Natural Resources Condition Assessments for Padre Island National Seashore and Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site
Project ID: J8W07110018
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Partner Institution: Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
Fiscal Year: 2011
Initial Funding: $15,000
Total Funding: $135,000
Project Type: Research
Project Disciplines: Biological
National Park: Intermountain Region
Principal Investigator: Drazkowski, Barry
Agreement Technical Representative: McPherson, R. Dale
Abstract: This is a collaborative project to conduct ecological assessments of natural resource conditions for Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS) and Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site (PAAL). These assessments will rely on existing scientific data from multiple sources, combined with best professional judgment from an interdisciplinary team of specialists, to evaluate overall functional status and integrity for park ecological resources. Project scope is comprehensive in that a wide range of biotic, abiotic, landscape, and ecological resources and interactions will be considered, and that conditions will be evaluated for selected critical ecological indicators for PAIS and PAAL. The assessments will utilize a standardized National Park Service (NPS) framework modeled around six essential ecological attributes at appropriate scales of analysis. The purpose of the assessments is to understand and report on the condition of resources for park-managed ecological components. However, some analyses (e.g., threats/stressors, current conditions) will likely be conducted at broader watershed or landscape scales that encompass areas extending beyond the parks’ boundaries in order to establish context for park resources. The project will be conducted in three phases: Phase I, a detailed definition of project goals and objectives, ranking of management issues and resources, and a determination of key data required for assessments; Phase II includes data compilation and review, and expert discussion/synthesis to support the assessments; and Phase III, collaborative assessments of resource condition, trends, recommendations, and reporting consistent with the NPS technical report series. The effort covered by this Task Agreement focuses on Phase I: conducting scoping, and developing a framework. A key element in this process is that NPS will provide a significant level of support for the scoping process, framework development, and most importantly, the project’s data mining efforts specific to the identified indicators for PAIS and PAAL. The public benefits include better understanding, insight, management awareness, and sustainability of the natural resources and their current conditions in PAIS and PAAL
Deliverables:
- Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park Natural Resource Condition Assessment (Natural Resource Report)
- Padre Island National Seashore
Natural Resource Condition Assessment (Natural Resource Report)