Determining Status of Surface Water Quality in Parks and Inventory and Monitoring Networks

Project ID: P22AC02406

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Partner Institution: Oregon State University

Fiscal Year: 2022

Initial Funding: $79,196

Total Funding: $199,060

Project Type: Research

Project Disciplines: Biological

National Park: Klamath Network Inventory & Monitoring

Principal Investigator: Segura, Catalina

Agreement Technical Representative: Dinger, Eric

Abstract: The Inventory and Monitoring Networks (I&M networks) of the NPS were created to evaluate the status and trends of Vital Signs, these being indicators of ecological condition throughout the parks that are analogous to ‘vital signs’ of human health (e.g., blood pressure). Many I&M networks of the NPS have selected water quality (either separately or integrated with other Vital Signs) as one of their priority Vital Signs. In addition to the networks, many individual parks participate in form of water quality monitoring.

The goals of the project are twofold: 1) to track the status of and identify potential impairment to water quality in parks, and 2) to provide OSU students with opportunities to learn, perform, and evaluate water chemistry analyses on surface water samples from national parks (with technical oversight from OSU laboratory staff and faculty). OSU undergraduate and graduate students may also have the opportunity to participate in data summary, data analysis, and technical report writing. Expected products include technical reports on water quality from selected waterbodies within Interior Region 8, 9, 10, and 12 (legacy Pacific West Region, hereafter referred to as “PWR”) parks, and other regions as needed.