Natural resource condition assessment: Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park

Engelhardt, Katharina; Lookingbill, Todd; Bukach, Nadia; Latimer, Margaret; Ratliff, Kristin; Gifford, Regan; Baek, Joora; Hurlbert, Olivia; Rizzo, Austin; Walsh, Brianne

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park is located in Dorchester, Caroline, and Talbot counties on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The park includes the 480-acre Jacob Jackson site administered by the National Park Service, parts of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park, and private land. The park offers abundant natural resources and seeks to preserve them to reflect the landscape and ambiance that was present when Harriet Tubman lived in Maryland more than 150 years ago. The site was formally added to the National Park System as a National Monument in 2013 and as a National Historical Park in 2014, recognizing Harriet Tubman’s life and work as a slave and freedom fighter. Natural resources within the 25,000-acre park include a diverse biota with high ecological integrity, including the presence of the federally-listed northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) and recovered populations of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and Delmarva fox squirrels (Sciurus niger cinereus). Forest resources are abundant but may be at risk from an overabundance of the non-native Sika deer (Cervus nippon). Wetlands are wide-spread but are threatened by degraded water quality, rising sea level, increasingly intense and frequent coastal storms, and non-native species. Midnight skies and silent stars are an important historical resource but are diminished by light pollution and road noise. Natural Resource Condition Assessments (NRCAs) assess and report on park resource conditions and are meant to complement traditional issue and threat-based resource assessments. NRCAs report on current conditions, trends, and critical data gaps for a subset of natural resource indicators. This analysis is designed to help park managers as they prioritize workloads, design studies to acquire data for important park resources, and communicate messages about park natural and cultural resources to varied audiences. The goal of this report is to deliver science-based information that is credible and has practical uses for park decision-making, planning, and partnership activities. Data for the NRCA were compiled for the park to assess four categories of resources – air quality, water resources, biological integrity, and landscape dynamics – and to calculate an overall park-level condition score. Data were obtained from the Air Resources Division of the National Park Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and at the Chesapeake Bay Field Office, and the US Geological Survey. Additional expertise was provided by staff at the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program, the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, and the Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division, as well as by faculty at the California University of Pennsylvania and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and biologists at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Strong collaboration with park staff was essential to the success of this assessment. Project collaboration and exchange of data occurred throughout the project during scoping meetings, site visits, and follow-up conference calls. Outcomes of these discussions helped to identify natural resources to be included in the assessment, identify key indicators to assess the condition of these resources, assign desired reference values for the indicators, and interpret findings. These meetings also provided the context for current conditions and background information. Although the park is not part of any National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) network at this time, efforts were made to select indicators that are consistent with those used in I&M programs.

Natural resource condition assessment: Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park

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