Mountain Meadow Monitoring Across the Western United States: A Synthesis with Implications for the Monitoring of Vital Signs in Devils Postpile, Kings Canyon, Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks

Stevenson, Kathren; Barbour, Michael; Haultain, Sylvia

Mountain meadows have been identified as key ecosystem elements in the Sierra Nevada Network (SIEN) (Devils Postpile, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, and Yosemite vital signs workshops 2001-2002; SIEN vital signs prioritization March 2005). While this habitat represents a relatively small percentage of total land area, meadows concentrate energetic resources and provide critical habitat for both resident and transient animals, including a diverse array of invertebrate species and the vertebrate fauna that feed upon them. Meadows also are one focus for visitor use, especially by those visitors who rely on packstock to access wilderness areas. For these reasons, preliminary rankings of ecological indicator prioritization efforts put the structure and function of meadow systems and the organisms that rely on them in the top tier of the current vegetation, wildlife, and human use lists. This project is intended to provide information on the long-term monitoring of meadow vegetation and associated physical attributes from a synthesis of strategies included in current and past monitoring efforts specific to mountain meadow ecosystems. Monitoring plans selected for this analysis represent a cross-section of plans and plan components from the Bureau of Land Management, the US Forest Service, the National Park Service, the EPA, and in some cases, independent researchers. Included plans primarily focus on mountainous regions of the western United States, with special attention on monitoring efforts in the Sierra Nevada. Past and current monitoring in the SIEN Parks is summarized as a point of reference. Information on monitoring plans and monitoring plan components was acquired through interviews of regional ecologists and other federal employees who contributed to the development and or implementation of long-term monitoring plans in their respective Forests, Parks, or Field Units. In addition to interviews, we searched on-line databases that focused on academic journals or federal documents. Electronic versions of monitoring plans and academic articles focusing on key components of monitoring plans were named and archived in a MS Access database. Finally, we gathered information on the steps being taken by other NPS Networks in the development of monitoring plans for wetland vital signs.