Northern Colorado Plateau Network Remote Sensing Protocol Science Review, 2023: A Summary of Reviewers’ Responses and Recommendations

Bozek, Michael

doi:10.36967/2317983

A scientific protocol review of the Remote Sensing Monitoring Protocol for the Northern Colorado Plateau Network (NCPN) was conducted in 2023 as part of a larger review of multiple National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring Network remote sensing programs. This comprehensive review included remote sensing programs in NCPN, the Southern Colorado Plateau Network, and the Southwest Alaska Network. Each program had completed a remote sensing trend report before the review, which was a prerequisite for the full protocol review. The Great Lakes Network and the North Coast and Cascades Network also participated to receive feedback on their current remote sensing operations but did not complete a full review. This document summarizes only the scientific protocol review for NCPN. The review meeting was held February 28–March 2, 2023, in Tucson, Arizona. Staff from the five networks attended, along with peer reviewers. The overall goal was to evaluate current remote sensing efforts across these networks to maintain a program that is scientifically rigorous, relevant, sustainable, and impactful. The reviews specifically focused on assessing: 1) scientific integrity (i.e., credible, statistically valid analyses and conclusions), 2) management significance and impact to NPS parks, and 3) opportunities for collaboration, efficiency, standardization, and combining efforts across networks. Overall, reviewers were impressed with the type of work and number of reports and publications derived from remote sensing work at NCPN. Moreover, they were impressed with the delivery of useful science on specific resources and their management to parks and noted that the number of analyses, sophistication of analyses, and amount of management-relevant information provided to parks had increased through time. Reviewers felt that protocol objectives were clearly being met and that analytical approaches employed by NCPN staff were sound and rigorous. With the sunsetting of the MODIS satellite, reviewers suggested NCPN adopt VIIRs satellite technology to continue their work, as it is the most congruent with the MODIS technology. Reviewers were pleased with the covariates being used in analyses and questions being addressed therein, which made the work more comprehensive and insightful. Reviewers also suggested using remote sensing data across larger landscapes to investigate larger-scale processes, and that standardizing imagery acquisition and analytical approaches across networks, while initially costly, would benefit multiple networks over time. In short, the NCPN remote-sensing work has been very successful in helping parks manage park resources and meeting the objectives of the Inventory and Monitoring Division’s National Park science-support goals.

Northern Colorado Plateau Network Remote Sensing Protocol Science Review, 2023: A Summary of Reviewers’ Responses and Recommendations

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