Goal Category I – Preserve Park Resources--12
Ia1A(1). Disturbed Lands–Watershed and Forest Restoration--13
Ia01A(4). Disturbed Lands–Fire Management--16
Ia01A(6). Disturbed Lands–Resource Protection/Illegal Activities--17
Ia1B(8). Disturbed Lands–Exotic Plant Species--18
Ia2C(9). Threatened and Endangered Species–Marbled Murrelet--19
Ia02A. Threatened and Endangered Species–Brown Pelican, Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon--20
Ia02B. Threatened and Endangered Species–Northern Spotted Owl--21
Ia02C. Threatened and Endangered Species–Anadromous Salmonids--21
Ia02D. Threatened and Endangered Species–Western Snowy Plover and Tidewater Goby--22
Ia2X. Native Species of Special Concern--23
Ia3. Air Quality--24
Ia4. Water Quality--25
Ia5(10). Historic Structures--26
Ia6(11). Museum Collections--27
Ia07(12). Cultural Landscapes--28
Ia08. Archeological Sites--28
Ib01(1). Natural Resource Inventories--29
Ib2A. Archeological Baseline--30
Ib2B(5). Cultural Landscapes Baseline--30
Ib2C. Historic Structures Baseline--31
Ib2D(6) Cultural Resource Baseline–Museum Collections--31
Ib2E. Cultural Resources Baseline–Ethnographic Resources--31
Ib2F. Historical Research Baseline--32
Ib3. Vital Signs--32
Goal Category II – Visitor Enjoyment--33
IIa1(1). Visitor Satisfaction--34
IIa2(3). Visitor Safety--35
IIb1(1). Visitor Understanding and Appreciation--36
IIb1X. Educational Programs--37
Goal Category IV – Organizational Effectiveness--38
IVa01. Data Systems--38
IVa3A. Workforce Development and Performance–Performance Plans Linked to Goals--38
IVa4A. Workforce Diversity–Underrepresented Groups in Permanent Workforce--39
IVa4B. Workforce Diversity–Women and Minorities in Temporary and Seasonal Workforce--39
IVa4C. Workforce Diversity–Individuals with Disabilities in the Permanent Workforce--39
IVa4D. Workforce Diversity– Individuals with Disabilities in Temporary and Seasonal Workforce--40
Iva5. Employee Housing--40
IVa6A. Employee Safety–Injury Rate--40
IVa6B. Employee Safety–COP Hours--41
IVa06A. Property Loss/Damage--41
IVb1. Volunteer Hours--42
IVb2A. Cash Donations--43
IVb2C. Cooperating Associations--43
IVbX. Park Partnerships--44
VII Strategic Plan Preparers and Consultants……………………………… 46
This is the Strategic Plan for Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP.) It covers the period October 1, 2001 – September 30, 2005.
The Strategic Plan includes a description of the significance of RNSP in local, regional and national contexts; a set of mission goals, which are broad conceptual descriptions of what the parks should be like based on desired, ideal, or future resource conditions and appropriate visitor experiences; and a set of long-term goals that show how we plan to achieve the mission goals by defining and measuring the successful accomplishments of the RNSP mission. The strategic plan also identifies key factors external to RNSP and beyond its control that could significantly affect the achievement of general goals, a description of program evaluations used in establishing or revising goals, and a record of consultation.
The content and organization of the RNSP Strategic Plan is based on the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) which directed federal agencies to adopt performance based management and to connect agency goals to their operations. A government agency’s performance is assessed by its ability to achieve its goals. GPRA requires federal agencies to develop 1) a strategic plan, 2) annual performance plans, and 3) annual performance reports.
The NPS has prepared a servicewide Strategic Plan, which outlines servicewide goals based on the agency’s mission. The January 2000 draft NPS Strategic Plan covering Fiscal Years 2000-2005 includes mission goals that continue indefinitely and define the ideal conditions the NPS wants to achieve. (The federal Fiscal Year (FY) runs from October 1 through September 30). To accomplish the servicewide mission goals, long-term goals that generally last five years have been identified.
The RNSP Strategic Plan builds on the NPS mission goals described in the NPS 2000-2005 Strategic Plan, the RNSP mission, and the 1999 General Management Plan (GMP) management strategies, goals, and prescriptions. The Strategic Plan lists each RNSP long-term goal in the context of servicewide mission and long-term goals, and the GMP goals. Like the servicewide goal, each long-term goal is results or outcome oriented. Each goal is objective, quantified and measurable, with performance measures built into each goal statement.
There are 4 mission goal categories for the NPS. The RNSP Strategic Plan encompasses three of these categories: (I) Park Resources; (II) Park Visitors, and (IV) Organizational Effectiveness. The External Partnership Programs category (III) reflects NPS work in areas outside NPS units and boundaries, and does not apply to RNSP.
The Strategic Plan sets the stage for a series of annual performance or work plans (APP). An annual work plan is written each fiscal year as a one-year increment to the RNSP Strategic Plan. The annual work plan describes the specific activities, services, and products that will be carried out or produced to achieve the results for each long-term goal. It shows what work will get done and who is responsible for accomplishing the task. Annual work plans and appropriated funds guide the parks staff’s daily activities throughout the year.
The NPS issued an annual performance plan for RNSP for FY 2000, and will produce 4 subsequent annual performance plans to achieve the goals over the remaining 4 years covered by this Strategic Plan. The annual performance plan for FY2000 is attached (see appendix A).
The RNSP Strategic Plan focuses on NPS management of federal lands within the national park boundary. The NPS has complete responsibility for the administration, operation, protection, and development of federal lands within RNSP. Through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 1994, the NPS and CDPR agreed to manage the national park and the 3 state parks included within the national park boundary as a single unit. This cooperative management may result in the NPS undertaking projects to preserve natural and cultural resources in the state parks, and to promote visitor enjoyment of state park resources and experiences. These projects are included in the goals described here. The assessment of park natural and cultural resources covers both federal and state parklands, but the assessment of human and financial resources available to accomplish the mission and long-term goals includes only federal personnel and funding.
MISSION STATEMENT The mission of Redwood National and State Parks is to preserve, protect and make available to all people, for their inspiration, enjoyment and education, the ancient forests, scenic coastlines, prairies and streams, and their associated natural and cultural values, which define this World Heritage Site; and to help people forge emotional and recreational ties to these parks.
The mission of RNSP is derived from the purpose of the national park as established and expanded by acts of Congress in 1968 and 1978, and the purposes of the three California state parks within the national park boundary as declared by the State Park and Recreation Commission for Prairie Creek Redwoods (1963), Del Norte Coast Redwoods (1964) and Jedediah Smith Redwoods (1965) state parks.
The following statements from the 1999 GMP define the significant attributes of RNSP that relate to the parks’ purposes and why the parks were established. Knowing the parks’ significance helps managers set protection priorities and determine desirable visitor experiences.
RNSP preserve the largest remaining contiguous section of ancient coast redwood forest. This ecosystem includes some of the world’s tallest and oldest trees, and it is renowned for its biotic diversity and inspirational atmosphere. The forest community includes a number of rare and endangered species, dependent on the integrity of the whole for their survival.
More than one-third of the lands within the parks have been heavily impacted by timber harvest and are the subject of an internationally recognized restoration program designed to restore integrity and recover lost values. Erosion related to logging roads is being reduced, natural topography is being restored to hillslopes crossed by roads, and topsoil is being returned to the surface to speed revegetation and retain genetic integrity of the vegetation.
RNSP are near the junction of three active tectonic plates of the earth’s crust. Steep, highly erodible landscapes and frequent earthquakes characterize the region and are all related to the geologic forces generated at plate boundaries. These forces influence not only the natural characteristics of the parks, but human use and habitation as well.
RNSP contain a rich variety of biotic communities from the Pacific Coast to the interior mountains. The mosaic of habitats within the parks includes old-growth forests, prairies, oak woodlands, and riverine, coastal, littoral, and near-shore marine environments. These habitats are increasingly important refugia for rare and endangered species.
RNSP contain 35 miles of scenic Pacific Ocean coastline and about 105,516 acres of coastal topography. The heavy rainfall and powerful rivers are part of the intricate and dynamic hydrologic system. This system, which includes portions of the watersheds of Redwood Creek, the Klamath River, and the Smith River as well as the Pacific Ocean, provides a rich diversity of aquatic and riparian habitats. The Klamath and Smith Rivers are designated federal and state wild and scenic rivers.
RNSP preserve the legacy of 19th and 20th century conservation efforts that led to the establishment of three state parks in the 1920s, a national park in 1968, and an expansion of the national park in 1978. These federal and state lands are cooperatively managed to ensure the highest level of resource protection and visitor enjoyment. United Nations world heritage and international biosphere reserve status was granted in the 1980s.
Four American Indian cultures with ties to RNSP lands – the Tolowa, Yurok, Chilula, and Hupa peoples – represent a diverse indigenous presence. These groups maintain traditional lifeways, including arts, ceremonies, and methods of subsistence as well as three distinct languages. The archeological record of these peoples, extending back more than 4,500 years on RNSP lands, includes sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These resources are especially important because of their direct association with contemporary American Indian communities.
RNSP landscapes represent more than 150 years of land use practices by nonIndian peoples, including exploration, mining, fishing, ranching, timber cutting, and settlement. Some historic structures, roads, trails, and railroad beds remain. Logging practices were developed here that permitted the cutting of timber on an unprecedented scale. The intensity of logging spurred an environmental movement. The debate about land ethics continues today.
A strategic plan defines how park managers intend to accomplish the long-term term goals. This section of the RNSP Strategic Plan contains an assessment of the condition of the parks’ natural and cultural resources, and the human and financial resources available to accomplish the goals.
The resource assessment has two parts. First, it considers the existing condition of the natural and cultural resources, recreational opportunities, visitor experiences, and park infrastructure. Second, it assesses the current and expected availability of fiscal and human resources to help determine what is and is not realistic.
This is a brief overview of the condition of natural, cultural, facility, fiscal and human resources listed above. A more detailed description of the condition and variety of these resources is found in the 1999 GMP, primarily in the issue statements associated with the selected action. The NPS is adopting the concept of "vital signs" to assess condition and trends in natural resources and ecosystems. There is a new servicewide long-term goal for identification of vital signs (Ib3). Until the vital signs are established for RNSP natural resources and ecosystems at the end of this planning period, the RNSP Strategic Plan relies on the condition assessment described in the 1999 GMP.
Natural Resources
Logging in what is now the national park has had the most obvious and severe impact on natural resources in RNSP. In addition to removing the vegetation, which created a visual impact and a direct loss of the primary resource of RNSP, roads needed to conduct logging had and continue to have adverse effects on the soils, topography, and hydrology of park watersheds. Soils disturbed by logging and roads may erode and contribute unnaturally high levels of sediment into streams. Both water quality and aquatic resources, including wetlands and riparian areas adjacent to streams, are adversely affected by erosion and sedimentation. Redwood Creek has been included on the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of impaired waters under Section 303 (d) of the Clean Water Act because of sediment originating both within and outside of RNSP. The physical and biological functions of the Redwood Creek estuary have been adversely affected by upstream and adjacent land uses and by the construction of flood control levees that protect the town of Orick. The Redwood Creek estuary has been identified in the GMP both by the NPS and through public comments on the GMP as a high priority for restoration of hydrological processes and biological productivity. Other park streams are in relatively good condition compared to Redwood Creek and its tributaries. Mill Creek in the northern part of RNSP is susceptible to effects from upstream logging but remains in good condition.
The primary plant resources in RNSP are old growth coastal and inland coniferous forests, second growth forests, prairies and oak woodlands, coastal vegetation types including dune communities and coastal prairies, and uncommon or rare plants found on serpentine soils. Old growth coastal redwood forests are remnants left after periods of intense logging in what is now the national park or stands of old growth that have been preserved in the state parks since the 1920s. These old growth forests are generally in good condition, although fire as a natural process has been excluded for many years. While individual stands or groves of old growth forest may retain original ecological integrity and characteristics, the stands themselves may be isolated from other stands so that the larger landscape does not possess its original integrity. Some old growth stands are relatively intact but are traversed by roads that led to logging sites. Logging occurred at varying intensities and under different techniques, so that some stands that appear to be old growth forest may actually have been logged.
