About Us

The Northeast Temperate Network (NETN) contains 11 parks with diverse cultural and natural resources in eight states (ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, NY, NJ, and PA) and 2 ecological divisions. Parks in the Network range from Acadia NP in coastal Maine to Morristown NHP in central New Jersey, an area where 61 ecological systems have been identified. NETN parks range in size from about 9 acres at Saugus Iron Works to roughly 85,000 acres covered by the Appalachian Trail (NPS lands from ME-MD), include the beginning and end of the Revolutionary War (Minute Man NHP and Saratoga NHP respectively), and a strategic military location for General George Washington (Morristown NHP). Two National Historic Sites commemorate the lives of artists (Saint-Gaudens NHP and Weir Farm NHS), and Roosevelt-Vanderbilt NHS celebrates the lives of the “Gilded Age”. Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP and Boston Harbor Islands NPA are both new to the NPS and unique in their establishment and mandates. Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP is the only national park to focus on conservation history and the evolving nature of land stewardship. Boston Harbor Islands, established in 1996, are a culturally and naturally diverse set of 34 drowned drumlins in the Massachusetts Bay managed by a 13 member partnership. Saugus Iron Works marks the site of the first integrated iron works in North America which gave rise to the industrial revolution and is known as the forerunner of America’s industrial giants. Acadia NP is the only National Park in the NETN and host a diverse array of cultural, natural, and geologic resources. The Appalachian Trail, crosses some of the most diverse ecological communities in the Northeast, is managed by a unique partnership with the NPS and the Appalachian Trail Conference, and provides an exciting opportunity for ecological monitoring across 2,100 miles of habitat representative of the entire east coast of the US.

All the parks in the NETN are located within the temperate deciduous forest biome. Temperate deciduous forests are located in the mid-latitude areas between the Polar Regions and the tropics. Deciduous forest regions are exposed to warm and cold air masses, which cause this area to have four distinct seasons. Temperature varies widely from season to season with cold winters and hot, wet summers. The average yearly temperature is about 10° (C). The areas in which deciduous forests are located get about 750 to 1,500 (mm) of precipitation spread fairly evenly throughout the year. The temperate deciduous forest biome in North America occupies most of the eastern part of the United States and a small strip of southern Ontario. Dominant trees are broadleaf trees such as oak, maple, beech, hickory and chestnut.

Diverse arrays of ecological communities occur in the NETN parks. Tidal wetland and other coastal ecological communities occur only at Acadia and Boston Harbor Islands, many of which are considered management priorities and are potentially stressed by global climate change and visitor impacts. Freshwater wetlands and vernal pools were identified as management priorities for 9 of the 11 parks on which they occur. Deciduous, mixed, and hemlock forests were also listed as high management priorities by park staff and all parks have some type of forest ecosystem within park boundaries.