects. Washington. DC.: The Conservation Foundation 1965. 

Dramant, Rolf, J. Glenn Eugster, and Christopher J 

Duerksen. A Citizeob Guide lo River Conservation. 

Washinoton. DC.: The Conservation Foundation. 

19.34. __ 

Mott. William Penn, Jr. “Looking Beyond National Park 

Boundaries.” Natural Areas Journal 8 (1986): 60-62. 

Town of Jackson. “River Conservation Plan: Wildcat 

Brook, Wild and Scenic Rivers Study, Jackson, New 

Hampshire:’ Typescript, July 1967 

U.S. Department of the Interior. National Park Service. 

“Draft Report: WIldcat Brook, Wild and Scenic River 

Study, Jackson, New Hampshlre:‘Typescript, February 1966. 

Nora Mitchell, Resource Mgt. Spec. 

North Atlantic Regional Office 
Elwha Fishery Restoration Project Reviewed 

By John Aho and John Meyer 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, it is lime.” 

The simple words struck the delegales to the 1983 

Olympic Wild Fish Conference as probably the most 

eloquent statement made on behalf 01 restoring wild 

salmon and steelhead trout to the upper Elwha River. 

The speaker was Dick Goin, a respected fnend. a 

sportsman, and a lifelong resident of the Olympic Peninsula. HIS subject was the restoration to a majestic 

river of fish runs that ended nearly 80 years ago. 

Yes, after 80 years, I: is time, and time and opportunity coincide in the next few years. The dams, which 

produce hydroelectric power and block fish passage, 

require a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission (FERC). Previous licenses and permits 

have expired. A new license is being sought by the 

James River Corporation, owner of the two dams. The 

fishery management agencies in the State of Washington, which include the NPS, have an opportunity to 

recommend to FERC that certain conditions accompany any license granted. Such conditions include 

mitigation measures to restore the upper Elwha ecosystem. These would include restoring the anadromous fish runs. 

Chinook salmon fingerlings have been planted 

recently in the upper Elwha watershed to start again 

their ancient cycle, htghlighting the current effort to 

restore salmon and steelhead runs above the two 

dams. Picture an early sprmg on the Elwha, the icegreen watersthecolorofglaciers. The meltwatersseep 

from alder bottoms and spruce terraces, gush from 

valley walls and side canyons, augmented by hundreds of tributaries. As the waters m!x and swell, their 

chemistry creates a unique pattern of scents that characterize their origin. To fish, this is the smell of home 

and isimprinted uponevery fingerling salmon. Threeor 

four years later, after emigrating downstream and 

roaming the Pacific Ocean, the surviving adults will 

return to the Elwha. The survival of these salmon as 

they pass the dams, both downstream and upstream 

as adult spawners, IS largely what the Elwha Restoration Project is about. 

The effort began in 1983 at the conference, which 

renewed public Interest and management anentlon to 

the issue of fishery restoration. The subfect has 

recurred perlodically during the preceding several decades, but like the salmon themselves, futilely attempting to leap the 100 foot high Elwha Dam, past efforts 

failed, leaving but a few fertile eggs to keep alive the 

hope of the next generation. 

Most of the watershed lies within the park and has 

never been logged. The single development, the 

Glines Hydropower Project, was built in 1926-27 to 

enhance power production from the Elwha Project, 

constructed earlier between 1911 and 1914, below the 

boundary of today’s national park. The Lower Elwha 

Band of the S’Klallam Tribe had long used the fishery 

to sustain a community at the Elwha’s mouth. A treaty 

wonforthenewsenlersthe righttofish incommon with 

the S’Klallams. fmplied in the treaty is the belief that 

there were and would continue to be plenty of salmon 

to satisfy all needs. Much later, harvest disparity and 

the states’ refusal to recognize treaty fishing rights 

(particularlyforsteelhead), precipitated an historiccivil 

court case-the Soldt decision - adjudicating a 50-50 

split of the harvestable fishery resource. and affirming 

the right of native Americans, m this case. the 

S’Klallams. to fish in their usual and accustomed 

places wng their customary methods. 

Ehvha River drainage. 

The S’Klaflams contend that a major cause for the 

loss of their fishery was the construction of the two 

dams. Neither has provision for fish passage, either 

upstream or down. The sole mitigation for the loss of 

the fishery was negotiated by the State of Washington 

Department of Fisheries. It resulted in funding for construction and operation of a rearing channel to produce 

chinook on the lower river, at a cost of about $90.000, 

annually, to the hydro operation. 

NO dollar value has been generated for the lost fisherles. However, an annual value just for chinook of 

about $800,000 IS reasonable, based on minimum 

pristine production estimates and combined sport and 

commercial catch values in 1988. 

The Washington State mitigation settlement IS significant, for it maintains the critically important chinook 

gene stock that may be used to restore this species to 

the upper river. While some of the Elwha spring chinook were the stuff of folk tales, their large size and 

stamtna ensuring a place in the sporting annals, the 

higher value of such animals lies in their contribution to 

ecosystem restoration. Spring chinook stocks enter 

earlyand probethe highest reachesofthe rivers, seeking the cool headwaters and shaded canyons within 

the park. The Elwha stock had a unique place m the 

ecosystem the agencies seek to restore. While the 

stock available from the lower river today has been 

changed to the introduction of non-Elwha genes, it 

remains the solegenetic reservoir of the origtnal Elwha 

stock. When one observes these chinook massed in 

the cramped pool at the base 01 the Elwha dam, one 

cannot doubt that the instinct to search out the headwaters remains strong. 

Early settlers shared the fishery with the S’Kfaflams. 

At fndian Creek, which entersthe Elwhaatthe head of 

Lake Aldwell. the Indians traditionally had maintained 

a fishing camp. Thousands and thousands of pink 

salmon, a species noted for its mass spawning, congregated every other year. The settlers drove buckboard wagons into the creek, speared salmon with 

6 

pitchforks, and loaded their wagons till they sagged 

deeply onto their springs. 

With construction of the first dam the fishery was 

devastated. No longer could the many unique genetic 

stocks of salmon and trout reach the upper river and 

tributaries. This was an environmental catastrophe. At 

the time the dams were constructed, the economic 

benefit of electrc power generation was the single 

focus. That economic base has sustained industry 

through today, but now proposed expansion of the 

Daishowa America paper mill will depend to a much 

greater exient on EPA power, making the two dams’ 

importance questionable. 

While restoring a “fishery” implies harvest, the park 

manager views the larger task of ecosystem restoration. Harvest is secondary to the objective of restoring 

ecosystem elements, community structure, and processes that existed priorto the dams. However, fishery 

restoration is a first, major step. Fishery restoration 

might be accomplished without remowng the dams, 

but only dam removal will restore natural hydrologic 

processes and habitat conditions that affect populations of beaver, river otter, elk, and bald eagles. With or 

without the dams, restoration alternatives include 

using a mixed stock management approach (both 

hatchery and wild stocks), or wild stocks only. In stock 

rebulldlng should hatchery outplants of fingerlings be 

preferred over adults? Should rebuilding rely upon natural spawning escapement? The answers to these and 

other questions depend on NPS management policies, 

park management objectives, and fishery management goals, policies and objectives of our cooperators 

-the USFWS. the Washington Departments of Fisherles and Wildlife, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the 

S’Kfallam Tribe. 

Airlifting “fish fates” carrying fry for release in the 

upper Eiwha Rwer 
inclined plane smolf Irap operates below the Elwha dam lo sample smoff survival 

The restoration alternative with the best chance of 

success is dam removal. A combination of upstream 

and downstream passage facilities and ooerational 

accommodations would ilow restoration tobegin with 

the dams in place. 

At the Giines Dam all soawners enterino the frao will 

be grouped as up-river sfocks and movedto a release 

site on Lake Mills, from which they will continue their 

migration. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license applicant, James River Corporation, proposed trap and haul facilities for upstream 

passage at only Elwha Dam. Such an operation would 

involve human selection of spawners for the middle 

reach between the dams, confounding natural instincts 

of the fish to return to the reaches or lributaries upon 

whlchtheywere imprinted. It ~sgenerally assumed that 

natural selection will best produce and sustain viable 

geneticstocksovertime. lfthedams remain, theAgenties recommend a fish ladder at Elwha Dam that will 

accept all species and permit volitional distribution of 

spawners throughout the middle reach at all times of 

the run return. 

The downstream passage alternative preferred at 

Glines Canyon Dam is to aHraci smelts over the spillway, maintaining sufficient flow during outmigration to 

entrain the fish, carrying them safely into the plunge 

pool at the dam’s base. The constanl attraction of the 

turbine intake presents a problem to be resolved by 

screening or turbine shutdown during periods of outmigration. New studies indicate problems also in passing fish safely over Glines Dam spillway. Some siructural modification may be required there. too. 

The Elwha Dam turbine intake must be screened, 

and the spillway presents another unique passage 

problem. Instead of a smooth crest-to-plunge-pool 

flow, the water leaves the spillway at the bottom of the 

gates and explodes into a raceway with exposed rock 

outcrops and a bend in the middle. Fish entering this 

flume are tossed and battered. Injury during spillway 

passage must be reduced. A combination of flow 

manipulation and spillway restructuring is planned. If 

screening is not used, turbines must be shut down 

during periods of smelt outmigration. 

As several species are involved, downstream passage strategies are further complicated. Managers 

lack specific data about liming of smelt emigration and 

other behavior of the stocks currently found in the 

watershed and available to the project. 

Support by Washington State and federal agencies, 

tribal governments. Industry, sports clubs and other 

conservation organizations for restoration of the Elwha 

River fisheries has coalesced into a committee, the 

Elwha Restoration Steering Committee. which serves 

to communicate technical and other Information to alf 

groups affected by or interested in the restoration project. Thirteen feasibility studies carried out between 

1954 and 1989 are available on the subject. 

The chinook smelt emigration described at the 

beginning of this article is based on a plant of over 

400,000 fingerlings widely distributed in the upper river 

in the spring of 1989. The objective is to refine information about outmigrant timing and exit selection for this 

stock, progeny of chinook that returned to the Elwha 

Spawning Channel and the lower river. 

The present is a time of waiting. The agencies and 

the tribe are wting for FERC IO respond. Hosey and 

Associates, the consultant for the license applicant, 

and the James River Corporation are also waiting for 

FERC to respond. Conservation and recreation organizattonsarewaiting forthegovernmentto act.Thefish 

are waiting for passage to the upper river. “Ladies and Gentlemen, it IS time:’ 

Aho and Meyer are biologists at Olympic NF! 
I I 

Tips About Some Chronometric Dating Techniques 

By Judy Miles 

High tech analysis has opened up some new and different approaches to archeological research-avenues that 

do not require a degree in biochemistry or chemical engineering. One does, however, need a general knowledge of 

thetechniques and some idea about which questions to ask. What follows is information that can help illuminate the 

results obtained from four of these sometimes high-priced dating techniques. 

Archeomagnetism 

Archeomagnetic dating is the process of determining the magnetic alignment of particles in intensely 

burned clay, and comparing it with the history of the 

earth’smagnetlcfield ~nordertoderiveanapproximate 

date the sample was burned. This is possible because 

the magnetic alignment in a sample heated to several 

hundred degrees centigrade tends to parallel that of 

the earth’s magnetic field as the sample cools. Before 

planningarcheomagneticdatinganalysisinto your project, make sure your sample is from the past few thousand years - that is, within the known history of the 

earth’s magnetic pole movement. 

The accuracy of the obtained date will relate directly 

to the extent of documentation used to establish the 

magnetic pathway in the 500 to 1000 square mile area 

where the archeomagnetic sample was collected. The 

reglonal pathway calibration is necessary because the 

earth’s magnetic field is not uniform. If the region’s 

magnetic history has not been documented, it can be 

done by sampling naturally magnetic sources. A speclalist can help develop a sampling scheme. Archeomagnetic dating in the Southwest is not useful for 

dating altifacts from the past 200 years because the 

natural pole has changed very little during this period. 

Otherwise, the Southwest has a well documented 

polar curve. 

A stronger, more accurate reading can be obtained 

from clay samples containing magnetite rather than 

those with hematite minerals, however the latter is 

acceptable. Limestone derived soils are magnetically 

weakand not sogoodfor analysis. Volcanicsoilslrocks 

in clay are contaminates and can interfere with the 

magnetic readings of the clay. In areas where this 

contaminant prevails, such as at Bandelier National 

Monument, the best procedure is to collect pure samples of possible contaminants (e.g., tufl rock and soils 

in the case of Bandelier) and analyze it relative to a 

sample of the feature being dated. This step corrects 

for the degree of contamination. 

Precision in archeomagnetic analysis is probably 

more important than accuracy in interpreting dates, 

because the real utility of the technique is relative 

dating (or within 50 to 100 years). Two samples from 

one feature are too few for precision. When a third 

sample is taken, the confidence in precision doubles 

over that of two samples. Statistically, five samples 

from one feature are needed. To these five, other samples can be added to determine the degree of contamination. 

Rock Varnish Dating 

The stain on rocks called desert varnish is actually 

oxidized manganese (black outer surface) and 

oxidized iron (red stain on underside). The oxidation is 

a biogeochemlcal function of fungi and bacteria feeding on organics in the dust adhering to the rock’s SUIface. Dating the varnish is tricky since several conditions must be met to obtain a reasonably accurate 

date. The technique is most successful in dating varnish on lava flows. Dating desert varnish from sandstone tormations like those at Canyon de Chelly 

National Monument is still in the experimental stage. 

The process involves chemical analysis of a sample 

of the varnish to determine the cation ratio of calcium 

and potassium to titanium. A potassium/argon date 

from a sample of the associated lava flow is then determined. The resultant is used to calibrate the calciumpotassiumhitanium ratio, which is a linear function over 

time. The derived regression line representing the ratio 

can then be used to obtain a numerical age from other 

varnish samples. However, each potassium/argon caiibration is specificto an individual lava flow and should 

not be used to date samples from other areas. 

Problems recognized by experts in dating varnish 

have to do with factors that influence the rate of calw 

formation. These factors are variations in solubility, 

rate of dissolution, carbonate influx rate, and ground 

water balance. If the technique is further refined, these 

conditions will need to be known. 

Thermoluminescence Dating 

Thermoluminescence (TL) dating measures cumulative radiation exposure as seen through heat induced 

luminescence from a compound’s mineral crystal 

defect structure. About a .5 gram sample is needed for 

TL analysis. It is standard procedure also to collect a 

sample of the surrounding matrix. 

TL IS not an appropriate technique for determining 

accurate absolute dates or dating samples containing 

metal. It is valid for relative dating or differentiating 

items separated by a hundred years or more. Its upper 

limit tor dating ceramic artifacts is 50,000 years; for 

rock samples, 500,000 years. 

A few safeguards against accidentally changing the 

structure of the crystals analyzed include (1) not washing porous samples such as ceramics, sandstone, and 

limestone; and (2) limiting exposure to sunlight and 

altificial white light toan absolute minimum, since light 

can alter the crystal defect structure. 

The technique has an inherent margin of error of 

about 10 percent, conventionally accepted as allowable. Unforiunately, commercial TL dating laboratories 

no longer operate in North America but several university campuses carry out TL analysis for their own programs. 

Radiocarbon Dating 

Mher than tree-ring dating, radiocarbon dating is 

probably the next most frequently used chronometric 

technique in archeological analysis. If awell preserved 

sample is obtained, treated carefully, and analyzed 

properly, the resulting date can be quite accurate. Such 

accuracy has been useful in trying to answer broad 

questionssuchas-Whataresomeoftheevolutionary 

stages in humans? When did humans lirst populate 

the New World? When did animal domestication 

occur? 

Radiocarbon dating is a technique that analyzes the 

carbon content of organic materials, usually bone and 

charcoal. Recent developments have made possible 

the radiocarbon dating of individual amino acids 

extracted from bone collagen. For accurate analysis, a 

certain amount of organic carbon must be present. Its 

presence is determined through microanalysis that 

determines the percent of nitrogen content; less than 

.2 percent nitrogen means the bone collagen has deteriorated past the limits ot radiocarbon dating. 

Preservation of original organic carbon in bone is 

6 

lessened by hot and humid climates, alkaline soil, high 

degree of plant activity, handling with oily hands, and 

packing in organic containers. However, if the radiocarbon lab processes the samples correctly, low level 

contamination of the original carbon is removed. 

A radiocarbon calibration curve is used m determining the calendrical date of a sample. The calibration 

curve is independently based on tree-ring dated samples. The comparison reveals short termihlgh frequency natural perturbations in the radiocarbon calibration curve known as the de Vries effect. These 

variations are thought to be caused by magnetic modulatlons of radiocarbon productlon rates and the 

effects of nondipole components on the geomagnetic 

field. 

