Reproduced from JOURNAL OF FORESTRY, Vol. 72, Number 1, January 1974; by theFOREST SERVICE, U.S. Department of Agriculture

for official use

Natural Area ProgramsRobert M.

ABSTRACT-Efforts of public and private organizations topreserve undisturbed areas for scientific or educational usesare recognized on state, regional, national, and interna-tional levels. A plea is made for coordinated prompt actionto inventory and set aside additional natural areas.

Preservation of natural areas is a popular goaltoday, and motives and programs for recognizing

and setting aside such areas are at least as varied asthe agencies and organizations involved. One groupmay define a natural area as a greenbelt or a recrea-tional area with bicycle and foot trails, whereas theother extreme will consider it a truly pristine andunique ecosystem, never disturbed by man, and withentry strictly regulated and enforced. The number ofnatural area programs and the diversity of sponsorsindicate broad and deep interest.

This discussion, however, is limited to major cur-rent programs with scientific and educational objec-tives. The typical park programs found in every stateare excluded, along with many other worthwhileefforts that are primarily recreation-oriented. Similarlyexcluded are the few programs dedicated to savingonly the extremely rare and unique vegetation typesor habitats of endangered animals. Our working defini-tion is that adopted by the Society of American Fores-ters:

. a physical and biological unit in as near a naturalcondition as possible which exemplifies typical or uniquevegetation and associated biotic, edaphic, geologic andaquatic features. The unit is maintained in a natural con-dition by allowing physical and biological processes tooperate, usually without direct human intervention.

Professional Programs

Society of American Foresters—SAF had the firstprofessional society program in natural areas, begunin 1947 and led by men such as John F. Shanklin,C. H. Coulter, L. I. Barrett, A. F. Hough, JesseBuell, C. F. Brockman, R. D. Forbes, and S. 0.Heiberg. In 1949, the Journal of Forestry listed the68 areas then set aside on public and private lands.These ranks have now swelled to 281 areas. They aredescribed in "Natural Areas of the Society of Ameri-can Foresters" (February 1973). SAF Forest CoverTypes, although better adapted to characterization oftypical rather than unique forest conditions, neverthe-less have proved a useful tool in the description ofand search for Society-recognized areas.

In 1946, to give this program continuity and direc-tion, the Society accepted a suggestion of SvendHeiberg to establish a National Committee on Natural

RomancierAreas. The first chairman was John Shanklin; thesecond, Donald Lynch. The committee functionsthrough regional SAF Sections and Section naturalarea liaison officers who relate national goals andpolicies to local situations. Sections nominate areasto the committee after securing landowner agreementto protect and preserve the areas. Upon approval,SAF officially recognizes and lists these dedicatedNatural Areas. Permission for scientific study of thearea should be secured from the Society and the land-owner. Recognition is withdrawn if the landowner sorequests or if the vegetation is altered so as to negatethe value of the tract as a natural area.

Society for Range Management—Under the direc-tion of its national Rangeland Reference Area Com-mittee, the SRM recognizes four kinds of specialareas: Research Natural Areas, (RNA) managedrange study areas, exclosures, and other referenceareas. The first category is for large "baseline" or"check" areas representative of original vegetation.They receive nondestructive or nonconsumptive man-agement, in which grazing is generally prohibitedexcept to simulate grazing by large natural herbivoressuch as bison. This category is analogous to the SAFnatural area concept.

The SRM effort began in 1966 under the guidanceof the first Rangeland Reference Area Committeechairman, E. William Anderson. SRM recommends

THE AUTHOR—Robert M. Romancier is chairman, SAFCommittee on Natural Areas, and assistant director, PacificN.W. Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Ser-vice, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Portland, Ore.

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that establishment of managed range study areas becoordinated with the Soil Conservation Society ofAmerica. Like SAF, SRM functions through regionalsections to identify and preserve the rangeland areas.The various rangeland reference area programs aredetailed by the current committee chairman, WilliamLaycock, in an SRM Range Science Series publicationin press.

