Natural Resource Monitoring at Capitol Reef National Park
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National Park Service Northern Colorado Plateau Network U.S. Department of the Interior Park Monitoring Brief Intermountain Region Inventory & Monitoring Program Natural Resource Monitoring at 2007 Capitol Reef National Park Jailhouse Rock, Capitol Reef National Park/NPS The Northern Colorado The Northern Colorado Plateau Network (NCPN) covers a geologically and biologically di- Plateau Network verse region comprising 16 national parks in four western states. These parks contain desert grasslands, shrublands, forests, caves, large rivers, perennial streams, seeps, springs, and striking geology. Invasive plants, trampling and grazing by livestock, and adjacent land-use activities are some of the most signifi cant threats to NCPN parks. The NCPN is designing and implement- ing a long-term monitoring program to measure key indicators of ecological integrity, or “vital signs.” Multiple monitoring eff orts will help inform managers of the health of park resources and provide early detection of potential problems. This brief describes recent NCPN activities at Capitol Reef National Park. Landbirds Birds play an important role in the fl ow of en- NCPN data will contribute to the RMBO’s ergy through ecosystems because they occupy broader, landscape-scale breeding-bird moni- various levels in the food web. Birds are also toring program. The NCPN has monitored sensitive to habitat changes, which make them two plots each in low-elevation riparian areas good indicators of habitat quality. The NCPN and pinyon-juniper woodland at Capitol Reef is partnering with the Rocky Mountain Bird NP since 2006. The NCPN and RMBO will Observatory (RMBO) to assess breeding begin to look at trend data in 2010, after fi ve Gray vireo/NPS bird species trends in three habitats: riparian, years of data collection. pinyon-juniper, and sagebrush-shrubland. Uplands Uplands represent the vast majority of land will be established to begin a three-year pilot area at Capitol Reef NP, where grasslands study to obtain an estimate of the variance in have been selected as the ecosystem targeted these parameters. This information will then for integrated upland monitoring. Integrated be used to determine the number of plots upland monitoring includes measuring soil necessary for long-term monitoring. The pilot and site stability, hydrologic function, biotic sites are selected in a manner that ensures they integrity, vegetation composition and struc- will be incorporated into data analysis in the ture, and biological soil crusts. In 2007, plots future, full-scale monitoring program. Grassland/NPS Vegetation Mapping The NCPN is nearing completion of a multi- creating a geodatabase, and writing the fi nal year, multi-partner eff ort to map the vegetation report. These maps will be a valuable resource at Capitol Reef NP. This project has included for use in park management, natural resource gathering aerial photography, collecting initial monitoring, interpretive programs, park plan- vegetation-plot data, using the vegetation data ning, prescribed fi re, and as a baseline for to classify vegetation types and write vegeta- designing ecological studies. It is anticipated tion descriptions, writing a dichotomous veg- that the Capitol Reef NP vegetation map will Box elder/NPS etation-type key, performing photo interpre- be completed in winter 2007–2008. tation, collecting accuracy-assessment data, Water Quality Water is a major factor in determining the dis- Halls Creek watershed that signifi cantly al- tribution of fl ora and fauna at Capitol Reef tered channel morphology and washed or- NP. The NCPN is currently monitoring wa- ganic matter into the channel, which may have ter-quality parameters at Halls Creek 12 times caused a temporary depletion of dissolved per year. In addition, the NCPN collects and oxygen. In general, core parameter values var- analyzes data collected at Capitol Reef NP ied within normal ranges for most streams and by the State of Utah. In 2006, NCPN eff orts rarely exceeded water-quality criteria. Fremont River/NPS documented the eff ects of a July fl ood in the Species Lists The NCPN has completed NPSpecies certi- can search by park, by status of the species in fi cation at Capitol Reef NP for six taxonomic the park (e.g., present, historic, unconfi rmed), categories—birds, mammals, fi sh, reptiles, am- and by individual species—allowing users to phibians, and vascular plants—and has posted query, for example, Does Capitol Reef NP the results on its website. An interactive ap- have a verifi ed report of a pronghorn? The re- plication allows users to select a desired taxo- sulting species list can be downloaded into an nomic category and an alphabetic sort func- Excel spreadsheet for use by the public, park tion (i.e., by common name, scientifi c name, staff , or park cooperators. Bighorn/NPS or family–scientifi c name). Additionally, users Climate Climate plays a crucial role in regulating bio- NP. Over the past 15–20 years, Capitol Reef logical and physical processes; rainfall and NP has shown an increase in average annual temperature are the primary factors that limit minimum temperatures and a corresponding an ecosystem’s structure and function. The decrease in snowfall. However, annual pre- NCPN compiles and analyzes climate data cipitation has been too variable to detect any from existing weather stations in Capitol Reef obvious, long-term trend. Badlands/NPS Future Projects The NCPN is continuing to expand ecologi- parian communities; springs, seeps, and hang- cal monitoring at Capitol Reef NP. Pilot moni- ing gardens; invasive exotic plants; and human toring for protocol development has begun demographics and development are under- on aquatic macroinvertebrates at Halls Creek. way and planned for future implementation. Protocols for monitoring land condition; land cover and land use; air quality; integrated ri- For more information Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Program National Park Service P.O. Box 848 Moab, UT 84532 435-719-2346 http://www1.nature.nps.gov/im/units/ncpn/index.cfm.