Natural Resources Inventory and Monitoring guideline
National Park Service. 1992. Natural Resources Inventory and Monitoring guideline. NPS-75. National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science. Washington, DC
This is a comprehensive guideline on natural resources inventory and monitoring and provides information needed to guide inventory and monitoring efforts at the national, regional, and individual park levels. Application of the information contained herein will allow park managers to manage park natural resources proactively from a basis of knowledge and insure that natural resource activities planned and initiated in the field comply with federal laws and regulations and the Department of the Interior and National Park Service policy. This guideline: (1) summarizes the reasons for inventory and monitoring of natural resources in units of the National Park System; (2) provides an overview of the Servicewide I&M program, including staff roles and functions; (3) describes a process for conducting I&M studies at the individual park level; (4) identifies major ecosystem components useful for resources inventory and long-term monitoring; and (5) provides data administration and reporting guidelines for the program. The document also outlines strategic considerations needed to rank inventory and monitoring needs, standardize recording techniques, test model inventory and monitoring systems in selected parks, bring all parks up to an acceptable level of resource awareness, and develop a framework to synthesize inventory and monitoring information over large spatial and long temporal scales. Finally, the guideline provides information which should guide national, regional, and park efforts to implement an I&M program in about 250 NPS field areas with significant natural resources. Application of the I&M approach contained herein, combined with the knowledge gained from assessing existing park I&M activities, should assist management of park natural resources proactively from a basis of knowledge. As the I&M program progresses, the individual elements of the program will be reviewed and revised; technical protocols, quality assurance plans, and data management plans will be developed; and individual park I&M plans will be initiated in direct support of park natural resources management.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- National Park Service
- Date of Issue
- 1992-07-07
- Publisher
- National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science
- Units
- IMD , NRSS
- Keywords
- Administration, Avian Management, Biology, business management, Census Techniques, Inventory And Monitoring, Mitigation, National Park Service, NPS-75, program management, Projects, Research, Resource Management (Planning), Resources