Proposed sampling design for springs, seeps, and hanging gardens monitoring in the Northern Colorado Plateau Network
Weissinger R and Moran M. 2013. Proposed sampling design for springs, seeps, and hanging gardens monitoring in the Northern Colorado Plateau Network. Natural Resource Report. NPS/NCPN/NRR—2013/618. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report describes the proposed sampling design for springs monitoring at four parks within the Northern Colorado Plateau Network: Arches National Park (NP), Canyonlands NP, Hovenweep National Monument (NM), and Natural Bridges NM. The core mission of the National Park Service (NPS) is to preserve and protect natural and cultural resources for the enjoyment of future generations. The NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program was created to provide managers with credible scientific information about park natural resources to inform management decisions. The Northern Colorado Plateau Network (NCPN) serves 16 national park units throughout Utah, western Colorado, southwestern Wyoming, and northern Arizona. In 2003, NCPN staff solicited input on natural resources of concern and ecosystem indicators,known as “vital signs,” from more than one hundred NPS staff and regional and national experts (O’Dell et al. 2005). Potential vital signs were evaluated for management significance and utility, ecological significance, scientific validity, feasibility and cost of implementation, and signal-to-noise ratio. Because of the scarcity of water on the Colorado Plateau and its disproportionately high use by flora and fauna, springs and seeps were quickly identified as an ecosystem of concern for the NCPN. After a set of network-wide vital signs were chosen, park managers were asked to select their top priorities for monitoring. Four parks identified springs and seeps monitoring as one of their highest priorities: Arches National Park (NP), Canyonlands NP, Hovenweep National Monument (NM), and Natural Bridges NM. This report describes the proposed sampling design for springs monitoring at these four parks, all of which are managed by the NPS Southeast Utah Group (SEUG). It also details our ability to detect a specified trend in annual median flow under various sampling frequencies using a power analysis of pilot data, defines the affordable effort for NCPN monitoring,and details sample site selection and a revisit strategy to meet monitoring goals.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Weissinger, Rebecca; Moran, Mary
- Date of Issue
- 2013-01
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- ARCH , CANY , HOVE , NABR , NCPN , NRSS
- Keywords
- Hanging Gardens, NCPN Springs Monitoring, power analysis, Sampling Design, Springs, Water Quantity