Federal Partner: National Park Service

Natural Resource Condition Assessment KAWW

Project Description: The NRCA Program has a core mission to provide synthesis and assessment of natural resource condition and trends in national park units. That work can be on a single resource or on more comprehensive sets of resources in a park resulting in an NRCA report product. The Recipient may collaborate with NPS on both types or projects: single resource or semi-comprehensive sets
of resources.

Single-resource evaluation are completed when a park-unit has data and information on park natural resources but lacks the capability or capacity to perform the synthesis and analyses of those data. In collaboration with NPS, the Recipient may assist NPS with these resource-specific evaluations of condition as needed.

For NRCA park reports, an efficient, collaborative approach is used to conduct the project work and develop final products for public distribution, consistent with the requirements and guidance posted at the NRCA program website (see: NRCA Development Guidance). In accordance with the NRCA Development Guidance, the Recipient completes, or facilitates completion of, the following principal tasks and activities with substantial involvement by NPS personnel in all aspects of the work effort

Lead Principal Investigator: Steven Keitzer, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

Partner Institution: University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Tammy Cook

Start Year: 2024

End Year: 2026

Initial Funding Amount: $75,000.00

Federal Grant Number: P24AC00640

Monitoring Estuarine Condition at Assateague Island National Seashore, Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network (2024 – 2027)

Project Description: This project is part of the NPS long-term monitoring program, and the protocol being used was developed specifically for the coastal parks by U.S. Geological Survey scientists (Kopp and Neckles 2009) to be implemented by the NPS. The data are made broadly available to partners and state agencies, filling a vital need for water quality information for estuarine waters along the east coast. These data are necessary to local,state, and national resource managers taking needed actions to manage, protect, and
restore estuaries. National parks are valuable and important public resources for not only recreation and education, but the preservation of endangered landscapes, natural communities, and species, important for not only public enjoyment, but economic stability in coastal communities.

The objectives of this project are to implement estuarine water
quality monitoring and monitor water clarity indicators at seagrass monitoring sites at Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS). Measurements of water column condition indicators will occur at ASIS in alternate years starting in the summer of 2024; and measurements of water clarity at seagrass sites for four weeks in July-August will occur for all years as identified in the attached scope of work. Monitoring will follow the standard methods described in the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network (NCBN) long-
term monitoring protocols for estuarine nutrient enrichment.

Lead Principal Investigator: Stephen Tomasetti, University of Maryland, Eastern Shore

Partner Institution: University of Maryland, Eastern Shore

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Holly Plaisted

Start Year: 2024

End Year: 2027

Initial Funding Amount: $45,409.00

Federal Grant Number: P24AC00612

Two-Eyed Seeing: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge, Western Science, and Climate Change Response in the Northeast

Project Description: The project creates a consultative and collaborative process with the
federally recognized Maine Tribes – Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Penobscot, and Passamaquoddy, involving Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs), elders, and fluent speakers, to share information, gain tribal input into research, and initiate co-stewardship decisions about cultural resource management. The process brings NPS managers and community members to sites, many for the first time to advance a co-stewardship approach. The project includes tribal educators and youth in developing new materials and curricula
about these resources that centers Indigenous Knowledge and priorities, co-creates new documentation that incorporates Wabanaki language narrative, video, and storytelling.

Lead Principal Investigator: Nick Fisichelli, Schoodic Institute

Partner Institution: Schoodic Institute

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Rebecca Cole-Will

Start Year: 2024

End Year: 2029

Initial Funding Amount: $350,000.00

Federal Grant Number: P24AC00341

NCRN BSS protocol: Analysis, Reporting, and Science Communication

Project Description: This project will benefit academic researchers by providing exposure to National Parks Service natural resources and the opportunity to work with National Park Service data to understand current status and trends in resource conditions. The National Park Service will use the deliverables of the tasks described in this agreement to improve the management of natural resources (for current and future enjoyment) and to provide information to the public concerning natural resource status. The project assists in the promotion, facilitation, and improvement of the publics’ understanding of natural, cultural, social and/or physical resources of National Parks. The project provides opportunities for students and the general public to learn about the nation’s resources and/or advance their professional expertise.