The de Vries effect can greatly etiend the range in 

which the calendrical year has a statistical probability 

at occurring. Considering this has led to the realization 

that precision is ultimately reduced tor radiocarbon 

samples from the past 400 years. On the other hand, if 

the devrieseffecf isignoredforsamplesfrom this time 

span, the dates will invariably be too young by several 

hundred years. 

Another problem in the radiocarbon calibration 

curve is caused by the Suess effect. These are huge 

changes in the concentration of carbon in the world’s 

carbon reservoirs. Much of the flux is due to excessive 

burning of fossilfuels.Asthey burn, theircarbon dilutes 

the modern carbon in the various reservoirs containing 

carbon-based materials, thus giving an erroneous 

older age to a sample. 

A deduced equilibrium value of carbon isotopes in 

the earih’s different carbon reservoirs is used to calibrate the age of a radiocarbon sample. There is a type 

of secular variation that upsets the radiocarbon equilibrium. These effects include changes in the atmospheric rate of radiocarbon production, variations in 

the size of carbon reservoirs, and rates of radiocarbon 

transfers between reservo\rs. A deduced equilibrium 

value of carbon Isotopes is used to calibrate the age of 

a radiocarbon sample. If production or transfer rates of 

radiocarbonaredrasticallyaltered within the lifetlmeof 

the organic sample, the formerly deduced equilibrium 

value would not represent the conditions during which 

the sample “lived:’ In these cases, if a new equilibrium 

value is not calculated (again through tree-nng dates), 

the resultant date will be erroneous. 

When radiocarbon dating sampies from an ocean 

environment, one must be aware of the marine reservoir effect that adds dead carbon in samples. Dead 

carbon hasnoradiocarbon atoms present. Sources for 

dead carbon include coal, limestone, oil, and volcanic 

carbon dioxide. It works into the marine food chain by 

being brought to the ocean surface via upwelling, 

thereby making it available to plankton. Dead carbon 

makes its way through the food chain to animals such 

as mollusks, fish, and sea mammals. Samples from 

these organisms will date too old, due to the dilution of 

their modern carbon with dead carbon. 

There are major time spans where all 01 these problems affect dating in a specific manner. Generally 

unmodlfled radiocarbon dales are too young compared to calendrical dates (derived from tree-ring dating) for the period of about A.D. 1400 to 300 B.C. 

Likewise, they are too old forthe periodsof B.C. to 

6000 B.C. and A.D. 1400 to the present. Below is a 

litany of suggestions that will assist one in knowing 

when to reauest radiocarbon datina and how to analyze its value. 

1. Know which half-life was used to obtain a radi- 
I I 

The Use of National Parks by Older Americans 

Suggests New Service Patterns Needed 

By Francis McGuire and Joseph O’Leary 

The greying of Amerlca is a well documented phenomenon. The increasing numbers of older Americans 

are having an impact on all areas of society. The 

approximately 29 mIllion individuals aged 65 or over, 

representing one out of every eight Amereans, touch 

every aspect of life in the Untted States. And contrary 

to myth, the vast majority of older adults are active, 

healthy, and independent. 

National Park Service areas are not immune from 

the influence of the changing population pyramid, The 

NPS, through its Golden Age Passport program, has 

Invited this growing portion of the population into the 

nation’s parks. However, not a great deal is known 

about the use of parks by older visitors. More information on the program and facility adaptations necessary 

to serve older visitors is needed. 

In order to gain a deeper understanding of older 

users of parks, a study was initiated in 1987. Funding for 

the project was provided by the AARP Andrus Foundation. The Eastern National Park & Monument Association supported the project by providing copies of Passport to your National Parks to individuals participating 

in the study. Technical assistance and support were 

provided by the chief scientist from the Southeast 

Region of the National Park Service. 

The study had three major purposes: 

1. To examine the services and tacilities used by 

older visitors to national parks; 

2. Toassess thesatisfactlonof oldervisitorswiththe 

range of services and facilities available in parks; 

3. To identify use patterns of older witors. 

Three hundred individuals who had used Golden 

Age Passports during 1967 evaluated the parks they 

had visited. In all, 604 Park Evaluations were completed and 140 parks were represented. Participants 

Chronometric Dating 

(Continued from page 8) 

ocarbon date. If It wasanyotherthan the Libby half-life 

of A.D. 5566 plus or minus 30 years, an adjustment 

must be made. 

2. Have the lab assess the carbon reservoir 

exchange rates and adjust for this in its computations. 

3. Run a test to determine the nitrogen content of a 

sample since it is proportional to the carbon needed for 

dating. This is especially Important for samples that 

appear to be in a poor state of preservation or very old. 

4. Ask if the organic samples cornbusted during the 

analytical process were allowed to set after burning in 

order to let their radon gas dissipate. Radon will interfere with the radiocarbon counts. 

5. Do not try to radlocarbon date bone that has 

probably received a high degree of contamination. 

Samples to avoid will be those from an extremely hot 

and humid climate, alkaline soil, a matrix of high plant 

activity, and those showing or known to have been in 

contact with oily residues. 

6. Do not try to radiocarbon date tooth enamel. Its 

chemical makeup is not appropriate for such analysis, 

7. Do not average resultant dates; they are logarithmic numbers. Averaging should be done with 

count rates obtained during the analysis, 

6. Remember that the notation “B.P” on a radiocarbon date refers to “before A.D. 1950: 

Miles is Staff Archeologist with the NPS Southwest 

Regional Office’s Branch of Cultural Research. 

were drawn from lists of individuals who had obtained 

their Passports in parks in the Southeastern Region 

between 1964 and 1966. Therefore, respondents were 

over-representative of states I” this region and all were 

relatively new Golden Age Passport users. Most of the 

participants were veteran park users who had Wed 

more than 30 different parks. 

What services and facilities are important to park 

users? 

The data indicated that older visitors were primarily 

interested in using services and facilities considered 

traditIonal to the mission of the parks. Respondents 

were asked to indicate how important each of 34 

attrlbutes was in making a park “ideal.” The most 

important areas to older park users were: upkeep of 

facilities (identified as either “very important” or 

“extremely important” by 95.5 percent of the respondents); information signs (94.1 percent); upkeep of 

grounds (91.6 percent); staff (69.3 percent); information sources such as maps and brochures (69.3 percent); restrooms (67.4 percent); parking (85.9 percent); visitor center (65.4 percent); scenic overlooks 

(61 percent); and exhibits (60.6 percent). The least 

important areas in an ideal park were activities such as 

swimming, hunting, horseback riding and boating. Auxiliary services such as food, gift shops, and lodging 

were not perceived as important. 

Data related to motivations for choosing a park to 

visitalsoprovided informationon servicesandfacllities 

sought by older visitors. Having lots of different things 

to do and see was very important to over 53 percent. 

Other important motivations were the opportunity to 

spend time with someone special (very important to 46 

percent of the respondents), a feeling of security (43 

percent), and betng physically active (46 percent). 

How satisfied are park users with the range of 

services and facilities available at national park 

service areas? 

Results Indicated an extremely high level of satisfaction on the part of Golden Age Passport users. Areas 

where performance was below a “very satisfied” standard were campgrounds, food service, picnic areas, 

souvenir/gift shops, lodging, medical services, and the 

provision of specific activities such as swimming and 

hunting. Of these, only campgrounds and lodging were 

viewed as being important. 

Respondents were asked to indicate what they liked 

best and least about the parks they visited. A high 

number of respondents liked the scenery, nature and 

wildlife, as well as programs such as lectures. Some 

areas, such as staff and maintenance, received mixed 

reviews. Staff members sometlmes were described as 

non-responsive to the needs of older visitors, for 

Instance by not speaking loudly enough or by walking 

too fast; however, in other cases staff received high 

praise. There was clearly park by park variation in this 

area. 

A major area frequently identified as “least liked” 

related to information in the parks. Golden Age Passport users expressed dissatisfaction with road signs, 

trail signs, and signs at facilities. The fact that even 

veteran park users were confused by poor or inadequate information indicates that the matter of “signing” 

may be a major problem area. 

Another area frequently identified in the “least liked” 

category was campslte problems. This included things 

such as no electricity, campsites too close, not enough 

campsites, campsites which were not level, and no 

9 

dumping station. These responses are consistent with 

the finding that of those respondents staying overnight 

in a park the most common shelter was a motor home 

(26.3 percent of the overnIght visitors stayed in a 

mobile home). This was followed by a lodge/motel 

(25.4 percent), and a travel trailer (16.6 percent). The 

qualities many of the older overnight visitors sought in 

a campground were related to their mechanized 

accommodations. 

What use patterns do Golden Age Passport users 

display? 

The participants in this study, as with the general 

population, were most likely to visit a park in July. 

However, unlike the general trend, August was not a 

high visitation month for older visitors. May and Sep 

tember ware more likely visitation times than August. 

contrary to the use patterns dIsplayed by general public. In over 60 percent of the cases the respondent’s 

primary destination was somewhere other than the 

park visited. 

Recommendations 

Part 01 the difficulty in designing research projects to 

examine the needs of older park users is the Individuality of the elderly. There is no one accurate model 

of aging. As a result, there IS no single approach to 

serving this population group. The problem IS further 

exacerbated by the uniqueness of each National Park 

Service area. Generalization therefore is speculative 

and suggestive rather than definitive. The lollowing 

recommendations are made based on the ftndlngs of 

this study Further studv IS needed in individual oarks 

to verifyihem. ’ 

1. As more older individuals visit National Park Svstern areas there will be increasing interest in inter&- 

tive prografwguided tours, museums,andotherinlormation and education programs. Increasingly, these 

programs will need to be tailored toward older visitors. 

For example, the pace of such programs, distances 

walked,speaklngvolumeofstaff, physical accessibility 

of facilities, use of multi-media programs to compensate for sensory deficits, and staH anitudes toward the 

elderly will demand new consideration. 

2. Services such as parking, securtty and informational signs may become increasingly Important. Older 

visitors rely on such services to make their visits enjoy 

able and safe. Increased attention to the availability of 

accessible and safe facilities and programs is warranted. 

3. Activities such as swimming boating, and fishing 

are not very important to most older visitors. Although 

they want to be active while m the park, most older 

visitors do not participate in outdoor recration 

activities.Theremay beagrowing need for moreattentton to educational programs focused on natural and 

cultural resources and less on recreation activities. 

4. May and September are months when older visitors are more likely to be visiting National Park areas 

than are the general public and therefore may be 

opportune times for programs and services deslgned 

specifically for such visitors. 

5. Overnight facilities could be modified to meet the 

needs of older visitors. Campgrounds and lodges may 

need to be redesigned. Many older visitors in recreation vehicles find the current campgrounds unsuitable 

for their needs. 

McGuire is with the U/IL Dept. of Leisure Studies 

and O’Leary with Purdue U’s Dept. of Forestry and 

Natural Resources. 
Southeast Region 

Largemouth bass and yellow bullhead catfish contaminated with methyl mercury have been found in 

Everglades NP Sampling conducted by the park, in 

cooperation with the USFWS and the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS), 

revealed that bass from Shark Slough were well above 

the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) safety limits 

for human consumption. Levels of mercury \n bass 

from the Taylor Slough drainage were lower but are still 

cause for concern. Mercury concentrations in bullheads also were elevated, though not as high as in 

bass. The park is now acting on the recommendations 

of the FloridaHRSthat humanconsumplionof bass be 

prohibited for the Shark Slough drainage and limited in 

the Taylor Slough area. 

In addition, more extensive fish sampling is being 

carried out in the marine and estuarine areas of the 

park downstream from the Shark Slough, where thousands of visitors each year harvest game and food 

fishes. The same sampling also is being appked to 

freshwater panftsh in the park. As a precaution, fish 

sampltng efforts in the adjoining Big Cypress National 

Preserve are also underway. No point source of contamlnation has been identified. Several theories, rang 

ing from agricultural runoH, to air pollution, to natural 

biological occurrence in peat soils, have been advanced. There IS, however, no real consensus at this 

time. 

. (I . 

Dr. James F Quinlan, Research Geologist at Mammoth Cave NP, Kentucky, has resigned from the NPS. 

During his 16 years at Mammoth Cave, Quinlan conducted pioneering studies of the park and its cave 

systems and regional hydrology. He developed new 

techniques for tracing groundwater flows with fluorescent dyes and authored or co-authored more than 100 

scientific publications. In addition, he led more than 

100 field excursions, was extensively sought as a 

national and international lecturer, and was active in 

numerous scientific and professional societies. 

Much of his work was relevant to the design and 

construction of a 15 million dollar regional sewage 

treatment facility that protected the park’s resources. 

His work also contributed to the monitoring of groundwater quality in terranes underlain by limestone and 

dolomite (karst). His paper summarizing newly discovered principles applicable to monitoring for poflutants in karst terranes was selected by the Geological 

Society o! America for the”Paper of the Year Award” in 

1986. Dr. Quinlan has accepted a position as Senior 

Hydrogeologist with ATEC Environmental Consultants 

in Nashville, TN, where he will head a unique team 

specializing in applications of groundwater tracing. 

t t t 

Julie Thomas has been hired as a Natural Resource 

Specialist at SERO. She has a B.S. in Wildlife and 

Fisheries Science from U/TN and has worked for the 

NA in both the fisheries and wildlife branches. Prior to 

her employment in SERO, Thomas was a wildlife technician at Fort Bragg, NC, and worked as a seasonal/ 

biological technicIan at Great Smoky Mountains NP In 

SERO, she will be working in air quality and wlldlife 

issues, GIS program development, and resource management plan coordination. 

t t . 

Gary Hendrix. lormer Research Director of the 

South Florida Research Center, Everglades NP, has 

taken a position as Biologist with the Southeast 

Regional OHice. He recently completed a 30.day detail 

to WAS0 to assist the Associate Director, Natural 

Resources, with contract preparation for a review of 

the NPS science and research program by the 

National Academy of Sciences. 

Hendrix also attended a July meeting at the State 

Department in Washington, D.C. to review the Draft 

Protocol for Protected Areas and Wildlife for the Carobbean. Milton Kaufman, Monitor International, gave a 

presentation on proposed federal actions to support 

the protocol during the Interim between ratification in 

Santa Maria, Columbia, this fall and adoption by the 

slgnlng countries. 

. t t 

John D. McCrone, Director of the NPS-CPSU at 

Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, has 

resigned to accept a position as Dean of Graduate 

Studies and Research at Pinsbutg State University, 

Pinsburg, Kan. 

/ I . 

Douglas L. fnman of the Scripps Institution of 

Oceanography, U/Cal-San Diego, and Robert Dolan. 

Department of Environmental Sciences, University of 

Virginia, Charlottesville, have published the results of 

their contracted research study on the dynamics of 

Oregon fnlet at Cape Hatteras NS. Their manuscript, 

known as the “lnman Report” and entitled “The Outer 

Banks of North Carolina: Budget of Sediment and fnlet 

Dynamics Along a Migrating Barrier System,” 

appeared in the Journal of Coastal Research. Spring 

1989 (vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 193.237). 

t t (I 

Stephen V. Gofer-Shabsa, Research Oceanographer of the NPSICPSU, U/GA, has published three 

papers in the Proceedings of the Sixth Symposium on 

Coastal and Ocean Management, sponsored by the 

AmericanSocietyolCivil Engineerson Julyll-14.1989 

at Charleston, SC They are entitled, “The EHects of 

Freshwater Canal Dischargeson Salinities in Biscayne 

National Park,” “Ponds and Lagoons of Gulf Islands 

National Seashore,“and”FishTrapsintheCoral Reefs 

of South Florida.” Copies of the reprints can be 

obtained through Jim Wood, Technical Publications 

Edttor, NPS Southeast Regional Office, 75 Spring 

Street SW., Atlanta, GA 30303. 

t t I 

The Perdido Key unit of the Florida district 01 Gulf 

Islands NS has experienced severe erosion over the 

past century due to the eHecls of channel dredging to 

maintain Pensacola harbor. An effort to restore the 

losses, which have amounted to 25 percent of the 

upland area over the past 20 years, will begin in 

November. An estimated 5 million cubic yards of sand 

will be pumped along 5 miles of beach during the next 

round alchannel dredging this winter. About 500 feet of 

new beach will be created, restoring the area to its 

approximate dimensions three decades ago. 

The U.S. Navy is funding a 1.2 million dollar, 5.year 

monitoring program to assess the effects of the project 

on the island’s vegetation, benthic communities, 

endangered beach mice, shorebirds, and physical processes. A team of NPS scientists and resource managers, and cooperating researchers from the Uwersity of Florida, the University of West Florida, and the 

Gulf Coast Research Laboratory has been assembled 

10 

to conduct studies to evaluate the beach nourishment 

project. 

