Check out Ken and Susan's website for detailed results of the 2017 blooming study
NPS Photo
In 2017 Dr. Ken and Susan Bower (Naturalists) under the direction of Dr. Kristen L. Whitbeck (Park Ecologist), began a project to determine which plants were growing along the Ancestral Sites Trail and record their blooming cycles.
Plants were noted each week throughout the blooming season from mid-March until the end of October. A detailed record of each plant was maintained denoting the common and scientific name of each plant; whether or not it is native to the U.S.; photos of the plant, flowers and fruit or seeds (if applicable); the location of the plant; its distribution; a description of the plant; any ethnobotanical uses; and a table of internet resources for finding more information each the plant.
A total of 105 different plants were identified when they flowered. Four more plants were identified, but did not or were not allowed to bloom for a total of 109.
Ken and Susan now maintain a detailed website complete with maps, images, and ethnobotanical uses of all the plants they documened during their study at the park.
Locations:Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve
"Growing up, Valles Caldera, or The Valle as we called it, was always a place of seductive mystery. We loved it from afar, from the top of Pajarito Ski Hill, from the edges of New Mexico Highway 4, but never from inside its forbidden boundaries."
In this series, artist-in-residence Melissa Fu shares place-based memories and ponderings that weave together her upbringing in the Jemez Mountains and her recent residency at Valles Caldera National Preserve.
Climate and hydrology shape ecosystems and their functions, particularly in arid and semi-arid environments. Chihuahuan Desert Network scientists monitor climate, groundwater, and springs in White Sands National Park to see how they may be changing over time. This information helps park managers protect key resources. This report summarizes the results of springs monitoring in Water Year 2022.
Chihuahuan Desert Network scientists monitor climate and water at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Together, climate and hydrology shape ecosystems and the services they provide. Long-term monitoring provides early warning of potential problems, allowing managers to mitigate them before they become worse. This report summarizes climate, weather, and springs data from Water Year 2022.
Locations:Bandelier National Monument, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Canyonlands National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, Hovenweep National Monument, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Pecos National Historical Park, Rainbow Bridge National Monument, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, Tonto National Monument, Tumacácori National Historical Park, White Sands National Park, Wupatki National Monumentmore »
Offices:Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate
We’re incredibly fortunate to have some of the most beautiful mountain, river, and grassland landscapes across the United States but their resilience – a key characteristic of national parklands – is threatened by invasive species. National Park Service (NPS) park managers, restoration biologists, and other partners are at work to control invasive species through multiple projects in parks of the American southwest.
Locations:Acadia National Park, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, Amistad National Recreation Area, Antietam National Battlefield, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Arches National Park, Assateague Island National Seashore, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Badlands National Park, Bandelier National Monument, Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site, Big Bend National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Big Hole National Battlefield, Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, Big Thicket National Preserve, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Biscayne National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Bryce Canyon National Park, Buffalo National River, Cabrillo National Monument, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Canyonlands National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Cape Lookout National Seashore, Capitol Reef National Park, Capulin Volcano National Monument, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Catoctin Mountain Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chamizal National Memorial, Channel Islands National Park, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Chiricahua National Monument, Colorado National Monument, Congaree National Park, Coronado National Memorial, Cowpens National Battlefield, Crater Lake National Park, Craters Of The Moon National Monument & Preserve, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Curecanti National Recreation Area, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Death Valley National Park, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Devils Postpile National Monument, Devils Tower National Monument, Dinosaur National Monument, Dry Tortugas National Park, Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, Effigy Mounds National Monument, El Malpais National Monument, El Morro National Monument, Everglades National Park, Fire Island National Seashore, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Fort Bowie National Historic Site, Fort Larned National Historic Site, Fort Union National Monument, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Fossil Butte National Monument, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, Glacier National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Golden Spike National Historical Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Grand Portage National Monument, Grand Teton National Park, Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, Great Basin National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, Hovenweep National Monument, Indiana Dunes National Park, Isle Royale National Park, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Jewel Cave National Monument, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, John Muir National Historic Site, Joshua Tree National Park, Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lava Beds National Monument, Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Lyndon B Johnson National Historical Park, Mammoth Cave National Park, Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller National Historical Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Mississippi National River & Recreation Area, Missouri National Recreational River, Mojave National Preserve, Montezuma Castle National Monument, Mount Rainier National Park, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Muir Woods National Monument, Natchez Trace Parkway, National Capital Parks-East, Natural Bridges National Monument, Navajo National Monument, New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, Niobrara National Scenic River, Noatak National Preserve, Obed Wild & Scenic River, Olympic National Park, Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Padre Island National Seashore, Pecos National Historical Park, Petrified Forest National Park, Petroglyph National Monument, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Pipe Spring National Monument, Point Reyes National Seashore, Redwood National and State Parks, Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River, Rock Creek Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Saguaro National Park, Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway, Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, Shenandoah National Park, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Timpanogos Cave National Monument, Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve, Tonto National Monument, Tule Lake National Monument, Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Tumacácori National Historical Park, Tuzigoot National Monument, Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Voyageurs National Park, Walnut Canyon National Monument, Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, White Sands National Park, Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, Wind Cave National Park, Wupatki National Monument, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Yucca House National Monument, Zion National Parkmore »
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.
Locations:Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve
Human-caused climate warming and 20th-century forest management policies have led to dramatic changes in wildfire frequency and size, which in turn has impacted our forests’ ecosystem structure and functioning. Climate change drives wildfire frequency by raising temperatures, lowering relative humidity and increasing vapor pressure deficits, all of which contribute to lower forest fuel moisture, increased combustibility, and subsequent expansion of areas burned.
Meet Erwin Lopez Osorio, an international volunteer from Oaxaca, Mexico. Erwin spent the summer at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico with the International Volunteers In Parks program. He shared his expertise as a biologist, including during research and education programs about birds in the park.
Locations:Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve
Valles Caldera National Preserve and Bandelier National Monument are home to one of the rarest species on the planet, the Jemez Mountains salamander. Plethodon neomexicanus is only found in the Jemez Mountains of north-central New Mexico, and it was listed in 2013 as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Locations:Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve
The Large Mammal Monitoring Project is a collaborative effort to monitor the responses of mule deer, elk, black bear, and mountain lion to ecosystem disturbances like wildfires in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico.