The second growth forests that grew following the cessation of logging within RNSP boundaries are one of the most obvious sign of poor ecosystem health. These forests were intended for intensive post-logging silvicultural treatment to thin plantings done by timber companies following harvest. Some of the second growth forests include exotic tree species planted by timber companies. Management of second growth forests requires knowledge of silvicultural techniques not presently available among RNSP staff and a significant funding source not presently available. Pilot projects to manage very small areas of second growth forest have successfully demonstrated that second growth forest management is both feasible and desirable.
Prairies or grasslands occur throughout RNSP. The Bald Hills contain the largest number of prairies and the largest prairies, and are mixed with Oregon white oak woodlands. There are also coastal prairies and naturally occurring forest openings. The prairies and oak woodlands were maintained primarily through a combination of wildfires and human-set fires. Without fire, the prairies and woodlands began to diminish in size as conifers encroached from surrounding forests. The prairies in particular contain native grasses and other species that are being lost as the prairies diminish in size and no longer have fire as a natural process to maintain the native species. Because fire has been excluded for a long time from prairies, encroaching conifers have grown so large that fire is not feasible as an initial restoration tool because of the difficulty of controlling fire in dense forests. Restoration of natural and cultural values in prairies lost to conifer encroachment will require initial removal of large trees through other methods.
Dune communities and coastal vegetation communities have most of their original complement of native species but are at risk from invasion by exotic plant species, as are other plant communities throughout RNSP. Invasion of exotic plant species is particularly severe in areas that were subject to clear-cut logging or that are adjacent to areas inhabited by people. The condition of plant species and communities specific to serpentine soils is generally unknown and will require detailed inventories to determine condition. Other rare plant species also require specific inventory to determine condition, rather than the incidental surveys presently conducted.
Wildlife and fish resources of RNSP vary in condition. There are numerous fish and animal species listed under federal or state endangered species acts. Many of these species have been recently listed. The wildlife and fishery biology program focuses on establishing surveys to determine the status of populations of listed species. RNSP are considered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to be critical to the survival of the threatened marbled murrelet, but the difficulty of locating and counting individuals of this species and accurately assessing population trends has resulted in uncertainty about its status in RNSP. Other wildlife species of importance in RNSP are black bears, mountain lions, and Roosevelt elk. These species have healthy populations but interactions with park visitors and residents of local communities often result in adverse effects to the animals. RNSP staff work both inside and outside the parks to ensure that these species maintain viable populations in the parks without harming either people or the animals.
Cultural Resources
Cultural resources include archeological resources, historical resources, cultural landscapes, ethnographic resources, and museum collections. Most of the historical and known archeological resources are protected and are in reasonably good physical condition. The primary need in cultural resource management is documentation and evaluation of cultural landscapes, particularly in the Bald Hills; documentation of ethnographic resources associated with local American Indian tribes and groups; and curation of RNSP collections, both natural and cultural. There is a critical need for ethnographic information so that past and contemporary uses of RNSP lands and resources by local American Indians can be interpreted for park visitors, and so that some of these traditional uses might be re-instituted. Also needed is an administrative history that traces the conception and establishment of the national park, how it was managed before it became a park, and how it has been managed from its creation to the present.
Recreational Opportunities
Interpretation of park resources is covered below under Visitor Experiences. Recreational opportunities in RNSP include camping in developed and primitive campgrounds and campsites, scenic viewing and driving through scenic areas, beachcombing, fishing, hiking, bicycling on roads and trails, equestrian trails and campgrounds, picnicking, and ranger-led programs and activities. Public comments on the GMP indicated that additional trails for hikers, equestrians, and bicyclists and maintenance of existing trails are needed. The NPS also identified a need for additional backcountry camping opportunities. Carrying capacity studies of some of the most heavily visited sites (Tall Trees Grove, Lady Bird Johnson Grove, Fern Canyon, Stout Grove) will be conducted in the future if visitor use appears to be causing adverse effects to the resources. Some recreational uses of RNSP began before the national park was established, and are presently conducted in violation of servicewide regulations; the regulations will be enforced to protect resources affected by off-road vehicle use. As overnight camping at Freshwater Spit is phased out over the next 3 years under the 1999 GMP, the area will be redesigned so that day uses of this area are integrated with nearby picnicking and interpretive facilities.
Visitor Experiences
Facilities (building, signs, kiosks, wayside exhibits) for interpretation, orientation and information are generally not well designed for modern interpretive techniques and exhibits, are too small to allow for expansion of visitor services, and may not be located so that visitors are best served. The interpretive program needs to incorporate information about research and resource management actions and local Native American cultures into programs, publications, and exhibits so that park visitors understand and appreciate these aspects of RNSP. The interpretive program also will include opportunities for visitors to experience natural and cultural resources on site, provided the use can be managed to protect resources. Year-round use and operation of the two outdoor schools and, if funding allows, the expansion of the education program out into the local communities will occur. The RNSP interpretive division will need to consider alternative ways of funding and staffing the educational program, and will seek partners to assist in this work. Public roads in RNSP must be operated and maintained to facilitate and enhance a safe and leisurely experience for park visitors.
Park Infrastructure
The public roads owned by RNSP are in need of major repair or rehabilitation to keep them open to visitors, particularly the Coastal Drive. Many of these roads were originally constructed as logging roads years ago and have not received the intensive maintenance needed. In addition, because the roads were constructed for logging, some are marginally suitable to modern passenger vehicles and many are not suitable for large recreational vehicles or trailers used by many visitors.
Park administrative facilities were often acquired with lands under establishment and expansion of the national park rather than being constructed for the purpose for which they are now used. In particular, the NPS Requa maintenance site was adapted from a military installation. It is located on a geologically instable area, resulting in utility and road failures that are expensive to repair.
Employee housing must be evaluated under current policies, and if determined to be non-essential, it will be removed.
The NPS has complete responsibility for the administration, operation, protection, and development of federal lands within RNSP. Park staff is organized into five operating divisions: Administration, Interpretation, Maintenance, Resource Management and Science, and Visitor Services and Resource Protection. Staff expertise and specialists as listed as permanent employees on the NPS January 2000 organization charts include 2 information technology specialists and 11 other administrative personnel; 7 park rangers (interpretation), 1 park guide, and 1 education specialist; 1 telecommunications specialist and 30 other maintenance employees; 2 archeologists (1 shared with other parks), 1 museum curator, 2 GIS specialists, 9 geologists, 2 botanists, 1 soil scientist, 1 prescribed fire specialist, 6 wildlife and/or fisheries biologists/ecologists, 8 physical and biological science technicians, and 1 environmental specialist; and 8 park rangers (protection) and 1 protection specialist. Term positions not to exceed 4 years include 1 landscape architect, 1 biological science technician, and 3 geologists. Each year the NPS hires approximately 90 temporary employees to supplement the permanent workforce during the summer.
The staff will be supplemented and/or supported this year using special project funds, contracts, the assistance of other NPS parks and central offices, and other partners and organizations. In April, 1994 RNSP entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with California Department of Parks and Recreation (CDPR) for the cooperative management of all parks within the Redwood National Park boundary. In April 1999, the two parties renewed this agreement. The Yurok Tribe, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U. S. Geological Survey, California Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and several nonprofit associations will provide additional, vital assistance through cooperative agreement services or contracts. In addition to helping accomplish education and visitor service goals through literature sales and donations, the Redwood Natural History Association will provide sales clerks at visitor centers and will sponsor a field seminar program with professional staff at no cost to the park. Finally, the Redwood Hostel concessionnaire, an American Youth Hostel (AYH) facility, provides the only overnight public lodging facility in the parks and contributes to achieving the park’s public services goals.
Although the 1999 GMP does not specify occupational series and grades of staff needed to implement activities and programs under the selected action, functions and type of appointment are given as park management, 4 FTE; administration, 16 FTE and 2 temporary employees; interpretation, 13 FTE and 31 seasonal employees; resource protection and visitor services, 16 FTE and 25 seasonals; natural and cultural resource management, 45 FTE and 17 seasonals; maintenance, 33 FTE and 53 seasonals; and 1 FTE planner/landscape architect. The 1999 GMP estimates $6,509,700 in staffing costs for these positions.
Park facilities for achieving the RNSP mission goals include facilities to serve visitors, to provide means for visitors to enjoy and understand the parks, and to administer and manage the parks. NPS facilities are supplemented by state park facilities some of which are included here because they are the primary visitor service facilities in RNSP, although no NPS funds are expended for construction or maintenance of state park facilities. NPS personnel may work in state park facilities such as information centers, conduct law enforcement operations and patrols in state park facilities, and give interpretive programs at state park campgrounds. Facilities in existence in calendar year 2000 are:
Facilities proposed in the selected action of the 1999 GMP for development, construction, and upgrading over the next 15-20 years include parking and picnic areas; developed and backcountry camping facilities; 2 visitor centers; administrative structures, offices, and shops; utility systems; and roads. The total class C estimate for this development, including planning and gross construction costs, is $18,886,000.
The 1999 GMP selected action also includes adaptive re-use of the Prairie Creek fish hatchery; removal or renovation of housing; construction or redesign of orientation and information sites such as kiosks and wayside exhibits; and construction of trails and trailheads. No cost estimates have been prepared for these actions.
Financial resources available to achieve the goals of this Strategic Plan include an FY2000 base operating budget of approximately $6,729,000 which incorporates an increase of approximately $490,000 to assist the park with managing and protecting recently listed threatened and endangered species. This base-operating budget funds a permanent work force of 100 permanent positions, 7 term positions, and 85 temporary positions. This work force will be supplemented with over 25,000 hours of Volunteers-in-Parks, 6 Student Conservation Association assistants, 12,000 hours of work from the California Conservation Corp in exchange for use of park buildings, grant and donation funds, and special project and program funds distributed by the NPS regional and Washington offices.
This Strategic Plan assumes that the base operating budget will remain essentially the same for the next four years of the plan; no major increases to base funding are anticipated. Goal targets are based on appropriations that can reasonably be expected. Implementing all programs and actions under the selected action described in the 1999 GMP would require additional funding. Programs and actions covered by long-term goals that will need additional funding have been noted under the appropriate goal.
The 1999 GMP estimates $6,509,700 in staffing costs required to implement all activities and programs under the selected action over the life of the plan, and $9,517,000 in operations and maintenance costs. These costs do not include the estimated $18.9 million needed for development and construction.
Highlights of the FY2000 budget are given here to indicate the general financial picture and include:
$316,000 for park management. These programs include overall management and supervision, long term planning and development, public relations, and liaison with agencies, community organizations, and elected and appointed government officials at the local, state and national levels.
$797,000 for park administration. These programs include all administrative support services, including personnel management, budget and accounting, contracting, purchasing, property management, training and computer systems operations.
$719,000 for interpretation: This program includes public information and orientation, interpretation, educational programs, and operation of information centers and outdoor schools.
Besides the funds appropriated for this program, $237,300 allocated in 1999 from fee revenue generated nationally will be used to fund the production and installation of new wayside exhibits throughout the parks.
$1,779,000 for facility maintenance and operations. These programs include the management, maintenance, construction, repair, and operation of roads, trails, public use facilities and grounds, administrative buildings, employee housing, historic structures, utility systems, communications systems, vehicles, and heavy equipment.
$2,444,000 for resource management and science. These programs include fish and wildlife management activities, protection of threatened and endangered species, vegetation management, exotic species control, fire management, watershed analysis and restoration, hydrological monitoring, planning and environmental compliance, geographic information systems (GIS), cultural resources management (archeology, historic preservation, ethnographic consultations, curatorial activities,) liaison with local American Indian tribes, cooperative erosion control activities with private landowners, inventory and monitoring of resources, and supervision of research activities.
$699,000 for visitor services and resource protection. This program includes, visitor protection and public safety, law enforcement, emergency medical services, search & rescue, concessions, backcountry management, and fire protection. In addition, protection staff engages in a wide variety of activities focused on protecting resources and is responsible for managing public use, recreation and special events. $3,000 in Special Use Permit fees will be used to support visitor services.
