Fiscal Year: 2022

Apply Remote Sensing Methods to Map Tree Species and Tree Health for Species of Management Concern in Acadia National Park and Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument

Project Description: The goals of this project are to map the locations tree species and the condition of tree health in Acadia National Park (ACAD) and Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (KAWW) so that the parks can understand the threat of invasive insect pests, like Emerald Ash Borer and Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, and protect threatened tree species traditionally used by the Wabanaki tribes, such as ash. This project will map select species of trees and tree health for all forested lands in ACAD and KAWW using existing ground, airborne, and satellite imagery because the parks currently lack maps accurately representing tree species occurrence and tree health at fine spatial resolution. These maps will provide a valuable resource for a number of management and resource applications including: 1) management of invasive insect pests and diseases, such as Emerald Ash Borer, Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, and red pine scale, and 2) anticipating and managing changes in forest species or mass mortality events that may occur with climate change and drought, and possibly in combination with insect pests.

The outcomes of this project are a peer-reviewed report and a map of tree species composition and tree health in ACAD and KAWW that describes the condition of a range of forest types across both parks. In addition, two in-person workshops, one each in ACAD and KAWW, will be held to communicate findings to park staff and other stakeholders (e.g., researchers, friends’ groups, land trusts, municipalities) and to get input to improve and revise the maps. A communication product (e.g., resource brief, web article, or story map) will also be completed to share the findings more widely.

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: 2022

End Year: 2024

Initial Funding Amount: $29,786.00

Federal Grant Number: P22AC00405

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 1, Year: 2023, Amount: $32,144.00

Location: Acadia and Katahdin Woods and Waters

National Parks or Protected Areas:

  • Acadia (NPS)
  • Katahdin Woods and Waters (NPS)

State(s): Maine

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

    Development, Maintenance, and Facilitation of NAC-CESU Experts Database and Environmental Emergency Response Network

    Project Description: In 2018, the host institution for the Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CHWA CESU), the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Appalachian Laboratory (UMCESAL) developed a searchable and filterable web-based Experts Database that resides within the CHWA CESU website (https://chwacesu.org/experts_database/). Launched successfully in early 2019, the purpose of the database is to help connect federal agencies with non-federal research partners within the CHWA CESU network as well as to foster collaboration across the network. As of April 2022, the CHWA CESU Experts Database has 176 active experts and has been an important tool helping connect federal agency research needs with qualified experts who can meet those needs.

    The CHWA CESU Experts Database is an excellent model for the rapid building of partnerships between federal agencies and experts, thereby saving time and an unnecessary search burden. This reduces cost prior to the completion of the proposal process and allows federal agencies to identify multiple experts for potential projects. Through the database, agencies are able to consider new and more diverse experts that they may not have otherwise located. The database fosters convenient access to specialties and transmission of opportunities to like-minded partners. Furthermore, it serves as a hub for prospective researchers who are seeking postdocs, graduate students, specific technical expertise or interdisciplinary partnerships to review the accessible talent pool to meet specific project needs.

    NAC-CESU plans to adopt the concept used by the CHWA CESU and expand its functionality to automate database functions and incorporate a federal emergency response component. This expansion will, in part, rely on the model of the University of Rhode Island’s Scientific Support for Environmental Emergency Response (SSEER), which assists the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Office of Emergency Response, in the assessment, reduction, or remediation of threats to environmental and public health and safety in a natural or manmade emergency.

    With the escalation of climate change, increased extremes in heat, drought, flooding, hail, tornadoes, and tropical cyclones/hurricanes will inevitably increase environmental emergencies. The Experts Database will give its members the option to include information about emergency training completion and readiness to assist with emergency response. This will provide a valuable source of environmental experts to assist with a variety of emergency situations. An emergency response network will encourage the use of relevant science to prevent acceleration of or calculate the extent of damages during high-risk events (Goode et al., 2021). This will allow federal entities to foster proactive predictions rather than risk uninformed reactions and to have more detailed assessment of species losses, habitat destruction, and evolving intensification of damage through the use of mitigation techniques (Legge et al., 2022; Abdel-Fattah, 2011).

    Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Elin Torell, University of Rhode Island

    Partner Institution: University of Rhode Island

    Federal Agency: National Park Service

    Federal Agency Technical Contact: Dr. Brian Mitchell

    Project Type: Technical Assistance

    Project Discipline: Other: Transdisciplinary project

    Start Year: 2022

    End Year: 2027

    Initial Funding Amount: $140,807.37

    Federal Grant Number: P22AC02216

    Location: Narragansett, RI

    State(s): Rhode Island

    Rhode Island Counties: Washington

    Student and Other Involvement:

    • Staff: 2

    Summary of Student Involvement: Student involvement is not anticipated for this project.