The Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive is closed at mile 3, Upper Lehman Creek Campground, for the winter season. For information on other closures, click more... More
Two scientists calibrate water sondes (water quality equipment with sensors used to measure various parameters, such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and conductivity) in a stream, Great Basin National Park.
NPS / Jennifer Bailard
Scientific research is key to protecting the natural and cultural wonders of our national parks. To make sound decisions, park managers need accurate information about the resources in their care. Park staff collect data on the resources they manage, and they also rely on the research of scientists from other organizations. The application of knowledge gained through science is essential for effective park management. A few examples of management applications of science in Great Basin National Park include:
Successful reintroduction of the native Bonneville cutthroat trout, informed by stream surveys of existing fish populations, determining this species’ habitat needs, and conducting long-term monitoring of reintroduced populations.
A Fire Management Plan based upon tree-ring research documenting fire history of the area and fire ecology studies that describe the importance of periodic fire to maintain healthy forests and shrublands.
A Cave Management Plan that helps protect park cave resources, informed by surveys that documented endemic invertebrates as well as geologic and fossil resources.
With warming temperatures and more extreme weather events, which may range from drought one year to flooding another year, it is more important than ever to track changes occurring in national parks and use this information to make management decisions, share information with the public, and provide for safe and enjoyable park visits.
Locations:Acadia National Park, Catoctin Mountain Park, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Death Valley National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Fire Island National Seashore, Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Great Basin National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Joshua Tree National Park, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Mojave National Preserve, Prince William Forest Park, Rock Creek Park, Shenandoah National Park, Wind Cave National Parkmore »
Bats are amazing animals and a formidable force against insect pests, but a nasty fungal disease is killing them. A coordinated national response brings hope.
Locations:Acadia National Park, Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Amistad National Recreation Area, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Arches National Park, Assateague Island National Seashore, Big Bend National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Big Thicket National Preserve, Biscayne National Park, Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, Buffalo National River, Cape Cod National Seashore, Capitol Reef National Park, Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Channel Islands National Park, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Chickasaw National Recreation Area, City Of Rocks National Reserve, Colorado National Monument, Congaree National Park, Crater Lake National Park, Craters Of The Moon National Monument & Preserve, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Denali National Park & Preserve, Devils Tower National Monument, Dinosaur National Monument, Everglades National Park, Fort Larned National Historic Site, Gateway National Recreation Area, Glacier National Park, Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Portage National Monument, Grand Teton National Park, Great Basin National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Home Of Franklin D Roosevelt National Historic Site, Homestead National Historical Park, Horseshoe Bend National Military Park, Hot Springs National Park, Indiana Dunes National Park, Isle Royale National Park, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Joshua Tree National Park, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Lowell National Historical Park, Mammoth Cave National Park, Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller National Historical Park, Minute Man National Historical Park, Mississippi National River & Recreation Area, Monocacy National Battlefield, Montezuma Castle National Monument, Mount Rainier National Park, Natchez Trace Parkway, Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, Niobrara National Scenic River, North Cascades National Park, Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, Olympic National Park, Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Padre Island National Seashore, Petersburg National Battlefield, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Pinnacles National Park, Pipestone National Monument, Prince William Forest Park, Redwood National and State Parks, Richmond National Battlefield Park, Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River, Rock Creek Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Saguaro National Park, Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway, Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, San Juan Island National Historical Park, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, Shenandoah National Park, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve, Tumacácori National Historical Park, Tuzigoot National Monument, Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Voyageurs National Park, Weir Farm National Historical Park, Wind Cave National Park, Women's Rights National Historical Park, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Yucca House National Monument, Zion National Parkmore »
Offices:Air Resources Division, National Natural Landmarks Program, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate
Read the abstract and get the link to a published paper on a model to predict mercury risk park waterbodies: Kotalik, C.J. et al. 2025. Ecosystem drivers of freshwater mercury bioaccumulation are context-dependent: insights from continental-scale modeling. Environmental Science & Technology. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c07280
Locations:Assateague Island National Seashore, Big Thicket National Preserve, Biscayne National Park, Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, Channel Islands National Park, Fire Island National Seashore, George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Glacier National Park, Great Basin National Park, Indiana Dunes National Park, Isle Royale National Park, Mojave National Preserve, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park, Redwood National and State Parks, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Yellowstone National Parkmore »
Can you name five bees in your park? Ten? Twenty? Will they all be there 50 years from now? We know that pollinators are key to maintaining healthy ecosystems—from managed almond orchards to wild mountain meadows. We have heard about dramatic population declines of the agricultural workhorse, the honey bee. Yet what do we really know about the remarkable diversity and resilience of native bees in our national parks?