Midwest Region 

The Midwesl Region’s Science and Research Division has been reorganized to include additional natural 

resource management functions. The name of the division has therefore been changed to Natural Resources 

Division. The division will continue to administer all 

natural and social science research; natural resource 

management planning; water, air, and GIS programs: 

endangered species management; science publications; etc., as before. Additional functions transferred 

from the Division of Ranger Activities are: Integrated 

Pest Management, Mining and Minerals, ParkThreats, 

and Review of natural resource management action 

plans. 

A Resource Management Specialist position has 

been added to the division to coordinate the resource 

management activities in the Region. 

t t t 

Terence P. Boyle, research ecologist wtth the NPS 

Water Resources Division at Colorado State University, attended the Midwest Region’s Research/ 

Resource Management Conference in Scott’s Bluff, 

Neb., recently and presented “The use of ecoregion 

strategies to derive guidellnes for resource inventory 

and monitoring program” and “Strategies to develop 

an aquatic resource monitoring program for seven 

prairie parks:’ 

Water Resources 

From William Jackson, Chief of Waler Operations 

Branch, comes word that Nancy Driver has won the 

1989 American Water Resources Assn.‘s Boggess 

Award, established in 1973 to honor the author of the 

best paper publIshed in the Water Resources Bulletin 

the previous year. Driver’s paper, co-authored wth 

Gary Tasker, “Nattonwide Regression Models for Predicting Urban RunoH Waler Quality al Unmonitored 

Sites.“was published in the October1988 Bulletin and 

was prepared while Driver was a hydrologist with the 

Colorado District of the USGS. 

Driver joined the NPS Water Resources Division in 

March 1989 and serves as a senior waler quality specialist in the Water Operations branch. 

. t t 

Marshall Flog, hydrologist with the Division, chaired 

two sewons at the recent meeting of the American 

Society of Civil Engineers 1989 National Water Conference and LIFE (Legal, Institutional, Financial and 

Environmental) Symposium. One session was on 

hydrologic modeling; the other on generating altemative instream flow benefits for environmental and natural resource management. Three papers co-authored 

by Flug also were presented, all addrewng instream 

flows. 

Rocky Mountain Region 

A cooperative effort among the NPS, the USFWS, 

and Exxon Corporation IS collecting data for residue 

analysis from the oil spill on the Yampa River in Dinosaur National Monument. Analysis of data from sediment, macroinvertebrates, and fish will be used by the 

NPS Water Resources Division to determine if persistent chemical residue persists in critical components of the aquatic ecosystem. 
. t . 

Eddies in streams and rivers may have resource 

importance as concentrators of organic detritus and 

de&-processing organisms thatsupport imp&ant 

natural resources. Terence Boyle of the NPS Water 

Resources Diwon met recently with USGS personnei 

m Rocky Mountain NP to discuss the potential for 

cooperative research in this topical area. Studies 

would be into the hydrological and ecologIcal aspects 

ol eddies that are dependent on hydrological discharge. The research is expected to yield mformation 

important lo future manttorlng programs. 

Mid-Atlantic Region 

One-half of the MAR science program is on the 

move. JeH Manon, at Delaware Water Gap NRA, is 

moving in early October to a new CPSU being established in the School of Forestry and Wildlife 

Resources. Dept. of Forestry, Virginia Polytechnic 

Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA. 

. . t 

And whoever said “historical” parks don’t have 

important “natural” resources? George Washington 

Birthplace NM has made MAR history by hosting the 

first pa!r of nesting bald eagles in any of the Region’s 

parks. Not two, but fhree eaglets were fledged successfully in early July. Congratulations to the proud 

parents at GEWA! 

t 1 t 

Speaking of hosts Shenandoah NP has been 

playing reluctant host to several billion gypsy moths 

andthelrvoraciousprogeny. Advancing from the north, 

the gypsy moth caterplllars defoltated approximately 

7,000 acres of the 196,000 acre park in 1937. 16,000 

acres in 1988, and 25,000 acfes m 1989. Only developed zoneswithin the park are bemg treated. The park 

is participating in the Appalachian Integrated Pest 

Management program with the Forest Service and the 

states of Virginia and West Virginia to monitor the 

etfeclsandprogressoftheadvanclnggypsymothfront 

and to investigale new technologies for the moths’ 

control. Shenandoah’s advice to Blue Ridge Parkway 

and Great Smoky Mountains: Gear up now they’re 

on their way! 

. . I 

Resource management operations are expanding at 

Shenandoah NP The park has hired a full-time GIS 

Technician, a Forest Ecologist (responsible for operation of the park’s Inventory and Longterm Ecological 

Monitoring program), and an Entomologist (whose 

mole immediate responsibilities will include “supervision” of the burgeoning gypsy moth population). 

. f t 

A small artificial wetland, constructed at Friendship 

Hill NHStotreatacid minedrainage, is being evaluated 

by Bureau of Mines (USDI) researchers. Findings indicate that signtficant improvements in water quality can 

be obtained if wastewater is forced through subsurface 

gravel and compost layers. Only minor improvements 

were oblained wth surface flows only. For additional 

information, contact John Karish, Regional Chief 

Scientist. 

L 1 . 

Regional Chief Scientist John Karish reports availability of a set of reports (MAR 39.41) titled ‘“Exploring 

the potential partnership role of river ouHitters in managing public rivers” from New River Gorge, Delaware 

Water Gap and Upper Delaware. 

Alaska Region 

The release of more than 10 million gallons of crude 

oil following the grounding of the EXXON VALDEZ on 

March 24. 1989 represents the largest oil spill ever 

recorded in the U.S. By early May, oil carried by marine 

currents had washed ashore over a wdespread area. 

Although the heaviest oiling appears to have occurred 

in western Prince Willlam Sound, other affected areas 

include Kenai Fjords NP and the adjacent Alaska Maritime Wildlife Refuge. In addition, oil has washed 

ashore on the outer coast of Katmai NP, over 250 miles 

from theoriginalspillsite. Oil hasimpacted pelagicand 

near-shore water columns, benthic substrate, and 

intertidal and supratidal coastal habitats. 

The Alaska Region began wildlife, plant, and cultural 

resoucesoweyson the coastal regionof Kenai Fjords 

on March 31,1989, and was soon expanded to include 

Katmai’s coast. The surveys mcluded counts of sea 

birds and marine mammals, investigation of submerged cultural resources, measurement of water 

quality, establishment of intertidal invertebrate and 

beach vegetation plots, and sampling of anadromous 

fishes. Survey efforts later were broadened to include 

potential impacts to resources as a result of proposed 

cleanup efforts. lnittal Inventory eHorts have evolved 

into detailed oil spill impact assessment work that is 

underway in cooperation with the Alaska Department 

of Fish and Game, the USMlS and other agencies. 

Shenandoah Watershed Study 

The Shenandoah Watershed Study @WAS), acombination research and monitoring program, was initialed in1979 in the Deep Run Watershed, Shenandoah 

NatIonal Park (SNP). Since that time, other subcomponents of the study have been added. The Deep Run 

portion IS the longest running record of acid deposition 

effects in the National Park System. The objectives of 

the overall project are twofold: 

1) Evaluation and interpretation of biogeochemical 

cycling and acid deposition eHects on watershed systems and streams in SNP, and 

2) Baseline monitoring of streamwater chemistry 

and precipitation in SNP. 

Recent Progress: The SWAS monitoring network 

has been maintained and expanded. Weekly streamwater samples are presently collected for analysis 

from 9 locations in 4 watersheds (North Fork of Dry 

Run, Deep Run, White Oak Run, and Madison Run). 

Quarterly streamwater samples are collected from 10 

additional streams. The quantity and chemistry of pre. 

cipltatlon is determined for one location (in the Deep 

RumWhite Oak Run/Madison Run area) and continuous stream discharge measurements are obtained 

for two streams (White Oak Run and North Fork Dry 

Run). Field research underway dung the year 

includes studies of both hydrologic and soil controls on 

streamwaterchemistry. Extensivedataanalysisalsa is 

underway, Including studies of temporal trends and 

elemental budgets for calibrated watersheds. 

Significant Findings: SNP receives an acid deposition load estimated to be 10 times the preindustrial 

level. Stream and watershed systems in large areas of 

SNP are poorly buffered against eHects of acid deposition. Acidification of streams in SNP is delayed by 

processes that retain sulfate in watershed soils Acidification of one stream, Deep Run, has been documented. David Haskell, Res Mgt. Spec. 

Shenandoah National Park 

11 

f t I 

Ross Kavanagh served as Finance Chairman for the 

119th Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society held in Anchorage, Sept. 4-8. The theme of the 

meetfng was “Fisheries Management Controversies: 

Biology, Economics, and Polltics:’ The American Fisheries Society is the oldest scientific society in the 

United States and, with approximate 1,200 attendees, 

the Anchorage conference was the largest scientific/ 

resource management gathertng ever to be held in 

Alaska. The meeting was ioinliysponsored by the principal Alaskan land and natural resource management 

agencies including the NPS, fish processors. and the 

oil and gas industry. 

* * (I 

A GIS data base has been prepared for the Anaktuvuk Pass area in Gates of the Arctic National Park 

and Preserve. The vegetation map for the data base 

was prepared using Landsat thematic mapper satelltte 

imagery. It contains 17 land cover types and encompasses 1.5 million acres. Thematic mapper vegetation 

maps are also nearing completion for Cape 

Krusenstem National Monument and Yukon-Charley 

Rivers National Preserve. 

Western Region 

How IS the health of your park’s natural resources? 

Bill Halvorson and Gary Davis, Research Biologists 

at Channel Islands NP, hosted an Inventory and 

Monitoring Initiative Workshop, September 6-b’. 1989, 

that focused on developing an action plan forthewestem Region parks tow inmonitoring the healthoftheir 

natural resources. Parlicipants dlscussed the feasibility of: (1) setting goals for monitoring natural 

resources in the Western Region parks; (2) drafting an 

action plan for developing and implementing monitoring programs; and (3) developing a standard format for 

Park Natural Resources Status Reporis. Participants 

included:TomRtlter, SEKI;HaroldSmith,ORPI;Denny 

Fenn, CPSUIUA; Tom Stohlgren and Steve Veirs. 

CPSUIUCS; Lloyd Loope, HALE; Jan van Wagtendonk, YOSE; Larry Bancroft. SEKI; Judd Howell, 

GOGA: Don Neubacher, PORE; Dick Cunningham, 

WR-I; Jay Goldsmith and Dr. Bruce Kilgare, WRNRIR; JohnChristiano, AirQuality, WASO;AI Greene. 

Senior Scientist. WASO; Stan Ponce, Water 

Resources, WASO; Mike Ruggiero, Wildlife and Vegetation, WASO; and Phil Wondra, GIS, WASO. 

Pressuredpelicans-lhispeiicanand herfourchlcks 

are among the features of Channel Islands NP that are 

feeling the stress of visitation, pollution, and other 

unnatural pressures. 
Western Region 

(Continued from page 11) 

“Recreational fishery and population dynamics of 

spiny lobsters, Panuliros ergus, in Florida Bay, Everglades NatIonal Park, 1977.1980”isthe titleof a paper 

by Gary E. Davis and Jon W. Dodrill, published In 

Bubtm of Marine Science, 44(l): 78-88, 1989. The 

study concludes that the Florida Bay portion of Everglades NP is an ideal spiny lobster nursery Juvenile 

lobsters are abundant there and their growth rates 

were the highest yet recorded for the species. The 

authors observed that additional studies in the Florida 

Bay sanctuary are needed to evaluate fully the effects 

of harvest on the population and to determine the 

potential lobster productivity of adjacent, harvested 

juvenile habitat. 

t t f 

Predator-Prey Relationships of the Great Gray Owl 

in Yosemile NP is the title of &page Tech. Report 

#35, published in August 1989 by the U/Cal Davis 

NPSICPSU. The author, Mason Edward Reid, studied 

the hunting methods and influence of preypopulatlons 

on the owl’s diet and productivity. Pocket gophers and 

voles made up over 90 percent of the prey biomass 

found in pellets. It was felt that the gophers raised the 

owl’s mean prey weight substantially over that of owls 

in Europe, where gophers are not found. Yosemite 

contains the southernmost population of Great Grey 

Owls in the world and thus probably presents its owl 

population with more constraining factors than are 

found in other areas where the Great Grays occur. 

* t * 

A new bridge and 4 miles of road alignment will be 

constructed approximately 1 mile below Hoover Dam 

to relieve the traffic bottleneck and dangerous conditions caused by traffic being routed across the dam. 

Three miles of new road will be constructed on the 

Nevada side of the River, and one mile on the Arizona 

side. Both segments of road will traversegood to excellent habitat of desert bighorn sheep. 

Plans are underway to capture and radiocollar 35 

bighorn in and near the project area in Nevada, and to 

begln a P&month intensive study of bighorn movements, seasonal habitat use, and a quantitative 

assessment of habitat parameters. Design and planning for the bridge and road will commence after the 

movement study; data from the study will be used to 

insure that the construction does not block movement 

corridors or damage critical habitat components. 

The project will be directed by Charles Douglas, Unit 

Leader, CPSUNNLV. Don Ebert (Yosemite) will conduct parts of the study, movement and habitat use, for 

his masters thesis. The study is funded by the Bureau 

of Reclamation in cooperation with NPS; the Bureau 

also is funding a companion study on the Arizona side 

of the river that is being conducted by AZ Dept. of 

Game & Rsh. 

David Parsons (SEKI) participated as the NPS rep 

resentative to the U/Cal Workshop on Global Climate 

Change and Its Effects on California The workshop, 

heldat UCDavisJulylO12, broughttogetherscientists 

and policy makers in an effort to begin to make projections as to the potential effects of a changing global 

climate on natural ecosystems, agnculture. water, soil 

and cultural resources. UC Press will publish a proceedings of the workshop. 

t * * 

Parsons’ presentation, “Restoring natural fire to the 

sequoia-mixed conifer forest: should intense fire play a 

role” at the Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference on 

High Intensity Fire in Wildlands: Management Challenges and Options (Tallahassee, May 18-21) was 

extremelywellreceived (includingafavotable review in 

the July, 1989 Newsletter of the Vegetation Section of 

the Ecological Saclety of America). The paper (coauthored by Nate Stephenson of SEKI and Tom Swetnam of U/AZ), which raises the questton of whether 

locally intense fire may not have played an important 

role in perpetuating grant sequoia groves, will be published as part of the Conference Proceedings. 

I) t . 

On July 24, 1989, the USFWS placed the Mohave 

Desert Tortoise under emergency protection as an 

endangered species. The emergency designation, 

which lasts 8 months, was necessary because of the 

spread of a respiratory disease throughout the tortoise 

populations in Southern California, Southern Nevada, 

andSouthernUtah.Thesedlseaseoutbreaks havethe 

ability to decimate adults in breeding populations and 

some populations have been reduced by half during 

the past four years. All NPS sites where the torfoise 

may be present must conduct biological assessments. 

I t I 

Arrangements have been completed for establishmen1 of a new CPSU at Northern Arizona University at 

Flagstaff. Charles van Riper, Ill has been named Unit 

Leader and his position IS being transferred from 

CPSUiUCDtoCPSUiNAU inOctober,1989,Thisiatest 

CPSU. the fifth such unit established in Western 

Region, will primarily serve Grand Canyon, Petrified 

Forest, Walnut Canyon, Montezuma Castle, and 

Tuzigoot. 

Pacific Northwest 

15-17 The purpose of this gathering of the faithful was 

to bring Dr. Ray Herrmann up-ta-date on the projects at 

SEKI, ISRO. ROM0 and OLYM. and to dwss the 

future-both for the 1990 wrap-up of NAPAP and the 

continued role of the small watershed studies in NPS 

scjence. These long-term studies are seen as vital to 

the new global warming effects initiative, as well as 

cornerstones to the Servw’s Inventory and Monitoring 

program. 

“We are pleased,” Aho added, “to provide the oblig 

atory group photo, and some rare documentary photos 

of the meeting participants actually working:’ 

Poring over results, from left, are Ray Herrmann, Ted 

Thomas, and Bob Edmonds. 

f * I 

Personnel from the NPS Water Resources Diviwn 

were at Crater Lake NP in July 10 select data collection 

sites lor a channel processes study and to inspect 

water supply developments associated with State 

appropriative water right filings. Staff members also 

met with Garv Larson of the NPSICPSU at Oreaon 

John Aho, Olympic NP wildlife biologist, sent news State Univeriity, research aquatic ecologist, with 

of a meeting of NPS Watershed Studies Investigators regard to a fish survey he IS dwcting on selected 

and Project Coordinators at Fort Collins, Cola. May streams in the park. 

