The Inventory component of the Heartland Network Inventory and Monitoring Program evolved from the Heartland Network Inventory Strategy.  This strategy was a plan of action and justification for completing inventories of vascular plants and vertebrate animals and provided the framework for the Inventory Study Plan. The Inventory Study Plan identified key park inventory needs, objectives, costs and timelines and was the guidance for the Heartland Network inventories.

As a result of this strategy, the Network has administered 41 inventory projects (comprising 59 individual taxa inventories) through a variety of cooperators.  Inventories include: twelve herpetofauna, nine bat, eight exotic plant, eight fish, seven bird, seven vascular plant, six mammal, and two deer, conducted by university, state and federal agency, and non-governmental personnel. A list of cooperators can be found at the Inventory Cooperators tab. Each project resulted with a final report and database effectively archived in the National Park Services’ online databases.  Additionally, inventory collections have produced over 5,000 vouchers that are located in various parks, universities, and museums.

A priority of the Inventory and Monitoring effort is to make information more useable for management, research, and education and integrating natural resource information with park operations.  As reports and data are finalized, they are documented and posted to the National Park Service master online databases.  Results of the inventory projects include several reports, databases, and voucher data.  Final reports can be accessed via NatureBib, the master database for natural resource bibliographic references, and species data via NPSpecies, the master database to store, manage and disseminate information on species and subspecific organisms documented in NPS units.  Currently, all non-sensitive items (documents, maps, and data sets) are accessible at the Inventory Products tab and the NPSpecies Biodiversity Data Store. Sensitive items are accessible at the Heartland Network Intranet site and the I&M Applications and Databases site. A login and password are required to access the Applications and Databases site whereas access to the Heartland Network Intranet is via NPS computer.

The basic goal of the NPS biological inventory program is to provide park managers with comprehensive, scientifically-based information about the nature and status of selected biological resources occurring within park boundaries in a form that increases its accessibility and utility for making management decisions, scientific research, and educating the public.  The inventories will also lay the groundwork necessary for park managers to develop effective monitoring programs and to formulate effective management strategies for resource management and protection.  To attain these basic goals, biological inventories were designed to meet three basic objectives:

1. Establish a baseline inventory by documenting the occurrence of at least 90% of the expected vertebrate and vascular plant species.

2. Describe the distribution and relative abundance of species of special concern, such as threatened and endangered species, exotics, and other species of special management interest.

3. Provide the baseline information needed to develop a general monitoring strategy and design that can be implemented by parks.

   
   

The Network has cooperated closely with several principal investigators both within and outside the National Park Service to complete the inventory component of the program. Such interaction has minimized conflicts with deliverable dates, allowed the Network to assist investigators with technical difficulties, and has resulted with timely and efficient project completion. Inventory project cooperators, their contact information, and projects are listed below. For specific details regarding project methods, objectives, and results see the Finished Inventory Products tab for a list of final reports and data.

The primary results of inventory projects were reports and data (species lists, attribute data, spatial data).  Reports follow a standard NPS template (introduction, methods, results, etc.) and meet the three basic objectives of the biological inventories program by documenting vertebrate or vascular plant species, describing species of concern distribution and relative abundance, and providing a baseline to develop general monitoring strategies and designs that can be implemented by parks.  Data follow servicewide I&M data structures and templates and are standardized with location and observation data.  This allows users to modify and build the database to enter, edit, display, summarize, and generate reports. Non-sensitive final reports and data can be accessed below.