Inventory & Monitoring at North Cascades National Park

Middle Blum Lake

NPS photo

North Cascades National Park Complex is located in northwestern Washington and is composed of three park units: North Cascades National Park, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, and Ross Lake National Recreation Area. North Cascades National Park Complex lies within two very different biogeographic zones, the temperate marine on the west side of the Cascade crest and the semi-arid continental east of the crest. Elevation gradients are extreme and range from 119 m in the low elevation forested valleys to 2,806 m at high elevation glaciated mountain peaks. Total land area of this extensive mountainous terrain encompasses 276,815 ha, of which approximately 93% is designated wilderness.

The Cascade crest creates a rain shadow effect to the east and a climate that is much more influenced by continental air masses. As a result, east-slope conditions consist of cold winters and warm dry summers, with average annual precipitation measuring from 76 cm in the lower Stehekin Valley to 897 cm along the Cascade crest.

The North Coast and Cascades Network provides natural resource inventory and monitoring information to help parks make effective, science-based management decisions. Inventories have been completed for birds, fish, mammals, reptiles & amphibians, and vascular plants (see species lists further down the page). Maps and reports detailing North Cascades National Park's vegetation and soils are complete and are in progress for geologic resources.

For more information about North Cascades National Park Complex, visit the Park website.

Monitored Here

Climate
Forest Vegetation*
Glaciers
Landbirds
Landscape Change
Mountain Lakes
Subalpine Vegetation
Water Quality

*Forest monitoring is intermittent due to funding limitations

Publications

Monitoring Reports

Climate

Source: Data Store Saved Search 558 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Forest Vegetation

Source: Data Store Saved Search 555 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Glaciers

Source: Data Store Saved Search 3699 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Landbirds

Source: Data Store Saved Search 3691 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Landscape Change

Source: Data Store Saved Search 553 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Mountain Lakes

Source: Data Store Saved Search 567 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Subalpine Vegetation

Source: Data Store Saved Search 639 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Water Quality

Source: Data Store Saved Search 640 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Inventory Reports

Inventory Reports

Source: Data Store Collection 531 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Monitoring Protocols

Protocol Documents

Source: Data Store Collection 7780 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Synthesis, Trend, and Journal Publications

Publications

Source: Data Store Saved Search 3605 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Park Species List

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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:

North Cascades National Park

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.