Watershed investigators, left to right, are Frank Vertuco, USFS; Ray Herrmann, NPS; Steve Nodvin, NPS, U/TN; 

Annie Esperama, SEKI; Rick Webb, SHEN; Dave Grabei; SEKI; Bob Edmonds, U/WA: John Aho, OLYM; Ted 

Thomas, U/WA; Bob Slofflemyer, ISRO. and Scotf Dennmg, ROMO. Absent from the photo were Dave Parsoos, 

SEKI: Gary Davis, CHIS, and Doug Fox, USFS. 

12 
Yosemite Monitoring 

And Mitigating 

Wilderness Impacts 

Nearly 90 percent of Yosemite NP’s 1,189 square 

mile area is Wrlderness. containing more than 1,050 

miles of travel routes and 5,547 recorded (primarily 

undestgnated) campsrtes. Although wilderness recreation is a recognized and legitimate actrvity, most trails 

and campsites cause denuded stopping points, muitiple treads, accelerated erosion, loss of meadows, 

compacted soils, and more. Thus, the challenge has 

been (1) determining the extent of the problem, (2) 

defining justifiable standards for permissible resource 

damage, and (3) prescribing management actions to 

mitigate and limit impacts. 

To meet this challenge, the park, from 1983 through 

1988, completed a wrlderness impacts inventory, 

tested rehabilitation techniques for closed subalpine 

camping areas and severely rmpacted meadow trawls, 

and began developing a comprehensive Wilderness 

Restoration Plan. 

Determining Problem Extent-Impacts Inventory: Campsites were rated wng 11 criteria rncludrng 

size. developments, vegetation cornposItion and density, wood availability, access halls, and visual 

obtrusneness. Trails and cross-country routes were 

rated for width, depth, gullying, associated drainage 

disruptlon, and mulliplic~ty. Environmentally descript~ve parameters (e.g., vegetation and substrate type, 

distance to water, trees with exposed roots) were 

included in the assessment. Hewlett-Packard HP716 

handheldcomputersconta~ning customrzed dataentry 

and error-checking programs were used for field data 

collection. 

Defining Permissible Resource Damage: Park 

staff developed five opportunity classes: phmitive, 

cross-country, trailed-undesignated campsites, 

trailed-designated campsites and frontcountry. Each 

was defined by resource. social, and managerial standards. Data collected on impacts were compared to 

established standards, and mitigative acttons are 

being prescribed where impacts exceed these 

standards. 

Prescribed Management Actions: Data analyses 

have shown that Yosemite’s wilderness is threatened 

and that specific management direction is possible 

using the impacts data. For example: 23 percent of the 

campsites were found to be within 25 feet of water and 

56 percent were within 100 feet. This indicates that 

more than half of the campsites wolate a federal reg 

ulation. Obliteration and rehabilitation were recommended for 51 percent of all sites because of proximity 

to water and trails, or visual obtrusiveness. More 

aggressive campsite removal and minimum impact 

camping programs are now being conducted. In addition, park managers are examining the enforceability 

of a 100 feet from water camping restrtction, since 

natural topography and travel routes foster noncompliance in some instances. 

Trail work now can be objectively priotrtized, based 

on perhaps the most comprehensive trails database 

available to a land management agency. The work load 

is dramatically apparent: some of the more significant 

impacts include 62 miles of multiple tread, 67 miles of 

trail erosion gullies more than 4 inches deep, and 329 

miles of trail through sensitive meadow vegetation. 

Charisse Sydoriak, Res. Mgt. Spat. 

Lava Beds National Monument 

Correction 

In identifying Sarah Bishop, author of “Promoting 

Partnerships: The New NPS CMlenge” (p. 11 of Park 

Science, Summer 1989), the telephone number for 

Pamw in Parks should have been (702) 4545547 

and Bishop’s doctorate field should have read 

“romance ilnguisbcs” instead of “education.” 

New RNA Report Focuses 

On Information Exchange 

“Taking the Pulse of Healthy Land” is the lead article 

in a new publication, Natural Areas Report, Vol. 1, No. 

1. edited by Sarah Greene, Forestry Scrences Lab, 

3200 Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331; (503) 

757-4429. 

Thereporl isanoutgrowth of the Februaryworkshop 

in Portland, OR, whichfocusedon theroleof Research 

Natural Areas (RNAs) in baseline monitoring, long 

term research, and protecfion of biological diversity, 

(See Park Science, Spring 1989, p. 11). The February 

workshop panels produced over 50 recommendations 

which, when prioritized, boiled down to a strong consensus for the following four: 

(1) More specific management direction is desperately needed. This must begin with the setting of specific management objectives and development of a 

monitoring plan for each RNA. 

(2) RNA coordinators are essential to a successful 

RNA program. At the very least, each agency (such as 

the NPS) should have an RNA coordinator at the units 

that contain ANAs. 

(3) All agencies with units in the Paciftc Northwest 

should adopt the Oregon and Washington Natural 

Heritage Plans as guides to RNA cell/element needs. 

(4) Assured funding is requrred. (No agreement was 

reached, however, on where and how the necessary 

funding would be appropriated.) 

The Pacific Northwest Interagency RNA Committee 

will hold its biannual meeting in Portland Nov. 16,1989. 

Contact: Sarah Greene (see above). 

Rare Plant Surveys 

In Mount Rainier NP 

Eleven plant species in Mount Rainier NP occur on 

state threatened or sensitive species lists. Systematic 

surveys for rare species were inrtiated in 1987, using a 

methodology that complemented the state’s Natural 

Heritage Program. Field surveys are conducted 

annually for one or two species and Information is then 

shared with Washington state. 

In 1987 a computer data base was set up, histonc 

information collected and recorded, and field surveys 

initiated. Castfllejacryptantha, acandidate species for 

federal designation, was the focus for field surveys that 

year. Of 25 populations surveyed, 10 were relocations 

of historic sightings. Two historic sightings could not be 

relocated. Two populations were located adjacent lo a 

developed campsite and had been Impacted by 

human use. A temporary closure was placed on the 

campsite in 1988 pending a field rewew of the area. 

The field review was conducted in 1988 and the campsite was permanently closed due to its close proximity 

to water and the impact on the Castilleja population. in 

1988, 35 populations of Pedicuiaris rainierensis, an 

endemic, state listed species, were recorded. All locations are recorded in the park’s GIS system, dBase 

files, and with the Washinaton Natural Heritaoe 

Program. 

Regina M. Rochefort, Botanist 

Mount flainier National Park 

1 Reveg Notes 1 

Western Region 

Organizes Task Force 

The Western Regron has become pro-active in managing its lands in recent years. Rehabilitation of disturbed areas is a common practice, presently accomplished through revegetation. Projects range from 

rehabilitating roadcuts to eradicating roads and trails, 

and from landscape restoration of scenic or cultural 

values to replacing alien species with indigenous (in 

some cases threatened or endangered) species. 

Many standards guide resource management in 

NPS. However, for revegetation and restoration management these standards are essentially pnnciples 

wtth little information on application (particularly the 

depth of investigation necessary for ensuring each 

standard IS met). As a result there is considerable 

variation in the way individual projects are covered, 

and some efforts apparently do not even attempt to 

meet the standards. 

Moreover, there is a need to adapt the new NPS 

Management Policies for special needs existing in the 

Western Region, and prepare Regional policy statements where necessary. Finally, projects crossing 

agency boundanes need to be identifed early in order 

to assure that selected techniques and project implementation are complementary. 

Consequently, Western Region has organized a 

Task Force to address these needs. The core team is 

composed of research scientrsts and natural resource 

managers representing coastal, tropical, montane, 

and and ecosystems. Its efforts will be reviewed periodically by a larger working group (composed of WR 

Parks and Denver Service Center representatives) 

which first met in April 1988 at Golden Gate NRA. 

Thts protect will produce a Handbook of guideltnes 

lhatwill help managersdevelopplansfor and carry out 

revegetation programs. Current research will be 

applied to assure that these guidelines are state-ofthe-art. The Handbook will describe each guideline 

and list all factors that must be considered. Each factor 

will be discussed, normally acceptable results (and 

monitorrng techniques) described, and significant reference materials cited or placed in an appendix. 

The Handbook is expected to be avatlable to other 

Regions sometime m CY90. Topics will include prescrrptions, propagation, planting, erosion control, tree 

hazard replacement, genetic conservation, and 

monitoring. It will address contracting, planning links 

with the Denver Service Center, funding (including 

sources such as Federal Highways), and services 

available from agencies such as the Soil Conservation 

Service. Finally, the prefect will distinguish between 

routine revegetation and ecological restoration, and 

address issues such as whether a planting project 

should manipulate habitat for federally listed lhreatened, endangered, or candidate speaes. 

The aim is to provide guidance for managers in 

preparing revegetatron proposals and to facilitate managementappltcationsolall applicable research. Also, 1 

will achieve a cooperative approach to cross-boundary 

needs, through lbkages wth coalitions such as the 

High Sierra Inter-Agency Wilderness Managers Group. 

Alan Schmierer, Reveg. Task Force Coord. 

WRO Div of Nat. Resources and Research 

13 
Global Change and Biosphere Reserve Workshop Held 

By Stephen C. Nodvin 

Athree-day NPSworkshaponglobal changeand on 

biosphere reserves was held at the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville in August. The workshop was 

organfzed and moderated by Bill Gregg of the NPS 

WashingtonOfhce(WAS0). Arrangementsin Knoxville 

were made by the Cooperative Park Studies Unit at UT 

with assrstance from the UT Department of Forestry, 

Wildlife and Fisheries. 

Globalchangewasthefocusofthefirst day’sdiscussions. Featured speakers included John Firor of the 

National Center for Atmospheric Research who gave 

an excelleni overview of the mechanisms of the greenhouse effect. Robert Peters of the World Wildlife Fund 

discussed the implrcations of global climate change to 

biodiversity. Harry Lins of the USGS discussed agency 

plans and priorrties that are being formulated by an 

interagency working group: the Committee on Earth 

Sciences (CES). 

Other agencies’ plans and strategies relative to 

global change were discussed by: Stan Colof, Bureau 

of Land Management; Tom Callahan, National Science 

Foundation; Anthony Janetos and Lauretta Burke, 

EPA; Michael Fosberg, USDA Forest Service; and 

Robert Van Hook and Monica Turner, DOE and Oak 

Ridge Nattonal Laboratory. 

Gregg discussed current efforts and plans by the 

NPS Wildlife and Vegetation Division relative to 

natronal planning for global climate research. Ray 

Herrmann of the NPS Water Resources Division discussed the role of long term research and of the NPS 

Watershed Program within the global change arena. 

Stephen Nodvin discussed plans by the UT CPSU to 

identify potential global climate problems at park units 

within the Southeast Region and plans by the Soufheast Region Office to assemble a global climate 

change assessment team. 

The second day of lhe workshop focused on Brasphere Reserves. Perspectives on the evolution of the 

Man and the Biosphere program and the Biosphere 

Reserve concept were gwen by Gary Everhardt, 

Superintendent BLRI; Vernon Gilbert, former NPS 

MAB Coordinator; Roger Soles, Executive Director, 

U.S. MAB Secretariat; and Gregg, NPS MAB Coordinalor. Other highlights included discussions of regional 

MAB efforts in the Southern Appalachians, public education and community involvement, and discussions of 

many biosphere reserve programs including and rang 

ing from Champlain-Adirondack, the Central California 

Coast, and Death Valley NM. 

Concurrent workshop sessions were held the third 

morning on: 1) the role of NPS in global change 

research, 2) the role of WASO. regions and parks in 

MAB, 3) coordinator of NPS with other agencies on 

global change and biosphere reserves, and 4) public 

education relative to the workshop’s topics. Session 

leaders summarized each group’s discussions and 

recommendations during the final afternoon session. 

Session leaders were given the charge of preparing a 

report of each group’s recommendations for review by 

the workshop parbcipants. 

At the meeting’s closing, Bill Gregg thanked all participants and observed that problems due to climate 

change may present NPS with some of its greatest 

challenges relative to research and the management 

of natural and cultural resources. 

Nodvin is Unit Leader of the NPSiCPSU at the Uni. 

verity of Tennessee, Knoxville. 

In Situ Conservation 

A 4Opage book, Pfant Genetic Resoarcas: 

Their Conservation in situ for Human Use, 

published by and availabfefrom the Focd and 

Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 

(4611F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706) 

describes the values of plant genetic 

resources and their natural habitats and fhe 

problems that are caused, now and for future 

generations, as we continue to lose these 

rewxes. 

It focuses especially on the need to con 

serve plant genekc resources in sifv, that is, in 

lheir natural habitats and examines generic 

diversity at ecosystem, species, population, 

and gene levels. The guidelines given for 

action have been developed keeping in mind 

the importance of conserving diversity at al) 

these levels. 

By Jean Matthews 

Three days that changed the world it may not have 

been, but the August conference in Knoxville (see 

article by Stephen Nodvin) left its 46 exhausted parkcipants with the distinct impression that they had begun 

a process of transcendence that could end in a new 

level of research and management of the National Park 

System. 

Vernon C. (Tommy) Gilbert, in presenting the Southern Appalachfan MAB approach (SAMAB), returned 

again and again to the necessity for engaging the local 

populace in issue-onented activities that would show 

them both “what’s in it for us”and “how we’re tied into 

and dependent on” the systems that interactfvely sup 

port all life on earth. The focus on global climate 

change, played so prominently by all the media and 

even appearing at the recent “summits” in Europe, 

seems to have captured the attention of a critical mass 

of people-enough to make such regional approaches 

as those centered around the Great Smoky Mountains 

and the Glacier NP Biosphere Reserves eminently 

viable. 

It wasthesenseofthe meeting thatthe U.S. public in 

general reacts negatively to the idea of “reserves,” 

tending to see them as “lock-ups.” Gilbert strongly 

urgedasoft-pedalingaftalkabout threats to parksand 

buffer zones, and emphasis on critical issues that face 

entire regions. “These are the focal points that can 

bring people together,” ha said. “Whether or not there 

is a global climate change underway, the world has 

horrendous natural resource problems - overpopulation, loss of biologfcal diversity, pollution, etc. 

We simply must do more toward making a global 

response to these conditrons and our response must 

include the third world -which contains over 75 percent of the world’s population.” 

A consensus was that biosphere reswas should 

emphasize issues that tie them in to the overall 

regional resources and problems picture at the points 

where people’s concerns already are apparent. 

“You scientists talk about peer review,“said Hubert 

Hinote, the new director for SAMAB, “but I tall you that 

14 

MY peers are the people of this region. They’re the 

ones who will ‘review’ what goes on here and decide if 

it’s worthy of their panicipation and support.’ 

One clear note about funding for scientific research 

in the Natronal Parkswas sounded by James Callahan, 

associate program director at the National Science 

Foundation for the Division of Biotic Systems and 

Resources. 

“If you want money lrom my domain,” he told the 

conferees, “the single biggest barrier we perceive is 

that the investigators in National Parks never know 

where they stand in relation to the parks. It’s not a 

confidence-building situation for a long-term 

researcher. For this reason, NPS long-term research 

projects are not a high NSF funding priority.” 

Callahan’s suggestions was that the research community would respond “rapidly and positively” to a 

national policy favorrng ekira-funded research in the 

National parks. “We’re pleased to see that NPS looks 

as though it’s moving toward meshing rts research 

better with other agencies.” he said. “But the Park 

Service should pay researchers more in money and 

lessin kind. A littleseed moneywould doalot of good:’ 

‘#nd,“hecantinued, “you won’teverget money from 

NSF for monitoring parse. This is a task that the Park 

Service should be funding itself. It’syourjob!Congress 

has told us ‘Thou shalt not thwart the will of the Congrass by funding another Federal agency’ so we are 

kmited as to what we can do in that respect. We could 

assist another Federal agency to set up its own 

research program-or fund a research project in which 

an NPS employee is the principal investigator if that 

project isafferedforfunding by an academicrnstitution. 

However, no salary or other perk could be offered 

through the project to such a paid employee. 

“In short,” he concluded, “we won’t allow another 

Federal agency to ‘pick our pocket.’ Our feeling is ‘Let 

them fund their own research: ” 

Assocrate NPS Director Eugene Hester told the conference that the new DI Secretary wants intenor to be 

involved in the study of and response to the worldwide 

problems posed by the threat of massive global clrmate 

change. “The new NPS Director sees parks as barometers of change in the nation and the world,” he said 

(see Guest Editorial, page Z), and bfosphere reserves 

in parks are key places for taking the earths temperature and pulse. We all need to be working from the 

same data sets and the SAMAB project is helping us 

do just that. So is the Yellowstone Ecosystem work - 

so is the California Coastal project. (See MAB Notes, 

this issue). 

