Designing an NPS Regional Resource Stewardship Strategy Tool
IAN has partnered with the National Park Service for the last seven years to produce their natural resource condition assessment (NRCA) reports. Dr. Simon Costanzo, Dr. Bill Dennison, and Jane Hawkey were invited to partner with the Park Service once again on the prioritization and implementation of recommendations from these completed natural resource reports. At the workshop held November 7, 2016 at Monocacy National Battlefield, National Capitol Region natural and cultural resource park managers were introduced to, and provided feedback on, IAN's preliminary vision of Resource Stewardship Strategy's database tool. This tool will be designed to provide a transparent and justifiable decision-making approach for prioritizing and testing the feasibility of actions to address natural and cultural resource recommendations. It will allow activity input and revisions, and have a sorting function.
Planning resilience on public lands
Last week, the RAMS team traveled to West Virginia to attend a National Park Service workshop on resilient forest planning. Katie May Laumann presented on the potential management applications of RAMS: assessing natural resources in parks focuses management actions on those areas that are most vulnerable to change. There were also talks on parks' efforts to manage invasive pests like emerald ash borer.
IAN and NPS at AAAS
IAN showcased our partnership with the National Park Service National Capital Region at American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in Washington, DC from March 2–5. The NPS-IAN partnership perfectly meshes with the conference theme “Science for Humanity”—we use data collected in National Parks to inform management of these parks. This will ensure they are preserved for generations to come.
Spotlight on National Parks
IAN travelled to the National Conservation Training Center on April 3–4 to participate in the Spotlight on National Park Resources in the National Capital Region (NCR). This biennial conference brings together researchers, students, and managers to share their research on natural and cultural resources within NCR parks. IAN has a long-standing relationship with the National Park Service. Most recently, we have been helping develop succinct assessments of park conditions that can be easily understood and used by park staff to improve management of parks throughout the National Capital Region. Katie May and Conor shared the latest developments in these Resource Assessments for Management Strategies (RAMS), as well as efforts to work across park boundaries and identify opportunities for collaboration that can improve resource conditions within and outside of parks. This was a wonderful opportunity to connect with old colleagues, learn about new research, and visit Antietam National Battlefield!