The National Capital Region Inventory and Monitoring Network (NCRN) plays a crucial role in collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing natural resource monitoring data to assess the status and trends of National Park Service (NPS) resources, thereby informing park decision-making. NCRN monitors stream biota at long-term sites across 10 NPS units in the National Capital Region. In collaboration with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), this project aims to conduct scientific analysis and reporting on the NCRN’s Biological Stream Sampling data, prepare scientific products documenting the current state and changes of these resources, and develop recommendations and best practices for their management in an evolving environmental landscape.

This agreement designates PI Hilderbrand to spearhead a collaborative project involving NCRN staff and NPS park managers. The objectives include analyzing the NCRN Biological Stream Sampling protocol, and widely disseminating the findings through various science communication products, such as webinars, resource briefs, and newsletter articles.

Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Robert Hilderbrand, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

Partner Institution: University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: John Schmit

Start Year: 2024

End Year: 2025

Initial Funding Amount: $24,910.00

Federal Grant Number: P24AC00308

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 02, Year: 2024, Amount: $18,050.00

Geophysical Data Processing, Development and Cultural Resources Support

Project Description: A priority of the National Park Service (NPS), both Park Units & Regional Resource Divisions, and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) is to identify, document, and preserve cultural and natural resources. Many of these resources are archaeological sites, historic properties, and associated natural features that lack information about buried attributes and depositional context. Geophysical surveys incorporate technology, such as Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), twin-coil electromagnetic induction (EM), and magnetic survey, that allows detection of buried features and cultural material that would previously have required more destructive research to identify. Because of the effectiveness of the technology and methodology for identifying buried deposits and features, many parks and associated parties are looking to employ this technology and methodology in their research to build a greater understanding of where resources are that we want to avoid and also in some cases to study. Because of the increase in demand of geophysical surveys from the NPS parks and programs, a need has arisen to streamline the data processing and reporting from these surveys. To maximize the cost-effectiveness of the fieldwork, the goal of this project is to develop software to allow for process different geophysical platforms data into datasets that can be imported into rendering software for interpretation and reporting. This project will involve the development of the software, field work to collect data, post-processing, report generation, and training.

Cornell University (Cornell) and the NPS will collaborate to accomplish the following objectives:
a. Use multiple geophysical techniques to locate and identify buried features for the understanding, interpretation, and preservation of resources in collaboration with the National Park Service;
b. Develop software for processing data from multiple platforms and generating data in a usable form for interpretation and reporting;
c. Produce detailed reports including maps, images, interpretation of results, figures, and other results that can be used by park or program management and associated parties.

Lead Principal Investigator: Kade Keranen, Cornell University

Partner Institution: Cornell University

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Justin Junge

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline(s): Physical and Earth Sciences

Start Year: 2023

End Year: 2027

Initial Funding Amount: $59,985.00

Federal Grant Number: P23AC01681

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2024, Amount: $49,426.38

Assessing the factors affecting the condition of vegetation in eastern NPS Parks

Project Description: Now and into the future parks need to use sound scientific data to identify best management practices of their resources to adapt to changes in the environment. This is especially so in an era where a variety of threats and stressors affect park vegetation resources that can result in increased operational costs for parks to ensure visitor safety and preserve park infrastructure. Knowing the condition and trends in vegetation resources allow parks to prioritize and allocate resources more effectively. The goals of this task agreement are to collect data to assess the conditions and the factors affecting vegetation of 21 eastern parks within the Inventory and Monitoring Division (IMD) Northeast Temperate (NETN), Mid-Atlantic (MIDN), and Northeast Coastal
Barrier (NCBN) network parks.

This project provides long-term forest vegetation monitoring in plots located within NPS parks from ME to VA. These ecosystems are important to park operations, visitors’ experience, and are valuable resources that are constantly affected by environmental change and stressors. Monitoring data collected under this agreement will be used by NPS Inventory and Monitoring staff and Dr. Nicholas Fisichelli of Schoodic Institute to assess the overall condition of and factors affecting NPS vegetation communities and provide recommendations to park managers. For example, annual assessments of the condition of park vegetation can help park’s prioritize invasive species management, identify and adapt to newly emerging threats, and alter management practices as needed to promote healthy ecosystems. Schoodic Institute in cooperation with NPS IMD staff will perform analyses of the vegetation communities and environmental data to evaluate the roles of climate change, invasive exotic species, forest pests, and other stressors on vegetation health within eastern parks.