Gary Everhardt, former NPS Director and Supt. of 

the Blue Ridge Parkway, declared strong suppod”from 

the management side” for biosphere reserves and 

observed, “I’m sorry to see only three park managers 

here. Managers should be involving themselves in this 

kind of activity. Economic development and environmental quality can and must be made compatible,” he 

went on. “The people of Southern Appalachia believe 

they can be. The six agencies that formed SAMAB 

recognized the need to put aside individual turfs and 

develop a model example of what can and must be 

done through collaborative action to eliminate or mitigate common problems.” 
Earthwatch: A Source Of Funds, 

Labor For Park Scientists 

The National Park Serwce and Earthwatch recently 

have agreed to co-sponsor field research in the 

National Park System. Founded in 1971, Earthwatch IS 

now the third largest private funder of scientific field 

research in the U.S. - after the National Geographic 

Society and the World Wildlife Fund. To date Earthwatch hasmobilized1,085fieldseasonsof 716 projects 

(15 in the national parks) in 65 countries, providing 

researchers with 21,900 volunteers and more than $14 

mIllion in funds and equipment. Its unique formula 

requrres public hands-on participation in field 

research. Volunteers contribute both funds and labor 

to launch expeditions in a series of one-lo-four-week 

teams; the princrpal investigator thus receives both a 

grant and manpower. The formula works well: annually 

Earthwatch now fields over 100 projects worldwide; 

roughly a third of the volunteers each year are past 

participants; and half the projects receive funding for 

more than one year. 

For the past two summers. for example, Dr. Rolf 

Peterson of Michigan Technological University has 

used more than 100 volunteers, who have contributed 

oyer $36,000 to track the survival of annual cohorts of 

moose and reconstruct the age structure of the population on Isle Royale. His assistants are non-screntists, 

lay people who vary m age, perspectrve. and trainlng - 

cooks, bankers, school teachers, bustnessmen, siewardesses, students. Most have college diplomas; 

many have advanced degrees. Equipped with rations 

for six days at a time, volunteers scour the island for 

moose remains, collect the skeletons, examine wolf 

scats for clues to dret, and note the frequency of other 

species, such as snowshoe hare. The volunteers 

“proved atremendousaidin increasingcoverageof the 

island.“says Peterson, in 1966 more than doubling the 

miles hiked to search for moose remains and collecting 

parts of 96 skeletons. 

For a project to make use of the Earthwatch formula 

successfully usually requires dividing its objectives 

into bite-sized tasks, which volunteers can learn easrly 

and qurckiy in the Leld. Earthwatch teams are ideal for 

inventories and surveys (e.g. vegetative plot sampling, 

capfurelrecapture census. migratory bird counts, food 

sampling); radio-tracking animals; simultaneous 

behavioral observations of various animals; paleontological and archaeological excavations; and long 

term research. 

The Center for Field Research-the arm of Earthwatch that solicits and reviews proposals - is now 

inviting proposals for work by scientists or by those 

working in the park system. Please allow 10 to 12 

months between proposal submission and first date in 

the field. For information, write The Center for Field 

Research, Box 403, Watertown, MA 02272; or call 

(617) 9264200; FAX: 6179266532. 

Biodiversity Guidelines 

A M-page book en&d Evaiuafion of Eiodiversify Projects (Natfonal Academy Press, 

Washington, DC, 1989) sets lath criteria and 

guidefines for evafuating pf#cts designed to 

protscl of enhance biodiversity 

Michael E, So&, chairman of the prestigious sevenman committee that put the 

report together, prefaced the volume with the 

following words: 

“It is regrettable that this document is 

needed It ta regrettable that the suNiva of 

biological divers&y requires extraordinary initiatfves such as ‘biodffersky reserves.’ Only a 

wodd on the brink of ecologicat suicide would 

wsorf to such artificial means. To the citizens 

of a balanced world, the phrase ‘biodiversity 

rsserve’woiild sound just as ridiculous as does 

the concept of ‘developer reserve’ to us. 

“fn denaturalizing most of the planets lropical and temperate surface, n usurping virtually 

all unfrozen land and water, in polluting the 

highest reaches of the stratosphere, and in 

altering the heat balance of the atmosphere, 

we are fast approaching a new global, ecologi. 

cai threshofd - our carrying capacity. As we 

cross this invisible barrier, less pushy species 

will be crowded wt. 

“Now ‘experts’ are being summoned to help 

slow and eventually reverse the human 

machine of population and denaturafization. 

Thisdocumentwaswrftten bysuchexperts-in 

me field of appropriate development and con. 

servation biology - in response to a request for 

guaance in the selection, monitoring and ev& 

uation of biodiversfty-related DrOieCtS in developing countries .! 

The report project #at produced the book 

was approved by the Governing Board of the 

Nat&al Research Cwncil, whose members 

are drawn from the Naffonal Academy of Scren@?& the Nationaf Academy of Engineering, 

and the Institute of Medicine. Copies of the 

repod can be had from the Board of &fogy, 

Nafional Research Council. 2101 Constitution 

Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20416. 

Ideas For The Future: America’s NRAs 

An attractive 42.page booklet wth full color wrap 

around cover picture. entitled /de% for the Future: 

Americas Nafioonai Recreation Areas, represents the 

best thinking of 150 individuals concerned with the 

management of the 32 U.S. National Recreation Areas, 

at a 1986 symposium sponsored by NPS and USFS. 

Six concurrent sessions developed ideas as to how 

better to plan, operate, and maintatn NRA facilities, 

how to develop partnerships with drverse groups and 

organizations nearby, how to make the public aware of 

the enormous resources NRAs represent, and how 10 

mesh their resources as a cog m the larger tourism 

wheel. “Promotion and marketing of NRAs must be 

cooperative endeavors with local, state, and regional 

tourism organrzations,” according to one summary 

tncluded is a discussion of networking, as a verb - 

“not the finished product, but the process of getting 

there - the communication that creates the linkages 

between people and clusters of people:’ (Naisbin, J., 

1964. Megafrends. NY Warner Books, Inc.) 

Copies of Ideas for the Future are available for $10 

horn William J. McLaughlin, Dept. of Wildland Recreatlon Mgt., University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 63643. 

15 

Michael Soukup To 

Direct South Florida 

Research Center 

South Florida, with its sub-tropical climate, burgeoning population, and myriad environmental problems, is 

also the site of the NPS’s South Florrda Research 

Center. Located within Everglades NR this unit, established in 1976 as a prototype for NPS field research 

facilities, focusesonthefour NPS areasof Everglades 

and Siscayne National Parks, Big Cypress National 

Preserve, and Fort Jefferson NatIonal Monument. 

In August, Michael A. Soukup, former Regronal 

Chief Scientist, North Atlantic Region, became the 

new director of research. South Florida environmental 

issues are extremely complex. D&ate sub-tropical 

ecosystems have been abused m the name 01 prograss and development, and the impacts on both the 

natural environment and the human inhabitants are 

only beginning to be understood. The current efforts to 

preserve and restore wetlands habitat have dlrecied 

national and international anenhon to park programs, 

and critical management decisions. Perhapsthe entire 

future of the Everglades depends on the quality and 

application of research. 

Pat Totfe, Public Affairs SpeciaM 

Everglades National Park 

To the Editor: 

Since you requested that I write an artrcle about 

sening up the new Coastal Research Center at the 

Graduate School 01 Oceanography, University of 

Rhode Island, there has been a srgnificant change rn 

drrection - I am now in Everglades NP as the Director, 

South Florida Research Center instead. It was a difficult choice, at first. 

At the new North Atlantic/Mid-Atlantic joint CPSU. 

which will havefourorfive NPS scientists indisciplines 

covering the spectrum of coastal issues, I would have 

been able to pursue my own research area agaln, 

sharpen my scientific skills (after over 13 years in a 

regional office), and help prepare coastal parks for the 

coming conflicts over kmited resources. What could be 

better? Then came the Everglades offer, The South 

Florida Research Center was created directly by Congrass (in 1976) to address the formidable array of 

issues and threats facing a large, unique, and manipulated system. Today the stakes remarn very high, and 

the role of science is immediately crucial. Past water 

management and future development-related Impacts 

seem nearly overwhelming. 

Thus, if there is one place that best demonstrates 

that the mission (and the future) of the Service is a 

highly technical one, it is here. In my discussions with 

park leadership there was no question that this is wellunderstood and that the science program would be 

fully supported and utilized. 

After werghing all the variables associated wtth any 

new assignment, it seems clear that if one is in the 

Service to understand natural systems, solve their 

management problems, and contribute to their preservation, then-right now-the Everglades isthe place to 

be. 

Mike Soukup 

Formerly Chiei Scientist 

NPS North Atlantic Region 
Another exciting edition of the NPS Interpretation - 

the Winter 1969 edition - has been produced by the 

Washington NPS Ofhce of Interpretation, the Regional 

Chiefs of Interpretation, and the Interpretive Design 

Center at Harpers Ferry This one focuses on the wolf 

recovery program and covers the historical record of 

relentless persecution, some of the hair-raising tales 

that have contributed to the “demons from hell” perception of wolves, and an assessment of the future for 

wolves. 

A double page spread features excerpts from the 

NPS traveling exhibit, Celebrating the Woff. The exhibit 

consists of 18 original matted and framed prints by 

several artists and it will be on display in the Midwest 

and Pacific Northwest Regions in 1990. The exhibit will 

be available for at least 6 years. 

Interpretation contains a first-rate account, by Chicago Tribune staff wter Peter Garner, of Rolf Peterson’s Isle Royale wolf research. (By the latest count, 

only 9 wolves remain on Isle Royale.) 

For more information on loferpretafioon, contact Editor, Interpre!at;on, c/o Washington Office, Division of 

Interpretation. Box 37127, Washington, DC 

20013.7127. 

*** 

Greenpeace (Vol. 14, No. 3), the May-June 1969 

issue, devotes most of its issues to global warming in 

an arlicle by Norman Myers, “The Heat Is On.” 

*** 

“Translocation as a Species Conservation Tool: Status and Strategy,” by Brad Griffith, J. Michael Scott, 

James W. Carpenter, and Christine Reed, appears in 

the August 1989 issue of Science, describing intentional releases of native birds and mammals to the wild 

in Australia, Canada, Hawaii, New Zealand, and the 

U.S., and documents current activities. identifies factors associated with success. and suggests guidelines 

for improving future work. 

The July issue, in an article entitled “Volcanoes Can 

Muddle the Greenhouse,” finds that cleaning up climate records shows that large volcanic eruptions cool 

the climate for a few years, complicating identification 

of the greenhouse warming. 

L 

Will clouds prevent or promote a drastic global 

warming? asks a headline in the August 12,1989 issue 

of Science News. 

“Some studies suggest.” writes Richard Monastersky, “that of the number of stratocumulous clouds 

over the ocean grows by 4 percent, the increase could 

compensate for a doubling in atmospheric carbon 

dioxide - saving the planet from a potentially disastrous temperature hike of 1.5 degrees C. to 5.5 C. over 

the next half-century. On the other hand, an increase in 

another cloud type-the high, Ice-filled cirrus clouds - 

would add to the greenhouse effect.” 

*** 

An excellent quarterly entitled Plant Conservation is 

available from the center for Plant Conservation, 125 

Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-3520; (617) 

524-6986. This E-page publication, with illustrations, is 

the organ of The Center for Plant Conservation - a 

private nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving 

rare and endangered plants of the US. through cultivation and research. The Center’s networkof 19 botanical 

gardens and arboreta is coordinated by the national 

office in Jamaica Plain. 

:* 

The Spring 1989 issue of American Birds contains a 

O-page article by Charles van Riper III and four coauthors, fellow members of the American Omithologists’ Union, on “Career Opportunities in Ornithology:’ 

Full color photos illustrate the wide range of activities 

open to ornithologists and describe education requirements, jobs, and salaries. 

Van Riper is an NPS research scientist with the 

CPSU at U/Cal, Davis, and is co-author, with Michael 

Avery, of “Seasonal Changes in Bird Communities of 

the Chaparral and Blue-Oak Woodlands in Central 

Caltfornia,” appearing in The Condor (91:288-295). 

*** 

An article by Tom Bonnicksen in the July/August 

issueof American Foresfstitled”Firegodsandfederal 

policy”severely criticizes NPS fire policy and management as “ant!-scientific-management” where parks 

are “quasi-religious sanctuaries where Mother Nature 

resides and rules:‘Bonnicksen. who mysteriously cancelled commitments to speak at the recent fire conferences in Bozeman and Tallahassee, fails to give the 

slightest credit to the Park Serwe for its widely 

respected programsoffire managementandresearch. 

*** 

Dogs and cats as well as people are suffering from 

stress-related conditions in lto City, southwest of 

Tokyo, where more than 23,000 earthquakes shook 

the city in the three weeks since June 30. More than 

250 outpatients daily reported stomach aches, insomnia, and diarrhea, “all from fear and stress,” doctors 

reported. Cats experiences nausea. diarrhea, and loss 

of appetite, and many dogs suffered skin problems 

such as rashes and loss of hair. Coughing and trembling in dogs also were attributed to “excessive fear.” 

*** 

A study involving 85 patients with antibodies to the 

Lyme disease-causing bacterium in their blood, offers 

the first direct evidence that such a&e bacteria in the 

central nervous system can trigger a brain disorder 

that results in cognitive and memory deficits observed 

in many Lyme disease patients. The study, reported in 

the June 24,1969 Science News (p. 390), found that 

many of the study subjects diagnosed with the brain 

disorder harbored the antibodies in their spinal fluid as 

well as in their blood. The patients’ symptoms 

improved greatly after antibiotic treatment - 

suggesting strongly that produces “very speciftc patterns” rather than “everything under the sun” as has 

been a prevalent notion heretofore, according to study 

leader John J. Halperin, a neurologist at the State 

University of New York at Stony Brook. 

*** 

Dr. William McShea of the National Zoological Park 

in Washington, DC, is seeking volunteers to observe, 

for a second season, the feeding deer in Shenandoah 

NP, and to catch and release mice and chipmunks in 

order to calculate their populations. The study is 

designed to determine whether mast - the seeds of 

16 

oak, hickory, and beech trees - is the major variable 

determining the density and distribution of deer, mice, 

and chipmunks over the winter. Is the cumulative consumption of mast by deer enough to starve out the 

smaller fry: mice, chipmunks, squirrels, and turkeys? 

Are management policies that favor “charismatic 

megavertebrates” like deer hard on smaller animals? 

Research team VIII will take the field Nov. 11-25, 

1989; staging area, Front Royal, VA; share of costs, 

$890. 

*** 

The UNESCO Action Plan for biosphere reserves 

calls for the preparation of a history of research conducted within each reserve. Dr. Caroline Rogers, 

Research biologist, Virgin Islands National Park, and 

Robert Teytaud, Island Resources Foundation, 

recently completed a report entitled Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems of the Virgin Islands National 

Park and Biosphere Reserve, which provides a comprehensive synthesis of research that has taken place 

within the reserve Itself and of other pertinent studies 

carried out within the region. 

The report focuses on Information found in over 25 

reports by members of the Virgin Islands Resource 

Management Cooperative and which were funded by 

NPSinthelastSyears. Parkmanagers, scientists, and 

visitors will find that it pulls together a diverse body of 

knowledge, some of which was previously inaccessible. It Includes a description of the marine and terrestrial systems of St. John and the stresses that are 

currently affecting them. The island’s fisheries are dlscussed, and there is a brief section on geology. 

Emphasis IS placed on research, whtch provides a 

basis for effective management of the park’s ecosystems. Recommendations for future research and 

resource management actions are presented. An 

extenswe bibliography and an index increase the 

report’s usefulness. This publication IS available from 

Carolme Rogers, Virgtn Islands National Park, PO. Box 

7789, St. Thomas, USVI 00801. 

*** 

From the June 1989 issue of Earthwatch magazine 

comes this quote, pati of an article entitled “Fire of 

Life” by Mrill Ingram: 

Studies 01 Yellowstone tree rings show that major 

fires like last summer’s have burned through the 

forests once every 200 to 400 years. Other studies show that 25 years after a burn, lodgepole 

stands show a three-fold increase in species of 

birds, small mammals, and ground plants. “Every 

scientist I’ve talked to has pretty much shared the 

opinion that these fires are natural and that they 

have happened in the past,“says geologist James 

Schmittofthe1986fire. Schmitt who is running an 

Earthwatch project studying tree rings this summar in Yellowstone, coordinated a meeting of 120 

researchers interested in the park and the fire. In 

his book Fire in America, Stephen J. Pyne wrote: 

“Wildland fire is part of a dynamic equilibrium 

betweentheproductionanddecompositionof biomass. Its tunctlon is to recycle For landscapes 

like North America, as Stephen Spurr and Burton 

Barnesaffirm in theirbook FreEcology. ‘fireis the 

dominant fact of history’ /: 

*** 
Ecological Economwzs is the name of the brand new 

journal of the International Society for Ecological Economics, published by Elsevier Science Publishers. 

