Research

Park employees onshore in Kenai Fjords National Park. NPS Photo/Kent Miller

National parks are preserved for their exceptional natural and cultural resources. Research provides the foundation for informed management of park resources, and the National Park Service hosts and supports several programs that support and promote research within park boundaries and in related areas. Outside agencies, institutions, and organizations conduct research in partnership with the park service. The following information on programs and permitting information is a starting point for researchers.

Access online articles, reports and documents

The Integrated Resource Management Application is currently being updated to serve as a one-stop online shop for information on park natural and cultural resources including reports, GIS datasets, and species lists.

Alaska Park Science

Alaska Park Science is the semi-annual science journal of the National Park Service Alaska Region. Each issue highlights research and scholarship on a theme important to the stewardship of Alaska’s parks.

Research Learning Centers

Research Learning Centers are public-private partnerships intended to facilitate research within national parks as well as to provide educational opportunities to a variety of audiences.

• Murie Science and Learning Center
• Ocean Alaska Science and Learning Center
• National Research Learning Centers Information

Alaska Inventory and Monitoring Programs

The Inventory and Monitoring Program provides consistent information about natural resources within national parks, including species diversity, distribution and abundance; and to determine the current condition of our park resources and how they change over time.

• Alaska Inventory and Monitoring Program
• National Inventory and Monitoring Program

Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units

Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs) are a network of federal agencies, universities, and other organizations that have united in order to better facilitate research in local and regional ecosystems.

• North and West Alaska CESU
• Pacific Northwest CESU
• CESU National Network

Research Permitting in Alaska Parks

While many programs exist to assist with and facilitate research within Alaska's national parks, research permits are obtained directly through the parks in which researchers work. Information about historic, recent and ongoing research within specific parks can also be accessed directly through the parks' websites.

• Guide to Conducting Wilderness Research in Alaska's National Parks
• Alagnak Wild River
• Aniachak National Monument
• Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
• Denali National Park and Preserve
• Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
• Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
• Katmai National Park and Preserve
• Kenai Fjords National Park
• Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
• Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
• Sitka National Historical Park (Contact Resource Management for more information)
• Cape Krusenstern National Monument
• Kobuk Valley National Park
• Noatak National Preserve
• Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
• Yukon Charley Rivers National Preserve

Other Sources of Information on Research in Alaska's National Parks

• National Parks in Alaska
• Science Articles published in peer-reviewed journals
• Fire Science, Ecology, and Research
• Cultural Resources Information
• Shared Beringian Heritage Program