Science and Research Quick Reads

Federally endangered coho salmon and threatened steelhead trout are large, charismatic fish that play crucial roles in both stream and ocean ecosystems. The National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program and its partners began monitoring coho and steelhead in Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore in 1998.

National Park Service and Marin County Parks staff and volunteers counted 682 harbor seal pups in 2024, well below the long-term average of 1,052 pups. And just like during the breeding season, the molt season count of all seals was the lowest on record. Only 1,788 seals hauled out to molt during the summer of 2024. That's about a 50 percent decline from the long-term average of 3,366 molting seals. Reasons for the declines remain largely mysterious.

Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad scale. But not all areas experience the same climate in the same way, even within the boundaries of a single national park. A new dataset gives park managers a valuable tool for understanding why vegetation has changed and how it might change in the future under different climate-change scenarios.

Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports.

Here, we’ll dive into a collection of stories about how six San Francisco Bay Area Network vital signs—indicators of park ecosystem health—are being impacted by climate change: rocky intertidal zones, western snowy plovers, coho salmon, plant communities, landbirds, and pinnipeds (seals). We’ll look at how network scientists and partners are learning about each sign, and how this long-term research is essential to structuring life-sustaining conservation initiatives.

Meet GIS Intern Shea Nolan, get a peek at post-field season indoor botany, and test your invasive species ID skills in this fall-winter issue. Also catch invasive species profiles of two grassland troublemakers, Bromus tectorum and Rytidosperma penicillatum, and a native species profile on the charming redwood forest floor groundcover Oxalis oregana.

Douglas fir is widely distributed throughout the western United States, as well as southern British Columbia and northern Mexico. Douglas fir is able to survive without fire, its abundantly-produced seeds are lightweight and winged, allowing the wind to carry them to new locations where seedlings can be established.

How do we know if parks are healthy? We measure their vital signs, of course! Across the country, there are 32 inventory and monitoring networks that measure the status and trends of all kinds of park resources. We're learning a lot after years of collecting data. Check out these articles written for kids and reviewed by kids in partnership with the international online journal Frontiers for Young Minds.

You'll find coastal wetland wonders, Point Reyes post-fire monitoring, September invasive species surveys in the Presidio, and salt marsh plant community surveys featured in this issue. Noteworthy invasive species profiles include false ice plant and oxeye daisy, and don't miss a native species spotlight on the sticky, strangely shaped Point Reyes bird’s-beak, a threatened species in California!

Internship projects, invasive species early detection surveys across Golden Gate, and plant community surveys in squishy salt marshes and dense Douglas-fir forests are among the features in this August issue of Botany News. You'll also find info on two high priority invasive plants to look out for, parrot's feather and old man's beard, and a native species spotlight on the beautiful, sturdy, and ecologically and ethnobotanically significant blueblossum ceanothus.