Terrestrial Scoping Workshop26 -28 April 2005

Westmark Hotel, Fairbanks, AK

ARCTIC NETWORKNational Park Service

“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”

(author unknown)

National Park Service’s Organic Act of 1916 states that NPS lands will be managed:

“... to promote and regulate the use of Federal areas known as national parks, monuments and reservations.... which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

“... If this agency [NPS] is to meet the scientific and resource management challenges of the twenty-first century, a fundamental metamorphosis must occur…”

National Academy of Science 1992

“… A major part of protecting those resources is knowing what they are, where they are, how they interact with their environment and what condition they are in. This involves a serious commitment from the leadership of the National Park Service to insist that the superintendents carry out a systematic, consistent, professional inventory and monitoring program along with scientific activities, that is regularly updated to ensure that that the Service makes sound resource decisions based on sound scientific data”

Appropriations Bill, 2000

Natural Resource Challenge

Goal: Revitalize and expand the natural resource program within the park service and improve park management

through greater reliance on scientific knowledge.

Inventory and Monitoring are two of the Challenge’s key strategies…

Congress listened: 20 million dollar program nationally!!!

Inventory

• Provide consistent database of information about our natural resources, including species diversity, distribution and abundance.

(12 Basic Inventories)

• Natural resource bibliography• Base cartographic data• Geology map• Soils map• Weather data• Air quality• Location of air quality monitoring stations• Water body location and classification• Water quality data• Vegetation map• Species list of vertebrates and vascular plants• Species dist. and status of verts. and vasc. plants

12 Basic Inventories

BiologicalInventories

… and Monitoring

• Determine the current condition of our resources and how they change over time.

(Monitoring Vital Signs)

Ecological Monitoring

• Long-term Ecological Monitoring (“Vital Signs” Monitoring)

– 270 parks with significant natural resources

– 32 park “networks” within NPS

– Creation of “minimum infrastructure”

– Share funding, information and staff, and facilitate collaboration

The 32 Networks…

"Go out on a limb. That is where the fruit is..."

-- Jimmy Carter

• Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve

• Kobuk Valley National Park

• Noatak National Preserve

• Bering Land Bridge National Preserve

• Cape Krusenstern National Monument

The Arctic Network (ARCN)

Just under 20 million acres…

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (GAAR)

Walker Lake

Noatak River

Central Killik River Valley

GATES OF THE ARCTIC PARK AND PRESERVE

Established: 1980, under ANILCA

• Maintain the wild and undeveloped character of the area, including opportunities for visitors to experience solitude, and the natural environmental integrity and scenic beauty of the mountains, forelands, rivers, lakes, and other natural features;

• Provide continued opportunities including reasonable access for mountain climbing, mountaineering, and other wilderness recreational activities;

• Protect habitat for and populations of fish and wildlife, including, but not limited to, caribou, grizzly bears, Dall sheep, moose, wolves, and raptorial birds.

Noatak National Preserve (NOAT)

Wildfires in the Preserve

Caribou migrations (Rangifer tarandus)

Lower Nimiuktuk River Valley

NOATAK NATIONAL PRESERVE

Established: 1980, under ANILCA

• Maintain the environmental integrity of the Noatak River and adjacent uplands to assure the continuation of geological and biological processes, unimpaired by adverse human activity;

• Protect habitat for, and populations of, fish and wildlife, including but not limited to caribou, grizzly bears, Dall sheep, moose, wolves, and for waterfowl, raptors, and other species of birds;

• Protect archeological resources;

• Provide opportunities for scientific research.

The Noatak River Basin is an The Noatak River Basin is an international “biosphere reserve” international “biosphere reserve”

as recognized by the United as recognized by the United Nations (UNESCO) in 1976.Nations (UNESCO) in 1976.

Kobuk Valley National Park (KOVA)

Great Kobuk Sand Dunes

Central Kobuk River Valley

Siberian aster (Aster sibericus)

KOBUK VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

Established: 1980, under ANILCA

• Maintain the environmental integrity of the natural features of the Kobuk River Valley, including the Kobuk, Salmon, and other rivers, the boreal forest, and Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, in an undeveloped state;

• Protect and interpret, in cooperation with Native Alaskans, archeological sites associated with Native cultures;

• Protect migration routes for the Arctic caribou herd;

• Protect habitat for, and populations of, fish and wildlife including but not limited to caribou, moose, black and grizzly bears, wolves, and waterfowl;

• Protect the viability of subsistence resources.

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA)

Serpentine Hot Springs Area

Maar Lake

Bering Land Bridge Tors

BERING LAND BRIDGE NATIONAL PRESERVE

Established: 1980, under ANILCA

• Protect and interpret examples of arctic plant communities, volcanic lava flows, ash explosions, coastal formations, and other geologic processes;

• Protect habitat for internationally significant populations of migratory birds;

• Provide for archeological and paleontological study, in cooperation with Native Alaskans, of the process of plant and animal migration between North America and the Asian Continent;

• Protect habitat for, and populations of fish and wildlife including, marine mammals, brown/grizzly bears, moose, and wolves;

• Continue reindeer grazing use;

• Provide for outdoor recreation and environmental education activities at Serpentine Hot Springs

Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR)

Tasaychek Lagoon

Beach Ridges

Imik Lagoon

CAPE KRUSENSTERN NATIONAL MONUMENT

Established: 1980, under ANILCA

• Protect and interpret a series of archeological sites depicting every known cultural period in arctic Alaska;

• Provide for scientific study of the process of human population of the area from the Asian Continent;

• Preserve and interpret evidence of prehistoric and historic Native cultures, in cooperation with Native Alaskans;

• Protect habitat for seals and other marine mammals;

• Protect habitat for, and populations of, birds other wildlife, and fish;

• Protect the viability of subsistence resources.

