Browsing by Subject "National Parks"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Open Access
Application of a Novel Climate Adaptation Tool for Prioritization of Historic Structures in Coastal National Parks
(2024-04-26) Craddock, Everett
Climate change poses a threat to future resource management in National Parks. For coastal parks, cultural resources such as historic structures are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change-related threats such as sea level rise and hurricane storm surge. In the summer of 2023, a novel tool was created at Cape Hatteras National Seashore to provide a simple methodology for prioritizing historic structures for climate adaptation based on physical vulnerability and historic significance metrics. The goal of this Master's Project is to assess the transferability of the novel climate change adaptation prioritization tool and compare the outputs of this tool to the most common climate change vulnerability assessment protocol used in coastal National Parks. The novel tool transferability assessment was conducted by applying the tool to historic structures in Cape Cod National Seashore and concluded that the current iteration of the tool requires modification for application in other parks due to inconsistencies of data applicability and availability and challenges in interpretation of the tool outputs. The comparison between the novel tool and the vulnerability assessment protocol revealed significant disparities between the assessment methodology and recommendations produced, and analysis of the outputs from both tools revealed substantial added value from significance metrics in the novel tool. Lessons learned from this analysis were used to produce recommendations for the National Park Service in development of climate change adaptation guidelines.
Open Access
Identifying Sites for Protected Areas Based on Endemic Species Richness and Threat in Madre de Dios, Peru
(2007-08-31) Kirby, Seth
Species extinction rates 100 to 1000 pre-human levels are threatening the planet’s biodiversity. The Amazon rainforests are of particular importance to protecting species because of their extremely high levels of biodiversity. Faced with losses from deforestation of 20% in the last 40 years and expecting to lose another 20% in the next 20 years, governments and conservationist organizations must begin planning in order to mitigate species extinctions and the destruction of ecosystems. This master’s project creates a GIS-based planning tool for conservation practitioners that locates and prioritizes new protected areas in the Madre de Dios watershed in southeastern Peru. The tool is based on distributions of bird and mammal species endemic to Peru and Bolivia, ecological systems, and development threats. This study (1) locates centers of high endemic species richness (2) locates centers of high endemic species richness for threatened species falling in the IUCN Red List categories of Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable (3) and models conservation values based on (1) and (2) to identify and locate centers of conservation value, This study also (4) identifies and locates ecological systems with less than 10% found in the Peruvian parks system (gap analysis), (5) models threat values, (6) models conservation priorities by overlaying the conservation values model (3) and the threats model (5) to produce a model that prioritizes areas for conservation planning. Lastly, model (5) is overlain with the gap analysis (4), to locate areas that are of both high conservation value and contain underrepresented ecological systems. The results indicated that the eastern slope of the Andes, at elevations between 2000 and 4000 meters hold the highest levels of both endemic species richness and underrepresented ecological systems. These areas of high conservation value are well protected in Manu National Park but lack protection further east and to the south of Bahuaja-Sonene National Park. The results indicate an urgent need to create new national parks in this area, prioritizing those watersheds that are under threat from development, high in endemic species richness, and contain under protected ecological systems. However, the likelihood of new parks is low since colonists live in this area and new roads are being constructed. The pro-development political climate also presents barriers. Taking into account the challenges, the unmatched levels of biodiversity and accelerating development make this region one of the world’s top conservation priorities.
Open Access
Nuanced Regional Climate Exposure Assessment for National Parks
(2022-04-22) White, Cassidy; Holliday, Tay
Climate-driven changes in water availability are impacting resources in national parks across the nation. Because the water balance provides relevant, actionable, and interpretable information to managers, the National Parks Service supported development and application of a high temporal and spatial resolution water balance model. This historical and predictive model was used in conjunction with a high-resolution vegetation land cover map to graphically determine the actual evapotranspiration (AET) and water deficit levels associated with vegetation types within a given area. The resulting model estimates how water balance parameters are expected to change under future climate scenarios, suggesting increases in both AET and water deficit. Using this method and Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks as case studies, a water balance approach for identifying vegetation types was created and can be subsequently used by National Park managers in the future.
Open Access
Soldiers of Yellowstone: The Role of the U.S. Army in the World’s First National Park
(2022-05) Murphy, Thomas
By the 1860s, the United States’s colonization of the West was reaching its peak. Not even the most challenging terrain could escape European-American exploration, as was proven when groups began to enter the Yellowstone region in 1869. Within three years, the spectacle and promise of the area prompted lawmakers to designate Yellowstone as the world’s first National Park. That designation led to many questions, though; what was a National Park? How should it be managed? Who would do the work of maintaining it? After over a decade of uncertainty, the U.S. Cavalry was eventually given the responsibility of keeping the Park in 1886, and would go on to hold that responsibility until 1918. Throughout the periods of exploration, of Native conflicts, and of Army management, the role of the military in Yellowstone’s history has left an indelible mark on the people and the landscape of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. All through this period, the motivation was the search for value; while the Army had initially sought a strategic use for the landscape, their discoveries only invited profit-seeking ventures. When Yellowstone proved to have greater economic value than strategic, the Army moved away from its original mandate to defend and facilitate that economic usage.