Climate Adaptation Planning

A recently published paper shares best practices for using this valuable tool.

Denali National Park and Preserve faces an escalating challenge due to climate change: the historically slow but steadily accelerating collapse down a hillside of the Denali Park Road. This 92-mile scenic route is the only road across six million acres of Denali National Park and Preserve wilderness, and it is an important transportation route for park staff and visitors

Pollinators play a crucial role in national park ecosystems and beyond. In the national parks, species inventories help managers know which pollinators are present, and in what abundance, to better understand the state of park ecosystems and make decisions about how to manage them. From 2024 to 2026, 17 parks across the country will be surveyed for bees and butterflies.

At national parks across the nation, the Inventory & Monitoring Program is dedicated to providing managers with the information they need to make sound, science-based decisions that will help support the National Park Service mission of preserving the resources of America’s most special and treasured places for future generations.

To provide park managers with necessary information, the National Park Service has embarked on a new era of science-based management. An essential component of this strategy is vital signs monitoring, an effort to characterize and determine trends in the condition of park natural resources. When combined with an effective education program, monitoring results can contribute not only to park issues, but also to larger issues that affect the environmental health of the nation.

El monitoreo de signos vitales del Programa del Inventario y Monitoreo (I&M) del NPS aporta datos e información científicamente fiables del estado y la tendencia de determinados recursos naturales a los directores de parques, planificadores, y demás sectores interesados. Esta información sirve como base para tomar decisiones y trabajar con otras agencias y con el público, para la protección a largo plazo de los ecosistemas de los parques.

In 2008, scientists from the Cumberland Piedmont Network found a concerning trend: E. coli levels were too high. The source needed to be identified and addressed for the health and safety of the thousands of humans and animals that enjoyed the park. The network's long-term water quality monitoring program not only helped to identify the issue, but it also provided the tools to evaluate the solution.

Have you wondered what will happen to vegetation in arid climates if they become more arid in the future? Northern Colorado Plateau Network scientists explored the relationships between climate and vegetation at Bryce Canyon National Park. Results include discovery of changes that have already occurred and identification of vegetation types that are most sensitive to continued climate change, providing managers with insights into future scenarios that can aid decision making.

Sonoran Desert Network scientists monitor key resources and weather at Tonto National Monument by taking measurements throughout the year, which helps us track changes over time. This report summarizes weather and springs data from Water Year 2022. The data describe a dramatic change to Cave Canyon Spring. WY2022 was the third consecutive year of drought, and the park received less than average precipitation in all but three months.

At Rocky Mountain National Park, climate change is intensifying the impacts of drought, invasive species, and wildfire, and stressing the ecosystems that rely on natural processes to remain consistent. Read more about how RMNP is using the RAD framework to adapt to their changing landscape.