The first step in protecting our parks is knowing what we have. National Park Service scientists identify and record the astonishing depth and breadth of resources in our parks. They record every living thing in parks: animals, plants, and fungi. They also identify rock formations, bodies of water, and rainfall. And they collect evidence of people and environments in the distant and recent past. After we take stock of all the different resources, then we can connect them to bigger issues, such as water quality and night sky visibility. Each park has its own unique combination of resources.
Discover the techniques and approaches park scientists use to take stock of park resources. See what they're learning and how inventories help park managers protect our parks for future generations.
Natural Resource Inventories
Basic inventories, including plants, animals, geology, air, and water, give us a starting point for understanding what’s in our parks.
Natural Resource Condition Assessments
These snapshot-in-time assessments fill in data gaps and report on the condition of selected park resources.
Cultural Landscapes
National parks preserve over 800 cultural landscapes.
BioBlitzes
These snapshot-in-time assessments fill in data gaps and report on the condition of selected park resources.
Paleontological Resource Inventories
Inventories help identify the scope, significance, and distribution of fossils in our national parks.
Visual Resource Inventories
We use a systematic process to identify scenic park vistas and assess their quality and significance.
Explore examples of inventories in our parks
Showing results 1-10 of 411
- Point Reyes National Seashore
Researchers Complete First Season of Point Reyes Mountain Beaver Habitat Surveys
- Locations: Point Reyes National Seashore
The Point Reyes mountain beaver—a primitive rodent that isn’t a beaver—is a sort of mythical creature at Point Reyes National Seashore. Almost no one has seen one in-person with their own eyes. Not even National Park Service Wildlife Biologists Taylor Ellis and Matt Lau, who just completed their first season of surveys as a part of a 2-year mountain beaver habitat modeling project in collaboration with UC Berkeley. Still, the survey season was a great success.
- Locations: Rocky Mountain National Park
- 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.
- Locations: War In The Pacific National Historical Park
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Pacific Island Inventory & Monitoring Network
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.
- Locations: Fort Necessity National Battlefield
- Offices: Eastern Rivers and Mountains Inventory & Monitoring Network, Inventory and Monitoring Division, Northeast Temperate Inventory & Monitoring Network
Fort Necessity National Battlefield park staff aimed to find out if Appalachian cottontail inhabited the park, so they collaborated with the Inventory and Monitoring Division to survey for their scat.
- Locations: Acadia National Park, Catoctin Mountain Park, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Death Valley National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, more »
- Offices: Mojave Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network, Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network
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.
- Locations: Dinosaur National Monument, Minute Man National Historical Park
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division
Pollinators are in danger, and national parks want to help. Two early-career scientists piloted research projects to find out how they could.
- Locations: Dinosaur National Monument
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
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.
- Locations: Death Valley National Park
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Mojave Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network
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.
- Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
- Offices: Heartland Inventory & Monitoring Network, Inventory and Monitoring Division
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.
- Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
- Offices: Heartland Inventory & Monitoring Network, Inventory and Monitoring Division
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.
Last updated: April 7, 2022