According to Fran Mainella, the Director of the National Park Service:
"Preserving the national parks unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations is the fundamental purpose of the National Park Service. Critical to this endeavor is knowing the condition of natural resources in the national parks."

Click the image to watch a Wild by Law video clip.

One of the predominating ideologies of our age is that nature is a vast machine that endlessly turns out the "goods" to support human life. Aldo Leopold saw that that was not true; we needed to see that our tools and action didn't do more harm than good. Our job is to be stewards rather than users.

Click on the picture to read the article "Park vital signs monitoring: Taking the pulse of the national parks" to learn why the National Parks' Inventory and Monitoring Program is important to the protection of America's wilderness areas. Briefly record the "vital signs" park scientists are monitoring and the ways park managers are making use of the data collected.

Small Group Research

Work in 5 small groups to learn more about the amphibian inventory monitoring program overseen by Blain Anderson. Based on your previous research on amphibians, list 5-10 follow-up research questions you believe are suggested by Mr. Anderson's data. What studies should be made on the basis of his initial findings? In what ways might this help park managers better understand and preserve park health?

Questions:

1. Why was the study organized?

2. What sources were tapped for the data and how was the data collected?

3. What findings did the study yield?

4. How does this study benefit the wilderness areas in the National Parks of Alaska?

5. What are the potential future monitoring needs based on the study's results?

Question 1: Why was the study organized?
First, click Blain's picture to listen to his observations on the study's origins.

Next, click the clipboard to read the "Executive Summary" (pages iv and v) to his initial study, published online. On the basis of your reading and listening, do you agree or disagree that this was an important study for the wilderness areas of Alaska's national parks? Is this study enough or should further research be conducted? Work with your group to jot down your opinions on the importance of the study and its capacity to answer the concerns of national park representatives.

Question 2: What sources were tapped for the data and how was the data collected?
First, click Blain's picture to listen to his observations on the study's origins.

Next, click the clipboard to read the "Methods and Materials" (pages 3-5) of his initial study, published online. Work with your group to jot down your opinions on the study's methods for gathering and reporting data. Do you agree that this is a good first step? Why or why not? How would you conduct the next study?

Question 3: What findings did the study yield?
First, click Blain's picture to listen to his observations on the study's origins.

Next, click the clipboard to read the "Results" (pages 6-12) of his initial study, published online. Work with your group to jot down the "holes" in the findings. Do you believe that all or most of the amphibians in Alaska were found in the study? Did the researchers learn why the number of amphibians found in the study is so small? What startling or interesting facts were unearthed by the study?

Question 4: How does this study benefit the wilderness areas in Alaska's national parks?
First, click Blain's picture to listen to his observations on the study's origins.

Next, click the clipboard to read the "Discussion" (pages 13-16) of Blain's initial study, published online. Work with your group to jot down the study's successes. How might the study help managers in each of the parks listed assess and take steps to improve the health of the wilderness ecosystems in their parks?

Question 5: What are the potential future monitoring needs, based on the study's results?
First, click Blain's picture to listen to his observations on the study's origins.

Next, click the clipboard to read the "Conclusions/Potential Future Monitoring Needs" (pages 17-18) of Blain's initial study, published online. Work with your group to jot down the needs for future research noted in this section of the study.

Finally, click Blain's picture to hear his thoughts on the impact of wilderness on research into ecosystems.

Then, share your findings and brainstorm together 5-10 questions or goals you believe the study suggests for the future. Your research goals should have the protection of the wilderness ecosystems in Alaska as their main purpose.