The resulting analyses will increase the public and scientific community’s knowledge of how a variety of local (e.g., deer browse) and regional (e.g. invasive species, climate change) stressors affect the condition of vegetation resources. This information is critical for evaluating current and future threats to regional vegetation structure, biodiversity, and other linked natural and cultural resources so that strategies can be developed to mitigate their impacts in the future. For example, scientific data is needed to understand and manage how the arrival of invasive forest pests, high deer browse, and invasive plant species are affecting the forests within our parks and local communities that not only provide refuge for species and are important to high water quality, but also contribute to the visitor experience as an integral component of many park’s cultural landscape.

Lead Principal Investigator: Nick Fisichelli, Schoodic Institute

Partner Institution: Schoodic Institute

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Dr. Jim Comiskey

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

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

Start Year: 2023

End Year: 2025

Initial Funding Amount: $270,393.26

Federal Grant Number: P23AC01633

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2024, Amount: $66,142.88

Location: 21 inventory and monitoring parks in the National Park Service Northeast Region

National Parks or Protected Areas:

  • Acadia (NPS)
  • Appomattox Court House (NPS)
  • Assateague Island (NPS)
  • Booker T. Washington (NPS)
  • Colonial (NPS)
  • Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania (NPS)
  • Gettysburg National Military (NPS)
  • George Washington Birthplace (NPS)
  • Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (NPS)

Inventory of Pollinator Species at Minute Man National Historic Site (MIMA) and Boston Harbor Islands (BOHA)

Project Description: The primary objective of this project is to collect data on the bee and butterfly species present in MIMA and BOHA to inform their mowing, herbicide, and conservation activities. The expected result is to develop and implement a sampling method and training materials for MIMA and BOHA parks, and potentially other park units that will be identified through the I&M program for pollinator inventories. There is potential to scale up this project with additional parks and university partners once the training material and data collection methods are drafted and field tested. Ultimately, each park will determine a baseline pollinator species list that may be re-evaluated every 10-15 years through lethal sampling, develop a list of species or taxa groups that can be inventoried every 3-5 years using non-lethal methods, and identify species of conservation concern that may serve as “umbrella” conservation species whose management would protect other co-occurring species. We will use data collected in this project and a general literature review to provide park-specific recommendations for pollinator-friendly mowing and management practices.

Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Rachael Winfree, Rutgers University

Partner Institution: Rutgers University

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Tracy Valerius

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

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

Start Year: 2023

End Year: 2026

Initial Funding Amount: $112,449.11

Federal Grant Number: P23AC01536

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2024, Amount: $97,023.28

Location: Minuteman National Historical Site and Boston Harbors National Recreation Area

State(s): Massachusetts

Quantifying patterns of change and erosion/accretion linkages of erosional hotspots onshore and offshore in the Cape Cod National Seashore

Project Description: Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO) is among the most visited parks in the nation. The park manages over 44 miles of coastline which include some of the most pristine and undisturbed beaches in the northeast. and water resources are integral to the park’s visitor experience, providing a wide range of recreation opportunities.

Erosional hotspots are stretches of shoreline where anomalously high rates of erosion exceed well-studied historical rates. Hotspots are ubiquitous, yet ephemeral; their short life cycles (years) can dramatically impact natural resources and visitor access. New survey methods (nearshore seafloor mapping and remote sensing options, (near-range lidar, wave cameras, aerial imagery) allow a comprehensive picture of the linked terrestrial-submerged coastal systems. The Seashore’s 25-km ocean coast erodes episodically, resulting in a trend of cumulative habitat loss (coastal ponds, upland grasslands, shorebird nesting sites) and lost infrastructure (12 beach stairway replacements in a decade). Habitat changes include saltwater inundation of coastal ponds and bogs with effects on wetland plants, amphibian breeding, water quality and aquifer changes, shorebird nesting habitat loss as high tides eliminate supra-tidal buffer zones at the toe of glacial bluffs. Steadily retreating upland bluff margins host declining heathland/grassland habitats critical to remnant avian communities – including game birds such as quail, important to phase out stocked exotic game.

