Katmai National Park and Preserve and Alagnak Wild River: Natural resource condition assessment
Zanon J, Komp MR, Sopcak J, Benck KM, Allen K, Stark KJ, Meinke LJ, Robertson A, Drazkowski B. 2015. Katmai National Park and Preserve and Alagnak Wild River: Natural resource condition assessment. Natural Resource Report. NPS/SWAN/NRR—2015/1095. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) Program aims to provide documentation about the current conditions of important park natural resources through a spatially explicit, multi-disciplinary synthesis of existing scientific data and knowledge. Findings from the NRCA will help Katmai National Park & Preserve (KATM) as well as the Alagnak Wild River (ALAG) managers to develop near-term management priorities, engage in watershed or landscape scale partnership and education efforts, conduct park planning, and report program performance (e.g., Department of the Interior’s Strategic Plan “land health” goals, Government Performance and Results Act). The objectives of this assessment are to evaluate and report on current conditions of key park resources, to evaluate critical data and knowledge gaps, and to highlight selected existing stressors and emerging threats to resources or processes. For the purpose of this NRCA, staff from the National Park Service (NPS) and Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota – GeoSpatial Services (SMUMN GSS) identified key resources, referred to as “components” in the project. The selected components include natural resources and processes that are currently of the greatest concern to park management at KATM and ALAG. The final project framework contains 11 resource components, each featuring discussions of measures, stressors, and reference conditions. This study involved reviewing existing literature and, where appropriate, analyzing data for each natural resource component in the framework to provide summaries of current condition and trends in selected resources. When possible, existing data for the established measures of each component were analyzed and compared to designated reference conditions. The discussions for each component, found in Chapter 4 of this report, represent a comprehensive summary of current available data and information for these resources, including unpublished park information and perspectives of park resource managers, and present a current condition designation when appropriate. Each component assessment was reviewed by KATM park resource managers and NPS Southwest Alaska Network (SWAN) staff. Overall, the condition of the resources in this park is good. However, threats and stressors of high concern may cause resource impact in the near future. Several park-wide threats and stressors influence the condition of priority resources in KATM and ALAG. Those of primary concern include climate change and oil spills. 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
- Zanon, Jacob; Komp, Mike; Sopcak, Jon; Benck, Kevin; Allen, Kathy; Stark, Kevin; Meinke, Lonnie; Robertson, Andrew; Drazkowski, Barry
- Date of Issue
- 2015-12
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- ALAG , KATM , NRSS , SWAN
- Keywords
- Bear, Moose, natural resource condition assessment, Passerines, Salmon
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Air and Climate | Weather and Climate | Weather and Climate , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Geomorphology | Glacial Features and Processes , Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Subsurface Geologic Processes | Seismic Activity , Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Water Chemistry , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Freshwater Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Terrestrial Complex