Inventory of the herpetofauna of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

Accipiter Biological Consultants

During the fall of 1863, Union and Confederate armies fought for control of the city of Chattanooga which was a key rail center and gateway to the heart of the Confederacy. In September, a two-day battle was fought near Chickamauga Creek which resulted in the retreat of Union forces. This was considered the last major Confederate victory in the Western theater, but General Grant and his Union forces ultimately regained control of Chattanooga two months later. Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park was established in 1890 and is the first and largest of the national military parks. It is managed under the guidance of the 1916 Organic Act. The National Park Service (NPS) is responsible for the preservation of native wildlife, including amphibian and reptile species, within Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park in accordance with the 1916 NPS Organic Act, as amended and this direction is re-enforced through both NPS policy and guidelines affecting natural resource management. The Cumberland/Piedmont Inventory and Monitoring Network was established by the NPS Natural Resource Challenge Initiative. Among the goals set forth by this initiative are documentation of the occurrence of at least 90% of the species of vertebrates and vascular plants that occur within each National Park unit containing “significant natural resources” and documenting relative frequencies of occurrence by habitat type and descriptions of the distribution and relative abundance of species of special concern. Following a preliminary review of the existing inventory data within each network park, the Inventory and Monitoring Network for the Cumberland/Piedmont determined that the largest and most pressing data gaps involved amphibian and reptile species. This lack of information was targeted as one of the network’s highest priorities for funding. It is therefore necessary to conduct a baseline inventory of the herpetofauna resources within these NPS Parks, because the existing information is either non-existent or poorly defined.

Inventory of the herpetofauna of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

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