Natural Resource Inventory Program

Southwest Alaska is a place where climate, volcanic eruptions, tectonic forces, and glacial processes combine to create a showplace of geologic features and landscape processes. It is also a place where coastal rainforest, boreal forest, and treeless tundra meet to create a great diversity of plants of animals. While we know SWAN parks possess a vast and varied assemblage of physical biological resources, there is still much we don't know in terms of their identity, number, and location.

During the past several years, SWAN conducted biological inventories of vascular plants, small mammals, freshwater fish, and landbirds. Many surprises have been uncovered along the way, from discovering hundreds of new species of plants, to documenting major range extensions for birds and mammals. These baseline inventories have delivered important information to managers and scientists concerning the diversity of life in Southwest Alaska’s national parks.