Natural resource condition assessment: Obed Wild and Scenic River
Benck KM, Allen K, Nadeau AJ, Hutchins H, Davis AM, Robertson A. 2017. Natural resource condition assessment: Obed Wild and Scenic River. Natural Resource Report. NPS/OBED/NRR—2017/1554. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) Program aims to provide documentation characterizing 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 Obed Wild and Scenic River (OBRI) 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 ecological 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 ecological processes that are currently of the greatest concern to park management at OBRI. 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 resource component in the framework to provide a summary of current condition and trend for each selected resources. When possible, existing data for the established measures of each component were analyzed and compared to a designated reference condition. A weighted scoring system was applied to calculate the current condition of each component. Weighted Condition Scores (WCS), ranging from zero to one, were divided into three condition categories: low concern, moderate concern, and significant concern. These scores help to determine the current overall condition of each resource. 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 OBRI resource managers and/or NPS Appalachian Highlands Network (APHN) Inventory & Monitoring staff. Existing literature, short- and long-term datasets, and input from NPS scientists were used to support the condition designation for each of the components in this assessment. However, in some cases, data were unavailable or insufficient for several of the measures of the featured components. In other instances, data establishing reference condition were limited or unavailable for components, making comparisons with current information inappropriate or invalid. In these cases, it was not possible to assign condition for the components. Current condition was not able to be determined for two of the 11 components (18%) due to these data gaps. For those components with sufficient available data, the overall condition varied. One component (fish communities) was determined to be in good condition; however, a trend could not be established. Two components, landscape dynamics and freshwater invertebrates, were considered to be of significant concern, and a declining trend was assigned to both components. The main concerns associated with the landscape dynamics component are the urbanization of the watersheds above the park, oil and gas development surrounding the park, and the private in-holdings within the park. The highest concerns for freshwater invertebrates are the apparent declines (based on survey data) in overall mussel abundance and listed mussel species abundance. The remaining six components (birds, cobble bars/river scour prairies, dark night.....
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Benck, Kevin; Allen, Kathy; Nadeau, Andy; Hutchins, Hannah; Davis, Anna; Robertson, Andrew
- Date of Issue
- 2017-11
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- OBRI
- Keywords
- acoustic environment, birds, cobble bars, condition assessment, dark night skies, fish, fish communities, freshwater invertebrates, invertebrates, landscape dynamics, mammals, native forests, natural resource, natural resource condition assessment, plant communities, plants, prairies, resource stewardship, river scour prairies, soundscape, water quality, water quantity, water resources
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Water Chemistry , Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Nutrient Dynamics , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Wetland Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Riparian Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Forest/Woodland Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Freshwater Invertebrates , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Fishes , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Birds , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Mammals , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Vegetation Complex , Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Landscape Dynamics | Land Cover and Use , Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Soundscape | Soundscape , Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Viewscape | Viewscape/Dark Night Sky