Soil Conservation Society of America—This societyhas a managed natural area program intended toillustrate the values of natural vegetation in conserva-tion work, landscaping, beautification, recreation, andenvironmental improvement. Tracts used for forestry,grazing, wildlife, recreation, watershed protection, orscientific study are included in the program directedby the SCSA Natural Vegetation Subcommittee of thePlant Resource Conservation Division. An essentialcriterion is that the plant communities be dominatedby native species characteristic of the local soil andclimate. Some of these areas, even those being grazed,might well meet the SAF definition for a natural area.

A recent census of SCSA-managed natural areascounted 46, ranging from 12 acres of virgin chestnutsoil lands, never grazed, in North Dakota to the70,401-acre Valentine National Wildlife Refuge inNebraska. Local chapters of the SCSA nominate can-didate areas to regional and national Natural Vegeta-tion Committees. Accepted areas are then certifiedby the Society.

Historical Perspective

Possibly the first to promote the concept that leav-ing land in primitive condition had values inrecreation, wildlife, and watershed management aswell as research was Aldo Leopold. Between 1920 and1924, he and his Forest Service associates were instru-mental in keeping undisturbed large forest areas inColorado and New Mexico.

The 1922 Journal of Forestry article by W. W.Ashe, "Reserved Areas of Principal Forest Types asa Guide in Developing an American Silviculture,"was also a landmark. Here, half a century ago, a fores-ter foresaw the practical use and value of reservedareas typical of major forest conditions as a check orreference against which to compare managementresults.'

Although SAF, SRM, and SCSA are the only pro-fessional resource management societies which havenatural area programs, it is important to recognize theearly efforts of the Ecological Society of America. In1917, it set up a 25-man Committee on the Preserva-tion of Natural Conditions to list all preserved andpreservable areas in North America in which naturalconditions persisted. The group was chaired by VictorShelford and supported by the National ResearchCouncil, the Forest Service, and various publicagencies, professional societies, colleges, and univer-sities. After seven years' work, the committee pro-duced the Naturalists' Guide to the Americas. Pub-lished in 1926, this famous book set the stage for theAmerican natural area movement.

'See also John Shanklin's November 1968 article in the Journalof Forestry, "Natural Area Project—An Historical Review of theActivities and Accomplishments of the Committee . on NaturalAreas."

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Shelford's publication was succeeded in 1950 by S.Charles Kendeigh's "Nature Sanctuaries in theUnited States and Canada . . . A PreliminaryInventory." This list of 691 nature sanctuaries, pub-lished in The Living Wilderness magazine, was pre-pared for the Ecological Society of America and TheEcologists Union (which became The Nature Conser-vancy in 1950).

The American Association for the Advancement ofScience followed these reports in 1963 with "NaturalAreas as Research Facilities." This comprehensivestudy called for an enlarged and better coordinatednatural area program, citing some 2,400 scientificpapers based on research performed all or in part onnatural areas.

Federal Agency Programs

Forest Service—Forest Service scientists andnaturalists were some of the earliest proponents of thenatural area concept. Besides the support providedShelford, the Forest Service was the first U.S. agencyto create a system of Research Natural Areas. TheSanta Catalina area on the Coronado National Forestin Arizona was established March 23, 1927!

The agency's objective is to represent as many ofthe major natural timber types or other plant com-munities as possible, as well as special forest or rangeconditions such as outliers of grass or timber types,unique bog associations, or unusual combinations offlora. In May 1973, the agency dedicated its 100tharea—the northernmost grove of coastal redwoodsnear Brookings, Oregon. Currently, Forest ServiceResearch Natural Areas number 110 in 29 states andPuerto Rico; they total some 120,000 acres. Althoughthe areas are administered and protected by theNational Forest System, permission for scientific useof the area must be secured from the director of theappropriate Forest and Range Experiment Station.

Research Natural Areas may also be located in Wil-derness Areas since by law (the 1964 Wilderness Act)these areas are "devoted to the public purposes ofrecreational, scenic, scientific, educational, conserva-tion, and historical use."

