Wildlife Health Topics

In 2008, scientists from the Cumberland Piedmont Network found a concerning trend: E. coli levels were too high. The source needed to be identified and addressed for the health and safety of the thousands of humans and animals that enjoyed the park. The network's long-term water quality monitoring program not only helped to identify the issue, but it also provided the tools to evaluate the solution.

As you spend your days exploring Maui, you are likely to experience a couple notable distractions from the island’s native sights and sounds: buzzing and biting from mosquitoes. On Maui these insects are more than just an average outdoor nuisance—they are causing irreversible damage to the island’s ecology.

Within the next ten years, many native Hawaiian honeycreeper species will be pushed to extinction by the uncontrolled spread of avian malaria—but it’s not too late to save them!

The island of Maui is known for beautiful sand beaches, rich Hawaiian culture, and stunning biodiversity, but the island is at risk of losing one of its most iconic features – the native forest birds, a group of species found nowhere else on earth.

The National Park Service, in partnership with many other agencies and organizations, will suppress invasive mosquito populations through biocontrol to reduce avian malaria and prevent the extinction of several federally threatened and endangered native forest bird populations at Haleakala National Park.

Efforts to conserve endangered species strengthened by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Hawaiʻi is home to some of the most diverse and unique wildlife on the planet, including the Hawaiian honeycreepers, a group of forest birds found nowhere else in the world. Unfortunately, human-assisted arrival of avian malaria—worsened by climate change—and other factors have brought Hawaiian honeycreepers to the brink of extinction. Read more about how Haleakalā National Park is using innovative methods to save the 17 remaining species of Hawaiian honeycreepers.

One Tam partners released the first-ever assessment of the health of Mt. Tamalpais. It was the first time that over 60 One Tam partner staff and scientists from across the region came together to look at indicators of health. We analyzed these indicators, such as special wildlife species and plant communities, at a landscape-scale to develop an overall picture of health for the mountain.

Everyone is on their own path and journey. We are lucky that the scientists featured in this Plot Your Path series found their way to the National Park Service. Learn more about biological science technician, Allie Petersen and the people that helped her on her journey.

A recent study done in Theodore Roosevelt National Park shows the potential of fertility control - or contraceptives - to manage feral horse populations in the park.