According to its editor-in-&l, Dr. Robert Costanza, 

the journal “is intended to be a new approach to both 

ecology and economics that recognizes the need to 

make economics more cognizant of ecological impacts 

and dependencies; the need to make ecology more 

sensitive to economic forces, incentives, and constraints; and the need to treat integrated economicecologic systems with a common (but diverse) set al 

conceptual and analytical tools:’ 

Associate editors are Herman Daly, with the World 

Bank in Washington, DC: A.-M. Jansson. Ask6 Laboratory, University of Stockholm, Sweden; and D. Pearce, 

Department of Economics, University College of 

London, U.K. Papers presented at two workshops on 

ecology and economics, one in Stockholm in 1986 and 

one in Barcelona in 1967, appear in Vol. 1 NO. 1, 

together with papers from the 1967 Ecological Society 

of America meeting in Columbus, OH. 

Announcements of upcommg meetings of the International Society for Ecological Economics and related 

events will be published in the journal and in the Society’s newsletter. Editor Costanza can be addressed at 

the Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies, 

University of Maryland, Solomons, MD 20666-0036. 

*** 

The New York Times News Service reports scientists, foresters, environmentalists, and government 

officials are taking “the first serious steps toward an 

ambitious long-term goal: planting enough trees 

around the world to ease the threat of global warming.” 

The activity to stimulate the growth of new forests 

worldwide is taking place on a wety of fronts. The 

American Forestry Association-a citizens’ conservation organization. has undertaken a national campaign 

aimed at planting 100 million new trees in American 

cities and towns by 1992. Industrial companies are 

being urged to follow the model effort of an electric 

company in Connecticut - AES Thames (a subsidiary 

of Applied Energy Services of Arlington, Va.), which is 

helping pay lor planting 52 million trees on plantations 

and small larmers’ plots in Guatemala to offset the 

carbon dioxideemitted bytheir new generating plant at 

Uncasville, Corm. 

The EPA, in an investigation requested by Congress, 

has coma up with a number of carbon-reducing remedies it considers feasible, among which are: 

* Offering American farmers incentives to plant 

more trees on erodable lands that have been kept out 

of cuI:ivation in the Conservation Reserve Program; 

s Planting up to 400 milllon trees in urban areas of 

the United States- both to soakup carbandiox~deand 

to provide shade that would help reduce energy use in 

hot weather; 

s Reforesting 20 percent of U.S. highway corridors; 

* Managing forests more effectively to make them 

more dense; their total mass (and thus their carbonstoring capability) is estimated to be increasable by 60 

percent. 

In the U.S., DOE at its Oak Ridge lab is experimenting with “short-rotation” plantations of fast growing 

trees that are ready for harvest in 10 years. 

*** 

“Where Acids Reign,” by Janet Raloff, in the July 22, 

1969 issue of Science News, tells of the mysterious 

increase in tree mortality in West Germany affecting 

Norway spruce in the Fichtelgebirge forests high in 

Bavaria. beginrung about 10 years ago and now aHacting some 52 percent of all West Germany’s trees. In 

some stands, all mature trees have died. Ernst-Detlef 

Schulze 01 the University of Bayreuth has unearthed 

new clues to the complex, synergistic web of agents 

responsible. 

The problem is far more complex than direct pcllutant poisoning from industrial fallout. The trees are 

slckened and weakened by the air-carried pollutants 

and then fall victim to opportunistic blights. Nitrogen 

compounds and sulfates - both the stuff of acid rain - 

start the imbalance by acidifying the soil, Schulz contends. The forest floor’s acidity then frees toxic aluminum to compete with other positively charged ions 

(cations) for entrance into the thread-like, nutrientabsorbing roots of trees. Some of these cations are 

crucial to tree nutrition-notably calcium and magnesium. 

The trees gradually develop serious deficiencies of 

magnesium, potassium, manganese and iron, and an 

acceleration of nitrogen aerosols raining into the trees’ 

foliage and into their roots act as fertilizers-spurring 

the cation-starved trees to attempt further growth. In 

this highly stressed state, the conifers succumb to 

otherwse non-lethal pests and turns of weather. 

The slower decline of U.S. forest suggests this country may still have time to avert a simtlar wholesale 

dieback of woodlands, but Schulze and others suggest 

such intervention will require stricter controls on air 

pollutants. especially on nitrogenous ones. 

*** 

A large number of northeastern U.S. lakes may be 

suffering severe and potentially unrecognized ecosystem damage from acid rain. according to a new 

study published in the May 1989 issue of EmironmentalScienceandTechnology. Themostvulnerable speclesareones humansconsiderunimportant -leeches, 

mollusks and insects - but they are integral to the 

lakes’ overall health and their presence sets the stage 

for more prized speciessuch astrout, pikeandsunfish. 

In 1976 the Canadian government’s Freshwater 

institute in Winnepeg initiated an experiment in which, 

over 6 years, sulfuric acid was systematically added to 

asmallCanadian lake.The Iake’spHwasloweredfrom 

a nearly neutral 6.6 to a very acidic 5. As the carefully 

monitored acidification progressed, researchers found 

that crustaceans and many phfloplanktons disap 

peared. fish ceased to reproduce, and new algae 

appeared. 

Because the scientists used summer lake-pH 

values in making their predictions instead of the much 

lower spring snowmelt values, their assessments are 

thought by some U.S. scientists possibly to have 

seriously underestimated species losses. 

*‘* 

An analysis of 20 years of bird surveys from across 

North America has disclosed a severe decline in the 

population of many species of songbirds, especially 

those that winter in South and Central America and 

summer in the U.S. and Canada. 

The study, which overcomes IImitations that had led 

some to discount similar findlngs of previous bird SUIveys, was conducted by Sam Droege of USFWS at the 

Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and Russell Greenberg, a research scientist with the National Zoological 

Park in Washington, DC. 

17 

“It’s tragic. We’re going to have fewer birds.” Droege 

said. The survey was based on data gleaned from the 

North Amencan Breeding Bird Survey, which covers 

the entIre U.S. 

Some scientists suspect the birds are being harmed 

by changes in their winter grounds in the tropics - 

others blame changes in their summer homes in temperate North America. Still others contend that forest 

fragment&on in North America is primarily to blame, 

cutting the forests into smaller patches and thus 

increasing the access 01 predators and parasites to 

forest-dwelling birds. 

But Greenberg and his colleagues argue in their 

study that tropical deforestation is the most likely 

cause. Of the species that winter in Mexico’s Yucatan 

peninsula, for example, 16 live in the forest and 12 live 

in open scrub. All 16 forest-dwelling birds declined in 

the past decade, while scrub-dwellers held their own or 

increased their numbers. 

Inventory of Glen Canyon 

Visual Resources 

An extensive inventory of viewsheds throughout 

Glen Canyon NRA was completed in the spring of 1966 

using panorama photography and mapping. The purposeolthisstudywastophotograph thevarlousscenic 

views wthin the NRA and to document these views by 

mapping their aerial extent (viewshed). The scenic 

viewshed inventory will be used as a baseline to analyze potential effects of proposed development (such 

as mineral leasing, lIvestock grazing. and recreational 

facilities) on Glen Canyon’s scentc resources. 

A total of 61 overlook points were surveyed, photog 

raphed, and documented on both land and water 

throughoutthe NRA. Scenicviewshedsweresurveyed 

and the following priorities establlshed: 

1. Signed or designated overlooks - 17 overlook 

points; 

2. Overlooks from existtng or proposed marinas - 9 

overlook pants; 

3. Views from themain travel routeson the lake-43 

overlook points; 

4. Views from access roads to Glen Canyon - 11 

overlook pomts; 

5. Views from backcountry areas-l overlook point. 

The complete inventory consisted of two main processes. The first involved visiting each potential ovellook point, documenting the location and angle of view, 

and photographing the entire view using panoramic 

techniques. The second process was sorting and 

labeling the photographs (a total of approximately 610 

photographs), splicing the panoramas, mapping the 

aerial extent of the view, and mounting each overlook 

point documentation in a binder. 

Three volumes and two appendices completed the 

documentation 01 the surveyed overlook points. As 

time and budget allow, more backcountry overlook 

points will be added to the inventory. The mapped 

extent of eachviawshedwasformatted for future addition to GIS files. 

An independent study conducted in southern Utah 

by the Five-County Association of Governments indicated that scenery was the prsnary reason tourists 

visited Glen Canyon NRA. Viewing scenery also was 

rated as an extremely important activity by 93% percent of visitors who participated m the 1966 Visitor 

Survey at the park. 

Catherine Walkinshaw, Seasonal Res Mgt. Tech. 

Glen Canyon National Recreatron Area 
Yellowstone’s Northern Range Revisited 

By Francis J. Singer 

Management of elk and bison on the northern winter 

range of Yellowstone NP has remained a controversial 

subject through most of this century. Elk were 

artificially controlled pariicularly from 1935-68, and 

bison were fenced and cropped in the park. However, 

beginning in 1969 these reductions were terminated, 

and by 1971 a hypothesis of self- or natural-regulation 

of Yellowstone’s ungulates was formulated by Glen 

Cole and Douglas Houston. Houston reported the 

experiment to be largely successful through 1979 in his 

book The Northern Yellowstone Elk - Ecology and 

Management (1982 Macmillan). 

However, a series of events in the 1980s prompted 

renewed concern over the success of the experiment. 

Bison, elk, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope numbers increased dramatically. Elk counts rose from 

10.500-12,000 in the 1970s to 16,000 by 1982 and then 

to 19,000 by 1988. Pronghorn antelope counts roughly 

tripledinthe1980sfrom152to495, whilethemuledeer 

counts increased from 1,007 to 2,217. Elk largely reoccupied the portion of the northern range outside the 

park, effectively increasing the size of the winter range 

by about one-fifth. Seven oftheflrsf eightwinters in the 

1980s were less severe than normal. In August 1986. 

the NPS Washington office provided special funding 

through its Natural Resource Preservation Program to 

investigate the status of the northern range. In October 

1987, Congress dlrected the NPS to “start a study on 

Yellowstone la see whether there is evidence of overgrazing:’ 

A multidisciplinary approach was taken to studying 

the effects of elk grazing upon the northern winter 

range, and to dale, 40 separate research projects 

involving 5 park scientists, 4 other agency scientists 

and 34 scientists from 18 different universities have 

been initiated. A series of five problem analyses has 

been conducted by outside scientists on key problem 

areas (elk population dynamics, grassland herbivory, 

riparian area concerns, willow ecology, and pronghorn 

conservation biology). Each panel hasconsistedaftwo 

to eight outside scientists, and their recommendations 

have helped shape the park’s research programs. 

The initial round of studies emphasized the grassland, meadow and sagebrush-bunchgrass commumties, smce elk derive most of their forages from them. 

Comparisons between ungrazed sites (within 

exclosures) and grazed sites were made for soil 

nutrients, soil compactlon, soil infiltration rates, plant 

species abundance and production, and plant root 

biomass. Consumpbon rates by ungulates, grazing tolerances of key forage, and long-term grassland trends 

from LANDSAT imagery were mvestigated in separate 

university-based projects. 

Thepaleoecological htstory ofthenorthernrangefor 

the past several thousand years has been investigated 

through studies of pond sediment pollen histories, and 

for the past one thousand years cave deposits. Elk 

ecology studies have included radiotelemetry 

assistedstudiesof migralions, habitat preferences,the 

ecological separation of mature bulls from cows and 

young bulls, and rate and causesof elk calf mortaltly. 

The datasuggest nostattslically significant changes 

this century (the pertod 01 proposed elk overpopulation) in the nutrient inputs, sediment accumulation, or 

pollen profiles of eight &hem range ponds when 

compared to pre-park levels. Winter range grasslands 

apparently are influenced very little by elk grazing. 

RESEARCH Mu YELLOWSlONE’S NORTHERN RANGE 

Funded by the National Park Service 

Pmject Title Pdncipal Investigator 

Collect populalfon statistics and monftor population size F. Singer 

and moriaiay rates of elk, mule deer, and pronghorns. 

Cucumenl sources and rates of elk calf mortality. 

The response of aspen to burning and ungulate browsing. 0. Despain 

Range relations of five ungulate species. E Singer 

An analysis of elk summer habitat. E Singer 

Collect population statistics, and monitor popularion size M, Meagher 

and mortality rates of bighorn sheep. 

Insstution 

NPS 

NPS 

NPS 

NPS 

NPS 

Bism eco!ugy studies in Yellowsl~le National Park. 

Rehabilitate abandoned ranchlands dominated by exotic 

plants. 

M. Meagher NPS 

C. McClure, D. Despain NPS 

Et&ale cmdition and determine trends in elk winter E Singer NPS 

range through exclosure comparisons. C. Montagne Mont. St. U. 

Moose numbers, movemenls, habii~ and forage use, and F Singer NPS 

effects upan riparian areas. T. Puchierz U.S.F.S. 

D. Tyers USFS. 

Determining the sources of ‘fellowstone River sediment Numerous individuals several 

and turbidity Agencies 

Comparative study of winter nutrition of Yeilowstone elk G. Del G&dice U. of Mmn. 

using snow-urine analysis. F. Singer NPS 

Debris flow-dominated alluvial fans on Mt. Evens in C. Craig NPS 

northern Yellowstone Nabonal Park: deposit&al J. Schmin Mont. St. U. 

frequency and chronology of fan development. 

Food habits of the Yellowstone gnzzly bear. R. Knight I.G.S.S.T. 

A study of the range use and movemenls of dk in the J. Swenson Mont. Fish, 

upper Yellowstone area, in and out of Yeflowstone Park. Wildi. Parks 

J. Vore, H. Pin Malt. St. u. 

A study of the relationships between prehistoric humans E. Hadly NPS 

and wildlife in the northern range of Yellowstone Park L. Agenbmad N, Ariz. ll. 

Forage production and utilization patterns by elk and S. McNaughton, 0. Frank Syracuse 

bison on all four seasonal ranges. U. 

LANDSAT interpreiatkm of grassland standing crops. M. Boyce, E. Men% u. of 

Mans Wyom. 

Ecology of malure bull elk. J Peek, 0. Vafes U. of Idaho 

Human dislurbance of wintering elk, E. Able% F. Cassiref u.04fdaho 

Hunter and recreatiiist disturbances of efk near 

Gardiner, Montana. 

Hefbllory on the notthem Yellmvstone winter range. 

The status of witlows: distributions and biowsfng impac& 

on the no&em range. 

Behavioral and activity comparisons of Madison-Firehole, 

Lamar Valley, and Mammoth Hot Spings elk. 

Riparian vegetation of the northern range, Yellowstone 

National Park classification, succession, and 

environmenfal relationships 

E. Abfes 

R. Pfister. S. Cooper 

U. of Idaho 

u. Of Moilt 

The relationships of climate to sedimentation rates in 

lakes and ponds on the northern range in Yellowstorie 

National Park. 

Factors ihat limit elk populations in the greater 

Yellowstons ecosystem. 

H. wright 

c. sarnowsky 

C. Kay F. Wagner 

An intensive study of mount.& f&s in Yellows~one 

National Park and in the Yellowslone River drainage 

out&e the park. 

M. &mocker wildl. Res. 

InStlth. 

Responses of major forage species to grazing by bison 

and elk. 

L. Wallaca U. of Okla. 

18 
There were no differences in 12 soil nutrients or in 

runoff or sediment yield (as determined by a rainfall 

simulator), between grazed and urgrazed areas. However, there were higher surface bulk densities and 

lower soil infiltration rates in grazed areas. Several 

grasses that can increase when grazed, including 

junegrass, bluegrasses, and thickspiked wheatgrass, 

were more abundant in grazed areas. However, annual 

production of grazing-sensitive grasses - bluebunch 

wheatgrassand Idaho fescue-were not influenced by 

grazing, as were 19 other grasses, 87 forbs, and 22 

shrub species found on the study sites. Root biomass 

and total plant cwer were uninfluenced by grazing, 

although there was less dead lifter and more bare 

ground on grazed sites. 

The studies indicate only subtle differences 

between grazed sites on winter ranges and sites protected within exclosures for 27-31 years. None of the 

differences suggest departures from natural condot~ons. The park recognizes that total protection from 

grazing as in exclosures does not represent natural 

conditions. The 27-31 year old exclosures only serve to 

emphasize how little elk grazing affected the drier, 

winter range sites. This evidence further supports D. 

Houston’s contentton (1982) that precipitation patferns 

influenced thegrasslandsmore than elkgrazing. From 

1958 to 1981, total plant cover more than doubled on 

grazed and ungrazed study sites apparently due to a 

pattern of wetter summers, at the same time elk numbers more than quadrupled following termination of the 

artificial reductions. 

Few conclusions may be made about the effects of 

elk and bison grazing upon the summer range, 

because most of those studies are still in progress. 

