Vegetation inventory project report: Nez Perce National Historical Park

Erixson, John; Cogan, Dan

Nez Perce National Historical Park (NEPE) includes multiple sites across parts of Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington in the northwestern U.S. Of the many individual NEPE sites only seven support significant vegetation/wildlife habitat resources and are managed by the National Park Service (NPS) these sites include: Bear Paw Battlefield (BEPA) – located 16 miles (26 km) south of Chinook, Montana; Buffalo Eddy (BUED) – located 18 miles (29 km) south of Asotin, Washington; Heart of the Monster (HEMO) – located one mile (1.6 km) south of Kamiah, Idaho; Old Chief Joseph Gravesite (OLJO) – located one mile (1.6 km) south of Joseph, Oregon; Spalding Site (SPAL) – located 11 miles (18 km) east of Lewiston, Idaho; Weippe Prairie (WEPR) – located eight miles (13 km) south of the town of Weippe, Idaho; White Bird Battlefield (WHBI) - located 15 miles (24 km) south of the town of Grangeville, Idaho. The seven sites addressed herein are important to the Nez Perce Tribe (http://nezperce.org/) for various reasons. HEMO, WEPR, and BUED are associated with Nez Perce legends, important camp sites, and/or contain evidence of early occupation. SPAL is an important camping and fishing site and is also the location of a historic mission. OLJO represents a campsite and the final burial place of Old Chief Joseph and BEPA and WHBI are both sites of battles waged during the Nez Perce War of 1877. Together the seven sites occur on 1,984 acres (803 hectares) characterized by canyons, mesic meadows, floodplains, rolling upland prairies, foothills, and mountain slopes. The extant vegetation varies from natural to semi-natural and from grassland to woodland stands among the seven sites with some similarities of plant communites between sites. To better understand the ecology and distribution of vegetation within each of the NEPE sites (and the entire NEPE vegetation distribution) an inventory, classification, and mapping project was initiated in 2009 by the NPS Vegetation Inventory Program (NVIP) in conjunction with the Upper Columbia Basin Inventory and Monitoring Network (UCBN). Using experienced contractors and NPS affiliates a three-year, three-phase program was started by the UCBN as part of the network-wide inventory effort. Phase-one, directed by UCBN staff in conjunction with Northwest Management Incorporated (NMI), Idaho State University (ISU), and S.M. Stoller Corporation (Stoller) resulted in the plant association and vegetation alliance classification using the National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS). Phase-two, directed by NMI and Cogan Technology, Inc. (CTI) resulted in creation of the digital vegetation and land use map and project geodatabase. Draft maps were printed, field tested, reviewed, and revised based on field observations by knowledgeable ecologists. Following verification, edits were applied to create the final vegetation map product for accuracy assessment (AA). In Phase-three the AA was conducted by NMI ecologists during the 2011 field season. Completion of the inventory project during Phase-four included producing the standard project deliverables as described and presented in this report and an accompanying digital video disk DVD.

Vegetation inventory project report: Nez Perce National Historical Park

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