Goals of the Pacific Island Network

The Pacific Island Network goals, identified below, are taken directly from the national, natural resource inventory & monitoring program, with the addition of a culturally connected goal for our monitoring program.

Goals: Program | Inventory | Monitoring

NPS inventory & monitoring program goals (from NPS-75 , pg 5):

1. Establish natural resource inventory and monitoring as a standard practice throughout the National Park system that transcends traditional program, activity, and funding boundaries.
2. Inventory the natural resources under National Park Service stewardship to determine their nature and status.
3. Monitor park ecosystems to better understand their dynamic nature and condition and to provide reference points for comparisons with other, altered environments.
4. Integrate natural resource inventory and monitoring information into National Park Service planning, management, and decision making.
5. Share National Park Service accomplishments and information with other natural resource organizations and form partnerships for attaining common goals and objectives.

Inventory Goals:

Additional goals may be established for each of the 12 basic inventories. Where appropriate, these are identified on the Inventory page.


• Compile and evaluate existing natural resource data for each park into NPS databases
• Document at least 90% of vertebrate and vascular plant species in the parks (including distribution and abundance data for species and species assemblages that are of special concern)
• Faciltate vegetation mapping for the network
• Facilitate the conduct and completion of additional high-priority natural resource inventories

Monitoring Goals:

1. Determine status and trends in selected indicators of the condition of park ecosystems to allow managers to make better-informed decisions and to work more effectively with other agencies and individuals for the benefit of park resources.
2. Provide early warning of abnormal conditions of selected resources to help develop effective mitigation measures and reduce costs of management.
3. Provide data to better understand the dynamic nature and condition of park ecosystems and to provide reference points for comparisons with other, altered environments.
4. Provide data to meet certain legal and Congressional mandates related to natural resource protection and visitor enjoyment.
5. Provide a means of measuring progress towards performance goals.
6. Provide data to better understand, protect, and manage important resources that share cultural and natural value.