National Park Service – Page 14 – North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

Develop Landscape Treatment Recommendations for the Memorial Amphitheater Grounds, Arlington National Cemetery

Project Description: This agreement will provide Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) with a comprehensive management plan for the historic landscape of the Memorial Amphitheater grounds, building on work being completed under P19AC01010. This agreement will develop recommendations to guide rehabilitation of the historic landscape of the Memorial Amphitheater grounds.

Lead Principal Investigator: John Auwaerter, SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Partner Institution: SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Robert Page

Project Type: Technical Assistance

Project Discipline: Cultural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline: Cultural and Historic

Start Year: 2021

End Year: 2023

Initial Funding Amount: $77,745.00

Federal Grant Number: P21AC10241

Location: Arlington National Cemetery

National Park or Protected Area: Arlington National Cemetary (DOD)

State(s): Virginia

Support NPS Region One Cultural Landscape Inventory, Technical Assistance, and Training

Project Description: This agreement will provide Region 1 parks with technical landscape preservation assistance and train students in cultural landscape preservation planning. It will: 1. Assist the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor (ERIE) by developing pilot cultural landscape and visual assessment inventories for the New York State Barge Canal system to assist in planning for the National Historic Landmark district; and 2. Provide Section 106 advising and other landscape preservation technical support to NPS Region 1 parks. Under #2, the project will a. Maintain the long-standing partnership with the NPS Olmsted Center in providing technical landscape preservation expertise to parks in NPS Region 1 and allow students to participate in that support; b. Support development of digital modeling as a research tool for preservation planning; c. Provide ongoing technical assistance to Gettysburg National Military Park for management of its commemorative park landscape; d. Provide technical assistance to Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park for management of its historic landscape resources at Fredericksburg National Cemetery, Wilderness Battlefield, and Chancellorsville Battlefield; e. Respond to requests by Region 1 parks for Section 106 review; f. Provide assistance to parks based on prior research completed by the Recipient; and g. Disseminate research findings.

Lead Principal Investigator: John Auwaerter, SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Partner Institution: SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Robert Page

Project Type: Technical Assistance

Project Discipline: Cultural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline: Cultural and Historic

Start Year: 2021

End Year: 2023

Initial Funding Amount: $130,000.00

Federal Grant Number: P21AC10283

Location: Northeastern national park units

Resurvey vegetation plots in large exclosure to provide findings concerning deer herbivory and invasive plant spread

Project Description: The goal of this project is to continue a vegetation monitoring program within a 5 hectare deer exclosure and adjacent control area that was established in 2007 to evaluate the species composition of the forest in the Jockey Hollow Area at Morristown Historical Park (MORR) between areas that are affected by deer browse and areas where deer have been excluded.

This project will resample vegetation monitoring plots established in 2007 to better understand the effects of deer browsing and invasive plants as a forest health demonstration project. Data analysis will determine whether vegetation protected from deer browsing allow for greater numbers of native seedling growth as well as less invasive species coverage. Analyzing the changes in the exclosure over the past fourteen years will lead to a greater understanding of native plant regeneration and growth in the park and will inform native plant management.

The outcome of this project will be a final peer-reviewed report that will provide park managers with science-based, quantitative data regarding the condition of forest regeneration and the spread of invasive exotics plant species. The findings will greatly inform implementation strategies for the 2018 Vegetation and Deer Management Plan where much of the focus is on encouraging native tree and plant regeneration. This exclosure survey, located in an oak-beech forest, will help to provide insight pertaining to oak regeneration potential and strategies the current range of the northeast interior dry-mesic oak-hickory forest (West Virginia to Rhode Island).