Various methods will be utilized to verify and validate measured values to determine whether or not the NPS has met its stated goals. These measurement tools include visitor and employee surveys; data inventories; site inspections; completion reports for construction projects; visual inspections and surveys for threatened and endangered species and non-native plants; condition and resource assessments for natural and cultural resources; and assessments of fiscal and human resources. Measurement tools might be servicewide program assessment tools, industry standards, or scientific or academic standards.
Major external factors that affect the NPS’ ability to accomplish strategic plan goals are covered briefly here. External factors that are specific to some goals are explained in more detail under those goals.
The RNSP long-term goals are 5-year increments toward achieving NPS mission goals described in the NPS Strategic Plan, and the RNSP mission goals as expanded in the GMP. Mission goals are statements of ideal future conditions pursued "in perpetuity" to achieve the mission of RNSP. The GMP proposals and management strategies are used to integrate the RNSP long-term goals with the NPS mission goals. The long-term goals below, therefore, are listed in the context of the mission goals and GMP goals. A narrative description of each mission goal is also provided.
Following are the park’s goals for fiscal years 2001-2005. The numbering sequence follows that of the January 2000 draft NPS servicewide 2000-2005 Strategic Plan. Goal numbers may not be consecutive – where numbers are left out, there was no RNSP goal matching the NPS goal. Mission and long-term goals are italicized. All goals are intended to be accomplished by September 30, 2005.
NPS Goal Category I: Preserve Park Resources
Goals on natural and cultural resource preservation and restoration in RNSP and the acquisition of knowledge from and about the resources are included here.
NPS MISSION GOAL Ia: Natural and cultural resources and associated values are protected, restored, and maintained in good condition and managed within their broader ecosystem and cultural context.
RNSP MISSION GOAL Ia: The physical condition and biotic resources of lands and aquatic systems damaged by logging are restored. Previously logged forests are restored to conditions more typical of old growth forests prior to logging. Prairies, oak woodlands, selected forest openings, and the original spectrum of plant communities and native species are restored. The ecological and cultural role of fire is restored. Rare, threatened, endangered, and sensitive species are protected in their refugia in RNSP. Cultural resources are inventoried, evaluated, documented, stabilized, preserved, adaptively reused, and/or restored, and are interpreted in relation to past and present human uses of the landscape. Natural and cultural resource management programs are integrated. Park collections are developed and preserved, and made available to park staff, researchers, and/or the public. Facilities for visitor orientation, information, interpretation, education, and recreation are sustainably designed and located so that they do not damage sensitive resources and can introduce visitors to the resources to be preserved.
This goal category encompasses the broad mandates of the NPS Organic Act, including the concepts of biological and cultural diversity and the perpetuation of natural processes within RNSP.
These long-term goals recognize that RNSP function as part of larger dynamic ecosystems, and that humans and their culture, through time, must be considered part of the ecosystem. These goals underscore the importance of adopting ecosystem management as a management philosophy and the necessity that park managers participate actively and collaborate in the planning and decision-making process in all communities and in all public forums in which the fate of the parks’ natural and cultural resources are at stake. These goals also underscore the need to assess and identify the parks’ multiple ecosystem boundaries and scales (variable zones of influences) tailored to environmental, cultural, social and economic factors such as watershed, wildlife habitat and floral ranges.
This goal also includes efforts of RNSP law enforcement rangers directed at protecting resources from intentional vandalism, poaching, theft, and destruction, and unintentional resource damage.
Ia1A. Disturbed Lands-Watershed and Forest Restoration: By September 30, 2005, 10% of the 54,000 acres pf lands disturbed by previous logging, ranching, and development and targeted for restoration in the 1999 GMP are restored.
This goal covers all efforts to restore ecosystem elements and processes affected by previous land uses within RNSP boundaries. It focuses on RNSP lands affected by logging, ranching, and human uses before lands were included in either the national or state parks. The primary ecosystem components targeted under this goal are watersheds and forests, prairies and oak woodlands, and the Redwood Creek estuary. This goal measures efforts to restore watersheds damaged by road building associated with logging, to restore the physical and biological functions and processes of the Redwood Creek estuary, to restore previously logged forests to conditions that will allow those forests to reattain old growth conditions, and to restore species structure and composition in prairies and oak woodlands in the Bald Hills. "Restored" is defined as the point where disturbed lands no longer require active management and the site has reached the planned condition, although periodic maintenance may be needed.
Prior to their addition to the parks, about 50,000 acres of lands now within RNSP were intensively logged, which resulted in the construction of hundreds of miles of roads. When the national park was expanded in 1978, Congress authorized a watershed rehabilitation program that was to minimize human induced erosion from previous logging and road building activities. There were an estimated 415 miles of logging roads and over 3000 miles of skid roads within the Redwood Creek portion of the national park. The logging roads and post-logging exposed slopes were prone to erosion and, over time, massive amounts of the eroded sediment washed into Redwood Creek and its tributaries. By 1999, approximately 190 miles have been removed, hydrologic patterns restored, original topography restored or approximated, and over 1,000,000 yds3 of sediment has been removed from road stream crossings. There are presently about 155 miles of road remaining within this portion of RNSP that still need treatment. The park staff has prioritized these roads and is continuing its program of erosion control through removal and treatment of abandoned logging roads based on the 1981 Watershed Rehabilitation Plan. The 1999 GMP proposed that restoration efforts be increased to treat about 9.5 miles of road per year, up from about 4 miles annually. Increasing restoration efforts requires substantially increased funding. Other areas of RNSP, outside the Redwood Creek portions of RNSP, also have logging roads that have not yet been inventoried. These roads will be inventoried as available resources and funding allow and proposals for treatment will be developed.
An implementation plan will be prepared to set priorities for inventory leading to road removal and treatment. The Erosion Control and Disturbed Lands Restoration Plan will update the 1981 plan by setting out the new priorities for inventory and treatment within RNSP.
Public and agency comments on the 1999 GMP identified the Redwood Creek estuary as a focus point for aquatic restoration efforts in RNSP. The GMP commits the NPS to a leadership role in coordinating the efforts of a number of agencies and private landowners who will be involved in management and restoration of the estuary. Park staff have prepared a draft Redwood Creek Estuary Aquatic Resource Management Plan, which is a revision of the 1983 plan that has guided estuary management by the NPS. The plan outlines issues, resource conditions, and threats to the aquatic resources, and considers a series of long- and short-term actions that can improve the physical and biotic functioning of the estuary. During the life of this strategic plan, RNSP will complete the planning process for long-term estuary restoration and will begin to implement actions based on an approved estuary management plan.
RNSP currently has approximately 50,000 acres of second-growth forest within the parks. These forests were harvested prior to the establishment and expansion of Redwood National Park in 1968 and 1978. The return of many of these forest stands to old-growth conditions is being inhibited by very high stocking levels typical of the planting practices of the private timber companies that harvested the timber. The large number of trees per acre, along with trees exotic to the location or RNSP, will delay development of old growth conditions that existed before harvest. Without treatment these forests may languish in this condition for extended periods and not provide the aesthetic and habitat values that fully functioning old growth forests provide. RNSP staff intend to complete a second-growth management plan in FY 2001 and seek funding for treatment of second-growth forests in FY 2002.
The prairies, grasslands, forest openings, and oak woodlands in RNSP are a unique vegetation community and therefore a significant resource. These open areas also have significant aethestic value. Since the elimination of fire in the Bald Hills, approximately 25% of the original 3,600 acres of prairies and oak woodlands in the Bald Hills within the national park have been lost due to encroachment of Douglas-fir. This restoration project addresses efforts specifically directed toward restoration of the species composition and structure, rather than restoration of fire as an ecological process in these grasslands. Encroaching Douglas-fir must be manually removed before prescribed fire can be used to maintain the extent of prairies. RNSP staff continue the program of oak woodland restoration and are working from east to west in the Bald Hills. Encroaching conifers have been removed from over 2,000 acres. Additional work is needed to restore the original plant species composition. The RNSP vegetation management staff is conducting this work under the 1992 Bald Hills Vegetation Management Plan. This plan will serve as the nucleus of an expanded vegetation management plan that will guide managers to conducting work in other prairies, grasslands, and those forest openings where aesthetics, cultural landscapes, or wildlife habitat are protected or enhanced by maintaining the forest opening. Other prairies and forest openings outside the Bald Hills also are targeted for restoration in the 1999 GMP.
This goal will be accomplished when physical and biological components and processes on previously disturbed lands are restored or functioning in a manner that will allow the ecosystem to recover without active management by park staff. Accomplishments under the RNSP watershed program are measured by the acres of watershed affected by miles of roads removed or treated. This goal will be accomplished when treatments of all the roads listed on the road restoration inventory are completed, and untreated roads no longer pose a threat to downstream and downslope resources. Restoration will be completed before recovery is completed. Recovery is defined as a situation where natural hydrological, geological, and biotic processes and elements are present and fully functioning in the manner that existed before human disturbance. Successful accomplishment of the part of this goal relating to restoration of the Redwood Creek estuary will be measured by the presence and abundance of anadromous fish and other species that use the estuary at various times in their life cycle, and by the reestablishment of natural hydrological processes and regimes. The portion of the goal relating to logged forests will be accomplished when all previously harvested forest stands have been treated and the trees present are regrowing in a manner expected in an unlogged forest. Recovery of all old growth characteristics, such as size and multiple canopy layers, can only be accomplished through time. This goal will not be accomplished during the life of this strategic plan because it requires a funding source and hiring a forester experienced in planning and implementing silvicultural prescriptions.
The portion of this goal specific to Bald Hills restoration will be accomplished when encroaching conifers have been removed from the acres identified in the Bald Hills Vegetation Management Plan and prairies can be maintained solely through prescribed fire.
Disturbed lands external factors: Storms are unpredictable in location, intensity and duration. The watershed restoration program is based on a planned and orderly progression that begins with identification of resources at risk, followed by detailed inventory and preparation of restoration prescriptions. Once sections of roads are removed, other roads may no longer be accessible. Severe storms may create more damage than current funding and personnel can repair. Severe widespread storms may bring in emergency funding that can be used to repair damages to resources and visitor access but the passage of time between storm damage and additional funding increases risk to resources. Restrictions on timing and location of work to protect listed endangered species further increase the time required to accomplish restoration projects.
Restoration of the Redwood Creek estuary requires coordination and cooperation among numerous agencies and landowners who have widely different legal mandates, political and resource management objectives, time-frames, and human and fiscal resources. Political considerations and competing legal requirements will affect the time required to achieve this goal, and the extent to which the physical and biotic functions of the estuary can be restored. Improvement of aquatic habitat in RNSP streams that are not entirely contained within park boundaries will be affected by actions upstream of the parks that cause adverse effects on downstream habitat.
The second-growth forests in RNSP generally do not provide suitable habitat for endangered species that prefer or require forest characteristics found in old growth forests. RNSP contain a large percentage of the old growth forests remaining in this portion of northwestern California. As timber harvest continues on private and public timberlands outside park boundaries, the remaining old growth habitat within the parks becomes increasingly important. Although much of the RNSP second growth forest is unsuitable or marginal habitat for old growth-dependent endangered species, the parks’ second growth is often close to or intermixed with better habitat. Regulations focused on preservation of endangered species often do not account for old growth habitat values that can be re-created in time, but that do not presently exist without intensive treatment of presently unsuitable or marginal habitat. Endangered species regulations might constrain management options for treatment of second growth designed to re-create future habitat. Ongoing timber harvest outside RNSP continues to have effects on endangered species and their habitats, resulting in more stringent application of regulations within RNSP which must function as the refugium for endangered species. In addition to constraints on resource management needed in RNSP, stringent enforcement of endangered species regulations hampers the ability of park management to provide some opportunities requested by visitors for use and enjoyment of the parks.
Ia01A(4). Disturbed Lands-Fire Management: By September 30, 2005, the role of fire has been restored to or replicated in 4,600 acres (5%) of the vegetation types where fire has historically occurred as a natural process.
