Camas Lily
Parks where protocol will be implemented
Importance / Issues
- Camas lily is a key cultural resource as well as an important ecological component of herbaceous wetland communities. Camas lily was historically one of the most widely utilized plant foods of the Nez Perce people and remains so for many tribal members today.
- Ecologically, camas lily is strongly associated with seasonal wet prairie ecosystems of the interior Columbia Plateau, which are represented at Weippe Prairie and along the North Fork of the Big Hole River. These ecosystem types have experienced significant regional declines due to agricultural conversion, exotic plant invasion, and altered hydrology.
- Establishing a program to monitor the long-term trends in camas lily populations will provide important information to the parks for their adaptive management decisions and land health performance goals.
Monitoring Objectives
- Estimate mean established plant and flowering stem densities (status) in the camas populations of Weippe Prairie and within the targeted portion of the Big Hole National Battlefield.
- Determine trends (net trend, as reviewed by MacDonald 2003) in the densities of established camas populations in Weippe Prairie and BIHO.
- Determine trends in the proportion of flowering to non-flowering camas plants in Weippe Prairie and BIHO.
- Determine trends in the frequency of occurrence of targeted invasive plants (currently these are orange hawkweed Hieracium aurantiacum and sulphur cinquefoil Potentilla recta).
- Determine the magnitude and direction of camas density response to measurable explanatory variables such as winter precipitation, graminoid thatch depth, and specific management activities.
Measures
Established camas plant density, flowering stem density, proportion of flowering plants, and frequency of targeted invasive plants.
Management Applications
Information gathered from this monitoring will be used to:
- Indicate park ecological condition.
- Support park resource planning and land health reporting efforts.
- Provide feedback on the timing and intensity of park management and restoration activities.
- Inform integrated assessments of climate change impacts on park resources.
Protocol Development & Status
The monitoring protocol was completed October 2007. Field testing was accomplished through the Network’s citizen science Volunteers-in-the-Parks (VIP) Program in collaboration with the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Salmon Camp program. Local science students from three nearby high schools continue to assist with the monitoring at Weippe Prairie, and monitoring at BIHO is conducted by UCBN and Park staff assisted by members of the Student Conservation Corps.
Contact Information
Tom Rodhouse
Upper Columbia Basin Network Ecologist
National Park Service
2600 NW College Way - Ponderosa Bldg.
Bend, OR 97701
Email
Document Links
- Protocol and Standard Operating Procedures (link to Reports & Pubs page)
- Resource Brief (link to Reports & Pubs page)
- Protocol Development Summary
Data Links
Instructions for use of UCBN Google Earth KMZ project files.