Start Date: 2001
End Date: 2006
Full Citation:
National Park Service, 2001 - 2006, $138,915. "National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program: A review of water quality and biological criteria and recommended monitoring approaches relevant to Heartland Network Parks." PI: D. Huggins
Category:
- Aquatic
Associated with the KU Field Station: No
Research Summary:
About the NPS Heartland Project - As part of its ongoing mission "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such a manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations," the National Park Service (NPS) created a Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring Program" to acquire the information and expertise needed by park managers in their efforts to maintain ecosystem integrity in the approximately 270 National park System units that contain significant natural resources" (NPS Organic Act of 1916). Aquatic resources are among the most significant of these.
CPCB's Role in the NPS HTLN - Through a cooperative work agreement, the Central Plains Center of BioAssessment functioned as an integral part of the Inventory and Monitoring program for the Heartland Network (HTLN) of parks within the NPS by assembling all water quality data available for the aquatic resources of the HTLN and develop a seamless searchable database linked to a geographic information system (GIS).
The GIS functions as a management tool for NPS, allowing resource managers a point and click interactive map of monitoring stations within their parks where statistical information regarding water quality can be obtained, updated, and disseminated. Prior to this ongoing work, CPCB collected, reviewed, and summarized state water quality standards applicable to every water body in HTLN. With this information integrated into the GIS, resource managers will be able to readily identify any stream segments that may fall out of compliance with the state rules and develop plans to address the problem.
The NPS Inventory and Monitoring program also has the goal of developing long term ecological monitoring protocols that will be used to assess the ecological conditions of its parks and to monitor changes in these conditions in the future. CPCB helped expedite this process for the Heartland Network by collecting, reviewing, and summarizing all biological and habitat assessment protocols used by federal monitoring programs and state monitoring agencies in states where HTLN parks are located. This information was then be used to determine appropriate protocols for the long term ecological monitoring of the aquatic resources of HTLN. In addition, CPCB will developed a macroinvertebrate monitoring protocol for use in all HTLN parks.
Data - NPS Baseline Water Quality Data reports for each park are available through the NPS.
The following reports are available upon request:
- A descriptive project summary
- Summary of Relevant Water Quality Standards (2003)
- Summary of Relevant Biological and Physical Habitat Methods and Criteria (2004)
- Development of Relevant Reference Conditions (2005)
- Buffalo National River (BUFF) Water Quality Analysis Report (2005)
- Ozark National Scenic Riverways (OZAR) Water Quality Analysis Report (2005)
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CUVA) Water Quality Analysis Report (2006)
- Hot Springs National Park (HOSP) Water Quality Analysis Report (2006)
- Lessons Learned through the Cooperative Agreement with NPS (2006)