Success Stories

The Inventory and Monitoring Division explored the effects of the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome Fires on trout, their habitat, and their food sources in Rocky Mountain National Park. The results show that high-elevation trout are resilient, providing valuable insight for park managers making conservation decisions.

U.S. national parks are part of an international network tracking vulnerable migratory birds. They are also vital training grounds for future bird conservationists.

New technology makes it possible to record hundreds of thousands of songs in a short time. That could make protecting wild birds and other at-risk animals easier.

Bats are amazing animals and a formidable force against insect pests, but a nasty fungal disease is killing them. A coordinated national response brings hope.

Pollinators are in danger, and national parks want to help. Two early-career scientists piloted research projects to find out how they could.

The Inventory and Monitoring Division funded a project to study wetland habitats in Dinosaur National Monument, exploring their locations, conditions, and ecological roles. Data from this project will inform park management decisions and future updates to water rights.

Rivers, such as the Colorado and Green River, are vital, but limited, resources in the semiarid and arid intermountain west. The Upper Colorado River Basin is the principal water supply of the western United States and supports habitat for a variety of flora and fauna. For nearly a century, managers have been striving to balance water use needs and ecosystem health. Learn how dams and managed flow variability have affected riparian corridors in Canyonlands National Park.

Capulin Volcano National Monument provides access to nature’s most awe-inspiring work. Come view a dramatic landscape—a unique place of mountains, plains, and sky—born of fire and forces continually reshaping the earth’s surface.

Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports.

Many Americans are reluctant to talk with one another about climate change. This may have a chilling effect on addressing its impacts in and outside national parks. Online information and storytelling could encourage meaningful dialogue.