Natural resource condition assessment: Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Jones, David; Cook, Roy; Sovell, John; Ley, Matt; Pilkington, Hannah; Weinzimmer, David; Smith, Pamela; Linares, Carlos

doi:10.36967/nrr-2284972

The National Park Service (NPS) Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) Program administered by the NPS Water Resources Division evaluates current conditions for important natural resources and resource indicators using primarily existing information and data. NRCAs also report on trends in resource condition when possible, identify critical data gaps, and characterize a general level of confidence for study findings. This NRCA complements previous scientific endeavors, is multi-disciplinary in scope, employs a hierarchical indicator framework, identifies and develops reference conditions/values for comparison against current conditions, and emphasizes spatial evaluation of conditions where possible. Congress established Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CUVA) as a National Recreation Area in 1974 for the purpose of “preserving and protecting for public use and enjoyment, the historic, scenic, natural and recreational values” of the Cuyahoga Valley, thereby maintaining “needed recreational open space necessary to the urban environment”. Public Law redesignated and renamed the unit Cuyahoga Valley National Park in 2000. The park totals approximately 33,000 acres, of which about 13,000 acres are in other public or private ownership. Congress directed park managers to use CUVA resources “in a manner, which will preserve its scenic, natural, and historic setting while providing for the recreational and educational needs of the visiting public.” The NRCA for CUVA employed a scoping process involving Colorado State University, Park and NPS staffs to establish the NRCA framework, identify important park resources, and gather existing information and data. Indicators and measures for each resource were then identified and evaluated. Data and information were analyzed and synthesized to provide summaries and address condition, trend and confidence using a standardized but flexible framework. A total of 11 resources were examined and included here: four addressing system and human dimensions, two addressing chemical and physical attributes, four addressing biological attributes, and one addressing an integrated resource assessment (wetlands). The quality and currentness of data used for the evaluation varied by resource. In general, data used were between 5–10 years old or older, but represented the most recent available data at the time. Landscape context – system and human dimensions included land cover and land use, night sky, natural sounds, and climate change. Climate change and land cover/land use, which provide important context to the park and many natural resources and can be stressors on multiple resources, were not assigned a condition or trend. Land cover analyses incorporated spatial data for land cover classes, natural vs. converted land cover, impervious surfaces, population and housing trends and conservation (i.e., protection) status for buffer areas outside the park. The park is increasingly sandwiched between the urban centers of Akron and Cleveland; nearly 50% of the land area within 3 km of CUVA has been developed to some extent, and nearly 60% of the land within 30 km of the park boundary has been converted from natural land cover types. Climate change is happening and is affecting resources, but is not considered good or bad per se. Multiple local and regional effects on resources are anticipated. The condition of night skies and soundscapes, significantly altered by disturbance due to traffic, development and urbanization, both warrant significant concern and appear to be in further decline. The supporting chemical and physical environment at the park include its air quality and water quality. The condition of these resources can affect human dimensions of the park such as visibility and visual resources as well as biological components such as vegetation health, human health and stream biota. Air quality warrants significant concern, while water quality warrants moderate concern. Conditions were......

Natural resource condition assessment: Cuyahoga Valley National Park

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