Natural Resource Monitoring at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The National Park Service will improve the ecological health of eastern forests in 38 parks using an array of management techniques. The NPS has selected forest ecosystems of high ecological and cultural value across multiple parks from Virginia to Maine that are at greatest risk of forest loss due to chronic and interacting stressors.

Many unique native plants grow on the Calcareous Riverside Outcrops and Seeps in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Over the past few years, park staff worked with the regional Invasive Plant Management Team, as well as an invasive plant control company, to remove invasive shrubs like autumn olive, honeysuckles, and multiflora rose.

Much of the forest in the eastern United States is around the same age, regrowing after widespread land clearing that peaked between the 1880's and 1920's. Throughout the twentieth century, forests began to regenerate, eventually spreading onto abandoned agricultural lands.

From coast to coast, the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Division is helping park managers improve the health and function of forest ecosystems. From promoting resilient forests in the Northeast, to conserving whitebark pine in the West, to protecting Hawaiian forest birds from avian malaria, scientific partnerships are helping parks to share information, leverage funding sources, and work together for outcomes that extend beyond what any park could accomplish on its own.

NPS Inventory and Monitoring Networks have been tracking forest health in eastern national parks since 2006. This monitoring information can guide resilient forest management and support parks in adapting to changing conditions through the actions described below.

Park forests are threatened by invasive plants and pests. Strategically tackling invasive plants to protect park’s highest priority natural resources and planning around forest pests and pathogens are important actions in managing resilient forests.

Forests cover tens of thousands of acres in eastern national parks and these critical resources face a range of interacting stressors: over-abundant white-tailed deer populations, invasive plant dominance, novel pests and pathogens, among other threats. The Resilient Forests Initiative will help parks address these issue collectively.

Forests in the northeastern U.S. are in peril. Over-abundant deer, invasive plants, and insect pests are negatively impacting park forests, threatening to degrade the scenic vistas and forested landscapes that parks are renowned for. With regional collaboration, parks can manage these impacts and help forests be resilient. This article series explores tools available to park managers to achieve their goals.

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.

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area experienced and extremely warm 2023 with total precipitation that was also above normal. The year ultimately ranked as the 3rd warmest and 17th wettest on record (since 1895).