Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park: Natural Resource Condition Assessment
Nadeau AJ, Amberg S, Kilkus K, Gardner S, Komp MR, Zanon J, Drazkowski B. 2013. Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park: Natural Resource Condition Assessment. Natural Resource Report. NPS/PAAL/NRR—2013/723. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The objectives of this assessment were to evaluate and report on current conditions of key resources at Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Site (PAAL), to evaluate critical data and knowledge gaps, and to highlight selected existing stressors and emerging threats to resources or processes. The selected components (i.e., key resources) include natural resources and processes that are currently of the greatest concern to park management at PAAL. The final project framework contains 18 resource components, each featuring discussions of measures, stressors, and reference conditions. Current condition could not be determined for 14 of the 18 components (78%), due to data gaps. For the four components with sufficient available data, the overall condition varied. Only one component was determined to be of low concern: the Tamaulipan brushlands. This component showed a stable trend in recent times. Air quality was determined to be of moderate concern and showed a stable trend. Similar to air quality, viewshed was determined to be of moderate concern, although this resource has exhibited a declining trend. The dark night skies component was the only component deemed to be of high concern. No trend was assigned to this component. Detailed discussion of these designations is presented in Chapters 4 and 5 of this report. Several park-wide threats and stressors influence the condition of priority resources in PAAL. Those of primary concern include the presence of exotic plants and animals, extreme weather events (e.g., hurricanes, drought), habitat loss and human development, and nearby energy developments (specifically nearby power lines, power plants, and wind farms). Understanding these threats, and how they relate to the condition of these resources, can help the NPS prioritize management objectives and better focus conservation strategies to maintain the health and integrity of park ecosystems.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Nadeau, Andy; Amberg, Shannon; Kilkus, Kathy; Gardner, Sarah; Komp, Michael; Zanon, Jacob; Drazkowski, Barry
- Date of Issue
- 2013-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- GULN , NRSS , PAAL
- Keywords
- Air Quality, Amphibians, Breeding Birds, Butterflies, collared peccary, Condition assessment, Coyotes, Dark Night Skies, Exotic Species, Herpetofauna, Indicators, Invasive Species, Native Rodents, Natural Resources, NRCA, Prairie, Raptors, Reptiles, Resaca Wetland, Resource condition, Soundscape, Stressors, Tamaulipan brushland, Texas tortoise, Threats, Trends, Viewshed, Water Quality, wild cats