Alaska Region
Inventory and Monitoring Program Download Program Brief
The Inventory and Monitoring Program (I&M), which began in the early 1990's, is built on the premise that understanding the condition of the natural resources is vital to accomplishing the NPS mission of protecting park resources unimpaired for future generations. The goal of the I&M program is to develop scientifically sound information on the current condition and long-term trends in park ecosystems and to determine how well current management practices are sustaining those ecosystems. This goal remains relevant today, particularly in the little studied remote areas that comprise Alaska's parks.
Alaska National Parks have been grouped into four I&M Networks:
- Arctic Network (ARCN), headquarters stationed in Fairbanks
- Central Alaska Network (CAKN), headquarters stationed in Fairbanks
- Southeast Alaska Network (SEAN), headquarters stationed in Juneau
- Southwest Alaska Network (SWAN), headquarters stationed in Anchorage
Inventory: Twelve baseline inventories provide a rich set of reference material on current conditions for park managers, scientists, and the public. Inventories include maps of vegetation (landcover), soils, and geology, databases documenting the vertebrate species and vascular plants that occur in parks, as well as information on air quality, climate, and aquatic resources. The 12 inventories are in various stages of completion for parks in Alaska. Several inventories are coordinated regionally to maximize efficient in the large, remote state of Alaska. Visit the Alaska Region (AKRO) Inventory Program page to learn more.
Monitoring: The four networks, organized by ecoregions, work under the oversight of park managers to monitor vital signs in Alaska's national parks. NPS uses the term "vital signs", borrowing from the medical professions, to mean a small set of information-rich attributes that are used to track the overall condition or health of park ecosystems.
Data Management is a foundation of the I&M program which transforms data into useable information through rigorous quality control and archiving procedures, and regular data analysis and reporting schedules.