Rare Plant Monitoring in Acadia National Park

Greene, Craig; Weber, Jill; Rooney, Sally; College of the Atlantic

A description of rare plants in Acadia National Park. From the executive summary: "Six plant species at Acadia National Park (ACAD) are listed as globally rare including the only known U.S. occurrence of the prototype quillwort (Isoetes prototypus). Additionally, about 180 of the park's approximately 820 native vascular plant species (22 %) are either statelisted or designated as regionally or locally rare. The goal of the current study is to design a rare plant management plan for ACAD. Although the results of our research will be important to ACAD, another aim of this work is to provide a framework easily transferable to resource managers at other parks who are developing rare plant management plans. The components of the plan are: selection of priority species, creation of individual species monitoring plans, development of generalized methodologies, and implementation of the plans. Ten species ranked as regionally rare, state-listed as endangered or threatened, or extremely locally rare were chosen to test monitoring methods. These taxa exemplify different life histories and growth forms: woody shrub, perennial graminoid, annual, herbaceous perennial and ephemeral; reproduction via seed, spore and rhizome. Following selection of species to be monitored, draft plans were developed for each, which addressed: rarity status, threats, objectives of monitoring, background information on the species, occurrences at ACAD, monitoring protocol, management triggers, management actions and references. The plans developed will serve as the prototypes for other taxa with similar characteristics. The study was designed so that proposed methods could be tested for two field seasons, after which ACAD staff would assume monitoring responsibilities.In addition to the 10 species selected for the pilot study, data for nine additional species were collected." /STUDY LOCATIONS:/ /MOUNT DESERT ISLAND/Sargent Mountain/Cadillac Mountain/Duck Brook/Upper Hadlock Pond/Pemetic Mountain/Canon Brook/Penobscot Mountain/Little Harbor/Kebo Mountain/Sunken Heath/Aunt Betty Pond/Man of War Brook/Ship Harbor Bog/Seawall Campground/Hadlock Pond/Long Pond/Jordan Pond/Ripples Stream/Bubble Pond/The Hop/Saint Sauveur Mountain/Beech Mountain/Norumbega Mountain/Champlain Mountain/Dorr Mountain/Huguenot Head/Sunken Heath/Duck Pond/Half Moon Pond/Hodgdon Pond/Seal Cove Pond/Witch Hole Pond/ /SCHOODIC PENINSULA/Schoodic Point/ /ISLE AU HAUT/Black Dina Bog/Ranger Station/Great Meadow/Barred Harbor Bog/Duck Harbor Mountain/Eli Creek/Sharks Point/ /ISLANDS/Heron Island/Little Moose Island/Baker Island/Pond Island/Schoodic Island/