Inventories
Great Sand Dunes National Park- Cutthroat Trout
Preserving the unimpaired splendor of the national parks for the enjoyment of future generations is the fundamental purpose of the National Park Service. The safekeeping of the awe-inspiring natural wonders in our national parks requires the identification of their key components, including living things, natural processes, and landscape features. Natural resource inventories allow managers to account for park resources, such as the presence and distribution of plants, animals, and nonliving resources such as water, landforms, and climate in the parks. This type of baseline information is needed to make scientifically sound management decisions that ensure the future health of the parks.
Inventory efforts are being closely coordinated to ensure that they satisfy the following important criteria.
- Inventories produce the “core” or baseline information that park managers need to effectively manage and protect park resources.
- Inventories are being conducted in accordance with specified protocols and quality assurance standards.
- Data obtained through the inventories are compatible, allowing for synthesis and analysis at broader levels.
Through the inventory process the National Park Service will begin to realize its potential as a major force in fundamental research on biological diversity, ecology, and conservation. (NPS, Protecting and Restoring, I&M, Resource Inventories Site, 1/9/2008)
Basic Natural Resource Inventories and Tools
- Natural Resource Bibliographies
NatureBib is one of the 12 Natural Resource Challenge related inventories (bibliography) and complies with the Government Performance and Results Act (GRPA) goals. The site is designed to facilitate communication among researchers and make natural resource information more readily available and easy to locate. (NPS I&M NatureBib Web Site, 8/25/2008) - Base Cartography Data
The Base Cartography Inventory is tasked with acquiring, processing, and distributing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data layers that are needed for most GIS mapping and analysis projects. The NPS Natural Resource GIS Team maintains this. (NPS I&M Base Cartography, Site 1/9/2008) - Air Quality Data
WASO Air Resources Division has accumulated an Air Quality Inventory. The inventories for ROMN parks are available at the National Park Service "Explore Air" site. (NPS I&M Air Quality Site, 8/25/2008) - Air Quality Related Values
Air Atlas is a Geographic Information System (GIS) that looks at spatially interpolated air pollutant data from the major national monitoring networks in which the National Park Service participates. Information is available via the National Park Service "Explore Air, Air Atlas". (NPS Air Quality Related Values Site,8/25/2008) - Climate Inventory
The primary objective of the first climate inventory was to compile baseline climate data useful to NPS biologists, hydrologists and resource managers. The inventory integrated data from more than 6,000 precipitation stations and 4,000 temperature stations across the conterminous United States to develop maps with relevant climate variables. (NPS I&M Climate Inventory Site, 1/9/2008) - Geologic Resources Inventory
The NPS Geologic Resources Evaluation (GRE) Program is a cooperative endeavor to implement a systematic, comprehensive inventory of the geologic resources in NPS units.(NPS I&M Geologic Resources Evaluation Program Site, 1/9/2008) - Soil Resources Inventory
Soil properties influence natural and cultural resources and the physical infrastructure in parks. Soil surveys provide an orderly, on-the-ground, scientific inventory of soil resources. The information is in sufficient detail for application by park managers, planners, engineers, and scientists to specific areas of concern. (NPS I&M Soil Resources Inventory Information Site, 1/9/2008) - Water Body Location and Classification
According to NPS-75, two elements constitute a water resources inventory: a) The locations (with additional classification from that included in digital cartographic information) of streams, lakes, wetlands, and groundwater (hot springs, cold springs). and b) Water quality use classification. (NPS I&M Water Resource Inventories Site, 1/9/2008) - Baseline Water Quality Data
According to NPS-75 parks should have physical, chemical, and/or biological data for key park water bodies based on size, uniqueness, representativeness, and possible threats. Primary characteristics/parameters for which data are needed for key park water bodies include: alkalinity, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, rapid bioassessment baseline (EPA/state protocols, involving fish and macroinvertebrates), temperature, and flow. (NPS I&M Water Quality Inventories Site, 1/9/2008) - Vegetation Inventory
The National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Program objective is to produce consistent vegetation maps for approximately 270 park units. These maps and associated products must meet the following standards: use the hierarchical National Vegetation Classification (NVC) Standard; use a minimum mapping unit of 0.5 ha; use the UTM projection in NAD83 and GRS80 datum; and meet a thematic accuracy of 80%. (NPS I&M Vegetation Mapping Site, 1/9/2008) - Species Lists
Documented species lists of vertebrates and vascular plants are one of twelve basic resource inventories the National Park Service is conducting under the Natural Resource Challenge program. The goal is to help parks with significant natural resources document such things as soils, vegetation, biological diversity, geologic resources, and water quality. (NPS I&M Documented Species Lists Site, 8/25/2008) - Species Occurence and Distribution The primary products resulting from these inventories will be reports and associated data sets. Additional field investigations will be conducted as funding becomes available to provide baseline data on the occurrence, distribution, and abundance of species that parks determine to be of highest priority for management and conservation.(NPS I&M Species Occurrence Site, 8/25/2008)