Many vegetation types in RNSP have been affected by the elimination of fire as a natural disturbance. The encroachment of Douglas-fir into the RNSP prairies and oak woodlands in the Bald Hills is due to a combination of the elimination of Native American and Euroamerican burning and suppression of natural ignitions. The elimination of fire as a natural event contributed to the loss of some forest openings. Fire suppression has also interrupted fire as a disturbance factor in old-growth forests in RNSP.
In keeping with NPS and CDPR policy, fire is being used to control exotic plants and accomplish specific management objectives dealing with the preservation of prairies, oak woodlands, and forests in which fire historically occurred. The 1999 GMP selected action includes continuation of use of fire as a tool to maintain native plant diversity and dominance where possible and to reintroduce fire to mimic the disturbance regime that existed prior to European influence on the fire regime.
The 1999 GMP directs the NPS to develop the fire management program in RNSP to include wildland fire suppression, prescribed fire, and potentially, wildland fire use (allowing natural ignitions to achieve resource management strategies.) The fire program also includes use of techniques other than prescribed burning to reduce fuel hazards in second-growth and old-growth forests, and around developments and structures to reduce the risk of damage from wildland fires. During the life of this Strategic Plan, the 1995 Fire Management Plan will be updated to align with servicewide changes in the national fire management program and to plan for the use of fire as a management tool in all park vegetation communities where it historically occurred. A new Wildland Fire Management Plan will be prepared to supplement the Fire Management Plan. The supplement will identify specific actions need to implement appropriate responses to wildland fires and to specify resource management objectives that can be achieved through the use of wildland fire.
Historically, Native American ignitions and lightning-caused fires burned large areas of RNSP prior to the implementation of effective fire suppression actions in the early twentieth century. These historic fires were instrumental in preventing the encroachment of Douglas-fir into coastal scrub, oak woodlands and prairies, and modifying the species composition and stand structure of redwood forests. After manual removal of encroaching trees from prairies and forest openings and restoration to original extent, these prairies and openings will be maintained by periodic fire. Efforts to restore extent and species composition in these areas are included under the Ia1A disturbed lands restoration goal. Use of prescribed fire to restore and maintain landscapes associated with Native Americans and Euroamericans are covered under the Ia7 cultural landscape condition goal.
Fire management external factor: Achieving the goals of the fire management program is affected by local and regional weather conditions that increase or diminish the likelihood of unplanned wildfire starts and the opportunity to conduct prescribed burns. National weather conditions and the national wildfire situation also affect the prescribed fire program if large fires in other areas of the US require the services of RNSP fire management staff who are then unavailable to conduct fire management activities in RNSP.
Ia01A.(Ia03) Disturbed Lands–Resource Protection/Illegal Activities: By September 30, 2005, 100% of RNSP lands are covered by strategies, plans, and programs to protect natural resources from unintentional damage, vandalism, or illegal activity.
This goal covers efforts by RNSP protection rangers to protect resources within RNSP boundaries from unintentional damage or illegal activities. Efforts include planning for and preventing intentional and unintentional illegal activity occurring in RNSP including plant and animal poaching, illegal wood gathering, illegal off-road vehicle use, vandalism and destruction of government property, and compliance with NPS and RNSP regulations designed to safeguard and protect natural resources.
Accomplishments under this goal are measured by RNSP plans, standards, protocols, and regulations in place that guide rangers to determine whether resources are used and enjoyed by visitors in such a manner and by such means that the natural resources will remain unimpaired. Analysis of citations issued, intelligence gathered, and cross-linked analysis with resource management data will provide information on which resources and areas should be targeted for additional protection efforts. All protection ranger efforts directed toward assisting visitors to enjoy the parks safely, e.g. search and rescue or emergency services, is covered under goal category 2–Visitor Use and Experience.
Resource Protection/Illegal Activities external factor: Uncontrolled public access to much of RNSP makes full and effective protection of resources from vandalism or intentional damage difficult. Lingering dissatisfaction and occasional hostility among some individuals of the local communities because of national park establishment and expansion over 25 years ago continues to challenge RNSP protection staff charged with protecting resources from theft, commercialism, vandalism and enforcing unpopular regulations. The 1999 GMP proposals for changes in uses that were allowed prior to park designation are anticipated to engender local opposition and may hamper enforcement efforts.
Ia1B(8). Disturbed Lands–Exotic Plant Species: By September 30, 2005, targeted non-native plants have been contained on 600 acres of the area targeted in 1999 for containment.
The introduction, establishment, and expansion of invasive non-native plants have been identified by the NPS as problems threatening the integrity of park ecosystems through the national park system. Exotic plants in RNSP represent a major impediment to natural ecosystem functioning and have the potential to reduce native plant biodiversity and dominance. Control of exotic plants has been a major resource management effort in RNSP since national park establishment and expansion brought thousands of acres of disturbed lands into park boundaries.
Current activities concentrate on the control of Scotch broom, European beach grass and pampas grass. The expansion of the national park in 1978 increased the scope of the alien plant program significantly due to the large populations of Cape and English ivy found on acquired lands.
RNSP staff will continue aggressive efforts to control exotic plant species to protect the native species and promote natural ecosystem functioning disturbed by the presence of exotic plant species. This program is guided by the 1995 Exotic Plant Management Plan, which will be updated during the life of this strategic plan as some high priority exotic species are controlled and other exotic species receive higher priority. The NPS and CDPR will be investing substantial effort into controlling populations of pampas grass, star thistle, Klamath weed, spotted knapweed, evening primrose hybrid, Himalaya berry and tansy ragwort on 100 acres within the parks during the life of this strategic plan.
Exotic plants are currently disrupting a large proportion of the plant associations located on coastal sand dunes and spits. European beach grass is the primary disrupter of natural processes. The proportion of native plants has been greatly reduced due to rapid sand accumulation around the European beach grass and the competition it provides. The removal and subsequent control of European beach grass is very expensive and labor intensive. Manual removal costs approximately $25,000 per acre including follow-up for two to three years. Large portions of the dunes that are dominated by European beach grass are located within Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Funding is needed to implement control measures on five to ten acres in the state park by the year 2004.
English ivy and Cape ivy represent a serious threat to old-growth forests due to its ability to shade out herbaceous vegetation and grow into the canopies of old-growth trees. Once established English ivy is difficult to control due to its many rhizomes and its shade tolerance. Cape ivy is very difficult to eradicate since very small pieces are capable of establishing new infestations. RNSP staff have controlled 17 acres of infestation to date and plan to control an additional four acres by the year 2004.
The NPS and CDPR have made excellent progress removing and controlling infestations of Scotch broom and French broom. Additional work will need to be done in the Bald Hills to control re-sprouts and remove smaller populations located in areas outside the Bald Hills. The parks plan to have 426 acres under control by September 30, 2004.
Accomplishments under this goal will be measured by successful eradication of exotic plant species from those areas where re-invasion can be controlled or eliminated. Exotic plants cannot be completely eliminated in areas adjacent to highways and gateway communities because of continuing invasion. This goal will be achieved in these areas if exotic species do not dominate the native flora or require extensive effort to remove or control the spread of the exotic species.
Exotic plants external factor: RNSP is traversed by a major north-south public highway, can be entered by public roads from two other directions, and is bordered closely by communities and private lands. These adjacent lands and highways are a source of continuing infestation of exotic plant species. Exotic plants can be introduced into the area and RNSP either accidentally by people, animals, and vehicles traveling through the area, or more directly through invasion from nearby private property from plants brought in for landscaping.
Ia2C(9). Threatened and Endangered Species–Marbled Murrelet: By September 30, 2005, 100% of one (1 of 1) federally listed threatened species with a recovery plan requiring NPS action and designated critical habitat in RNSP, presently with a declining status, has a stable population in the parks.
This program goal tracks the status and stability of populations of Marbled Murrelet. This goal includes all efforts expended by the parks’ staff in preserving, protecting, restoring, maintaining, monitoring, or evaluating the habitat and populations of Marbled Murrelets in the parks. It also encompasses efforts to mitigate for impacts from park operations that may affect Marbled Murrelet populations and/or designated critical habitat. All suitable nesting habitat in the three state parks within the national park boundary is designated critical habitat; no critical habitat has been designated on federal lands within the national park boundary.
Murrelets are difficult to census in RNSP because of their small size, cryptic coloration, habit of moving between offshore marine waters where they feed and old growth forests where they nest, and their preference for nesting in the high dense canopy of old growth redwood trees. Estimates of population size throughout the range of the murrelet are very uncertain and this uncertainty makes it difficult to determine whether this progress is being made to achieve this goal. Only in recent years have researchers been able to establish the most basic procedures for determining presence or absence of a breeding population of murrelets in a forest, or to determine the breeding success of a population. This further contributes to the difficulty of determining accomplishments under this goal.
This goal will be achieved when marbled murrelets are delisted, and no recovery efforts are assigned to the NPS.
Marbled murrelets external factor: In September 1999, an oil spill in Humboldt Bay 30 miles south of RNSP killed some unknown percentage of marbled murrelets foraging in oceanic waters off the coast. This disaster reduced the effective population of birds and decreased the chances of complete recovery of the marbled murrelet population in the RNSP region. Because RNSP is considered to be the most important murrelet refugium in the region, actions taken by the NPS and CDPR to manage resources and provide for public use and enjoyment that might result in incidental take of murrelets are subject to more scrutiny and have proportionately greater effects on murrelets than if the populations were stable or increasing. Continued timber harvest outside RNSP that results in incidental take of murrelets through reduction of available habitat also increases the proportionate effects on park populations of murrelets. Murrelets are extremely difficult to census, making it correspondingly difficult to establish a population size and determine the status and trends in populations.
Ia02A. Threatened and Endangered Species–Brown Pelican, Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon: By September 30, 2005, 66% of three (2 of 3) species federally listed as threatened or endangered with recovery plans requiring NPS actions but without designated critical habitat in RNSP, maintain an improved status in RNSP.
This goal includes all efforts expended by the parks’ staff in preserving, protecting, restoring, maintaining, monitoring, or evaluating the habitat of brown pelican and bald eagle in the parks. It also encompasses mitigation for impacts from park operations that may affect these two listed species populations and/or critical habitat.
Although peregrine falcons were delisted in 1999, and bald eagles are expected to be delisted in 2000, the NPS is still required by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to monitor these species during the recovery phase under the regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act. The bald eagle and peregrine falcon are listed by the state of California as endangered. If these species are still state-listed after NPS requirements for monitoring have ceased as determined by US Fish and Wildlife Service regulations, actions under this goal may be moved to the Ia2X goal (Native Species of Special Concern).
Surveys and monitoring results for these two species in RNSP indicate that populations have an improved status in the parks; delisting under the Endangered Species Act confirms that that these two species have an improved status throughout their range beyond RNSP boundaries. Peregrine falcons were confirmed to be nesting in the parks in the mid-90s and bald eagles were discovered nesting in RNSP in 1999, a sign that these populations are recovering.
Brown pelicans do not nest in RNSP but are monitored because of their endangered status.
This goal will be accomplished when these species are not listed either federally or by the state of California, and no effort is required by the NPS toward management for recovery.
Ia02B. Threatened and Endangered Species–Northern Spotted Owl: By September 30, 2005, 100% of one (1 of 1) federally listed threatened species without a recovery plan requiring NPS action or designated critical habitat in RNSP, maintains a stable population in the RNSP.
This goal includes all efforts expended by the parks’ staff in preserving, protecting, restoring, maintaining, monitoring, or evaluating the habitat of Northern Spotted Owls in the parks. It also encompasses evaluation and mitigation of impacts from park operations that may affect Northern Spotted Owl populations.
Northern spotted owls have been monitored since the mid-90s. Regular surveys according to established protocols are conducted, and the nesting success of these owls in the parks is monitored. Surveys and monitoring indicate that this species has a stable population in RNSP.
This species has been the center of controversy over the effects of logging throughout the Pacific Northwest on owl populations. Intense research on this species has established that the owl can successfully breed outside of old growth forests once thought essential for survival. Much of the work done with this species in the park is similar to that prescribed under the 1993 Northwest Forest Plan. Although the NPS is not assigned any recovery actions under the forest plan, adjacent USFS and BLM lands are covered by the requirements of the forest plan. Park staff contribute to accomplishments under the Forest Plan through work on owls in the parks.