HOW DO YOU BUILD A LONG-TERM MONITORING

PROGRAM?

ARCN Monitoring Program

• Purpose

• Scope

• Goals

• Process

• Timeline

The Purpose of a Developing a Long-Term Monitoring Plan

Purpose of the ARCN Monitoring Program

1. Determine status and trends in selected indicators of the condition of the park ecosystems.

2. Provide early warning of abnormal conditions of selected resources to help develop effective mitigation measures and reduce costs of management.

3. Provide data to better understand the dynamic nature and condition of park ecosystems and provide reference points for comparisons with other, altered environments.

4. Provide data to meet certain legal and congressional mandates related to natural resource protection and visitor enjoyment.

5. Provide a means of measuring progress towards performance goals.

The Scope of the Long-Term Monitoring Plan for ARCN

Thinking outside the box…

NPS LANDS IN THE ARCTIC (ARCN)

ARCN Watershed Dynamics/ Landscape InteractionsARCN Watershed Dynamics/ Landscape Interactions

Land-water-air linkages

Wetland/ RiparianEcosystems

TerrestrialEcosystems

FreshwaterEcosystems

Coastal Ecosystems

ARCN Watershed Dynamics/ Landscape Interactions

The Arctic (Circumpolar Dynamics)

Wetland/ RiparianEcosystems

TerrestrialEcosystems

FreshwaterEcosystems

Coastal Ecosystems

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

Key Partnerships/ TEK/ Integrated Network

Land-water-air linkages

National & Global Politics and Economics

At the end of the three year period it is my hope that:

The National Park Service’s Arctic Network (ARCN) will create a long-term monitoring program that:

• deepens the understanding of the boreal and arctic ecosystems represented in the parks;

• integrates knowledge of the park ecosystems with the circumpolar North and the world in general; and

• informs wise management decisions and the preservation of park values.

The Goals of the Long-Term Monitoring Plan for ARCN

Goals for Monitoring in the ARCN

• Determine baseline trends in ecosystems of significance in the parks.

• Determine long-term changes in select biological, chemical or physical components or processes in park ecosystems.

• Understand human interactions with ecosystems in the parks, and their effects on those ecosystems.

Key features of this program…

• Design an integrated monitoring program

• Emphasis on making information useable

• Building a core program

• High accountability standards

• Based on park priorities and needs (but not “crisis of the day”)

The Process of Creating a Long-Term Monitoring Plan

How do we build a long-term monitoring program for ARCN?

• National Guidelines & Recommended Strategy

• Define the scope and purpose of monitoring

• Compile and summarize existing data

• Develop conceptual models of relevant ecosystem components

• Select indicators and monitoring objectives

• Determine appropriate sample design and protocols

Scientific Expert Panel

AquaticsWorking Group

TerrestrialWorking Group

Technical Committee

Admin. SteeringCommittee

National guidance

Land-Water-AirWorking Group

Data Management Steering Comm.

CoastalWorking Group

Board of Directors

NPS Natural Resource Staff

ARCN EcosystemNetwork Structure and Function

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” E. Odum

The Timeline for Creating a Long-Term Monitoring Plan

for the Arctic Network

ARCN Monitoring Timeline

Phase 1 (2005)

Phase 3 (2007)

Phase 2 (2006)

Background data

Develop conceptual model of the ecosystem

Define preliminary objectives

Refine Model

Select and refine “vital signs”

Sample design

Develop protocolsfor monitoring

Data managementplan

Monitoring plan Complete

Final Monitoring Plan

Phase 3 Report

Draft Conceptual Models & Framework for Monitoring

Phase 1 Report

Land-Water-Air Linkages

Coastal-InfluencedEcosystemsWorkshop

Multidisciplinary WorkshopModel Refinement, Vital Signs, Sampling Design

Draft Monitoring PlanPhase 2 Report

ARCN Framework and Timeline

FreshwaterEcosystemsWorkshop

TerrestrialEcosystemsWorkshop

June2004

Fall2004

Spring2005

Summer2005

September2005

Winter2006

September2006

December2007

Final Monitoring Plan

Phase 3 Report

Draft Conceptual Models & Framework for Monitoring

Phase 1 Report

Land-Water-Air Linkages

Coastal-InfluencedEcosystemsWorkshop

Multidisciplinary WorkshopModel Refinement, Vital Signs, Sampling Design

Draft Monitoring PlanPhase 2 Report

ARCN Framework and Timeline

FreshwaterEcosystemsWorkshop

TerrestrialEcosystemsWorkshop

June2004

Fall2004

Spring2005

Summer2005

September2005

Winter2006

September2006

December2007

Progress!!!

Terrestrial Ecosystems Workshop Goals

• Create conceptual ecosystem models and comment on general monitoring framework for terrestrial ecosystems of ARCN.

• Develop list of highest priority questions for monitoring terrestrial ecosystems in ARCN.

• Identify potential attributes (components and/or processes) for “high priority” monitoring.

Terrestrial Working Group:•Jim Lawler•Jennifer Allen•Lois Dalle-Molle•Peter Neitlich•Brad Shults•Scott Miller

Conceptual Models and Notebook:•Jefferson Jacobs•Torre Jorgenson•Steve Young•Jennifer Mitchell•Chris McKee

Meeting Organization and Facilitation:•ARCUS (especially Birte Horn-Hanssen)•Facilitator & Guru (April Crosby)

Support of ARCN:•Board of Directors•Technical Committee•Park Staff•Workshop Participants