National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program in the Heartland Network: An Overview of the

1
National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring
Program in the Heartland Network An Overview of
theMonitoring Program

• Janet D. Eckhoff, PhD
• I M Heartland Network Coordinator
• National Park Service

2
15 Heartland Network Parks
3
Heartland Network Wilsons Creek National
Battlefield

• IM Program
• - Heartland Network
• - Prairie Cluster LTEM

4
Heartland Network Herbert Hoover National
Historic Site

• Prairie-Cluster LTEM as an example with
  activities such as prairie restoration monitoring
• other LTEM programs that focus on monitoring in
  forest ecosystems

5
Monitoring activities in the Heartland Network

• FY2000
• Established a technical committee (Step 1)
• Entry of past information into NRBIB and
  NPSpecies, also GIS data synthesis (Step 2)
• Workshops (in February and March) to define and
  prioritize park issues for both inventory and
  monitoring - outcome product was the Inventory
  Study Plan (Step 2)

6
Monitoring activities in the Heartland Network

• FY2001
• Wrote Board of Directors Charter (Step 1)
• Workshop to discuss aquatic monitoring issues -
  outcome product summary report (in review)
  (Step 3 and 4)
• Hired network coordinator
• Network Coordinator visit each network park
• Board of Directors meeting (Step 1)
• Begun to establish focus groups (Step 5)

7
Heartland Network Buffalo National River

• Focus group to develop aquatic monitoring
  protocols (Step 5)
• - regional support
• - WRD funds used to contract with U Kansas

8
Heartland Network Cuyahoga Valley National Park

• Focus group to develop land use change
  monitoring protocols (Step 5)
• - regional support
• - dataset catalogue
• - metadata information

9
Heartland Network Arkansas Post National
Memorial
Individual park develop monitoring protocols for
TE species (Step 5) - U of Arkansas
partnership
Alligator mississippiensis
10
Heartland Network Hot Springs National Park

• Individual park
• develop
• monitoring protocols for special features
  (Step 5)
• - i.e. Geothermal hot springs
• - assistance from the Geological Division

11
Monitoring activities in the Heartland Network

• FY2002
• Hire data manager !!!!!!!!
• Workshop to set up Synthesis for the
  networks in our region (Step 3)
• Workshop to discuss terrestrial monitoring
  issues (Step 3)
• Establish focus groups related to terrestrial
  issues (Step 5)

12
Monitoring activities in the Heartland Network

• Ideally in FY2002
• Spring - meeting(s) of the Technical committee to
  put together the Heartland Monitoring Plan -
  goal to have a draft out by late spring (Step 6)
• Summer - begin implementing some monitoring
  program indicators (especially aquatic) for which
  protocols have been developed and reviewed
• Fall - complete all plan revisions to produce a
  final document of the Heartland Monitoring Plan
  (Step 7)

13
Heartland Network Effigy Mounds National
Monument