Natural resource condition assessment: Fort Laramie National Historic Site

Dibner, Reilly; Korfanta, Nicole; Beauvais, Gary; Bowler, Jonathan; Dibner, Reilly; Freedman, Kit; Trujillo, Kelli; Zero, Victoria

In collaboration with the National Park Service, the University of Wyoming Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources and the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database completed the Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) for Fort Laramie National Historic Site. The purpose of the NRCA is to provide park leaders and resource managers with information on resource conditions to support near-term planning and management, long-term strategic planning, and effective science communication to decision-makers and the public. Fort Laramie National Monument was established in 1938 and designated as a National Historic Site (NHS) in 1960. The purposes of the park include preserving and interpreting the extensive historic and cultural resources for which the park is well known, as well as protecting the resources at the confluence of the Laramie and North Platte Rivers. The assessment for Fort Laramie NHS began in 2015 with a facilitated discussion among park leadership and natural resource managers to identify high-priority natural resources and existing data with which to assess condition of those resources. Data were synthesized to evaluate each resource according to condition, trend in the condition, and confidence in the assessment. Natural resource conditions were the basis for a discussion with park leadership and natural resource managers, who then identified critical data gaps and management issues specific to Fort Laramie NHS. Resource experts, park staff, and network personnel reviewed this assessment. Priority natural resources were grouped into three categories: Landscape Condition Context, Supporting Environment, and Biological Integrity. The resources categorized as Landscape Condition Context included viewshed, night sky, and soundscape. At the time of this assessment, conditions varied from good (viewshed), to warranting moderate concern (night sky), to warranting significant concern (soundscape). Increased development of industrial infrastructure around the park has contributed to the poor conditions of soundscape and the deteriorating night sky quality. Supporting Environment—or physical environment—resources included air quality, surface water quality, and geology. Air quality was of moderate concern, and water quality and geology were in good condition. The natural resources that composed the Biological Integrity category included vegetation, birds, bats, and pollinators. These resources were all of moderate concern, except for birds, for which we were unable to assign a condition in the absence of specific management goals. This assessment includes a general background on the NRCA process (Chapter 1), an introduction to Fort Laramie NHS and the natural resources included in the assessment (Chapter 2), a description of methods (Chapter 3), condition assessments for 10 natural resources (Chapter 4), and a summary of findings accompanied by management considerations (Chapter 5).

Natural resource condition assessment: Fort Laramie National Historic Site

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