Inventory and Monitoring

North Cascades National Park Service Complex aquatics field crew conducts monitoring activities at one of the park's high elevation lakes.

NPS Photo

North Cascades National Park Service Complex is one of eight Pacific Northwest national parks in the North Coast and Cascades Inventory and Monitoring Network, created to share resources and professional expertise to conduct inventory and long-term monitoring of park natural resources. The inventory portion of the program identifies which natural resources are in the park via scientific surveys of plants and animals, as well as physical resources, such as air and water quality, climate, geology, and soils.

Long-term monitoring efforts are focused on carefully selected “vital signs” that represent the overall health and condition of park resources. Monitoring vital signs increases understanding of the status and trends of park natural resources, provides park managers with stronger scientific basis for management decisions and resource stewardship, and contributes to greater public understanding of park resources.

At North Cascades National Park Service Complex, the vital signs selected for monitoring include climate, glaciers, mountain lakes, bird populations, alpine/subalpine and forest vegetation, stream water quality, and landscape change.

Visit the Network website to learn more about inventory and monitoring projects and download inventory and monitoring reports and other publications.

 

Research Learning Center

The Research Learning Center (RLC) is co-located with the North Coast and Cascades Network Inventory and Monitoring Program (NCCN I&M). The RLC works with network parks, the NCCN I&M Program, and other researchers to identify research needs, coordinate science activities, and make science accessible for park management.