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—Four regional pilotprograms were begun in 1972 in Vermont,Washington, North Carolina, and South Carolina toevaluate features of physical, biological, or culturalimportance. To aid this evaluation, the SmithsonianInstitution has contracted to review all availableenvironmental inventories, list sources of environmen-tal resource data, review evaluation systems, andassess use of computers. Although the objectives ofthis program are broad, some areas will be of primaryvalue as undisturbed biological units.

National Park Service—Besides cooperating withthe Federal Committee on Research Natural Areas,NPS has a Natural Landmarks Program. Its fourobjectives are:

(1) To encourage the preservation of sites illus-trating the geological and ecological character of

Left, Lewisia redirira growing on the lithosolic soils of the Rattlesnake HillsRNA, a 75,000-acre tract managed for the Atomic Energy Commission byBattelle Northwest Laboratories as part of their Arid Lands Ecology project.Located in the arid interior of southeastern Washington, the RNA representsshrub-steppe vegetation. Photo courtesy Battelle Northwest-O'Farrell.

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the United States.To enhance the educational and scientific

value of sites thus preserved.To strengthen cultural appreciation of

natural history.(4) To foster a greater concern in the conserva-

tion of the nation's natural heritage.Suitable land, whether publicly or privately owned,can be designated as a Registered Natural Landmarkby the Secretary of the Department of the Interior.Selection criteria, broader than for a natural biologicalunit, are based on geologic or ecologic themes andso may also include geologic formations, fossil bedsor other archaeological sites, "seasonal havens forconcentrations of native animals," or examples ofscenic grandeur.

National Science Foundation—As a highly signifi-cant contribution toward the goals of the Conservationof Ecosystems section of the International BiologicalProgram, NSF has funded an inventory of nonfeder-ally owned natural areas. Six categories grade fromlight to intense human use: ecological research area;manipulative research area; educational area; endan-gered species preserve; botanical, geological, andarchaeological areas; and recreational areas.

A state-by-state survey is being organized with theaid of local scientists and the cooperation of theAmerican Institute of Biological Sciences. Aquatic,terrestrial, and marine areas are included. At lastcount, some 2,500 areas had been considered from anestimated total population of 7,000. Perhaps 700 qual-ify as natural areas of scientific value.

Federal Committee on Research NaturalAreas—Federal interests in preserving the naturalenvironment took a strong upswing in the1960's—witness the Wilderness Act of 1964 and theLand and Water Conservation Fund of 1965; the 1968report of the President's Scientific Advisory Commit-tee on Environmental Pollution; the National Environ-mental Policy Act of 1969 (which acknowledges theneed to ". . . preserve important historic, cultural,and natural aspects of our national heritage. . . .");the report of the Public Land Law Review Commis-sion; and creation of the President's Council onEnvironmental Quality.

The beginning of the International BiologicalProgram, the appointment of Stanley Cain as As-sistant Secretary for Parks and Refuges in the U.S.Department of the Interior, and the obvious meritsof a coordinated program, led to establishment of theFederal Committee on Research Natural Areas in1966. The most active participants were the NationalPark Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureauof Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, and Forest Service.Supporting agencies were Agricultural Research Ser-vice, Soil Conservation Service, Atomic Energy Com-mission, National Science Foundation, CooperativeState Research Service, Department of Defense,Council on Environmental Quality, The Nature Con-servancy, and Smithsonian Institution.

In 1968, the FC RNA issued a directory of 336Federal Research Natural Areas. Its last project wasan interagency policy and management documenttitled "Standards and Policy Guidelines for ResearchNatural Areas." Although the Federal Committeeceased to exist in 1972, efforts are underway to recon-

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stitute a similar group, with membership broadenedbeyond the federal agencies, and identified as a formalcommittee of the Council on Environmental Quality.The four core agencies of the FC RN A are continuingtheir individual natural area programs.

Other National Programs

The Nature Conservancy—This publicly supportednational conservation organizations is dedicated to thepreservation of ecologically and environmentally sig-nificant terrestrial and aquatic areas. The organizationprotects threatened natural areas by purchasing themwith publicly subscribed funds, by accepting donatedlands, or by advance acquisition of lands for local,state, and federal agencies. Some 377,055 acres of for-ests, swamps, marshes, prairies, mountains, beaches,and islands in 972 projects throughout the UnitedStates have been saved by The Nature Conservancysince acquisition of its first preserve in 1954.

