Inventory and Monitoring Program:

2006 Peregrine Falcon monitoring,
Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

The Central Alaska Network (CAKN) is one of 32 National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Networks. Each network exists as part of a national effort to better understand and manage park lands using science-based information. Networks consist of neighboring park units that share similar natural resources. Other Alaska networks include: Arctic Network, Southwest Alaska Network, and Southeast Alaska Network.

The Central Alaska Network is made up of 3 parks: Denali National Park and Preserve (DENA), Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (WRST), and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve (YUCH). Together, these 3 parks contain over 21.7 million acres and makeup 25% of all the land in the National Park Service. They represent a great diversity of climate and landform, from temperate coastal rainforests to glaciated mountain ranges. What they share in common are their largely wild and unaltered landscapes. Learn more about the Central Alaska Network (CAKN)...

In order to track the condition of our parks, Central Alaska Network scientists have chosen 34 key indicators, or "Vital Signs," to represent the overall health of the network. Each Vital Sign falls into one of 4 categories: physical environment, plant life, animal life, or human use.