Bryce Canyon National Park: Natural resource condition assessment
Baril L, Struthers K, Valentine-Darby P. 2018. Bryce Canyon National Park: Natural resource condition assessment. Natural Resource Report. NPS/NCPN/NRR—2018/1690. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) Program, administered by the National Park Service’s (NPS) Water Resources Division, provides a multidisciplinary synthesis of existing scientific data and knowledge about current conditions of important national park natural resources through the development of a park-specific report. The NRCA process for Bryce Canyon National Park (NP) began with a meeting that was held on April 6, 2017 with staff from the park, NPS Intermountain Region Office, NPS Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory and Monitoring Network (NCPN), and Utah State University. Bryce Canyon NP was established in 1923 as a national monument then later named a national park in 1928 (NPS 2014a). Its purpose is to “protect and conserve resources integral to a landscape of unusual scenic beauty exemplified by highly colored and fantastically eroded geological features, including rock fins and spires, for the benefit and enjoyment of the people” (NPS 2014a). Eleven of the park’s natural resources, grouped into five broad categories, were selected for current condition assessment reporting. The five categories included landscapes, air and climate, geology and soils, water, and biological integrity, which included a subset of the park’s wildlife and vegetation resources. The park’s viewshed, night sky, water quality, and wildlife topics, birds and Utah prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens), were considered to be in good condition. Air quality, upland vegetation, and non-native invasive plants were of moderate concern. And while none of the resources were rated as of significant concern exclusively, conditions for the park’s soundscape, geology, and unique vegetation were of moderate to significant concern. Like many other national parks, resources at Bryce Canyon NP face many threats, such as increasing temperatures due to climate change, ever-increasing visitation to the park, conflicting management mandates between resources and human health safety, etc. Fostering effective partnerships will become even more important in maintaining or influencing the park’s natural resource conditions and identifying necessary adaptations in a rapidly changing environment.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Baril, Lisa; Struthers, Kimberly; Valentine-Darby, Patricia
- Date of Issue
- 2018-08
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- BRCA , NCPN , NRSS
- Keywords
- air quality, birds, geology, natural resource condition assessment, night sky, non-native invasive plants, NRCA, soundscape, unique vegetation, upland plants, Utah prairie dog, viewshed, water quality