This goal will be accomplished when this species is not listed as threatened, and no effort is required by the NPS toward management for recovery.
Ia02C. Threatened and Endangered Species–Anadromous Salmonids: By September 30, 2005, 100% of three (3of 3) federally listed, proposed, or candidate threatened species without designated critical habitat in RNSP or recovery actions assigned to the NPS, and presently with declining status, have stable populations within the parks.
This goal tracks from baseline year 1999 the status and stability of populations of coho and chinook salmon, and steelhead. It includes all efforts expended by the parks’ staff in preserving, protecting, restoring, maintaining, monitoring, or evaluating the habitat of these species in the parks. It also encompasses evaluation and mitigation of impacts from park operations that may affect any of these species and their proposed critical habitat within RNSP. This goal also includes efforts to improve habitat for these species and efforts to prevent and mitigate impacts from park operations and resource management actions that may affect habitat.
These species generally occur in the many of the same streams and the survey techniques are the basically same for all the species. Thus, surveys can be performed simultaneously for all the species, and any efforts directed to habitat improvement for one species also improve habitat for the other species.
RNSP contains proposed critical habitat for coho salmon. Should the proposed critical habitat be officially designated, efforts to stabilize or improve the habitat for coho salmon in RNSP will be covered under a new Ia2 goal (federally listed species with designated critical habitat in a park but no recovery actions assigned to the NPS).
The effects of logging and associated road-building on the streams and aquatic resources of RNSP were a primary impetus for the establishment and expansion of Redwood National Park. Park streams associated with the coast redwood forests are identified in the legislation as a primary park resource. In recent years, several species of salmonid fishes that occur in RNSP have been listed under the federal Endangered Species Act as populations declined for a variety of reasons, including adverse effects on their habitat. This goal addresses efforts of the RNSP fisheries biologists, geologists, and wetland scientists to analyze habitat condition for these and other aquatic species inhabiting park streams.
Accomplishments under this goal are measured by presence or absence of fish and presence or absence of habitat characteristics and physical parameters described in the scientific literature as constituting good anadromous fish habitat. The presence and abundance of anadromous and other fish occupying these habitats will be used as an indirect measure of successful accomplishment of this goal.
Endangered anadromous fish external factor: Widespread activities such as dam building, logging, fish harvest, interbreeding with hatchery fish, intense storms that damage habitat, increased human population and resulting increases in industrial and residential development have cumulatively reduced native stocks and populations of anadromous fish.
Ia02D. Threatened and Endangered Species–Western Snowy Plover and Tidewater Goby: By September 30, 2005, 100% of two populations (2 of 2) of federally listed threatened species without recovery actions assigned to the NPS or designated critical habitat in RNSP, and presently with unknown status, have been determined to be present or absent in RNSP.
This goal includes all efforts expended by the parks’ staff in preserving, protecting, restoring, maintaining, monitoring, or evaluating the habitat of the Tidewater Goby (a small fish) and Western Snowy Plovers (a shorebird) in the parks, and mitigating for impacts from park operations that may affect Tidewater Goby and Snowy Plover populations and/or critical habitat.
Museum and park records indicate that the tidewater goby occurred in the Redwood Creek estuary as recently as 1980 but no individuals have been observed or captured since that time during annual surveys conducted specifically for gobies. Gobies may be delisted during the life of this strategic plan.
Sandy sloping beaches with healthy native dune plant communities are nesting habitat for plovers but nesting birds have not been encountered during surveys. Plovers are found on nearby beaches outside park boundaries, suggesting that the birds formerly nested on suitable park beaches. This goal tracks efforts to survey throughout the life of this plan to determine presence or absence of these species.
Surveys for plovers are conducted at park beaches with suitable dune habitat. The 1999 GMP directs the NPS to enforce its prohibitions on most ORV use at Freshwater Spit. This action will reduce disturbance to plover habitat at Freshwater Spit, and may contribute to reestablishment of a breeding population within RNSP.
This goal will be accomplished when the NPS had determined that these species are present, or that suitable habitat does not exist within the parks, or when these species are removed from the endangered species list.
Ia2X. Native Species of Special Concern: By September 30, 2005, 100% of 7 populations of plant and animal species of special concern in RNSP are at scientifically acceptable levels.
This goal is related to the servicewide Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) program and results in establishing baseline information on native plant and animal populations in RNSP. These populations are considered to species of special concern because they are unique or rare, are declining or threatened with extinction in some portion of their range, or are species whose behavior creates aesthetic or economic benefits or detriments to humans. The latest revision of the Redwood National Park Resources Management Plan identifies several large mammals as species of concern in the parks. Appendix H of the 1999 GMP lists all species known from the parks or potentially occurring in the parks that are considered to be species of special concern by the California Department of Fish and Game and the California Native Plant Society (CNPS). Only some of these species are currently monitored because of personnel and funding constraints. This goal captures efforts directed at locating, surveying, inventorying, or managing 7 of these species.
Of the 45 plant species that occur or have suitable habitat in the parks that are listed by CNPS as species that should be monitored because of rarity or declining populations, RNSP staff monitor the pink sand verbena, Wolf’s evening primrose, Siskiyou checkerbloom, and the maple-leaved checkerbloom. CNPS does not set specific population targets for numbers of individuals but uses the continued presence of these species as an indicator of acceptable population levels. RNSP staff will continue to monitor these species to insure healthy populations exist. Removal of European beach grass from the beaches under the exotic plant species control goal will likely provide additional habitat for the pink sand verbena. Accomplishing this goal will be measured by whether these species remain on the CNPS list and by whether the California Department of Fish and Game continues to assign these species special status in its Natural Diversity Database. This goal will be considered complete when these species are no longer tracked by either CNPS or the Department of Fish and Game.
In the future, this goal will cover efforts to locate, identify, and monitor species other sensitive plant species in RNSP, particularly in the serpentine soils found in the northern part of the parks. This effort will require funding and thus is not included as a goal in this strategic plan.
Roosevelt elk, black bears, and mountain lions are classified as park species of special concern because of their behavior in relation to park visitors or to humans residing on lands immediately adjacent to the parks, or because these species are actively managed by the California Department of Fish and Game outside park boundaries. Park staff cooperate with Fish and Game staff in management of these species within and outside park boundaries.
Within the parks, these species are considered to be valued members of the park ecosystem. Home ranges for individuals of all three species overlap park and private property, and individuals cross park boundaries regularly. All three species can cause economic damage to private property and livestock in adjacent communities, and park biologists and rangers are often called upon to assist with managing these animals outside park boundaries. Park biologists study and manage these species within park boundaries in an attempt to reduce adverse effects on private property and the animals, and to ensure that viable populations are maintained within the parks.
Roosevelt elk are identified by Humboldt County (Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park and the southern portion of the national park) as a species of concern because of its rarity in the state and its economic value both as a tourist attraction and an agricultural pest. The California Department of Fish and Game has recently begun to conduct special public hunts for elk on lands adjacent to RNSP lands in the Bald Hills. RNSP law enforcement rangers engage in special boundary patrols during these elk hunts to ensure that elk with park boundaries are protected, and that hunters know where the park boundaries are. Elk are considered an agricultural pest by ranchers in the town of Orick, and park maintenance and resource management staff erect and maintain fences to keep elk off private lands.
The state of California classifies mountain lions as a specially protected mammal. Mountain lion research has been conducted by outside researchers and park staff since 1998 to determine population size, home range, and movement patterns within and immediately adjacent to the parks. RNSP law enforcement rangers and resource management staff assist state game wardens to track or occasionally kill mountain lions that seriously threaten human and domestic animal safety in areas adjacent to the parks.
Accomplishing this goal with respect to large mammals will be measured by changes in the numbers of complaints by adjacent landowners about damage from these species, by a decrease in the direct reductions (killing) conducted by California Department of Fish and Game and park personnel outside park boundaries, and by counting the numbers of sightings of lions and bears in the RNSP wildlife observation database.
Ia3. Air Quality: Air quality in RNSP has remained stable.
RNSP is a class I air quality area. Because of its location on the Pacific Coast with prevailing winds from the northwest where there are no sources of pollution, RNSP has excellent air quality. Air quality strongly affects the health and condition of natural and cultural resources, including vegetation, wildlife health, viewsheds, and aesthetics. RNSP vegetation management and maintenance division staff monitor fine particulates at the Requa maintenance facility and provide the information to the NPS Air Quality Division, which tabulates and analyzes resulting trends. Other pollutants were monitored as recently as 1995 when the NPS Air Quality Division determined that monitoring effort would be better directed toward parks where air quality was susceptible to changes in pollutant levels.
Although the NPS has little control over outside sources of pollution, NPS participation in federal and state regulatory programs contributes to our ability to determine adverse effects on air quality from non-NPS sources and to effect changes in regulations and policies that can protect park resources.
This goal assumes that air quality will continue to be excellent. Data collected are valuable for monitoring future changes in air quality.
Ia4. Water Quality: By September 30, 2005, the impaired water quality of Redwood Creek within park boundaries has not worsened.
Water quality in Redwood Creek is impaired by past logging and associated road building. The effects of impaired water quality on aquatic and adjacent terrestrial ecosystems were one of the reasons for establishment and expansion of Redwood National Park. The watershed restoration program in Redwood National Park was developed under the 1978 park expansion legislation to correct the erosion and sedimentation problems leading to impaired water quality in Redwood Creek within the national park boundaries. Watershed restoration within the park boundary is reducing erosion and sedimentation from within the park but upstream land uses continue to produce sediment that ends up in the creek.
This goal tracks efforts to monitor water quality and hydrological conditions and restore water quality in Redwood Creek through reduction of sediment sources originating within and outside park boundaries. Efforts directed at restoration of watersheds within RNSP that were disturbed by logging and associated road construction are covered under goal Ia1A–Disturbed Lands.
When the national park boundaries were expanded in 1978 in response to siltation from continued logging upslope and upstream of the 1968 parklands, Congress established a 33,000-acre Park Protection Zone (PPZ) adjacent to the park itself. In the PPZ, park staff were authorized to inspect and review timber harvest plans and activities on private lands to attempt to reduce adverse effects of timber harvest on park resources. On private lands farther upstream outside the PPZ, park staff have worked to further reduce adverse effects on park resources sometimes miles away from the parks through developing cooperative relationships with private landowners. This goal captures efforts to improve water quality in Redwood Creek within RNSP through work upstream of park boundaries.
Redwood Creek was identified in the state of California’s 1996 and 1998 303(d) list submittal by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) as having impaired water quality due to sedimentation. The listing also established a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for sediment. A TMDL is defined as "the sum of the individual waste load allocations for point sources and load allocations for nonpoint sources and natural background" such that the capacity of the waterbody to assimilate pollutant loadings is not exceeded.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted a TMDL for sediment in Redwood Creek on December 30, 1998. The EPA and RWQCB formulated a Water Quality Attainment Strategy and Implementation Plan to achieve the water quality objectives for Redwood Creek. RNSP staff participate actively in the development and implementation of the TMDL process within park boundaries. At the request of private landowners outside the park, park staff advise and assist landowners to plan and implement projects to reduce sediment load delivered into the creek. Park staff are preparing a watershed analysis for Redwood Creek that will describe physical, biological and cultural resources of the watershed, and will serve as a comprehensive background to guide efforts to improve water quality in the creek.
There are also logging roads outside RNSP boundaries upstream of the parks on private timberlands. Depending on opportunities offered by property owners, up to 40 miles of road per year outside RNSP boundaries would be treated under a cooperative program of erosion control with private landowners. Inventory of roads on private lands, assisting landowners with development of treatment prescriptions, and conducting or monitoring erosion control treatments are covered under this goal.
Roads outside RNSP boundaries are treated differently than in-park roads. To guide cooperative erosion control work on private lands, RNSP staff would prepare a coordinated resource management plan that would analyze physical and biological conditions within watersheds upstream of RNSP, described concerns and objectives of landowners, and translate these analyses and concerns into a set of recommended land practices for each watershed.
Accomplishments toward this goal will be measured through continued monitoring of sediment and channel cross sections. Monitoring is conducted by park staff and is supplemented by efforts from the USGS, USGS-BRD researcher associated with the park, the watershed researchers from the USFS Redwood Sciences Laboratory at Humboldt State University, and graduate students. This goal will be achieved when Redwood Creek is removed from the 303(d) list of impaired waters.
