Inventory & Monitoring at Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Boulder Basin at Lake Mead National Recreation Area

NPS Photo

Lake Mead National Recreation Area was established in 1936, and it offers a range of natural, cultural, and recreational resources on both land and water. The park encompasses nearly 1.3 million acres and includes more than 140 miles of the Colorado River.

The park's land is centered on two man-made lakes, Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. These are the premiere inland water recreation areas in the West and a primary source of drinking water for southern Nevada. The park lies along the northeast boundary of the Mojave Desert, and is home to species representing to the Mojave, Sonoran, and Great Basin desert ecosystems.

The Mojave Desert Network provides natural resource inventory and monitoring information to help parks make effective, science-based management decisions. Inventories have been completed for mammals, fish, birds, vascular plants, and reptiles & amphibians (see species lists further down the page). Maps and Reports detailing Lake Mead's vegetation, soils, and geology resources are also complete.

Monitoring at Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Ongoing Monitoring Efforts
Bats monitoring bat populations using acoustic and capture surveys
Desert Springs monitoring water quality and availability at 44 smaller seeps and springs
Integrated Uplands vegetation and soils monitoring of the Creosote - White Bursage community
Invasive & Exotic Plants monitoring plan for detecting invasive plants throughout the Park
Selected Large Springs monitoring water quality and availability at Blue Point Spring
Spring Vegetation monitoring desert spring plant communities at select springs

Reports & Publications

Inventories & Assessments present baseline data collected during the first phase of the development of the Mojave Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network in order to have comparison with the long-term monitoring data currently being collected. Monitoring protocols describe why and how we collect, manage, analyze, and report monitoring data about the network's Vital Signs. The protocols consist of a narrative and associated set of standard operating procedures (SOPs). Monitoring Reports summarize data and findings from our Vital Signs monitoring activities.

Monitoring Briefs
Short summaries of fieldwork and findings

Source: Data Store Collection 4376 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Inventories & Assessments

Source: Data Store Collection 4378 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Monitoring Protocols & Plans

Source: Data Store Collection 4380 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Monitoring Reports

Source: Data Store Collection 4379 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Species Lists

The species lists presented here are works in progress. Information may change as we continue to update lists.

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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:

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Select a Species Category (optional):

All Amphibians Birds Fish Mammals Reptiles Vascular Plants

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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.