Lead Principal Investigator: Mark Borrelli, Center for Coastal Studies

Partner Institution: Center for Coastal Studies

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Geoffrey Sanders

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline(s): Physical and Earth Sciences

Start Year: 2023

End Year: 2024

Initial Funding Amount: $101,225.00

Federal Grant Number: P23AC00525

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2024, Amount: $100,251.00

Location: Cape Cod National Seashore

National Park or Protected Area: Cape Cod (NPS)

State(s): Massachusetts

Coastal Ecosystem Evolution along Cape Cod National Seashore at Duck Harbor and the Herring River: Multi-tiered, science-based management of natural resources and infrastructure

Project Description: A transdisciplinary study at Duck Harbor, a subbasin of the Herring River floodplain in Wellfleet and Truro, Massachusetts is proposed that will help managers better understand the short, medium, and long term impacts of recurring beach overwash events and reintroduction of tidal flow into a tidally-restricted former estuary. This study will initiate management actions to facilitate the recovery of native salt marsh habitats and integrate coastal oceanographic measurements with ecological habitat data that will provide the foundation for detailed analysis with regards to possible future conditions within both Duck Harbor (120 acres) and the broader Herring River project area (770 acres).

Data to be collected would include a systematic series of sediment cores, as well as aerial, surface, and non-invasive stratigraphic surveying (e.g., Ground Penetrating Radar), used to develop a robust sequence of stratigraphic maps to 1) determine historic (and prehistoric) ecosystem evolution throughout the Duck Harbor area; 2) understand vegetation composition throughout that evolution, particularly how it relates to belowground biomass; and 3) determine likely future ecosystem evolution based on projected natural inundation scenarios. This study is particularly timely as clearing of salt-killed vegetation at Duck Harbor is slated to begin in early 2023. Clearing of salt-killed vegetation will also take place in the adjacent Herring River Restoration Project. As such, the results of this study will directly inform management actions related to the Herring River Restoration Project.

This study has been designed as a two-year project, however, if funding for additional years were to become available, data collection (pre- and post-event elevation transects, surface and subbottom surveying, and selected additional coring) would continue and analysis would include robust multi-year trends, imperative to understanding how the Herring River continues to evolve as the restoration begins. Given the potential for a well-documented, quantitative analysis of a natural restoration of tidal flow this project provides a unique opportunity to forward the science of understanding the conversion of freshwater ecosystems to salt water due to increased storminess, sea-level rise, and other natural or anthropogenic drivers.

Lead Principal Investigator: Katie Castagno, Center for Coastal Studies

Partner Institution: Center for Coastal Studies

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Geoffrey Sanders

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline(s): Physical and Earth Sciences

Start Year: 2023

End Year: 2027

Initial Funding Amount: $230,002.00

Federal Grant Number: P23AC00266

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2024, Amount: $250,000.00

Location: Duck Harbor and Herring River within Cape Cod National Seashore

National Park or Protected Area: Cape Cod (NPS)

State(s): Massachusetts

Evaluating Nutrient Enrichment within the Estuarine Waters at ASIS

Project Description: This project will engage the recipient, University faculty, NPS staff, student interns and park visitors with the collection, evaluation and interpretation of water resource information about current water quality conditions within and adjacent to Assateague Island. This informational is needed so that the NPS can continue to provide high quality recreational opportunities for its more than 2 million annual visitors. Increased population growth, large scale agricultural production and rapid coastal development are known stressors that are impacting the watershed. Increasing outbreaks of harmful algae blooms could also directly impact public health. This project will enhance resource stewardship by engaging partners in shared environmental stewardship and science by providing current water quality information. The project not only serves the NPS, but also many local agencies (EPA, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Worcester County) and partners (Maryland Coastal Bays National Estuary Program, Assateague Coastal Trust) throughout the region concerned about water quality. Project results will be shared with regional resource managers and conservation partners through multiple outlets to raise awareness as well as enact specific policies, guidelines and/or best-management practices aimed at reducing regional nutrient inputs. Resultant data/findings will be incorporated into the annual Coastal Bays Report Card publication and shared directly via agency resource meetings and social media platforms.

Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Judith O’Neil, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

Partner Institution: University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Bill Hulslander

Start Year: 2022

End Year: 2026

Initial Funding Amount: $33,220.00

Federal Grant Number: P22AC02180-00

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2024, Amount: $0.00
  • Amendment Number: 02, Year: 2024, Amount: $33,220.00