Water quality external factor: Roads associated with logging and ranching on private lands upstream of park boundaries in the Redwood Creek watershed have been identified as major source of higher than natural sediment loads in the creek. These activities on private lands will continue to create sediment sources. Park staff estimate that about 85% of the 1100 miles of logging roads located upstream of the national park were constructed before stricter standards of the 1983 amendments to the state of California’s Forest Practice Rules, and more than half of these roads are not maintained. Road maintenance ensures that the drainage on roads functions as designed to prevent road failures. Reducing the erosion potential of roads on private lands upstream of RNSP depend on the cooperation and opportunities offered by private landowners.
Ia5(10). Historic Structures: By September 30, 2002, 50% of the historic structures in RNSP on the 1999 List of Classified Structures are in good condition.
Redwood National Park has 25 entries on the List of Classified Structures, including buildings and features associated with the Prairie Creek Fish Hatchery, with the Lyons Family Ranches, a World War II facility and early transportation routes. Of the entries, 17 are in fair condition, 7 good and 1 poor. The policy for historic structures in the 1999 GMP/GP is preservation, stabilization, interpretation and, if appropriate, historic leasing. For the most part, work on historic structures will be accomplished by park staff using cultural cyclic maintenance funds. Criteria for determining condition are set through the NPS Cultural Resource program and cover materials, stability, and character of the structures rather than the amount of work needed to maintain the structure. Good condition means that a structure is intact, structurally sound, and performing its intended purpose. Structures in good condition need no major repair, only routine or cyclic maintenance.
Ia6(11). Museum Collections: By September 30, 2005, 227 of 399 preservation and protection standards in RNSP museum collections are achieved.
Preservation and storage of the national park’s natural and cultural history collections requires an estimated 3500 square feet of dedicated space for professional quality museum storage facilities, along with various specialized storage or curatorial equipment and furnishings. Several museum planning documents, including a museum management plan and collection assessments are similarly required. An interim collection storage area, amounting to 450 square feet and meeting NPS standards, was created in 1997. One primary curatorial facility is planned. The facility will be co-located with southern park operations, possibly in a GSA Built-To-Suit complex currently proposed near Orick, replacing the interim facility. Additionally, since RNSP is a corridor park with some twenty miles distance between individual offices, satellite museum management facilities are planned for operations at Requa, CBEC, and Hiouchi.
Over the next five years, museum staff will continue extending the development of basic protection to all artifacts, natural history specimens and archival materials, while planning for an eventual organized, orderly move into permanent facilities. Museum staff are also seeking to establish relationships with university staff and museums so that these institutions manage collections of natural history specimens obtained through research projects conducted in RNSP.
Accomplishments under this goal are measured by compliance with standards established by the NPS Cultural Resource Division.
Curation external factors: The new museum facility required to meet NPS curation standards is being planned through the GSA construction process. Because the facility will be constructed outside RNSP boundaries under a GSA contract, the schedule and costs are to some extent beyond NPS management control. Other factors are external to RNSP but are controlled through the servicewide Cultural Resource program center or government-wide programs. These factors include 1) changing data systems that might require revision of collection and cataloging standards, resulting in delay in meeting goals; 2) jurisdiction factors, e.g. park management may be constrained by multiple jurisdictions with different federal, state, tribal, or municipal governments; 3) economic factors, e.g., increased tourism or new development that may exceed the ability of park management to insure protection of fragile resources and their setting; 4) demographic factors, e.g., changes in population size and density may lead to increased threats to resources that exceed the ability of park management to identify, evaluate, and protect cultural resources; 5) environmental factors, e.g., disasters at local, regional, and national levels affect the resource base and even contingency planning may be unable to overcome resource loss; 6) pending National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regulation requiring agencies to cover costs of maintaining agency records and allowing agencies to keep their own records, if they meet NARA standards, may negatively impact effort. NPS records managers in parks are turning to the park museum program for assistance in storing records and meeting NARA standards. This additional work adds to the backlog.
Ia07(12). Cultural Landscapes: By September 30, 2005, 40% of the cultural landscapes will be in good condition.
Cultural landscapes are the physical environment associated with historical events and show the connection between RNSP’s natural and cultural resources. A cultural landscape integrates human use of a landscape with the natural resources. The approximately 4500 acres of prairies and oak woodlands of the Bald Hills in the Redwood Creek basin of the park are included in the Lyons Ranches Rural Historic District cultural landscape. These uncommon plant communities are a result of both natural and cultural actions such as fire, gathering, mowing, and livestock grazing. Also included in the cultural landscape are archeological sites, ranch structures, roads, fences, water developments, orchards, and other historic features. Preserving this cultural landscape and other cultural landscapes entails recordation; National Register of Historic Places listing; the drafting of a management plan; implementation of actions such as prescribed burns; traditional gathering of natural resources and materials; stabilization and preservation of structures; and interpretation.
Ethnographic overviews and studies of traditional uses of cultural landscapes, particularly in the Bald Hills and areas formerly inhabited by local American Indians, are needed to document and evaluate the condition of cultural landscapes.
Under the 1999 GMP proposals, the cultural landscapes for the Bald Hills will documented and evaluated. Gans Prairie is a former prairie that has lost much of its original grass species through encroachment of conifers following cessation of burning, mowing, and grazing. The natural and cultural resources traditionally used by American Indians associated with this area, and the Bald Hills generally, are an important contributing element of these landscapes. The 1999 GMP proposes that traditional uses of these resources by American Indians, to the extent allowed by regulations, could be an integral component of the management of these landscapes and maintaining them in good condition.
Good condition is indicated by whether a landscape shows no clear evidence of major negative disturbance and deterioration by human and/or natural forces.
Ia08. Archeological Sites: By September 30, 2005, 50% of the recorded archeological sites in RNSP in the Archeological Sites Management Information System are in good condition.
The preservation of archeological sites and, therefore, keeping them in good condition, entails a number of aspects in addition to data entry. Cultural resources must be inventoried, recorded and evaluated. Next, through compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as documented through programmatic agreements and environmental documents, adverse impacts to these resources are avoided. Training is also a component of the protection of cultural resources. And last, consultations with local Native Americans who have ancestral ties to the historic properties, contribute to the preservation and documentation of the resources.
Good condition indicates that the site is stable and its current archeological values are not threatened. A site in good condition is not deteriorating from either natural processes, such as erosion, or human impacts, such as vandalism, looting, or visitor use.
This plan does not give the number and location of archeological sites in RNSP to protect sites from vandalism and looting.
NPS MISSION GOAL Ib: The NPS contributes to knowledge about natural and cultural resources and associated values; management decisions about resources and visitors are based on adequate scholarly and scientific information.
RNSP MISSION GOAL 1b: RNSP staff will acquire baseline inventory data to determine the nature and status of the parks’ natural and cultural resources. The interpretive program will emphasize the development of publications and educational materials for visitors based on the parks’ primary interpretive themes, including cultural resource studies; will support a broad spectrum of diverse educational opportunities at outdoor schools and in local communities; and will develop opportunities for visitors to participate in a variety of interpretive programs and activities to learn more about the parks’ resources and to gain a broad understanding of visitors’ roles in preserving those resources.
This mission goal covers gathering and organizing information about natural and cultural resources, how that information is used to manage and protect resources, and how the information is disseminated to park visitors and the public, including scholarly and scientific researchers.
Ib01(1). Natural Resource Inventories: By September 30, 2005, RNSP has acquired or developed five (5) new data sets needed to determine the status and distribution of biological resources (fauna and flora).
RNSP staff has begun a program of inventory and monitoring in an effort to provide baseline data necessary to determine the nature and status of the natural resources under RNSP stewardship. To effectively maintain, protect, and restore the natural resources of RNSP, staff will continue to develop new inventory programs, as resources will allow, expanding the existing database. As these data are acquired, they are added to the RNSP Geographic Information System (GIS) where they are made available to all park staff for integration into resource management and park development projects.
RNSP staff are currently developing two of the data sets called for in the servicewide National Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) program. Inventories of vascular plants and vertebrates will be 90% complete by 2004. RNSP is currently participating in the Klamath I&M network and will be pursuing funding from the national inventory and monitoring program to obtain needed data sets.
The other 3 data sets relating to flora and fauna being acquired are data on raptors (birds of prey), migratory songbirds, and amphibians. Park biologists conduct surveys neotropical migrant songbirds that breed in the parks and travel south to wintering grounds in Mexico and Central and South America. These surveys contribute to baseline knowledge of park wildlife and are used as part of a larger program to establish conditions and trends of these valued species in support of the requirements of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Monthly raptor surveys are conducted in the Bald Hills. Data on amphibians collected incidental to other resource management work will continue and more included in more formal surveys under protocols being developed.
1b2A. Archeological Baseline: By September 30, 2005, 100% of the pertinent RNSP cultural resources data on 100 archeological sites are entered into the NPS Archeological Sites Management Information System (ASMIS) and into the RNSP GIS.
There are approximately 100 archeological sites recorded in the national park, the majority of which were recorded and evaluated in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The goal of this project is to both rerecord and reevaluate archeological sites according to current standards and to enter the data into ASMIS and the RNSP GIS. This goal will be accomplished by park staff.
1b2B(5). Cultural Landscapes Baseline: By September 30, 2005, 100% (4 of 4) of the cultural landscapes on NPS lands in RNSP have been inventoried, evaluated, and entered in the NPS Cultural Landscapes Inventory at Level II.
The cultural landscape inventory (CLI) is needed to establish priorities for protection, restoration, and interpretation of cultural landscapes. The 1999 GMP identifies seven cultural landscapes throughout RNSP potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places: Lyons Ranches Rural Historic District, Bald Hills Archeological District, the site of Radar Station B-71, Prairie Creek Fish Hatchery, Camp Lincoln, Kelsey Trail, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park headquarters complex.
A draft Level 0 cultural landscape inventory (CLI) has been completed for the four cultural landscapes on federal lands in RNSP. The Level 0 inventory was completed without a field visit from a cultural landscape professional. Over the next few years, a cultural landscape specialist will visit the parks to evaluate the landscapes, correct the Level 0 CLI , enter them into the national data base, and draft the Level I CLI. By 2005, the Level II CLI will be completed.
Camp Lincoln and the Kelsey Trail are in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. The NPS is currently working with CDPR to develop a unified cultural resource protection program throughout RNSP. We anticipate that the NPS cultural resource program elements such as CLI will eventually include state park cultural resources and that the subsequent strategic plan revisions will include the 3 state park cultural landscapes identified in the 1999 GMP.
Ib2C. Historic Structures Baseline: By September 30, 2005, 100% of the 25 RNSP historic structures on the List of Classified Structures have updated information.
The condition and impact data on the 25 structures on the RNSP LCS need to be updated regularly to have current information used to plan for any repairs or maintenance needed, and to assess any impacts from visitor use. By the end of the planning period, the information on these structures will be current.
1b2D(6). Cultural Resource Baseline–Museum Collections: By September 30, 2005, the number of RNSP museum objects cataloged into the NPS Automated National Catalog System is increased by 35.9% over the 1999 baseline.
The RNSP museum collection includes important ethnographic and historical artifacts as well as resource management and research field records and specimens related to understanding coast redwood preservation and its attendant ecosystem. An estimated 370,000 objects need to be accessioned, archivally processed, and cataloged.
In 1999, 105,137 artifacts and museum objects had been cataloged. The Museum Collection Plan calls for the eventual cataloging of a minimum of 124,101 objects by 2005. Each year 25% of the 1999 baseline will be cataloged.
Ib2E. Cultural Resource Baseline–Ethnographic Resources: By September 30, 2005, the number of RNSP ethnographic resources inventoried, evaluated, and entered on the NPS Ethnographic Resources Inventory is increased from zero in FY1999 to 100%.
Several American Indian tribes or groups have traditional ties to park lands. The major extant groups are the Yurok in the southern part of the parks as far north as Wilson Creek, and the Tolowa northward from Wilson Creek. The Hupa to the east of the parks also have ties to RNSP lands through intermarriage with the Chilula, who formerly occupied lands in the Redwood Creek basin within what is now the national park. Many of the American Indian traditional activities are still practiced today.