Perhaps a greater Influence from grazing summer 

range may be documented because ungulates graze 

the plants on summer range while they are growlog, in 

contrast to grazing cured, dormant forages on winter 

range after these plants have transported their 

nutrients to their root systems I” the fall. The frozen 

ground and protective snow cover further minimize 

grazingeffectson winterrangeplants. One study, how. 

evei, suggests that summer range grassland standing 

crops, as determined from LANDSATimagery, aresignilicantly correlated 10 optimal winter snowpack and 

not to elk numbers. Summer range grassland production, however, was directly correlated to elk calf crops. 

Another study has found fewer plant species inside 

exclosures on summer ranges. Short-statured plants 

were less abundant Inside exclosures, probably 

becausegrazingdid nottrim taller plants. Research on 

willows and aspen has just been initiated. and WIII 

include studies of grazing intensities, annual produclion, and the effects of drought and fire upon ungulate 

preferences of plants end the production of plant secondary defense compounds. 

Thesevere drought and thefiresof 1988 may help to 

answer several questions about the northern range. A 

large number of willow and aspen stands burned in 

1968,forthefirsttime!hiscentury. The opportunity has 

been presented to document fire responses of these 

species. Park biologists are predicting enhanced 

growth, new seedling establishment, and greater 

abundance of willow and aspen. Although palatability 

may also be enhanced by the burning, many aspen 

and willow stands may escape to above the height of 

ungulate browsing after the fires. 

As a combined result of the drought, burning of 

winter ranges, and a severe winter in 1986.89. mule 

deer numbers declined 19 percent, pronghorns 27 percent, and elk 38-43 percent (of which 14-15 percent 

was harvest and 24-27 percent was winterkill). The 

mab notes 

A wealth of expertise was represented at the meeting in KnoxwIle, TN August f-3 on biosphere reserves 

and global change. MAB expects to become deeply 

involved in this glganbc issue. (See article, p. 14). 

The enthusiasm in California for the biosphere 

reserve concept has reached an encouragingly high 

political level. At the dedication of the Central California Coast BR (CCCBR) on August 12, U.S. Sen. 

Pete Wilson and former State legislators Pete Behrand 

W. Bill Lane, as well as Assistant Secretary of the 

Smithsonian Tom Lovejoy and other distinguished offi. 

cials, welcomed into the biosphere reserve family 

Golden Gate NRA, Point Reyes NS, Farallon Islands 

NWR. Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, the Marin Municipal Water District, the San Fran. 

cisco Watershed, and Mount Tamalpais, Tomales, and 

Samuel P Taylor state parks. Laurie Wayburn of the 

Point Reyes Bird Observatory will have an exciting and 

challenging time as CCCBR Coordinator in guiding the 

component parts toward cooperative activities that will 

benefit the region. 

How to institutionalize this cooperation will be suggested in a feasibilily study funded this year by the 

U.S. MAB National Committee. The committee also 

funded feasibility studies for the Lake Champlain 

Basin-Adirondack BR and for proposed BRs in the 

Ozark Highlands and Gulf of Maine region. 

Regional cooperation was also the subject of a pub 

lit MAB seminar held August 8-10 in Glacier NP, in 

conjunction with Waterton Lakes NP and the Coram 

Experimental Forest - all biosphere reserves. 

Speakers from the NPS, Forest Service, Blackfeet 

Tribe, British Columbia Parks, and public and private 

Montana groups presented the MAB program, discussed land management objectives in the northern 

opportunity now exists to document the ungulate 

recovery from the winterkill and response to large 

scale bums of both winter and summer ranges. Currently, one group of biologists is predicting fire-related 

enhancement of elk carrying capacity due to greater 

nutrient content and greater forage production in 

burned areas. Another group of scientists is predicting 

only moderately enhanced carrying capacity and only 

mmor or no increase in elk numbers as a result of the 

fires. This group maintains that fire-related enhance. 

ment of forage quality is often minor (only a few per. 

centage points) and the effects may be short-lived, 

lasting perhaps only l-3 years. Additionally, elk are so 

efficient at selecting a consistently high level of 

nutritious forages, especially on summer ranges, that 

even though fires enhance forages, the net benefit to 

elk is relatively minor. The fires of1988 have provided a 

unique opportunity to investigate these confllctlng 

hypotheses on a large scale. 

Abstracts from the First and Second Annual Meetings of.Research and Monitoring on Yellowstone’s 

Northern Range (January 28-29. 1988 and March 

22-23, 1989) are available from J. Varley, Chief of 

Research, Box 168, Yellowstone NP, WY 82190. Also 

available from the same address is a Summary of 

Significant Findings dated July 15,1989, and copies of 

final reports on the winter rangeexclosure studies (soil, 

grasslands) and the pond sediment studies. 

Singer is a Research Biologist at Yebwstone NP 

19 

RockyMountains,andexploredopportunitiesforcooperative achievement of those objectives. The Southern 

Appalachian MAB Cooperative (SAMAB) was considered as a possible model. 

Meanwhtle, SAMAB, the first U.S. MAB cooperative, 

gears up for action. Hubert Hinote, a resource economistforZZyearsattheTenness.eeValleyAuthority, has 

been hired half-time as executive director, and he has 

prepared a work plan and budget for FY 1989 and FY 

1990. Great Smoky Mountains NP IS providing office 

space and secretarial help for the SAMAB Coordmating Office. A nonprofit foundation is being established 

and, if things go as planned, WIII fund SAMAB projects 

beginning in FY 1991. Until then, all fundlng will come 

from member agencies. 

Cooperative MAE activities with the Soviet 

Union continue, with a general goal of developing 

methods for compaong environmentallecological conditlons in the two countries and for other research and 

education of mutual interest. Ray Herrmann of the 

WAS0 Water Resources Division and Dave Graber 

from Sequoia-Kings Canyon NPs were part of a U.S. 

group that met with Soviet scientists May 26June 1 in 

Idaho and Wyomtng. The objectives were to exchange 

chemical standards, to exchange air samples for 

equipment calibration, and to agree to a methodological approach for field work to be cooperatively conducted in the U.S.S.R.‘s Okskiy State Reserve in 

August and September. The discuwons also touched 

on cooperative work planned for 1990 in Alaska’s 

Noatak BR, where the emphasis is expected to be on 

monitoring related to global warming effects. Herrmann and Graber also participated in the Okskiy 

Reservetrip, Aug. 15.Sept. 15, where methods for evaluating biodiversity were discussed and tested. 

In July the US MAB National Committee allocated a 

total of 5414.000 10 11 research and education projects. The emphasis in this year’s grants was decldedlyinternational:lOofthe projectsdealtwith resource 

issues in other countries. Subjects ranged from agriculture in the central Andes, grazing in western Tibet. 

and restoration of pine forests in subtropical China to 

training, conservation, and management of tropical 

biosphere reserves, circumpolar study of global 

change, and global environmental education initlatives. The annual call for proposals for next year went 

out in August. Bill Gregg, NPS MAB Coordinator, says 

better proposals are needed from U.S. biosphere 

reserves. This year’s were not competitive. 

Michael Ruggiero, Chief of the WAS0 Wildlife and 

Vegetation Division, represented the U.S. MAB Committee at the Second European Conference of MAE 

National Committees at Trebon, Czechoslovakia May 

22-27. Representatives of 20 countries attended, 

including 10 Eastern bloc countries. Workshops were 

conducted on biosphere reserves, ecotones, forest 

ecosystems, and landscape change. Roundtable discessions focused on urban ecosystems and environmental education. Mike repotis that there was a real 

spirit of cooperation between East and West. The 

enwonment now has become the major issue in 

Europe and ways are being sought to harmonize 

efforts among countries. The attendees were particularly interested in U.S. programs relating to geographic 

information systems and long-term monitoring. 

Napier Shelton 

NPS Washington Office 
Virginia NPS Sites Surveyed 

For Rarest Plants, Animals 

Ini966,theMid-AtlanticRegionentered intoamajor 

Cooperative Agreement with the Virginia Natural 

Heritage Program to survey portions of the Commonwealth of Virgrnia conlaining Mid-Atlantic Region NPS 

lands to ascertain the presence and current status of 

rareorendangeredplant and animatspeciesaswelfas 

significant and exemplary natural communities. These 

lands include Shenandoah NP, occupying the Northern Blue Ridge in Virginia; George Washington Brrthplaceand BookerT Washington National Monuments; 

Colonial and Appomattox Courthouse National 

Historic Parks; and Petersburg, Richmond, and 

FredericksburgiSpotsylvania National Battlefield 

Parks. 

The inventory will aid the NPS in decisions concerning land use, maintenance activities, public access, 

citing of recreational facilities, and management of 

areas containing rare elements of natural diversity. All 

information gathered in this study will be supplied to 

the NPS and also incorporated in the Natural Heritage 

Program Biological and Conservation Data System. 

Established in 1966 with the Virginia Department of 

Conservation and Historic Resources, the program is 

responsible for collectrng data regarding the state’s 

rarest plants, ammals. natural communtties and other 

special features as a permanent, dynamic library contanning the rare elements of natural diversity, continually updated and maintained by the Natural 

Heritage Program. 

Since many rare and endangered species in Virginia 

are located in private lands and are subject to intense 

development pressures and extensive habitat destruction, the preservation of rare species must be considered as a primary criteria rn the development of future 

NP management plans. Rare species and significant 

natural communities documented in reports from past 

studies performed within the park land boundaries are 

usually presented in a general geographic area with 

few sate specific locations noted. As plans for these 

NPS lands are formalrzed and carried out, site speclflc 

locations for rare species WIII be an asset. 

Theraritystatusofspeciesfound in theinventory will 

be determrned. Records of each rare specres’ dlstrrbution rn Virginia will be reviewed by the Natural Heritage 

Program; moreover, the slatus of each specres on a 

global scale, utilizing the National Natural Heritage 

Network will be determined. A rarity hierarchy formulated from thus combined information will be tnvaluable 

in determinlng whrch species and natural communities 

should receive immedrate attention and which are 

potentially less vulnerable. 

The information gathered in the inventory will be 

valuable to the Vlrginla Department of Conservation 

and Historic Resources and the NPS in their respective 

missions of preservrng natural biological diversity in 

the Commonwealth and will promote a continurng partnershio in sharrng and updating information in the 

future. 

The major objectives of the rnventory are to: 

1. Identify records, occurrences and status of plant 

and animal species and vegetative communrbes 

within, adjacent to, or potentially occurring !n Virginia 

NPS sites of the Mid-Atlantic Region, listed as rare, 

threatened or endangered by state and federal agencies; 

2. Field survey and verify locations or recorded 

occurrences; 

3. Field survey potential habitat locations for new 

occurrencesofrarespeciesorcommunitieslikelyto be 

present; 

4. Document existing conditions of element occurrences and recommend management requirements; 

and 

5. Record and map all historical, previously 

recorded and extant rare species and community tocations according to standard Heritage Program 

methods and procedures. 

In cooperation with the Mid-Atlantic Region and individual parks, up-to-date boundaries of authorized and 

federally owned lands for the parks of interest have 

beenobtainedandtransferred tovirginia HeritageProgram USGS 7%’ topographic maps. Land ownership 

informaljon has been recorded in the Heritage managed area and element occurrence databases for any 

element occurrence located within these boundaries 

that had not been prevtously rdentlfied as on NPS 

lands. Appropriate herbaria and museums are being 

searched for existing records of occurrences of the 

rare species and communities of interest within or 

adjacent to the Virginia NPS areas. All collected information is being entered on relevant Heritage Program 

forms, databases and maps. A kterature review IS 

underway as well. 

Based on updated information on the rare plant, 

animal and community occurrences, and in cooperation with the NPS, a work plan of site and species 

prtorities for field survey in the 1990 and 1991 field 

seasons will be developed. Priorities wil include previously recorded occurrences and new sites that have 

a hrgh potential for containing species or communities 

of interest according to their habitat requirements. 

According to the approved work plan, extant sites or 

occurrences will be inventoried and mapped; information on site locatron, population numbers and condition, habitat and site requirements, degree of site 

endangerment and known or suspected threats, management recommendations and other items will be 

recorded on standard Heritage Program forms, maps 

and databases. 

Any rare species located during the field surveyswill 

be photographed and colored slides will be provided 

NOTICE 

To be placed on the Natural Resources CompuServe networh. call your Regronal Information Management Coordtnator (the ADP Division Chief). He/she 

will call Carl Zaner, NPS CompuServe System Manager, in the WAS0 Information Systems DInsion. If 

your IM Coordinator is unable to help you, you can call 

Abby Miller, NR Program Coordinator (FTS 343-46501 

commercral (202) 343.4650). She can then provide a 

list to Carl. You will need to know your CompuServe 

“address” (available in “NPS Baste Guide to 

CompuServellnfoPlex Electromc Mail”). If you do not 

have an address, your IM Coordrnator can also help 

you obtain one through Carl. 

20 

for use by the appropriate Park Resource Management and Interpretive Programs. Collection of plant 

material will be kept to a minimum and those specimens collected will be prepared and deposited according to NPS standards. 

John Karish, Mid-Atl. Rag. Chief Sci. 

Jeff Marion, Regional Research Sci. 

Three BRs Meet 

To Examine Roles 

Three Biosphere Reserves in the northern Rocky 

Mountains-Glacier NP and the Coram NF in the U.S., 

and Waterton Lakes NP in Canada - sponsored an 

August 1969 seminar entitled “Crown of the Continent 

into the 2ist Century: A Perspective Under the MAB 

Program:‘The seminar was held to introduce the Man 

and the Biosphere program to land managers, visitors, 

the general public, and employees of the three BR 

areas involved. Biologists, historians, and tourism and 

development representatives from Canada and the 

U.S. also attended. 

The first day focused on the MAB program and 

current land management trends in the region. Key 

note speaker Bjorn Dahl told how the MAB program 

works in the Southern Appalachians. Dahl emphasized that key players in the program need to include 

the states and public as well as federal agencies. Notrng that the northern Rocky Mountains has not experienced the serious human pressures the Southern 

Appalachians has, Dahl expressed his opinion that the 

‘Crown of the Continent’ could be an exemplary MAB 

area. With the vast relatively undisturbed resources 

thereisanopportunityforresearch, education, conservation, and sustainable use. 

Thesecond dayemphasiswasondevelopingunderstandrngofthecultural and biological hrstoryanddlversity of the area. Curly Bear Wagner, a member of the 

Blackfeet Tribe, discussed Blackfeet history and culture, and the Indians’ philosophies regarding the land. 

There was also a presentation on man’s influence in 

Glacier NP Speakers highlighted the biology and management of wolves, grizzly bears, bald eagles, and 

peregrrnefalcons, fourthreatened or endangered species selected because then vast ranges expand 

beyond the northern Rocky Mountain region. Dick 

Hutto, a University of Montana professor, addressed 

biological diversity, ecosystem management, and concerns regarding single species management. 

Current trends in resource utilizatron was the focus 

of the final day: Trends, and current and future needs 

for development and tourrsm in the Flathead Valley. 

Acommonfhreadineachspeaker’stalkwasthatthe 

resources and their utilizatron must be managed coop 

erattvely in this region. The desire is to maintain biological diversity and Integrity in areas such as Glacier and 

Waterton Lakes NPsand the Bob Marshall Wilderness 

while we explore resource utilization in adjacent lands. 

These activities must be coordinated so lhat man and 

the natural resources can coexist in the Crow of the 

Continent. 

This seminar serves as the catalyst for future MAB 

discussions in this area. A meeting of the local land 

managers is tentatively scheduled for late October or 

Novembertodevelopstrategy forarousinginterest and 

support for the MAB program in this area. 

Laurie Kurth, Ecologist 

Rocky Mountain NP 
q 

Endangered Species Restoration 

At Gulf Islands Seashore 

Several projects underway at Gulf Islands National 

Seashore are aimed at restoring endangered species 

to portions of their former range. These include efforts 

to reestablish populations of bald eagles, brown pelicans, and beach mice I” the park, and cooper&on with 

the USFWS to propagate endangered red wolves, a 

species that has been extinct in the wild for several 

decades. 

A hacking program on Horn Island, a wilderness 

barrier island in Mississippi Sound, has resulted in 

release of 19 young eagles in the park over the past 

three years. If is anticipated that these birds will return 

to breed when they mature at five to six years of age. 

Two birdsalready have returned-asecond year bird in 

March 1966 and another immature bird in October 

1966. 

The project is part of a program aimed at restoring 

southern bald eagles across their former range in the 

Southeastern United States. Eggs collected from wild 

nests tn Florida are hatched and hand raised at the 

Sutton Avian Research Center in Oklahoma. At eight 

weeks of age young eagles are distributed to release 

sites around the Southeast. The program moved from 

a research to a management phase last winter under 

the direction of park research personnel. The first of a 

Series of large scale releases in the Southeast will take 

place this winter when 42 eagles will be loosed in 

coastal Mississippi. 

