Objectives
- To assess and report on watershed and habitat conditions within the Midwestern NPS lands.
- To provide park superintendents and managers with data and information that will allow them to more precisely and accurately define desired future conditions and thus provide a more comprehensive and accurate assessment of current resource conditions.
- To provide assessment statistics and report summaries that will allow park superintendents and managers to develop reports that meet GPRA and OMB reporting requirements.
- To develop an assessment framework and process that can be repeated in the future and can serve as a template for resource assessments at other park units.
The initial Watershed/Natural Resource Assessments were conducted for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri and the Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa. Further assessments were then conducted for George Washington Carver National Monument and Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield in Missouri, and Pea Ridge National Military Park in Arkansas (shown above).
These Watershed/Natural Resource Assessments will allow the National Park Service to gain critical understanding needed to address threats and issues on watershed or regional landscape scales. Information gained from these assessments will form the basis for of actions designed to reduce and prevent impairment of park resources through NPS and partnership efforts.
This project was completed with a good deal of help from NPS Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network staff. Reports that conform to NPS standards were produced and are in use to aid planning.