Natural Resource Monitoring at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

Vegetation monitoring plot location at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

NPS

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is one of nine parks in the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network which is part of a nation-wide effort of the National Park Service to generate scientifically sound information on the changing conditions of park ecosystems. Each year, our scientists hike extensively throughout the parks stopping to collect information for the long-term monitoring programs listed below. Back at the office they analyze data and share the information with park managers to help them better understand how to best preserve park ecosystems for future generations.

To learn more about these programs and key findings, choose from the options below.

Long-term Monitoring Programs

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  Benthic Macroinvertebrates

  These aquatic animals are widely regarded as the best group of animals for monitoring the ecological 'health' of streams and rivers.

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  Rare Riparian Prairies

  Along large rivers, special habitats called "riparian prairies" support many rare plant species.

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  River Water Quality

  Water quality characteristics are critical to understanding, protecting, and improving the fundamental condition of aquatic ecosystems.

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  Streamside Birds

  Our scientists document information on a community of birds that are essential components of park ecosystems.

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  Vegetation and Soils

  Forests are important ecosystems in parks, providing beautiful landscapes for recreation, and habitat for countless plants and animals.

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  Invasive Plants

  Parks monitor and manage invasive plants to protect important biodiversity and historic places.

Park Species Lists

Species lists are available from NPSpecies, the National Park Service's tool for documenting park biodiversity. Keep in mind that these species lists are a work-in-progress. Changes and updates are made as more species are shepherded through a rigorous vetting process. The absence of a species from a list produced with the tool below doesn't necessarily mean the species is absent from a park.

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve

Select a Species Category (optional):

All Amphibians Birds Fish Mammals Reptiles Vascular Plants

Get Checklist Get Full List List Differences

Species attribute definitions

Search results will be displayed here.

Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.

Reports & Publications

Find in-depth information on natural resources in New River Gorge National Park and Preserve at the links below.

Air Quality

Source: Data Store Collection 4304 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Animals

Source: Data Store Collection 4298 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Geology and Soils

Source: Data Store Collection 4299 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Landscapes

Source: Data Store Collection 4303 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Plants

Source: Data Store Collection 4301 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Water Quality

Source: Data Store Collection 4300 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Weather and Climate

Source: Data Store Collection 4302 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Citizen Science Opportunities

Bird observations from eBird

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve has one or more “birding hotspots” set up in eBird. Help the park record bird data by adding your bird observations to the appropriate hotspot when you visit the park.

Species observations from iNaturalist

• Learn how you can contribute to iNaturalist
• View New River Gorge National Park and Preserve iNaturalist data

Videos on how to use iNaturalist to track invasive species

2021 Using iNaturalist to help park scientists track invasive species (6 minutes)
In our previous iNaturalist video, we went over a quick rundown on how to use the iNaturalist app as a citizen scientist and document species occurrences within the national parks. This greatly helps park scientists and resource managers know about the specific timing and location of species of interest to the park. One of the most effective ways to use the iNaturalist app is to document the occurrence of invasive species so that park biologists can develop treatment plans to eradicate them before they have a large negative impact on the park's biodiversity. This video highlights three invasive species we want iNaturalist users to keep their eyes open for the most when hiking in the park and the ways to properly identify each species.

2021 How to use iNaturalist as a citizen scientist to help protect park biodiversity (3 minutes)
iNaturalist is a free and powerful phone app that allows users to document the timing and location of species they find throughout the entire world. When you document a species while exploring in the New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, the data will help park biologists know the location of species of concern. Regardless if you are a beginner or a master naturalist, everyone can participate in this citizen science project by learning more about the natural world and help conserve park biodiversity throughout the process.