In the eight years since the Strawberry Creek fire, much has changed in the area, with restoration efforts to bring back native vegetation, stream condition, and fish habitat.
The Midden is the Resource Management Newsletter of Great Basin National Park, published each summer and winter. Find out the latest going on at Great Basin National Park, Nevada in resource management and research. The Midden – Great Basin National Park: Vol. 24, No. 2, Winter 2024
The Midden is the Resource Management Newsletter of Great Basin National Park, published each summer and winter. Find out the latest going on at Great Basin National Park, Nevada in resource management and research. The The Midden – Great Basin National Park: Vol. 24, No. 2, Winter 2024
Great Basin National Park is home to three known caves with perennial ice, which is melting rapidly. Efforts to learn from this ice before it melts are not easy, but reveal a spectacular, unexpected underground landscape.
Locations:Death Valley National Park, Great Basin National Park, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument
Offices:Geologic Resources Division
This year, for the first time, the NPS hired a shared paleontologist to support multiple parks in the same region. Dr. Aubrey Bonde was selected as the Southern Network Paleontologist to support five parks throughout Southern Nevada and California.
Locations:Acadia National Park, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, Amistad National Recreation Area, Antietam National Battlefield, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Arches National Park, Assateague Island National Seashore, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Badlands National Park, Bandelier National Monument, Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site, Big Bend National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Big Hole National Battlefield, Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, Big Thicket National Preserve, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Biscayne National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Bryce Canyon National Park, Buffalo National River, Cabrillo National Monument, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Canyonlands National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Cape Lookout National Seashore, Capitol Reef National Park, Capulin Volcano National Monument, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Catoctin Mountain Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chamizal National Memorial, Channel Islands National Park, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Chiricahua National Monument, Colorado National Monument, Congaree National Park, Coronado National Memorial, Cowpens National Battlefield, Crater Lake National Park, Craters Of The Moon National Monument & Preserve, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Curecanti National Recreation Area, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Death Valley National Park, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Devils Postpile National Monument, Devils Tower National Monument, Dinosaur National Monument, Dry Tortugas National Park, Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, Effigy Mounds National Monument, El Malpais National Monument, El Morro National Monument, Everglades National Park, Fire Island National Seashore, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Fort Bowie National Historic Site, Fort Larned National Historic Site, Fort Union National Monument, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Fossil Butte National Monument, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, Glacier National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Golden Spike National Historical Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Grand Portage National Monument, Grand Teton National Park, Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, Great Basin National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, Hovenweep National Monument, Indiana Dunes National Park, Isle Royale National Park, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Jewel Cave National Monument, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, John Muir National Historic Site, Joshua Tree National Park, Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lava Beds National Monument, Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Lyndon B Johnson National Historical Park, Mammoth Cave National Park, Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller National Historical Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Mississippi National River & Recreation Area, Missouri National Recreational River, Mojave National Preserve, Montezuma Castle National Monument, Mount Rainier National Park, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Muir Woods National Monument, Natchez Trace Parkway, National Capital Parks-East, Natural Bridges National Monument, Navajo National Monument, New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, Niobrara National Scenic River, Noatak National Preserve, Obed Wild & Scenic River, Olympic National Park, Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Padre Island National Seashore, Pecos National Historical Park, Petrified Forest National Park, Petroglyph National Monument, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Pipe Spring National Monument, Point Reyes National Seashore, Redwood National and State Parks, Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River, Rock Creek Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Saguaro National Park, Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway, Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, Shenandoah National Park, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Timpanogos Cave National Monument, Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve, Tonto National Monument, Tule Lake National Monument, Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Tumacácori National Historical Park, Tuzigoot National Monument, Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Voyageurs National Park, Walnut Canyon National Monument, Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, White Sands National Park, Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, Wind Cave National Park, Wupatki National Monument, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Yucca House National Monument, Zion National Parkmore »
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.
