Wupatki National Monument: Natural resource condition assessment

Baril, Lisa; Valentine-Darby, Patricia; Struthers, Kimberly; Whitefield, Paul; Romme, William; Anderson, Kirk

The Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) Program, administered by the National Park Service’s (NPS) Water Resources Division, aims to provide documentation about current conditions of important park natural resources through a spatially explicit, multidisciplinary synthesis of existing scientific data and knowledge. The workshop for the Flagstaff Area National Monuments (NM) NRCAs, which includes Wupatki, Walnut Canyon, and Sunset Crater Volcano, was held from May 17 - 19, 2016. This NRCA report is for Wupatki NM. Wupatki was established as a national monument in 1924 to preserve the thousands of archaeological sites and cultural evidence of past inhabitants of the region, including several large and prominent pueblos located throughout the monument. It also includes one of the largest protected areas of juniper savanna, grassland, and desert shrubland within the southern Colorado Plateau region and provides habitat for native species sensitive to human land-use and habitat fragmentation impacts. The monument’s in-tact habitat serves as a critical scientific research area for American pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) and regional environmental change. For Wupatki NM’s NRCA, monument staff selected 14 natural resource topics for condition assessments and an evaluation of habitat connectivity between the three Flagstaff Area NMs. Wupatki NM’s resources were grouped into five broad categories: landscapes, air and climate, geology and soils, water, and biological integrity, which included wildlife and vegetation resources. Resource conditions ranged from good for the landscape topics (i.e., viewshed, night sky, and soundscape), mammals, and vegetation to moderate concern for air quality, non-native invasive plants, and certain aspects of the water-related resources, such as seeps and springs and the Little Colorado River riparian corridor. Conditions of significant concern included the Sunset Crater tephra layer, aspects of water quantity, and erosion-related measures. The primary threats influencing these conditions are shared across resource categories, most notably climate change and increasing population and associated developments. Wupatki NM faces many threats due to an ever-increasing human population within and surrounding Flagstaff, Arizona and increasing temperatures and erratic precipitation events due to climate change. The monument’s proactive science program will become even more important in influencing resource conditions and identifying necessary adaptations in a rapidly changing environment.

Wupatki National Monument: Natural resource condition assessment

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