Monitoring freshwater systems in the Southwest Alaska Network: Protocol narrative

Shearer, Jeff; Moore, Claudette; Bartz, Krista

The Southwest Alaska Network (SWAN) is one of 32 Inventory and Monitoring Networks covering 270 national park units within the National Park System. These Networks serve an important role in providing park resources managers with important scientific data on the status and condition of vital park resources. This role was established in the Natural Resource Challenge which directed parks to place a greater emphasis on natural resource stewardship in meeting the National Park Service mission “to conserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment of this and future generations.” SWAN covers a diverse range of national park units, including Alagnak Wild River, Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, and Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, spanning 3.8 million hectares across the Kenai and Alaska Peninsulas. Alpine, glacial, marine, coastal, boreal, tundra, and freshwater ecosystems are all represented within the bounds of the SWAN. Park staff and subject matter experts recognized the diversity and relatively unaltered state of these ecosystems when identifying important park resources for long-term monitoring. The long-term monitoring plan established by the SWAN (Bennett et al. 2006) focuses on geology and physical science (glaciers, climate and weather), marine nearshore, vegetation, wildlife, landscape processes, and freshwater components of these five southwest Alaska park units. The freshwater resources of these landscapes are impressive, ranging from countless small streams to five designated Wild Rivers to large, complex lake systems. This protocol narrative, and the accompanying standard operating procedures (SOPs; Shearer et al. 2015), provide the details of how SWAN will monitor these vast freshwater resources. We ask that readers recognize this document may be revised as we continue to gather data and improve our methods. We will take a careful, conservative approach in modifying SOPs to ensure that the scientific credibility of the data is upheld. We anticipate that, as data are collected and synthesized, new questions will arise leading to more in-depth research and analysis. Our hope is that this document will assist the National Park Service in carrying out its mission and lead to a greater understanding of the freshwater ecosystems of southwest Alaska.

Monitoring freshwater systems in the Southwest Alaska Network: Protocol narrative

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