Monitoring Ecological Change in the Arctic Parklands: Vital Signs Monitoring Plan, Phase 1

Sanzone, Diane; Miller, Scott; Young, Steven

• The National Park Service’s Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program is vital to fulfilling NPS’smission of protecting and preserving the natural resources of the national park system unimpairedfor the use and enjoyment of current and future generations. Established in 1992, the purpose ofthe I&M program is to “develop scientifically sound information on the current status and longterm trends in the composition, structure, and function of park ecosystems, and to determine howwell current management practices are sustaining those ecosystems.” The principal functions of theprogram are to: (1) gather baseline information about park ecosystems, (2) develop techniques andstrategies for monitoring ecological communities, and (3) provide crucial scientific information topark managers so that better-informed scientifically sound management decisions can be made.• National parks with significant natural resources have been grouped into 32 monitoring networkslinked by geography and shared natural resource characteristics. The network approach facilitatescollaboration, information sharing, and economies of scale in natural resource monitoring. Parkswithin each of the 32 networks work together and share funding and professional staff to plan,design, and implement an integrated long-term monitoring program.• The Arctic Network (ARCN) includes five NPS system units (Figure 1): Bering Land BridgeNational Preserve (BELA), Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR), Gates of the ArcticNational Park and Preserve (GAAR), Kobuk Valley National Park (KOVA), and Noatak NationalPreserve (NOAT). Collectively these units represent approximately 19.3 million acres, or roughly25% of the land area of NPS-managed units in the United States.• Administratively, the parklands in ARCN are managed as three units: (1) Western Arctic Parklands(WEAR), which consists of one monument (CAKR), one park (KOVA) and one preserve (NOAT)is managed by a superintendent in Kotzebue; (2) BELA, which is managed by a superintendent inNome; and (3) GAAR, which is managed by a superintendent in Fairbanks, with field offices inBettles and Coldfoot. The park headquarters for all five parks are outside the park boundaries and theparks themselves are accessible only by airplane, boat, or on foot. This creates a unique and interestingchallenge for creating a long-term monitoring program.• The large land area of ARCN parks and the differences in resource management priorities amongparks were perceived as the greatest challenges facing the network. However, during our park scopingworkshops and superintendent interviews, we found that the ARCN parks share the same resourcemanagement concerns and monitoring needs.• The National Park Service’s Arctic Network (ARCN) mission is to create a long-term monitoringprogram that deepens the understanding of the boreal and arctic ecosystems represented in the parks,integrates knowledge of the park ecosystems with the circumpolar North and the world in general,and informs wise management decisions and the preservation of park values.• ARCN held a series of scoping workshops to provide a forum for NPS resource managers andscientists to discuss ideas for building a statistically sound, ecologically based, managementrelevant,and affordable monitoring program for the Arctic Network (ARCN) of parks. The scopingworkshops for ARCN were designed to gain expert advice from a broad array of scientists who haveperformed or are familiar with ecological research in northern Alaska. The input from these meetingswere used to (1) develop a set of conceptual models of the natural and anthropogenic features andprocesses within the parks, (2) develop a list of monitoring objectives for ecosystems of significance,Vital Signs Monitoring Plan for the Arctic Network: Phase 1 Report

Monitoring Ecological Change in the Arctic Parklands: Vital Signs Monitoring Plan, Phase 1

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