The cultural resource studies completed for RNSP to date include ethnographic information, and such information is also included in records of consultation with American Indians on various projects.
The NPS is currently conducting a formal ethnographic overview and traditional use study for the parks. This overview will provide a list of ethnographic resources in the parks, descriptions of their condition, and a discussion of the significance of these resources to groups traditionally associated with them. The ethnographic resource study will assist park managers to protect significance ethnographic resources. It will serve as the basis to encourage visitors to develop a greater appreciation for local American Indian culture through opportunities to observe, experience, and learn about the traditional practices of American Indians.
Ib2F. Historical Research Baseline: By September 30, 2005, RNSP will complete an Administrative History to current professional standards and enter it into CRBIB.
Redwood National Park was established and expanded in 1968 and 1978, respectively. It is critical to complete an administrative history before important papers and references are lost or destroyed, and while many of the people involved in early administration are alive to share their knowledge and provide background for the researchers. An administrative history is a valuable management tool to inform future managers of the basis for past decisions and to improve future decision-making.
The history of Redwood National and State Parks is an important part of the national conservation movement. This importance is underscored by the 1999 GMP which identified the parks’ legacy in the 19th and 20th century conservation movement as a significant attribute of the parks. The relationship between Redwood National Park and the three California state parks includes the story of Newton B. Drury, who served as director of both the National Park Service and the California State Parks, and is memorialized by the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. While the history of the national park and its role in the conservation movement have been the subject of popular publications and scholarly research, this goal addresses the need for an administrative history written to current NPS standards.
The history of Redwood National Park establishment and expansion also is important to the management of the entire National Park System through the Redwood Act of 1978 which amended the NPS’ Organic Act. These amendments directed that national park system units be protected, managed, and administered without derogation of the values and purposes for which the units were established.
Of special significance in the administrative history is the establishment of the Redwood National Park watershed restoration program following the 1978 park expansion, and the partnership between the NPS and CDPR for cooperative management of the 4 park units.
Ib3. Vital Signs: By September 30, 2005, the vital signs that indicate the health of RNSP ecosystems have been identified, and a monitoring program developed and being used to assess the status and trends of RNSP ecosystems.
To be accountable as to whether lands and resources with parks are in a better or worse condition over time, the NPS has adopted the concept of "vital signs" as a framework to assess the condition of park resources. Vital signs are defined as those key resource components necessary for an understanding of overall ecosystem functioning and health. The key components adopted as vital signs provide an adequate set of surrogates within the full range of ecosystem components for the assessment of ecosystem conditions.
For natural resources, the goal is to have vital signs of ecosystem health within the normal range of variation. In addition to providing a framework for answering basic questions about the condition of park resources, the vital signs concept enables the park to develop long-term and annual goals and overall performance measures for the restoration of resources, for protection of resources from internal and external threats, and for the establishment of strategic science needs. Vital signs monitoring is used to provide an early warning of ecosystem stress before significant damage has occurred, and then to determine the need for intensive study to discover the cause of stress and devise appropriate corrective action.
RNSP resource management staff held a scoping session in April 1999 as the first step in vital sign identification. This session included outside academic and agency researchers, and NPS staff from other parks familiar with the vital signs program. This group established major ecosystem elements and processes from which vital signs will be selected as terrestrial fauna, terrestrial vegetation, aquatic biota, aquatic habitat, and geologic resources and processes.
By 2004 RNSP staff will have identified the vital signs to be monitored. Park staff will also prepare a report discussing the dynamics of park ecosystems and the rationale for identifying vital signs selected for future monitoring.
NPS Goal Category II – Provide for the Public Enjoyment and Visitor Experience of Parks.
Enjoyment of RNSP and their resources is a fundamental part of the visitor experience. Visitor enjoyment and safety are affected by the quality of park programs, facilities, and services, whether provided by the NPS, CDPR, concessionaires, incidental business operators, or contractors. Visitor experiences in the parks are also affected by facilities and services located in gateway communities. Availability of facilities, services, and recreational opportunities refers to convenient locations and time of operation which fit visitors’ transportation and schedule needs. Accessibility for special populations refers to their accommodation, where appropriate, when visiting NPS facilities or participation in authorized recreation activities in accordance with Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards. Diversity of facilities and services refers to a range of appropriate accommodations and recreational opportunities (at various levels of expertise and interest) for park visitors seeking various park experiences. Quality of facilities and services refers to well-presented, knowledge-based orientation, interpretation and education. Appropriate recreational opportunities are consistent with RNSP purpose and management and are not harmful to resources or park visitors. The NPS recognizes that its ability to coordinate economic development, transportation, facility development and visitor services with local communities and other agencies has a direct bearing on the level of enjoyment that visitors and local residents experience in the parks.
NPS MISSION GOAL IIa: Visitors safely enjoy and are satisfied with the availability, accessibility, diversity, and quality of park facilities, services and appropriate recreational opportunities.
RNSP MISSION GOAL IIa: Visitors of all abilities enjoy RNSP in a safe manner and are satisfied with park facilities including visitor centers, camping and picnicking areas, roads, trails, trailheads, comfort stations, exhibits and kiosks. Visitor sites support and facilitate appropriate public use and enjoyment and participation in a variety of activities related to the full range of RNSP resources. Appropriate recreational opportunities are provided in a variety of settings throughout the parks and managed to protect resources, promote public safety, and minimize public use conflicts. Public and administrative facilities are well-maintained and serve current needs and demands.
NPS visitor evaluations for park facilities, services, and recreational opportunities are important and useful in improving visitor services. Visitor feedback about park facilities, services, and programs for this goal will be obtained through the servicewide visitor survey. This survey asks a systematic sample of visitors to evaluate specific aspects of their park visits. The results of visitor feedback methods are used to monitor this goal. The availability of park facilities, services, and recreational opportunities refers to convenient locations and time of operation that fit visitors’ transportation and schedule needs. Accessibility for special populations refers to their accommodation, where appropriate, when visiting the parks. Diversity of facilities and services refers to a range of appropriate accommodations and recreational opportunities for park visitors seeking various park experiences. Quality of facilities and services refers to well-presented, knowledge-based orientation, interpretation and education. Visitors rating the quality of the facilities, services, and recreational opportunities as "good" and "very good" are defined as "satisfied."
IIa1(1). Visitor Satisfaction: By September 30, 2005, 91% of park visitors are satisfied with appropriate park facilities, services, and recreational opportunities.
Satisfied visitors are essential for accomplishing the mission of RNSP that people enjoy the parks. We provide facilities, services, and recreational opportunities for the use, comfort, and enjoyment of visitors. Visitor evaluations of facilities, services, and recreational opportunities are important and used to improve these services.
Visitor facilities are human-made structures or sites designed and accessible for visitor use. Restrooms, trails, visitor centers, and exhibits are examples. Visitor services are services and conveniences offered to visitors or made possible by visiting RNSP, such as park maps, brochures, exhibits, employee assistance to visitors, and commercial services. Recreational opportunities are recreational activities offered to visitors or made possible by visiting RNSP. Examples of recreational opportunities in RNSP are hiking, biking, and horse trails; sightseeing along roads and at overlooks; camping and backpacking; fishing and bird-watching; swimming, surfing, and canoeing; and learning about park resources, history, and culture.
Visitor satisfaction with park facilities and services begins with facilities that have been planned and designed specifically to meet the needs of visitors and located to introduce them to the range of park resources. The proper maintenance and upkeep of park facilities, particularly information facilities and access and circulation systems, contributes greatly to visitor satisfaction. Planning for new and upgraded visitor facilities to support a variety of public uses and recreational activities will be undertaken during the life of this Strategic Plan, followed by construction incorporating sustainable materials and processes.
RNSP staff will complete new interpretive wayside exhibits for the park, rehab exhibit sites, upgrade directional signs, and install new bulletin board and orientation kiosks in order to improve visitor orientation and information on park resources and facilities. Upgrades to Howland Hill and Wolf Creek outdoor schools will also be completed to correct health and safety deficiencies and to improve the efficiency of operations.
In addition, a comprehensive interpretive plan will be completed for the parks that strategically determines what services should be offered to communicate the most important stories, ideas, values, and meanings of the parks to the visiting public. Information services and facilities will be coordinated through partnerships with others both outside and inside the park.
Visitor feedback about park facilities, services, and programs for this goal will be accomplished through the servicewide visitor survey program and through consideration of oral and written visitor suggestions and comments received through personal contacts and in park offices. The Visitor Survey Card was first used in the visitor survey program in 1998 and is distributed annually to parks as the primary tool to measure visitor satisfaction.
IIa2(3). Visitor Safety: By September 30, 2005, the number of visitor accidents/ incidents per 100,000 visitors is reduced by 10% compared to the 1992-1996 baseline.
This goal covers a wide variety of activities and efforts to ensure the safety and security of visitors. Included are all efforts made to preserve, protect, restore, operate, maintain, monitor, and evaluate facilities provided for visitor protection and use. Also included are all efforts expended in providing services to the public that contribute directly to the safety and security of visitors. Included are protection from natural hazards, search and rescue, emergency medical services, criminal investigation, security, structural/interface firefighting, and all efforts in identifying, investigating, and correcting or mitigating sources of injury and property damage experienced by the visiting public, and educating the public on potential hazards.
During the 1992-1996 baseline period, the visitor accident/incident rate throughout the NPS was 9.48 incidents per 100,000 visitors. The servicewide target for this goal is to reduce that rate to 7.96 incidents per 100,000 visitors. A visitor accident/incident is defined as an accidental event to a non-NPS employee, volunteer, cooperator, or contractor that results in serious injury or death; involves direct use of or interaction with park facilities, roads, waters, or resources; or requires treatment at a medical facility. Some incidents possibly associated with criminal behavior such as operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs are included under this goal.
Inconsistencies in calculating the rate throughout the NPS required that new definitions be used to determine the visitor accident rate. New numbers for the entire NPS to use for comparison to RNSP rates will not be available until early in 2002. These new numbers will give the NPS a clearer picture of the visitor accident rate and will identify primary sources of accidents and where improvements in visitor safety can be made.
NPS MISSION GOAL IIb: Park visitors and the general public understand and appreciate the preservation of parks and their resources for this and future generations.
RNSP MISSION GOAL IIb: RNSP visitors, the general public, and our gateway communities and partners understand, appreciate and support the preservation of RNSP and its resources. The cultural connection between the parks’ resources and American Indians will be strengthened by providing opportunities for local American Indians to participate in the management, protection and interpretation of these resources.
A visitor’s park experience and enjoyment of the resources is enhanced by understanding why RNSP exists and what makes the resources significant. RNSP is important not only to the people of the state of California and the United States, but to the people of the world through its designation as a World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve. RNSP staff work to build support for the parks through educating visitors and guiding them to understand and thus appreciate the purpose and significance of the parks.
These goals also address how we engage the support of gateway communities and the local American Indians for preserving park resources through increasing their understanding of the importance of the parks in a larger context.
IIb1(1). Visitor Understanding and Appreciation: By September 30, 2005, 92% of park visitors appreciate and understand the significance of RNSP.
Satisfactory visitor experiences build public support for preserving the values contained in RNSP. Understanding and appreciating why the resources of RNSP are significant can increase visitor satisfaction. The significant attributes of RNSP are listed at the beginning of this plan. These attributes are the set of themes that describe the RNSP’ unique contribution to the state and national park systems.
This goal measures visitors' comprehension and appreciation of park resources and history in local, regional, national and international contexts. Information, orientation, interpretation, outreach and education are park activities and services that help visitors discover the most significant meanings of park resources to them. These activities and services help visitors to make connections between the tangible natural and cultural resources and the intangible values that reside within the resources.
Programming and staffing efforts will focus on increasing field contacts with rangers, thus enhancing understanding and appreciation of park values by residents of regional communities as well as national and international visitors. This goal also includes all activities involved in working with gateway communities to achieve common goals and objectives pertaining to resource protection, public services, and sustainable economic development.
