GRYN Regulatory Water Quality Monitoring
National Park Service. GRYN Regulatory Water Quality Monitoring. 2017. National Park Service
Water resources are vital to the health of all landscapes. In semi-arid and arid regions of the Greater Yellowstone Area, water from springs, wetlands, streams and rivers is especially critical. Some of the most iconic water resources in the western United States occur in Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks, as well as Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. The Yellowstone and Snake rivers disproportionately contribute to the rich variety of life in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. They shape visitor recreational and aesthetic experiences. They affect how the ecosystem functions. They also contribute to the health and vitality of nearby human communities. Similarly, a complex of springs, seeps, and rivers draining the Bighorn and Pryor mountains, as well as the high mountains of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, help quench the semi-arid landscape of Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. Warmer temperatures and precipitation shifts over the last several decades have already altered mountain snowpacks, river flows, and wetland and lake levels. Projected shifts in global and regional climate are expected to further affect water levels and flooding. At the same time, human demands for recreation and water consumption are increasing in this dry region. These changes, in combination, may pose considerable challenges to managing water resources on our national park lands.
- Type
- Project
- Authors
- National Park Service
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- GRYN
Program
- Inventory and Monitoring Division, I&M Inventories
- Greater Yellowstone Inventory and Monitoring Network (GRYN)