Administrative Support for the Upper Columbia Basin Network Inventory and Monitoring Program
Project ID: P13AC00983
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Partner Institution: University of Idaho
Fiscal Year: 2013
Initial Funding: $39,930
Total Funding: $93,549
Project Type: Technical Assistance
Project Disciplines: Biological
National Park: Upper Columbia Network Inventory & Monitoring
Principal Investigator: Wright, Gerry
Agreement Technical Representative: Dicus, Gordon
Abstract: The Upper Columbia Basin Network (UCBN) of the National Park Service (NPS) has an on-going partnership with the University of Idaho (UI) to help meet the goals and objectives of the respective programs. Through this partnership, the UCBN has obtained much-needed administrative and technical support while UI students and faculty have opportunities to become involved with NPS inventory, monitoring, and research projects. Over the past ten years, the partnership has supported several projects in NPS units, providing student employment opportunities resulting in over a dozen technical reports, six peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as NPS website content and science communication products. Over the next five years, UCBN will work with UI to emphasize enhancements to our long-term natural resource monitoring methods, develop science communication tools for explaining results of our inventory and monitoring efforts, and continue field work activities. This is a collaborative project between UI and NPS to achieve several objectives: to provide a setting where UCBN NPS staff can efficiently accomplish their work goals; to select specific projects for which NPS and UI students and faculty can work collaboratively to meet the needs of the UCBN parks and create learning opportunities for students; and to conceive projects where the UCBN parks can work with NPS Inventory and Monitoring staff to leverage the expertise of UI students and faculty for specific inventory, monitoring, and research objectives. This Task Agreement will be conducted in a phased approach; each year, UCBN will work with UI to review what has been accomplished in the previous year and develop work and study plans to be completed during the current year. Project products include annual reports summarizing the key accomplishments and research highlights for each year, and a final report.