NPS
Scientists who study nature -- biologists, botanists, ecologists, geologists, hydrologists, paleontologists, and so on -- are busy in parks! Every year they conduct thousands of projects, whether they're pursuing basic research or using scientific methods to inventory and monitor natural resources. Some of them are NPS employees. Others are scientists at partner organizations working closely with the NPS on a joint project. Still others are university faculty and graduate students doing their own thing. And lately their ranks even include public volunteers who participate in citizen science projects.
They have countless stories from the field. One involves skirting a bear cub and mother near a research plot in a mountain meadow. Another involves toting modern scanning equipment over a lava field to understand the geology of other planets. And a third features snake dissections and picking through lung parasites introduced by invasive pythons. All in a day's work!
All this science helps the NPS understand parks and the challenges they face, and how best to preserve their natural systems. Read on to sample the great variety of natural resource sience, and scientists, in national parks.
Last updated: January 23, 2024