It has also helped coordinate natural area programsof various other groups and kindle interest in the con-cept. Through creation of the post of science advisor,and later, vice president for science, The Conservancyrecently has increased its searches for preservableareas of significant scientific value.

The Smithsonian Institution—Recently, theSmithsonian's Department of Ecology established aCenter for Natural Areas, concerned with variousaspects of natural areas, including both domestic andforeign inventories. With the aid of a small staff andin cooperation with The Nature Conservancy, plansare underway for a national inventory and register,the National Registry of Ecosystem Preserves. Asingle listing of all the information on U.S. naturalareas and natural area programs would be most usefulin many phases of the preservation effort. With a com-puterized data storage and retrieval system, both pre-sently protected and prospective areas would beincluded. Information could be manipulated and pre-sented in various ways. It is this center that iscooperating with the Corps of Engineers in an analysisof the corps' environmental resource inventory toascertain the state of the art in collection, evaluation,storage, and display of environmental data.

State Programs

Several states have set aside undisturbed studyareas. Some of these programs are quite elaborate andactive; others have barely taken form. According toNational Science Foundation-funded scientists, sixstates have good natural area systems and records,10 plan to develop data banks or similar referencecenters, 10 have created working committees to studythe problems, 12 are showing preliminary interest, andothers are "essentially unorganized with respect toresearch natural areas."

One of the oldest and most comprehensive stateprograms is that of the Illinois Nature Preserves Com-mission and Natural History Survey. Illinois has 44natural areas totaling 13,465 acres, although not allmay meet SAF criteria. Also well established is theprogram created by an act of the Indiana GeneralAssembly; the state's Division of Nature Preserveslists 20 Nature Preserves, plus other kinds of naturalareas. Other effective state programs include the

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Below, typical old-growth specimen of sugar pine, Abbott Creek RNAin southwestern Oregon, Rogue River National Forest. This 2,660-acrearea was established in 1946 to exemplify Oregon's Sierra-type mixedconifer forests. U.S. Forest Service photo.

Left, grasses, sagebrush, lodgepole pine, and aspen on the 2,300-acreCliff Lake RNA on the Beaverhead National Forest, Montana. U.S. Forest Service photo.

Below, typical western juniper woodland, Horse Ridge RNA adminis-tered by the Bureau of Land Management in central Oregon. The600-acre area is a unique juniper/big sagebrush/threadleaf sedge com-munity in near pristine condition. U. S. Forest Service photo.

Left, tropical rain palm forest of the Banc) de Oro Research NaturalArea of the Caribbean National Forest, Puerto Rico. U.S. Forest Ser-vice photo.

Below, the 2,113-acre Tionesta RNA on the Allegheny National Forestin Pennsylvania was established in 1940. Eastern hemlock, beech,birch, sugar maple, and cherry flourish on this typical northernhardwoods-hemlock area. U.S. Forest Service photo.

University of California's Natural Land and WaterReserves System, the Michigan Natural AreasCouncil, and Washington's Intercampus Committeeon Educational and Scientific Preserves. In 1951, Wis-consin established a Board for the Preservation ofScientific Areas, and recently the state's ScientificAreas Preservation Council listed 78 areas preservedfor botanical, zoological, geological, or archaeologicalpurposes. Similar categories are recognized by theGeorgia Heritage Trust Advisory Commission estab-lished in 1972.

Northeastern states launched a regional project in1970: the New England Natural Resources Center.It recently completed, with funds from the New Eng-land Regional Commission, an inventory of 4,000natural areas meriting protection. Current work seeksto devise and implement protection programs in eachstate while providing ". . . a regional focal point forenvironmental and natural resources concerns."

International Efforts

Nationally focused efforts, such as the U.S. pro-grams, cannot function independently from similarlymotivated international efforts. Throughout the worldthe desire to protect man's environment and the con-cept of preserved natural areas are gaining support.