Beach Mice Get New Lease 

By 1966 the endangered Perdido Key beach mouse 

had been reduced to a population of fewer than 30 

animals at one location on Perdido Key, making it one 

of North America’s rarest mammals. A cooperative 

program involving NPS, the State of Florida, USFWS. 

and Auburn University was begun that year to 

reestablish the mice at Gulf Islands on portions of their 

former range. Thirty mice have been reintroduced to 

the Seashore over the past two years and a captive 

breeding program has begun. The mice appear to be 

thriving and a breeding population seemsto have been 

establishedovertheentire lmilesofthe park’s Perdido 

Key Unit. This marks one of the first successful 

reestablishment of an endangered mammal population. 

Brown Pelican populations have been increasing 

steadily along theGulf Coast after beingvirtuallywiped 

out by pesticides in the early 1960s. Populations in 

Alabama and Louisiana are expanding, and it is hoped 

that these endangered birds will return to coastal Mississippi. As part of an experimental project to attract 

pelicansto protected predator-free nesting areas in the 

Seashore, pelican decoys, nesting material, and nesting platforms have been provided for the birds on an 

isolated island in Mississippi Sound. No nesting has 

yet been observed, but up to 150 juvenile birds have 

used the island as a roost site. 

Red Wolf Program Underway 

The red wolf, a shy, solitary species of wolf that once 

ranged throughout the Southeast, has been extinct in 

the wild for almost 20 years. Last year the USFWS 

launched an exciting and Innovative program aimed at 

reestablishing the species on Alligator River National 

Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina. Unfortunately the 

only red wolves remaining have been in captivity all 

their lives, and it is feared that their survival rate in the 

wild may be low. One solution may lie in the propagation of wild wolves in a controlled but wild setting. The 

Seashore’s Horn Island, a wilderness area 10 miles off 

the Mississippi coast, is ideal for such a program. Horn 

Island, which lies at the heart of the wolf’s former 

range, contains ideal habitat for red wolves, and an 

excellent food source in the form of introduced rabbits 

and nutria, both of which are considered pests on the 

island. 

Apairof adult wolves was transported to Horn Island 

in January 1969 aa part of a five year research and 

propagation project. Research will document the biology of these poorly known animals and asaesa their 

effects on exotic and native prey populations. In addition, anyonspring produced will be removed once they 

are independent of their parents, and released into the 

wild at Alligator River. It is hoped that the survival 

instincts developed by these animals on Horn Island 

will ensure their SUCCESS in the wild. 

Ted Simons, Research Biologist 

Gulf Islands National Seashore 

Pacific NW Native Plants Meeting 

“Designing, Maintaining, and Restoring the Native 

Landscape” is the title of a conference held Sept. 

29.30,1969, at Portland (Oregon) Community College, 

sponsored by Cascadia Native Landscape Center, 

Woods, wetlands, and meadows - their ecology, 

design criteria, plant procurement and installation, and 

maintenance and management - comprised the 

agenda. 

Cascadia Cascadia Native Landscape Landscape Center aims at promot- promoting research research of Pacific Pacific Northwest Northwest native plants and 

plant communities communities and oreater oreater utilization utilization of PNW 

hatlve plants in the urban and suburban landscape. 

For information on thesessions-freshwaterwetlands, 

Douglas fir and Garry Oak woodlands, and Meadows, 

hedgerows and roadsides-contact Mark G. Wilson, 

980 SW. Broadway Dr., Portland, OR 97201; (503) 

222.0134. 

Natural Areas Conference Topics 

Conference topics for the 16th Annual Natural Areas 

Conference Oct. 17-20 in Knowille. Term., will range 

over the following areas: 

Managing exotic species in natural areas: characteristics, management, and restoration of old-growth 

temperate forest ecosystems; protection of riverine 

ecosystems as natural areas; global climate change 

and the implications for natural areas managers; the 

ethics of natural area preservation, and managing and 

protecting caves and cave faunas. 

meetings of interest 

1969 

Oct. 17-20,16TH ANNUAL NATURAL AREAS CONFERENCE and ELEVENTH ANNUAL 

MEETING OF THE NATURAL AREA ASSOCIATION, Hyatt Regency Knoxville, 

Knoxville, TN; hosted by Wildlife and Natural Heritage Resources and Tennessee 

Valley Authority. Contact: J. Ralph Jordan, 228 Natural Resources Bldg., TVA, Norris, 

TN 37828. 

1990 

March 29-24, FIRE AND THE ENVIRONMENT: ECOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES, an international symposium to be held in Knoxville, TN, multi-sponsored 

including NPS, U/TN, USFS, and the Society of American Foresters. Contact: Fire 

Ecology Symposium, Dept. of FWLF, U/TN. Knoxville, TN 47901-1071. (615) 

974-7984. 

May 16-19, THIRD SYMPOSIUM ON SOCIAL SCIENCE IN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, 

at Texas A&M University. Abstracts for papers and posters due Dec. 15,1989. Contact: 

James Gramann. Dept. of Recreation and Parks, Texas ABM, College Station, TX 

77843; (409) 8454920. 

May 23-29, CONGRESS ON MARINE TOURISM, a symposium and workshop on balancing 

conservation and economic development, sponsored by Sea Grant College Program, 

East-West Center, and the Pacific Basin Development Council. Contact: Dr. Jan 

Auyong, Marine Tourism Congress, Sea Grant Extension Service, U/HI at Manoa, 

Honolulu, HI 96822; (808) 948-8191. 

Resource Management Specialists to Meet 

Aworkshop for Regional Chiefs of Natural Resource System Plan, implementation of research results in 

Management has been scheduled for late October or 

early November in Denver, Cola. A call to the meeting 

resource management and decision-making, conserfrom NPS Associate Director Eugene Hester asked 

vation of biodiversity, management of endangered 

that eachofthelo NPSReglons berepresented by2or 

species and of over-abundant species in incomplete 

3 staflers who have primary responsibility for natural 

ecosystems, public information programs as ways to 

communicate critical resource Issues, funding to 

resource management. implement research results, wilderness and fire manSuggested topics include the NPCW National Park 

agement policies, and how consumptive uses in parks 

are affecting resources. 

21 
Counting Grizzly Bears in Northwest Alaska 

By Kathy Roney, Lee Anne Ayes 

and Warren Ballard 

Will a world-class lead/zinc mine being developed 

between Noatak National Preserve and Cape 

Krusenstern National Monument adversely affect their 

grizzly bear populations? That is the quesbon faced by 

the Northwest Alaska Areas and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. Grizzly bears in northwest 

Alaska are harvested by both sport and subsistence 

hunters. This, in addition to the impending develop 

mentalthe mine, called Red Dog, highlighted the need 

to obtain better populabon data on bears. 

Hlsiorically, managers in Alaska have relied primarily on gross analysis of harvest data and miscellaneous observations to assess bear population 

trends. However, the use of harvest statistics for 

monitoring population status is not well documented 

and appears to be imprecise and questionable. More 

importantly, the information collected cannot be reliably compared to later observations. 

The Northwest Alaska Areas incfudee three 

units of the National Park system; Noatak 

National Preserve (6,600,OOO acres), Cape 

Krusenstern NM (sSO,OC+ acres), and Kobuk 

Valley NP (1,750,OOO acres). 

with cubs. Our dataare being combined wth data from 

similar Alaskan studies. With larger sample sizes, we 

anticipate that statistically sigmficant differences 

among sax. age, and family groups can be properly 

tested. 

Mark and Recapture 

Our objectives were to obtain information on bear 

density, population structure, movements, and 

reproductive parameters by using a combination of 

conventional radio telemetry, satellite telemetry, and 

density estimates acquired with ‘“mark/recapture” 

techniques. 

The mark/recapture method of estimating wildlife 

numbers has been widely used for avariety of animals 

The basic technique is to capture, mark, and release a 

known number of animals within a population. Later, 

you recapture animalsfromthat population. In ourcase 

the marked animals, those with radio collars, were 

recaptured visually rather than physically. The proportion of the visually located animals which are marked 

as compared to the total number captured should 

correspond to the total marked animals as a proportion 

of the entire population. The full equation is: 

Number of captured animals Total number marked 

with are marked (m) animals in population (M) 

Number of animals caotured = Estimated total DoDulatiOn 

03 N 

In addition to the population estimate, confidence 

intervals (Cl) can be calculated. The Cls indicate the 

probability that the true population size falls within the 

bounds of the Interval. This estimate of “confidence” in 

a population estimate is important when, in the future, 

we attempt to determine whether a change has 

occurred in the population. 

Catching Grfzzfies 

The helicopter maneuvered into position and Warren Ballard, project leader, darted the temale grizzly 

bear with immobilizing drugs, tile&mine hydrochloride 

and zolazepam hydrochloride. The amount of drug 

delivered was based on a visual estimate of her weight. 

It took approximately 10 nxnutes for the bear to go 

down. 

Thecaptureteam’sworkhadjustbegun.Sow51 had 

two “cubs of the vear.” These cubs needed to be 

sedated to insure the family group remained together. 

The cubs were to be captured by hand. Whtle a spotting plane kept an eye on the cubs, the helicopter 

placed team members in strategic locations. Then the 

foot race began. The speed, strength, and endurance 

of 25 pound grizzly bear cubs is incredible. as 

exhausted team members will verify! 

Once both cubs were captured, they were transThe Red Dog Mine is currantty under construction on pwate land between the Noatak 

and Cape Krusenstern. Approximately onehalf of the 54 mile road which connects the 

mine to the coast runs through Cape Krusenstern. The mine site is located 7 &es from the 

western boundary of the Noatak National PreI 

serve. 

The mine is expected to begin operation in 

1990. orimadlv for lead and zinc. The oroiect I 

will i&de t&g ponds, a in& powe; PI&t, 

worker housing, a saltwater poft, water reserVOE the road, and several gravel bwrow sites. 

The project is expected to operate a minimum 

of 40 years and much longer if additional 

ported back to their mother. The radio collar Sow 51 

had been wearing for two years was now replaced, ear 

tags and tattoos checked, antibiotics administered, 

and physical measurements taken. She had been 

wearingaconventional radiocollar. Her new collar had 

both conventional and satellite transmitters. Six grlzzlies wth home ranges that include the Red Dog mine 

were fitted with the satellite collars. These collars 

transmit daily movement data and provide much more 

detailed lnformarion. 

Counting Griulies 

The census was done using several fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter. Each day the census area was 

thoroughly searched for “marked” bears. Marked 

bears werethose with functioning radio collars. Once a 

bear was spotted by a search plane, all active radio 

collar frequencies were scanned on a receiver. If no 

frequency was picked up from the bear, It was categorlzed as unmarked. Generally the helicopter was 

called in to place a radio collar on unmarked bears. In 

this way the number of bears within the population 

which were marked (M) increased each day. The 

census lasted 7 days. 

Sow 51 was one of 12 radio-collared grizzlies that 

had been captured and radio-collared in previous 

yearsandwasavailableasa marked bearatthe beginning of the census. By the last day of the census, there 

were 37 radio-collared bears in the area. 

Assumptions of the Mark/Recapture Technique 

Mark/recapture has a number of assumptions which 

must be met to be valid. The one most frequently 

violated is that of “population closure:’ We needed to 

determine how many of the collared bears remained in 

the census area and were available for recapture. This 

was done by deploying a radio-tracking plane, which 

searched for and located all collared bears each day. 

Each bear was identified as being in or out of the 

census area for that day. 

Another key assumption in mark/recapture estimates is that all individuals have an equal chance of 

being captured (sighted In our case). We are in the 

process of determining whether this assumption was 

met.Thereseemsta beareducedsightabilityforsows 

22 

Results 

The intensive capture efforts allowed us to estimate 

the current sex and aqe structure of the bear populationin thestudyarea. \iearlingsandcubscomprised31 

percent of the population. Ratio ot adult (greater than 

five years of age) males to females was 611100. 

Twoadditional groupsof populationsestimateswere 

developed: (1) numbers of adult bears greater than 

three years of age and (2) total numbers of bears 

Warren Ballard and Kate Roney marking, colfanng, 

and collecting data on a grizz/y bear 5/27/8Q. (Photo 

by Ayres). 

Here’s how you weigh a beai (Photo by Ayres). 
Radio collars and a drugged grizzly bear. A convenliooal radro collar IS on the right. A collar with both 

conventional and sa!ell~le fransmiffers IS on the left. 

including young. The most statistically valid esttmale 

was the former because if violated fewer crucial 

assumptions (primarily the assumption that all captures are independent of one another). 

The adult population estimate within the census 

area was 28 bears (95% Cl of 24 - 39) and the total 

population estimate was 37 bears (95% Cl 0131 - 46). 

The population estimate did not change greatly as the 

survey progressed (Figure 1). What did change was the 

size of the Cls; they narrowed as the survey pro. 

gressed. Population estimates and associated Cls IeYeled OH by day 6. We surveyed one additional day to 

confirm that result and terminated the census after day 

7. The primary benefit to marking additional bears 

during the census was to decrease the Cls. 

Our reported total density estimate was 1 adult bear 

per 25 square miles. This falls near the midpoint of 

published density estimates for arctic study areas in 

North America. 

The grizzly bear in northwest Alaska is near the 

limits of its range. Its reproductive rate is low. Bear 51 

bred for the first time at 4 years of age. She probably 

will live lor 15 to 20 years and produce a liner every 3 

years. 

Because of their low reproductive rate, management 

of grizzly bears needs to be very conservative. Historically, populations of grizzlies have responded slowly, 

or not at all, following a reduction in numbers due IO 

some impact or habitat loss. Typically, by the time a 

change in status of a bear population is identified, 

needed remedial actions are severe and often futile. 

The Future 

The status and health of the norfhwesl Alaska bear 

population will be assessed at a later date by repeating 

the study using identical methods. The advantage of 

the mark/recapture technique over more common 

23 

8th International 

Bear Conference 

“Future for Bears” was the theme of the 8th International Conference on Bear Research and Management, sponsored by the InternatIonal Association for 

Bear Research and Management (IBA) and held m 

Victoria, B.C., Feb. 20.25,1989. Over 200 people from 

10 countries attended. The fact that II was held outside 

the U.S. made it dtfficult for NPS personnel to attend. 

Of the 76 papers, evening workshops, and poster 

sessions, much of the focus was on the black and 

brown bears of North America. Research covered in 

the accompanying article “Counting Grizzly Bears in 

Northwest Alaska” was presented at the conference. 

One paper briefly covered all species of bears. Chris 

Servheen of USFWS presented The Status and Conservation of the Bears of the World. North American 

problems in bear conservation seemed small compared to thoseof the rest of the world. Oftheeight bear 

species worldwide, only the black bear and polar bear 

are stable in most areas. For several species (the 

Asiatic blackbear, sloth bear, sun bear, and spectacled 

bear) species biology and even basic distributional 

data are lacking. Servheen noted that these species 

(as well as the giant panda and the brown bear outside 

of North America) will require international cooperation 

to surwe. 

The IBA has been selected by the International 

Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to be the 

parent organization for the “Bear Specialist” group for 

non-polar bears of the world. An appeal was made for 

bear researchers lo share information and to contribute to research on bears at the international level. 

Conferences of the IBA are held every three years; 

the next will be held m Montana in 1992. The proceedings for the 8th Conference should be available within 

one to two years. Proceedings of past conferences are 

available from: Michael R. Pelton, Department of For. 

estry, Wildlife 8 Fisheries, U/Term.. Knoxville, TN 

37901. 

Conference # Date cost 

1st 1968 $5.00 

2nd 1970 Out of orint 

3rd 1974 Out of brint 

4th 1977 $5.00 iBaroainl 

5th 1980 $28.06 *~ ’ 

6th 1983 $30 ($28 for members) 

7th 1986 $35 ($32 for members) 

Individuals interested in IBA membership should 

send acheckfor $7.0010 Dr. Sterling Miller, Sec..Tres., 

c/o Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, 333 Raspberry 

Road, Anchorage, AK 99518-1599. Members receive a 

quarterly newsletter, Bear News. Checks for membership or past proceedings should be made payable to 

“IBA.” 

methods is that the population estimates have known 

precision and can be statistically compared to later 

estimates. The causes of any changes are more diHicult to decipher. The movement, productivity, and harvest data should help us understand reasons for 

changes. 

Alaska contains approximately 65 percent of the 

North American population of grizzly bears. However, 

we cannot take for granted the current healthy populations of bears here. The precarious situation for grizzles in the remainder of the United States, highlights 

the fact that bear populations can be greatly reduced 

by habitat loss and other human impacts. A well1Concluded on back cover)