Due to road grading, Howland Hill Road will be closed from April 14-24 (excluding weekends) to all uses including non-motorized vehicles.
Access to the outdoor school is open to only school groups.
Storm Patrol: Stopping Roads From Burying Habitats
This rusty culvert caused the hillside to collapse, and it sent a landslide into redwood trees below.
NPS
Protecting Forests from Failing Logging Roads
Over the past decades, heavy winter storms have caused the failure of some legacy logging roads and culverts. While it may seem minor, these collapses can trigger entire hillsides to give way, destroying downslope forests and burying streams and rivers under massive amounts of sediment. In a single event, entire habitats can be wiped out.
Since 1978, Redwood National Park has removed or stabilized over 250 miles of logging roads, yet about 100 miles remain at risk. Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park has removed approximately 70 miles of roads, but more than 250 miles still require attention.
To address this challenge, Storm Patrol plays a crucial role in monitoring and maintaining these vulnerable roads. This winter crew, funded by Save the Redwoods League, is an essential part of the larger Redwoods Rising restoration effort, working to protect forests, rivers, and wildlife from the ongoing impacts of past logging practices.
Legacy Logging Roads
The 1978 Redwood Act, which expanded Redwood National Park, and the 2002 addition of the Mill Creek watershed to Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, marked significant shifts in how we manage "nature parks." These newly protected lands had been heavily altered by decades of timber harvesting, leaving behind hundreds of miles of logging roads and aging culverts.
When these roads or culverts fail—especially during heavy winter storms—they can trigger landslides, wiping out entire hillsides, destroying downslope forests, and burying streams and rivers under massive amounts of sediment. The damage to these ecosystems can be severe, threatening water quality, fish habitat, and the long-term health of the redwood landscape.
Restoring these lands requires ongoing effort, and Redwood National and State Parks continue to address the legacy of logging through large-scale habitat restoration, road removal projects, and erosion control measures.
(Episode 1). Find out who Storm Patrol is, and how their work is important in protecting the hills, forests, rivers, and endangered salmon species of Redwood National and State Parks.
(Episode 2). Armed only with shovels, these two "Storm Patrollers" are doing simple, but vital things to protect the parks' resources. Their success is sustaining safe hillsides for as long as possible.
(Episode 3). Discover the ways that Storm Patrol monitors complex and potentially destructive processes in the hills of Redwood National and State Parks.
Offices:Natural Resource Condition Assessment Program
Forests in Cuyahoga Valley National Park are responding positively to nearly a decade of white-tailed deer management. Although native, at high densities white-tailed deer can negatively impact forest vegetation. A recent study using data from the park’s long-term monitoring program found a reduction of woody browse, forest regeneration, and decreases in browse on the indicator species trillium.
Offices:Inventory and Monitoring Division, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, Rocky Mountain Inventory & Monitoring Network
Climate change has the potential to profoundly alter national parks, affecting plants, animals, and cultural resources. During this time of unusually rapid change, proactive management—planning ahead—has a better chance of success than reacting to crises after they arise. This article compares historical climate patterns at Rocky Mountain National Park with future projected conditions to help park managers proactively plan for climate change.
Locations:Cabrillo National Monument, Channel Islands National Park, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Offices:Southern California Research Learning Center
In this issue of 3Parks3Stories, we would like to share three stories of successful conservation projects in the Mediterranean parks that were reliant upon partnerships between the NPS and one or more dedicated collaborators. In these stories, we hope you see the mutual benefits of these relationships and the value they bring in the effort to protect, preserve, and understand our national legacy.
Locations:Acadia National Park, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, Home Of Franklin D Roosevelt National Historic Site, Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller National Historical Park, Minute Man National Historical Park, Morristown National Historical Park, Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, Saratoga National Historical Park, Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site, Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, Weir Farm National Historical Parkmore »
Offices:Inventory and Monitoring Division
From underground mycorrhizal networks to ultrasonic sound emissions and chemical signaling through the air. The plants and trees of the forest have a language and ability to communicate that science is only beginning to understand.
Locations:Craters Of The Moon National Monument & Preserve
Offices:Inventory and Monitoring Division, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, Upper Columbia Basin Inventory & Monitoring Network
Along Idaho’s U.S. Highway 26, National Park Service ecologists are enhancing the efficiency of sagebrush restoration and teaming up with a long-time partner of mankind: the mule.
Locations:Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument, Point Reyes National Seashore
Working within the structure of the One Tamalpais Collaborative, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy received $400,000 in funding through the California Wildlife Conservation Board’s pollinator rescue program to invest in protection of monarch butterflies in Marin County.
Offices:San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network
In early October, biologists with the San Francisco Bay Area Network Coho & Steelhead Monitoring Program assisted the California Department of Fish & Wildlife in collecting 40 juvenile coho salmon from Olema Creek. Now, these fish are living in the Don Clausen Fish Hatchery located at Lake Sonoma in Sonoma County.
Offices:Inventory and Monitoring Division, Rocky Mountain Inventory & Monitoring Network
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.
