Sierra Nevada Network

Inventory and Monitoring Program

... then it seemed to me that the Sierra should be called, not the Nevada or Snowy Range, but the Range of Light. And after ten years of wandering and wondering in the heart of it, rejoicing in its glorious floods of light, the white beams of the morning streaming through the passes, the noonday radiance on the crystal rocks, the flush of the alpenglow, and the irised spray of countless waterfalls, it still seems above all others the Range of Light.
John Muir, The Yosemite

The Inventory and Monitoring Program is part of an effort by the National Park Service to develop a stronger scientific basis for stewardship and management of natural resources throughout the National Park System. The knowledge gained from this effort will allow park managers to better protect these vital places to remain "unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

Our nation's national parks have been grouped into 32 Vital Signs Networks, based on shared geography and similar natural resources. The Sierra Nevada Network is comprised of 4 parks in California's Sierra Nevada: Devils Postpile National Monument and Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks.

Along with all 270 national parks participating in this inventory and monitoring effort, the Sierra Nevada Network has begun a long-term plan to:

• Complete a basic inventory of the natural resources of our parks.
• Create scientific strategies to monitor these natural resources.
• Apply scientific information gained from the Inventory and Monitoring program to National Park Service planning strategies.

We invite you to explore the Sierra Nevada Network web pages to learn more about exciting discoveries park researchers are making and how that knowledge is being applied to preserve our parks. >> learn more