ARCN overview

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ARCTIC NETWORK National Park Service
Terrestrial Scoping Workshop 26 -28 April
2005 Westmark Hotel, Fairbanks, AK
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What would you attempt to do if you knew you
could not fail?
(author unknown)
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National Park Services 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.

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... 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
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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.
Congress listened 20 million dollar program
nationally!!!
Inventory and Monitoring are two of the
Challenges key strategies
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Inventory

• Provide consistent database of information about
  our natural resources, including species
  diversity, distribution and abundance.
• (12 Basic Inventories)

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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

Biological Inventories
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and Monitoring

• Determine the current condition of our resources
  and how they change over time.
• (Monitoring Vital Signs)

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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

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The 32 Networks
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(No Transcript)
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"Go out on a limb. That is where the fruit
is..." -- Jimmy Carter
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• Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
• Kobuk Valley National Park
• Noatak National Preserve
• Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
• Cape Krusenstern National Monument

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The Arctic Network (ARCN)
Just under 20 million acres
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Central Killik River Valley
Noatak River
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
(GAAR)
Walker Lake
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GATES OF THE ARCTIC PARK AND PRESERVE Establish
ed 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.

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Wildfires in the Preserve
Lower Nimiuktuk River Valley
Noatak National Preserve (NOAT)
Caribou migrations (Rangifer tarandus)
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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.

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• The Noatak River Basin is an international
  biosphere reserve as recognized by the United
  Nations (UNESCO) in 1976.

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Central Kobuk River Valley
Great Kobuk Sand Dunes
Kobuk Valley National Park (KOVA)
Siberian aster (Aster sibericus)
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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.

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Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA)
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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

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Imik Lagoon
Beach Ridges
Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR)
Tasaychek Lagoon
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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.

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• HOW DO YOU BUILD A LONG-TERM MONITORING PROGRAM?

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ARCN Monitoring Program

• Purpose
• Scope
• Goals
• Process
• Timeline

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The Purpose of a Developing a Long-Term
Monitoring Plan
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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.

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The Scope of the Long-Term Monitoring Plan for
ARCN
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Thinking outside the box
NPS LANDS IN THE ARCTIC (ARCN)
ARCN Watershed Dynamics/ Landscape Interactions
ARCN Watershed Dynamics/ Landscape Interactions
Coastal Ecosystems
Wetland/ Riparian Ecosystems
Terrestrial Ecosystems
Freshwater Ecosystems
Land-water-air linkages
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Global Biogeochemical Cycles
The Arctic (Circumpolar Dynamics)
ARCN Watershed Dynamics/ Landscape Interactions
Land-water-air linkages
Key Partnerships/ TEK/ Integrated Network
National Global Politics and Economics
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At the end of the three year period it is my hope
that

• The National Park Services 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.

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The Goals of the Long-Term Monitoring Plan for
ARCN
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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.

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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)

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The Process of Creating a Long-Term Monitoring
Plan
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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

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ARCN Ecosystem
Network Structure and Function
Board of Directors
Scientific Expert Panel
National guidance
Terrestrial Working Group
Aquatics Working Group
Technical Committee
Coastal Working Group
Land-Water-Air Working Group
Admin. Steering Committee
Data Management Steering Comm.
NPS Natural Resource Staff
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
E. Odum
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The Timeline for Creating a Long-Term Monitoring
Planfor the Arctic Network
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ARCN Monitoring Timeline
Background data Develop conceptual model of the
ecosystem Define preliminary objectives
Refine Model Select and refine vital signs
Sample design Develop protocols for
monitoring Data management plan Monitoring plan
Complete
Phase 1 (2005)
Phase 2 (2006)
Phase 3 (2007)
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(No Transcript)
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Progress!!!
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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.

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• 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)

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

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