A major contribution is being made by the Interna-tional Biological Program, a worldwide attempt bybiologists to study, understand, and preserve ecosys-tems, and to learn more about how man and natureinteract. An international inventory of natural pre-serves is being compiled by the Conservation of Ter-restrial Communities (CT) section of IBP: its aim isto enumerate the ecological and biological characteris-tics of each natural preserve identified.

In America, this assignment is handled by the Con-servation of Ecosystems section of the U.S. IBPCommittee. Detailed checksheets on the flora, fauna,geology, and other characteristics of each area are sentto the IBP computer data bank at Monks WoodExperimental Station in England. All U.S. federalagencies have been asked to submit checksheets ontheir Research Natural Areas. Although IBP willprobably end in 1975, efforts are underway to continuepart of the program.

A second important international effort was startedat the 1972 United Nations Conference on the HumanEnvironment in Stockholm. One portion of the U.S.Basic Paper to this conference stressed the need fornatural areas as a way to monitor changes in theenvironment. Of major importance was conferenceapproval of the "Earthwatch" program—a coor-dinated plan to use and expand existing monitoringsystems to measure pollution levels around the world.A second major accomplishment was endorsement ofthe World Heritage Trust Convention, which statesthat some areas of the world are of such uniquenatural, historical, or cultural value that they are partof the heritage of all mankind and should thereforebe accorded special recognition and protection.

The Institute of Ecology (TIE), formed with theencouragement of the Ecological Society of America,and sponsored by many scientific and educationalorganizations in the Americas, addresses environmen-

tal problems too large to be tackled by single univer-sities or organizations or even by single nations. AsTIE gains in staffing, funding, and experience, it mayprovide international data storage and retrieval sys-tems that would make.it a clearinghouse for naturalarea efforts.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, andCultural Organization (UNESCO)-proposed programcalled Man and the Biosphere would "Develop aglobal program to inventory and assess the resourcesof the biosphere, including systematic observationsand monitoring and research into the structure andfunctioning of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems andresearch into changes in the biosphere brought aboutby man and the effects of these changes on men."

The International Union for the Conservation ofNature and Natural Resdurces (IUCN) supports aprogram called the Endangered Ecosystem Monitor-ing Program, intended to monitor populations of en-dangered flora, fauna, and ecosystems, and to recordenvironmental information on unique ecosystems.1UCN has also worked with other groups to developan international system of national parks and pre-serves and to provide management and protectionguidelines.

Many other countries, including Great Britain,Russia, Czechoslovakia, Tanzania, India, Argentina,and East Germany, have natural area programs.Canada, working mainly through the Canadian IBPcommittee, has given major emphasis to locating anddescribing tracts. The Nature Conservancy of Canadahas inventoried nearly 100 areas, mostly in easternor central Canada. British Columbia and Alberta havebeen leaders in the establishment of natural areas orecological reserves. The Canadian Institute of Fores-try has created a national natural areas committeechaired by Gordon F. Weetman with goals and anational registration plan much like those of the SAF.2

Fill in the Gaps

Considering all the on-going programs, there seemsto be a major need to incorporate areas and conditionsnow represented either poorly or not at all. Lands inthe central, northern, and southeastern states andat low elevations in the West are generally those leastrepresented. Yet here, where man's influence hasbeen most active, the need for a comparison of theundisturbed environment with the present one is veryimportant. Most of these lands are in state and privateownership. Also poorly represented are the less com-mon vegetation types, and mosaics of different types.

The second major need is for a single coordinatedinventory of national needs and of types or conditionsalready adequately protected. Such an inventory willbecome increasingly essential as a guide to identifyingthe areas or conditions not now protected. includingthose mentioned in the preceding paragraph. The keyword is coordination. With coordination, we can avoidthe unlikely possibility of duplication of effort. Moreimpoi tautly, we call move quickly to fill gaps in anational system of natural areas before certain condi-tions are lost forever.

'Canadian activities are detailed in the April 1973 issue of theForestry Chronicle.

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