Lead Principal Investigator: Steven Handel, Rutgers University

Partner Institution: Rutgers University

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Robert Masson

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline: Biological (Ecology, Fish, Wildlife, Vegetation, T&E)

Start Year: 2021

End Year: 2023

Initial Funding Amount: $14,000.00

Federal Grant Number: P21AC11296

Amendments

Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2022, Amount: $11,000.00
Amendment Number: , Year: , Amount: $

Location: Morristown National Historical Park

National Park or Protected Area: Morristown (NPS)

State(s): New Jersey

Catalog and Curate Archaeological Collections for Region 1 Parks

Project Description: University of Massachusetts-Boston students will complete the following tasks as Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) participants. Work will be performed at the Northeast Regional Museum Services Center in Charlestown, Massachusetts, with few excepted activities (i.e., processing soil flotation samples) to be completed at University of Massachusetts-Boston, Boston, Massachusetts.
1) Preparing artifacts prior to cataloging (to include washing, sorting, and any necessary verification of missing or extraneous artifacts).
2) Cataloging artifacts using project or National Park Service methods, and subsequent housing of artifacts using National Park Service collections standards for long-term storage.
3) Rehousing National Park Service Collections, to include relevant field documentation according to National Park Service Standards
4) Digitizing and organizing relevant documentation.
5) Entering or updating artifact catalog information in the National Park Service System.
6) Traveling to parks throughout National Park Service Region 1 to provide location-based services and support to park curation staff.

Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. David Landon, University of Massachusetts Boston

Partner Institution: University of Massachusetts Boston

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Teri DeYoung

Project Type: Technical Assistance

Project Discipline: Cultural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline: Cultural and Historic

Start Year: 2023

End Year: 2024

Initial Funding Amount: $222,357.00

Federal Grant Number: P23AC00339

Location: National Park Service Region 1 (Northeast) parks

Student and Other Involvement:

Masters Students: 6

Summary of Student Involvement: Masters students have been working under the direction of NPS collections’ experts to inventory, catalog, document, and reorganize archaeological collections from multiple NPS sites in Region 1.

Enhance Understanding of Federal Collections from NPS Lands in Northwest Alaska

Project Description: Enhance Understanding of Federal Collections from NPS Lands in Northwest Alaska

Lead Principal Investigator: Robert Preucel, Brown University

Partner Institution: Brown University

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Kelsey Lutz

Project Discipline: Cultural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline: Cultural and Historic

Start Year: 2021

End Year: 2023

Initial Funding Amount: $232,013.00

Federal Grant Number: P21AC12244

Training Youth to Evaluate Dietary Overlap of Large Herbivores Using DNA Barcoding (2023 – 2024)

Project Description: The PI for the recipient will recruit and select up to two undergraduate students for a summer work-study program. For 4-6 weeks, each student will travel to Yellowstone National Park and work alongside project biologists. Students will work with the park botanist or bison biologist. Students may collect and prepare herbaria specimens, secure plant tissue samples for DNA analysis, collect fecal samples from migrating large herbivores, complete plant inventory surveys, and set up or maintain grazing exclosures. Herbaria specimens will be retained within Yellowstone National Park. The PI will provide analyzed data to YELL and make plant DNA barcoding data publicly available. The PI will mentor the students during the remainder of the work study program in his laboratory at Brown University evaluating plant and fecal samples.

Lead Principal Investigator: Tyler Kartzinel, Brown University

Partner Institution: Brown University

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Chris Geremia

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline: Biological (Ecology, Fish, Wildlife, Vegetation, T&E)

Start Year: 2023

End Year: 2024

Initial Funding Amount: $11,750.00

Federal Grant Number: P23AC00378

Location: Yellowstone NP

National Park or Protected Area: Yellowstone (NPS)

State(s): Idaho, Montana, Wyoming

Training Youth to Evaluate Dietary Overlap of Large Herbivores Using DNA Barcoding (2022 – 2023)

Project Description: This project will provide “real world” experience to young scientists by working side-by-side with National Park Service (NPS) staff, with the indirect benefit to the NPS of collecting information assessing dietary overlap of large grazing animals in Yellowstone National Park. The recipient will recruit and hire up to two undergraduate students in a summer research program at Brown University. Principal Investigator (PI) Tyler Kartzinel will mentor the students over the course of the program. Program participants will complete 4-6 weeks of field study in Yellowstone National Park where they will work alongside NPS biologists and field staff. One student will work with the park botanist to collect and prepare herbaria specimens and secure plant tissue samples for DNA analysis. The other student will work with the park bison biologist to collect fecal samples from migrating large herbivores and complete plant inventory surveys in existing long-term monitoring sites. Students will evaluate collected samples during the remainder of the work-study program in the PI’s laboratory at Brown University. Their work directly supports building a plant DNA reference library to evaluate large herbivore diets.

