Northeast Temperate Network lakes, ponds, and streams monitoring protocol: 2015 revision

Gawley, William; Mitchell, Brian; Arsenault, Elizabeth

The Northeast Temperate Network (NETN) is made up of the following 13 National Park (NP) units, including four National Historical Parks (NHP), one National Recreation Area (NRA), six National Historic Sites (NHS), and one National Park and National Scenic Trail (NST): • Acadia NP, Maine (ACAD) • Appalachian NST, Maine to Georgia (APPA) • Boston Harbor Islands NRA, Massachusetts (BOHA) • Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP, Vermont (MABI) • Minute Man NHP, Massachusetts (MIMA) • Morristown NHP, New Jersey (MORR) • Roosevelt-Vanderbilt NHS, New York (ROVA); includes Eleanor Roosevelt NHS (ELRO), Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt NHS (HOFR), and Vanderbilt Mansion NHS (VAMA) • Saint-Gaudens NHS, New Hampshire (SAGA) • Saugus Iron Works NHS, Massachusetts (SAIR) • Saratoga NHP, New York (SARA) • Weir Farm NHS, Connecticut (WEFA) The Appalachian NST is too large to be cost-effectively monitored by the methods in this protocol, and will not be considered further in this document. Boston Harbor Islands NRA is also not included in this monitoring protocol, because it lacks streams and its single freshwater pond is not accessible. Freshwater resources in the NETN parks are subjected to natural and anthropogenic impacts and alterations, which have imposed stress on these resources for many years. Current and historic threats to aquatic ecosystems in National Park Service (NPS) units throughout the northeastern U.S. have led to specific physical, biological, or chemical stresses to the freshwater ecosystems. The documentation of baseline water quality and water-quantity conditions is essential to the long-term maintenance of freshwater resources. Documenting the changes in baseline conditions will assist natural resource managers to identify and manage stressors in park freshwater ecosystems. NETN conducted a three-phase project to design a freshwater-resources monitoring plan, and now monitors indicators (vital signs) that represent the overall health or condition of park resources and tracks the effects of stressors. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) worked in cooperation with NETN on each phase of the project to develop this lakes, ponds, and streams monitoring protocol. The phases can be described as follows: PHASE I: Development of a scoping report for long-term monitoring in NETN parks. This report (Lombard 2004) included an inventory of freshwater resources in the parks, a description of monitoring programs in each park, descriptions of current and emerging threats to NETN ecosystems, and a list of stressors and candidate monitoring indicators (vital signs) that could be used to assess the status of park ecosystems over the long term.

Northeast Temperate Network lakes, ponds, and streams monitoring protocol: 2015 revision

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