Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network

Inventory and Monitoring Program

Fire Island NS seagrass monitoring data included in draft NY State Seagrass Task Force report. Public comment period through Nov 25. Click here for more info...

The National Park Service's overall mission is "to conserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment of this and future generations." To accomplish this mission, NPS has received several Congressional mandates to inventory and monitor the natural resources entrusted to it.

The Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network, created by charter in 1999, is one of 32 Inventory and Monitoring Program networks throughout the country charged with developing inventory and monitoring plans for our national parks. These networks were established as an outgrowth of the National Park Service's Natural Resource Challenge. The NCBN encompasses 8 coastal park units from Virginia to Massachusetts.

The NCBN shares with the other 32 networks the goals of:

• Inventorying the natural resources under National Park Service stewardship to determine their nature and status.
• Monitoring park ecosystems to better understand their dynamic nature and condition and to provide reference points for comparisons with other, altered environments.
• Establishing natural resource inventory and monitoring as a standard practice throughout the National Park system that transcends traditional program, activity, and funding boundaries.
• Integrating natural resource inventory and monitoring information into National Park Service planning, management, and decision making.
• Sharing National Park Service accomplishments and information with other natural resource organizations and form partnerships for attaining common goals and objectives.
  
  Skip to Content