Natural resource conditions at Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park: Findings & management considerations for selected resources
Valentine-Darby P, Struthers K, McPherson D. 2024. Natural resource conditions at Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park: Findings & management considerations for selected resources. Science Report. NPS/SR—2024/118. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2303413
The National Park Service’s Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) Program developed an NRCA with managers at Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park (CEBE), a partner park located in western Virginia in Frederick, Shenandoah, and Warren counties. An NRCA’s purpose is to synthesize information on the primary drivers and stressors affecting natural resource conditions, and to report conditions for specific natural resources selected by park managers. Condition assessments were conducted for three of CEBE’s resources—visual resources, night sky, and soundscape—and gap analyses were conducted for two resources—woodlands and meadows. The condition assessment for visual resources, based on an inventory of scenic views at three of the park’s most important viewpoints, led to condition ratings of good/fair for two locations and fair for one location. CEBE’s night sky, assessed using modeled data from the NPS Natural Sounds & Night Skies Division (NSNSD), was found to be about 392% brighter than the natural night sky, leading to a condition rating of fair. To assess CEBE’s soundscape, an NPS NSNSD geospatial model that predicts daytime sound was used. Results indicated a poor condition of sound level park-wide. Stressors for these three resources include adjacent/surrounding residential and commercial development and associated roads, vehicle traffic, and lighting. Both woodlands and meadows were evaluated through gap analyses. Potential stressors on woodlands include non-native invasive plants, non-native invasive insect pests, over-browsing by native white-tailed deer, and climate change. Although some park-specific data exist on these stressors, more information is needed. Similarly, more information is needed on meadows. Most of the data available are related to ongoing work to bring back native vegetation in CEBE’s Morning Attack Trail field.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Valentine-Darby, Patricia; Struthers, Kimberly; McPherson, Dale
- Date of Issue
- 2024-05
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/2303413
- Units
- CEBE , NRSS , WRD
- Keywords
- Natural Resource Condition Assessment, NRCA