Natural Resources Monitoring at Bryce Canyon National Park

Red rock hoodoos in foreground, pine-covered mountains in background
High-elevation woodlands dominate Bryce Canyon National Park.

NPS/A. Washuta

The NCPN monitors air quality, climate, land surface phenology, landbirds, landscape dynamics, uplands, and water quality at Bryce Canyon National Park. The results of that monitoring provide park managers with scientific information for decisionmaking.

Before becoming a national park in 1928, Bryce Canyon National Park was established as Bryce Canyon National Monument by Presidential Proclamation in June 1923, "because of unusual scenic beauty, scientific interest and importance." The park is known internationally for its brightly colored and towering formations of limestone, clay, and silt, which were created primarily by the erosive forces of water.

Elevation ranges from approximately 1,859 meters (6,100 feet) in the eastern lowlands to 2,774 meters (9,100 feet) at the park's southern end. Annual precipitation averages 381 millimeters (15 inches) with an average annual snowfall of 254 centimeters (100 inches) at headquarters. Overall, upland woodlands dominate the park—especially ponderosa pine and/or two-needle pinyon-juniper species. Most shrublands occur as small patches. Native grasslands intermix with shrublands; riparian and wetland plants occur almost exclusively in wet meadows and along streams on the west side of the park.

Visitor-use density, adjacent land-use impacts, and exotic plant species invasion are the park's main natural resource management concerns. However, the absence of human development and artificial light creates conditions for unimpeded distant views by day and unparalleled viewing of the brilliant night skies.

Quick Reads

Showing results 1-10 of 18

  • Landbird Population Trends in the Northern Colorado Plateau Network, 2024

    • Locations: Arches National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park,
    • Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
    A bird sitting in a tree.

    Northern Colorado Plateau Network’s long-term landbird monitoring program provides habitat-based updates for bird population status and trends in the parks in the Northern Colorado Plateau. These inform scientists and managers about changes in bird populations and about the health of the habitats they depend on. Learn more about which species were detected in the network parks for the first time and which landbird populations were increasing or declining between 2005 - 2024.

  • Water Quality in the Northern Colorado Plateau Network: Water Years 2019-2022

    • Locations: Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Dinosaur National Monument,
    • Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
    A calm river flows through a red rock canyon on a sunny summer day.

    Good, clean water is essential for healthy ecosystems--for people, vegetation, and animals--making it one of the most important resources in the semi-arid west. The Northern Colorado Plateau Network and its partners monitor water quality in 8 national parks in Utah and Colorado to help scientists and managers conserve these resources. This article summarizes 2019-2022 water quality data and how they compare to state standards.

  • Helping Managers Plan for Climate Change with Remote Sensing at Bryce Canyon National Park

    • Locations: Bryce Canyon National Park
    • Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
    A lone pine tree grows on a canyon rim, its roots exposed.

    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.

  • Changing Patterns of Water Availability May Change Vegetation Composition in US National Parks

    • Locations: Acadia National Park, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, Amistad National Recreation Area, Antietam National Battlefield,
    • Offices: Appalachian Highlands Inventory & Monitoring Network, Chihuahuan Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network, Cumberland Piedmont Inventory & Monitoring Network, Eastern Rivers and Mountains Inventory & Monitoring Network, Great Lakes Inventory & Monitoring Network,
    Green, orange, and dead grey junipers in red soil, mountains in background

    Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad scale. But not all areas experience the same climate in the same way, even within the boundaries of a single national park. A new dataset gives park managers a valuable tool for understanding why vegetation has changed and how it might change in the future under different climate-change scenarios.

  • Landbird Population Trends in the Northern Colorado Plateau Network, 2023

    • Locations: Arches National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park,
    • Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
    A speckled white bird floats on blue water.

    Because birds can be sensitive to habitat change, they are good indicators of ecosystem integrity. The Northern Colorado Plateau Network partners with the University of Delaware to assess breeding-bird species trends in three different habitats: low-elevation riparian, pinyon-juniper, and sage shrubland. Find out which species were increasing and declining at network parks as of 2023.

  • Localized Drought Impacts on Northern Colorado Plateau Landbirds

    • Locations: Arches National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park,
    • Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
    A man wearing a clipboard looks through binoculars at dawn in field of sagebrush

    Birds of the desert southwest, a climate-change hotspot, are among the most vulnerable groups in the US. To help park managers plan for those changes, scientists evaluated the influence of water deficit on landbird communities at 11 national parks in Utah and Colorado. The results will help land managers to focus conservation efforts on places where certain species are most vulnerable to projected climate changes.

  • Monitoring From Space: Using Satellite Imagery to Measure Landscape Conditions on the Ground

    • Locations: Arches National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park,
    • Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
    Satellite and Earth in space

    Scientists from the Northern Colorado Plateau Network travel thousands of miles each year to collect data on plants, soils, and water across network parks. But it would be impossible to cover every square inch of the Northern Colorado Plateau with boots on the ground. Instead, we simultaneously monitor the parks with boots in space—satellite data that provide information at a much broader scale.

  • A Changing Bimodal Climate Zone Means Changing Vegetation in Western National Parks

    • Locations: Arches National Park, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Bandelier National Monument, Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site, Big Bend National Park,
    • Offices: Chihuahuan Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network, Climate Change, Climate Change Response Program, Inventory and Monitoring Division, Mediterranean Coast Inventory & Monitoring Network,
    Dark storm clouds and rainbow over mountains and saguaros.

    When the climate changes enough, the vegetation communities growing in any given place will also change. Under an expanded bimodal climate zone, some plant communities in western national parks are more likely to change than others. National Park Service ecologists and partners investigated the future conditions that may force some of this change. Having this information can help park managers decide whether to resist, direct, or accept the change.

  • Landbird Population Trends in the Northern Colorado Plateau Network, 2022

    • Locations: Arches National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park,
    • Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
    Hairy woodpecker clings to the underside of a tree branch.

    Because birds can be sensitive to habitat change, they are good indicators of ecosystem integrity. The Northern Colorado Plateau Network partners with the University of Delaware to assess breeding-bird species trends in three different habitats: low-elevation riparian, pinyon-juniper, and sage shrubland. Find out which species were increasing and declining at network parks as of 2022.

  • Landbird Population Trends in the Northern Colorado Plateau Network, 2021

    • Locations: Arches National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park,
    • Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
    Small dove with black spots on back of wings, long tail, and brownish-gray body.

    Because birds can be sensitive to habitat change, they are good indicators of ecosystem integrity. The Northern Colorado Plateau Network partners with the University of Delaware to assess breeding-bird species trends in three different habitats: low-elevation riparian, pinyon-juniper, and sage shrubland. Find out which species were increasing and declining at network parks as of 2021.

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 3785. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

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Last updated: October 20, 2022

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