Lead Principal Investigator: Tyler Kartzinel, Brown University

Partner Institution: Brown University

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Chris Geremia

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline: Biological (Ecology, Fish, Wildlife, Vegetation, T&E)

Start Year: 2022

End Year: 2023

Initial Funding Amount: $11,280.00

Federal Grant Number: P22AC00332

Location: Yellowstone NP

National Park or Protected Area: Yellowstone (NPS)

State(s): Idaho, Montana, Wyoming

Student and Other Involvement:

Undergraduate Students: 2

Develop marine debris display and outreach materials at Cape Cod National Seashore

Project Description: The Center for Coastal Studies has worked with Cape Cod National Seashore both informally and formally on several resource management projects for decades on the Outer Cape, developing a program of research, technical assistance and education that involves biological, physical, social, and cultural sciences needed to address resources issues and interdisciplinary problem-solving at multiple scales in an ecosystem context.

This task agreement nests within these broader goals to focus on the Center for Coastal Studies Marine Debris Program. The recipient will partner with the park and NOAA to develop and install displays or exhibits to support marine debris prevention, outreach, and education. The project objectives are:
1) Reach new audiences (park visitors and residents) and educate them about debris sources in the region.
2) Prevent the introduction of marine debris at the park through raising awareness and changing behaviors of targeted audiences.
3) Collaborate on marine debris displays and exhibits, beach cleanups and debris data, and community outreach programs.

Lead Principal Investigator: Cathrine Macort, Center for Coastal Studies

Co-Principal Investigator: Laura Ludwig, Center for Coastal Studies

Partner Institution: Center for Coastal Studies

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Aleutia Scott

Project Type: Education

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline: Natural Hazards & Environmental Quality (NRDA)

Start Year: 2022

End Year: 2023

Initial Funding Amount: $21,000.00

Federal Grant Number: P22AC00338

Location: Cape Cod National Seashore

National Park or Protected Area: Cape Cod (NPS)

State(s): Massachusetts

Massachusetts Counties: Barnstable

Student and Other Involvement:

Summary of Other Involvement: Volunteers with the CCS Beach Brigade participate in shoreline cleanups to remove marine debris from the Cape Cod National Seashore and then assist with sorting and documenting the debris data.

National Park Service Region 1 Technical Cultural Landscape Preservation Assistance and Training

Project Description: Assist Women’s Rights National Historical Park with cultural landscape preservation treatment planning for the Stanton House unit; and provide landscape preservation planning technical support to NPS Region 1 parks. Under technical support, the project will a. Maintain the recipient’s long-standing partnership with the NPS Olmsted Center in providing technical landscape preservation planning expertise to parks in NPS Region 1 and use that assistance as a training opportunity for future landscape preservation professionals; b. Support development of digital modeling as a research tool for preservation planning; c. Respond to requests by Region 1 parks for Section 106 (NHPA) review; d. Provide assistance to parks based on prior research completed by the Recipient; and e. Disseminate research findings.

Lead Principal Investigator: John Auwaerter, SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Partner Institution: SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Robert Page

Project Type: Technical Assistance

Project Discipline: Cultural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline: Cultural and Historic

Start Year: 2022

End Year: 2024

Initial Funding Amount: $108,000.00

Federal Grant Number: P22AC02034

Location: National Park Service Region 1 (Northeast) parks

National Park or Protected Area: Women’s Rights (NPS)

State(s): New York