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Natural Resource Condition Assessment, Grand Teton National

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Natural Resource Condition Assessment, Grand Teton National National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Grand Teton National Park and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway Natural Resource Condition Assessment Natural Resource Report NPS/GRYN/NRR—2012/550 ON THE COVER Peaks of the Grand Tetons and wildflowers, Grand Teton National Park Photograph by: Christopher M. McGinty, Utah State University Grand Teton National Park and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway Natural Resource Condition Assessment Natural Resource Report NPS/GRYN/NRR—2012/550 R. Douglas Ramsey, Christopher M. McGinty, Ellie I. Leydsman McGinty, Lisa A. Langs Stoner, Benjamin A. Crabb, William A. Adair, Alexander Hernandez, John C. Schmidt, Milada Majerova, Benjamin Hudson, Ashton K. Montrone Utah State University College of Natural Resources Department of Wildland Resources Remote Sensing/GIS Laboratory 5275 Old Main Hill Logan, UT 84322 John H. Lowry University of the South Pacific Laucala Campus Suva, Fiji Matthew E. Baker University of Maryland, Baltimore County 1000 Hilltop Circle Baltimore, MD 21250 July 2012 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate high-priority, current natural resource management information with managerial application. The series targets a general, diverse audience, and may contain NPS policy considerations or address sensitive issues of management applicability. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received informal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data. Some or all of the work done for this project preceded the revised guidance issued for this project series (Natural Resource Condition Assessments) in 2009/2010. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government. This report is available from the Greater Yellowstone Network website (http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/gryn/), the Integration of Natural Resource Management Applications website (https://irma.nps.gov/), and the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/nrpm/). Please cite this publication as: Ramsey, R. D., C. M. McGinty, J. H. Lowry, E. I. Leydsman McGinty, L. A. Langs Stoner, B. A. Crabb, W. A. Adair, A. Hernandez, M. E. Baker, J. C. Schmidt, M. Majerova, B. Hudson, and A. K. Montrone. 2012. Grand Teton National Park and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway: Natural resource condition assessment. Natural Resource Report NPS/GRYN/NRR— 2012/550. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 136/115576, 642/115576, July 2012 ii Contents Page Figures............................................................................................................................................ vi Tables ........................................................................................................................................... xvi Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... xxi Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Natural Resource Condition Assessment Background Information ........................................ 1 Natural Resource Condition Assessment Purpose and Use ..................................................... 2 Chapter 2. Park Description ............................................................................................................ 3 Park and Landscape Setting ..................................................................................................... 3 Climate ................................................................................................................................ 5 Geomorphology and Geology ............................................................................................. 5 Water ................................................................................................................................... 6 Flora and Fauna................................................................................................................... 8 Human Uses ...................................................................................................................... 10 Resource Stewardship Context .............................................................................................. 10 Park History and Enabling Legislation ............................................................................. 10 Park Significance .............................................................................................................. 11 Park Resources .................................................................................................................. 12 Non-Conforming Uses ...................................................................................................... 12 Threats and Stressors ........................................................................................................ 14 Chapter 3. Condition Assessment ................................................................................................. 17 Air Quality ............................................................................................................................. 17 Atmospheric Deposition ................................................................................................... 18 Ozone ................................................................................................................................ 28 iii Contents (continued) Visibility ........................................................................................................................... 39 Climate ................................................................................................................................... 49 Change Points and Trends in the Historical Climate Record ........................................... 49 Spatial Patterns of Climate Change .................................................................................. 58 Trend in Surface Area of Glaciers .................................................................................... 73 Jackson Lake Ice-Off Dates .............................................................................................. 79 Hydrology .............................................................................................................................. 84 Trends in the Timing of Spring Snowmelt Runoff of Pacific Creek, 1945 to 2008................................................................................................................................... 84 Undeveloped Rivers and Streams by Watershed .............................................................. 89 Forest Health .......................................................................................................................... 94 Forest Patch Size by Watershed ........................................................................................ 94 Whitebark Pine Distribution and Regeneration .............................................................. 100 Insects and Disease .............................................................................................................. 112 Mountain Pine Beetle ...................................................................................................... 112 Blister Rust...................................................................................................................... 119 Invasive Species ................................................................................................................... 123 Distribution and Extent of Cheatgrass ............................................................................ 123 Terrestrial Invasive and Exotic Plants by Watershed ..................................................... 129 Land Cover and Land Use ................................................................................................... 134 Land Cover and Land Use Change ................................................................................. 134 Anthropogenic Land Use by Watershed ......................................................................... 138 Soundscapes ......................................................................................................................... 140 Methods..........................................................................................................................
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