Nature News

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.

War in the Pacific National Historical Park is working to protect Guam’s biodiversity by managing invasive species like brown tree snakes and little fire ants while safeguarding native wildlife, including the endangered Guam tree snail. A recent study assessed the park’s Guam tree snail population, providing essential data to inform conservation efforts aimed at restoring the island’s fragile ecosystem.

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.

Researchers undertook a major effort to document plant communities in Death Valley National Park, producing its most detailed vegetation map to date. This map enhances understanding of the landscape and aids conservation efforts.

The National Park Service's primary duty is to conserve park resources for future generations. Yet it took almost a half-century before the bureau had a program intended to tell park managers which resources were in the parks, and what state they were in. This is the story of how the National Park Service's Inventory & Monitoring Division finally became a reality, how it's lasted, and what it's accomplished.

At Cuyahoga Valley National Park, an inventory of streams and their inhabitants is helping park managers understand and protect these vital waterways. The study revealed that most streams in the park are in good condition with minimal habitat damage. For the few streams facing challenges, conservation and restoration initiatives will help restore them to high ecological quality.

At Cuyahoga Valley National Park (NP), a rare plant inventory funded by the Inventory & Monitoring Division is helping park managers understand and protect the park’s hidden ecological gems. Researchers identified 98 rare plant species during this inventory.

Discover how rangers at Sleeping Bear Dunes search for rare plants and contribute to conservation efforts in the park.

A new National Park Service report shows that in 2021, 15.9 million park visitors spent an estimated $1.3 billion in local gateway regions while visiting Blue Ridge Parkway. That spending supported 17,900 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to local economies of $1.7 billion.

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.