©2007 KBS
National Park Service - Heartland Network Project
- Timeframe: 2001 - present
- Location: National Parks in the Heartland Network
- Point-of-Contact: Debbie Baker and Bob Everhart
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) has 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 is functioning as an integral part of the Inventory and Monitoring program for the Heartland Network (HTLN) of parks within the NPS.
CPCB’s role in the Inventory and Monitoring Program is to collect 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 will function 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 is also working to expedite this process for the Heartland Network
by first 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 will then
be used to determine appropriate protocols for the long term ecological monitoring
of the aquatic resources of HTLN. In addition, CPCB will also work to develop
a macroinvertebrate monitoring protocol for use in all HTLN parks.
Data
NPS Baseline Water Quality Data reports for each park are available through CPCB’s library site.
Analysis, Results, or Reports
A descriptive project summary is available for download in Adobe .pdf fomat
[Download
.pdf]
The following reports are available from this project:
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)
Maps, Images, or Photos
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| Listing of NPS Heartland park units. | |
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Map of NPS park units found in the Heartland Network |
