NPS: Nature & Science » Networks: Upper Columbia Basin Network

Inventory Projects in the UCBN

An important function of the National Park System is that of protecting and maintaining the level of biological diversity found within parks. To protect and maintain that biological diversity, park managers must have an assessment of what species of biota occur within the park and the location of those species requiring special management consideration. In order for park managers to be able to manage for biological diversity in the parks, information on the occurrence and, where needed, the distribution and abundance of those species and habitats must be gathered, managed, and retrieved in a simple, standardized format that facilitates park management and resource protection. Species information is needed for protection of species having specialized legislative status and for use in interpretation programs and habitat management studies. In addition, species information is needed for park and servicewide applications such as planning and reporting activities and response to Congressional and public inquiries. The Inventory and Monitoring Program has provided parks with funding and technical assistance to undertake inventory efforts that focus on providing managers with that basic information.

Biological Inventory Highlights

Pika surveys were completed at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in June and again in September, 2008, providing a 2nd season of data for the northern portion of the monument and new data from previously unsampled regions of the Monument and Preserve. Preliminary analysis suggests that pika are restricted to the northern portion of the Monument and are highly selective of particular kinds of lava flow environments. These data will be combined with forthcoming park vegetation maps to predict pika distribution throughout the park. Fecal pellets were collected from several different localities and, budget permitting, genetic analysis will be completed to describe genetic variability within the Craters of the Moon pika population(s) which will contribute to an analysis of the viability of pika population(s) within the Monument.
The NPS vegetation mapping program funded the Upper Columbia Basin Network to collect vegetation plot data at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and accuracy assessment data for Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve and Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument for development of vegetation maps. The Network contracted with Northwest Management, Inc. to complete vegetation maps for Network parks.
A rare plant inventory for Spalding’s Catchfly (Silene spaldingii) was conducted at Old Chief Joseph’s Gravesite in Oregon, a unit of Nez Perce National Historical Park. Students from the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps assisted in the project. The distribution and abundance of the species was mapped. The plant is listed as endangered by the State of Oregon; as threatened by the Washington Natural Heritage Program; and is considered to be rare and imperiled by Natural Heritage Programs and Conservation Data Centers in all states and provinces where the species occurs.
The UCBN collected fairy shrimp specimens from several vernal pools at City of Rocks National Reserve. A sample of several individuals was identified as Branchinecta constricta, a species previously undocumented west of the continental divide. The shrimp were collected from pools perched on rock pillars 9-10 m above the ground. Identification of this species at City of Rocks National Reserve represents a significant range extension.

Pinyon mouse Lemhipenstemon

Status of Inventories and related data products

The following tables document the status of inventories. For Park and Network inventories, available electronic versions (pdf) of reports are linked in the tables below, as are certified species lists (.csv format, suitable for MS Excel) from the NPSpecies database. (NOTE -- species lists based on each Park's local taxanomic classification are available in PDF format on the Data Management page.) For service-wide inventory projects, the website links in the table below provide additional information and data products.

Park and Network Inventories

Fauna Inventories
	BIHO	CIRO	CRMO	HAFO	JODA	LARO	MIIN	NEPE	WHMI
Mammals	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List		Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List
Birds	Complete Spp_List	Checklist Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List		Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List
Amphibs	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List		Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List
Reptiles	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List		Complete Spp_List	Complete Spp_List
Fish	Spp_List	Spp_List	No_Spp_List	Spp_List	Spp_List	Spp_List	-	Spp_List	Spp_List
Inverte-brates					Butterflies Spp_List

Flora Inventories
	BIHO	CIRO	CRMO	HAFO	JODA	LARO	MIIN	NEPE	WHMI
Vegetation Mapping	Network-wide mapping project (click here to go to UCBN veg mapping page)
Vascular Plants	Spp_List	Spp_List	Spp_List	Spp_List	Spp_List	Spp_List		Spp_List	Spp_List
Rare Plants	In Progress	-	-	-	Complete	-	-	Complete	-
Invasive Plants		Complete			Complete	Complete

Other Inventories
	BIHO	CIRO	CRMO	HAFO	JODA	LARO	MIIN	NEPE	WHMI
Ozone Risk	Network-wide Risk Assessment
Landcover Map (15m ASTER)	Complete	Complete	-	-	-	Complete	-	-	Complete
Paleo Resource	Network-wide Paleontological Resource Inventory
Cultural Landscapes	In Progress	-	-	-	-	-	-	Heart of the Monster	-

Service-wide NPS Inventories

(Click on an Inventory Title for a website link with more information on that inventory and available data products, or click on a Park Name for a website link with more information on inventories within that Park and available data products.)

Service-wide Inventories
	BIHO	CIRO	CRMO	HAFO	JODA	LARO	MIIN	NEPE	WHMI
Natural Resource Bibliography	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	-	Complete	Complete
Base Cartography Data	Complete	Complete	In Progress	In Progress	In Progress	In Progress	-	In Progress	In Progress
Air Quality Data	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	-	Complete	Complete
Air Quality Related Values	Planned	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	-	Complete	Complete
Climate Inventory	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	-	Complete	Complete
Geologic Resources Inventory	In Progress	In Progress	In Progress	In Progress	In Progress	In Progress	-	In Progress	In Progress
Soil Resources Inventory	Complete	In Progress	Complete	Complete	In Progress	Complete	-	In Progress	Complete
Water Body Location and Classification	In Progress	In Progress	In Progress	In Progress	In Progress	In Progress	-	In Progress	In Progress
Baseline Water Quality Data	In Progress	In Progress	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	-	In Progress	Complete
Vegetation Inventory	Planned	Planned	In Progress	In Progress	In Progress	In Progress	-	Planned	Planned
Species Lists	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	-	Complete	Complete
Species Occurrence and Distribution	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	Complete	-	Complete	Complete

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