The historical presence of American Indians in the region is recognized as an important cultural element of Redwood National and State Parks. Recognizing the past and present existence of peoples in the region and their ties to park lands and resources is an emerging focus of the interpretive and cultural resource management programs. Consultation with the Yurok, Tolowa, and Hupa tribes and groups will continue so that appropriate exhibits, publications, and programs can be developed. Development of a cultural demonstration program and recruitment of interpretive staff members from the local American Indian community will continue to be a priority.
In keeping with the goal of ensuring that park visitors and the general public understand and appreciate the preservation of RNSP and their resources, RNSP staff are striving to increase their own understanding of Native American culture and issues. By increasing their own understanding of Native Americans, staff will be able to pass that understanding on to visitors. Park managers are providing employees opportunities to experience local Native American culture and discuss local Native American issues to increase sensitivity to these local cultures and issues.
The NPS will use the servicewide survey instrument to measure visitor understanding of the significance of RNSP. Park staff will also use discussions with visitors and visitor comments and suggestions to gage visitor understanding.
IIb1X. Educational Programs: By September 30, 2005, 50% of 3rd – 6th grade students who participate in the residential environmental education and the in-classroom outreach programs understand America’s natural and cultural heritage as preserved in RNSP.
Environmental education has been a part of the RNSP core interpretive program for twenty years and will continue to be a primary focus. The NPS has made a significant investment in the construction, and upgrade of two residential outdoor education facilities at Howland Hill and Wolf Creek. The NPS is currently exploring the possibility of operating one of these facilities through a park partner, which would allow the staff to accommodate additional school groups through day-use and in-classroom outreach programs. Reaching the youth is our most effective means of developing long-term understanding and changes in how future visitors responsibly use and care for the parks.
Students will be measured on their understanding of RNSP natural and cultural resources based on the targeted park-related themes for each grade level outlined in the Education Strategy for Redwood National and State Parks.
This goal will be measured through the use of park-produced surveys to students participating in the residential environmental education program and the in-classroom outreach program.
These goals support the NPS and RNSP mission. This goal category relates to efficient and effective management of human and fiscal resources, and how the NPS seeks to increase its financial resources and to improve human resource management. These goals speak to the efficiency and effectiveness of processes and systems rather than to results of those processes. The long-term goals tied to this mission goal measure work-place standards such as employee diversity and competency levels, as well as program execution efficiencies. These represent strategies that the NPS has chosen to better accomplish its mission.
NPS MISSION GOAL IVa: The NPS uses current management practices, systems, and technologies to accomplish its mission.
RNSP MISSION GOAL IVa: RNSP staff use current management practices, data systems, and technologies to support and accomplish the parks’ mission. Staff work as a part of a greater National Park System organization to increase our effectiveness at working cooperatively with other agencies, organizations, and individuals.
IVa01. Data Systems: By September 30, 2005, 90% of RNSP staff are using the most effective technology to accomplish their job.
By 2002, RNSP will have 6 local area networks connected to a wide area network (WAN). This will include all offices with 6 or more computers. Smaller offices will have dialup access to the WAN and the internet. Ideally, the RNSP backbone and DOINet connection will be increased from their current speed of 128Kbps to full T1 speed, but this depends on availability and cost of service from local telephone companies. The number of servers will be increased to at least 7 including a new Lotus Notes server and a web server for intranet and internet services. Fax modem sharing will be implemented at headquarters and at the South Operations Center in Orick. The network operating system will be upgraded from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows 2000 in FY2000 or FY2001. PCs will gradually be converted to Windows 2000 with approximately 40% of PCs migrated by 2002. The electronic mail program cc:Mail will be phased out and replaced by Lotus Notes when that becomes the servicewide standard.
IVa3A. Workforce Development and Performance–Performance Plans Linked to Goals: By September 30, 2005, 100% of RNSP employee performance plans are linked to appropriate strategic performance goals and position competencies.
The NPS requires individual annual performance plans for all employees. Past performance plans have been task statements emphasizing individual outputs rather than individual contributions to the overall NPS mission or organizational outcomes. This goal directly ties individual performance goals to organizational outcomes for the NPS and RNSP. The NPS will first develop performance standards incorporating the RNSP Strategic Plan results for park managers, then expand the process to include performance standards for supervisors and individual employees. This goal will be measured annually by supervisors/managers certifying that performance plans are related to organizational goals set forth in the RNSP Strategic Plan, by random sample reviews of individual performance plans, and/or by an employee survey instrument that assesses how much employees understand that their work contributes to the successful accomplishment of the organizational mission. This goal is expected to be achieved fully each year by incorporating strategic plan goals and competency requirements into each employee’s annual performance plan, including the original performance plans for new employees.
The NPS has 16 key occupational groups (career fields) ranging from administration and office management support, to maintenance, and visitor use management, with essential competencies identified for each. An essential competency is a knowledge, skill, or ability vital for an employee to perform effectively at his or her level in a career field. Employees and their supervisors will identify missing or inadequate competencies and define the training and development program needs using the NPS Career Planning and Tracking Kit. Measurement of this goal will be through employee surveys, with the data collected by Pacific West Regional Office.
Accomplishing this goal ensures that NPS employees at RNSP meet the defined competencies for their specific performance responsibilities, better preparing them for their present jobs and positioning them for future advancement.
IVa4. Workforce Diversity: By September 30, 2005, the NPS permanent workforce at RNSP reflects the percentage of diversity in the regional workforce.
A diverse workforce contributes to the overall health of an organization and furthers cooperation with adjacent communities. The NPS workforce does not reflect the diversity of minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities identified in the civilian labor force figures in certain occupational series. RNSP managers are striving to increase the diversity in the workforce in keeping with the national goal of ensuring organizational effectiveness. RNSP staff is conducting an aggressive outreach program to enhance the diversity of the local staff by recruiting under-represented groups. Servicewide, the NPS has divided the broad goal into more specific goals.
IVa4A. Workforce Diversity: By September 30, 2005, the NPS will increase the representation of underrepresented groups at RNSP over the 1999 baselines by 25% in 5 occupational series: 025–Park Management; 193–Archeology; 301–Administration and Programs; 401–General Biological Science; and 1640–Facility Management.
IVa4B. Workforce Diversity: By September 30, 2005, the NPS will increase the representation of women and minorities in the temporary and seasonal workforce at RNSP over the 1999 baselines by 25%.
IVa4C. Workforce Diversity: By September 30, 2005, the NPS will increase by 10 % the number of individuals with disabilities in the permanent workforce at RNSP over the 1999 baselines.
IVa4D. Workforce Diversity: By September 30, 2005, the NPS will increase by 10 % the number of individuals with disabilities in the seasonal and temporary workforce at RNSP over the 1999 baselines.
The four preceding goals address specific occupational series, groups, and categories that are underrepresented in the NPS workforce at RNSP compared to representation in the civilian workforce in the local area. The NPS has developed a position management plan (PMP) that guides managers in determining which occupational series are needed to protect resources, to serve visitors and the public, and to operate and maintain park facilities and resources. Managers use the PMP to determine whether they have the human resources to achieve the mission and long-term goals expressed in this Strategic Plan and to plan recruitment strategies based on the positions allowed under the PMP.
An individual with a disability is defined as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. Major life activities are activities that an average person can perform such as walking, seeing, breathing, hearing, learning, or working.
IVa5. Employee Housing: By September 30, 2005, 50% of employees housing units listed in poor or fair condition in 1997 assessment are rehabilitated to good condition, replaced, or removed.
RNSP employees generally live in local communities rather than in park housing. Some park housing was acquired when the national park was established or expanded over 30 years ago. This housing needs repair, replacement with modern features and materials, or remodeling to current standards. Some acquired housing is in such poor or unsafe condition that it is being disposed of, and the sites restored to natural conditions. In-park housing is provided only for those employees needed to provide emergency services to the public or to protect RNSP resources and facilities. Otherwise, housing is provided only for seasonal staff and volunteers essential to managing and protecting the parks. Because there is more demand than available housing, the RNSP housing committee assigns housing under a priority system. The NPS maintenance division is actively involved in the servicewide program to assess the condition of housing throughout the NPS. This participation increases park management’s ability to determine the condition of RNSP housing relative to other parks. This goal is measured by the number of housing units that are in good condition, repaired or replaced by 2005.
IVa6A. Employee Safety: By September 30, 2005, lost-time injury rate at RNSP will be at or below 5.39 per 200,000 labor hours worked (100 FTE).
The National Park Service has the worst safety record in the Department of the Interior and one of the worst in the Federal Government. In 1999, the RNSP rate was 6.67 per 200,000 hours worked. Park management is aggressively pursuing a comprehensive program to reduce the injury rate, through training, review of incidents, correction of safety deficiencies, and personal responsibility and commitment to safety. DuPont Corporation has been contracted to review park procedures and activities at the beginning of this planning period and will develop recommendations specific to RNSP programs. By the end of the life of this strategic plan, the NPS expects a substantial decrease in the lost-time injury rate at RNSP.
IVa6B. Employee Safety–COP Hours: By September 30, 2005, RNSP total number of hours of Continuation of Pay (COP) will be at or below 380 hours per year.
Continuation-of-Pay (COP) hours are hours paid to an employee who misses work due to on-the-job illnesses or injuries. This goal tracks NPS efforts to reduce the work hours lost following on-the-job employee injuries or illnesses, which costs the NPS because an employee cannot perform work but continues to be paid. RNSP managers attempt to find suitable work in the park for an ill or injured employee during recovery from illness or injury, if approved by a health care provider, as part of the total park safety program. For example, an employee may be able to work part-time or may be assigned work that is physically less demanding than normal job assignments.
Achieving this goal reduces RNSP employee lost-time injury rate and workers' compensation costs.
IVa06A. Property Loss/Damage: By September 30, 2005, the cost of lost or damaged government property has decreased 25% compared to 1992-1997 average losses of $12,843 per year.
It is paramount in NPS efforts to improve safety in the workforce that policies and procedures are in place for safe and effective use and management of government property.
Training of RNSP employees in the proper use of equipment and government property is the initial step in protecting employee safety and government property.
All RNSP employee’s performing property management functions must have a clear understanding of their responsibilities as they relate to property functions such as maintenance, accountability, inventory, and training on the proper use of individual pieces of equipment. The purpose for a property management program is to protect RNSP employees, as well as park assets, and to prevent losses, theft of, or damage to, park equipment and property. Personnel responsible for property management functions are held accountable and financially liable for any missing, lost or damaged property, if such loss was the result of simple or gross negligence or neglect; or was the result of failure to install such management controls as necessary as required to ensure the safeguarding and maintenance of RNSP property under their control.
The NPS has established a Board of Survey at RNSP to address matters relating to loss or damage of government property. The Board investigates and documents all incidents leading to lost or damaged government property and determines whether reasonable care was exercised by employees responsible for that property. If the Board makes a finding of negligence, it is authorized to assign financial liability as defined by federal property guidelines and regulations. Board members make independent recommendations based on published regulations and the merits of each individual case, without influence of management officials.
As part of the total safety and risk management program at RNSP, losses and damages to government property and equipment are tracked under this goal through review of the park’s annual inventory records and activities of the Board of Survey.
IVb1. Volunteer Hours: By September 30, 2005, the number of volunteer hours will have increased 10% above the 22,500 hours in 1997.
The NPS Volunteers in Parks (VIP) program, authorized in 1970, allows the NPS to accept and use voluntary help in ways mutually beneficial to the parks and the volunteers. Government downsizing has increased the demand for additional volunteers and funding. Park volunteers provide various kinds of assistance from maintenance and interpretation to administration and collection management. VIPs may receive housing, particularly those VIPs from outside the U.S. and transportation to job sites, but often VIPs arrive self-contained.
In 1997, the NPS received over 22,500 hours of time from volunteers working in administration, visitor services, interpretation, maintenance, resource and visitor protection, and resources management. Volunteers worked in offices, visitor centers, and campgrounds; constructed and maintained trails and other visitor facilities; provided information and interpretive services to visitors; and assisted resource managers with projects in watershed management, vegetation management, and wildlife and fisheries management. The maintenance and interpretation divisions received the majority of volunteer support with volunteers giving 9,425 hours to maintenance projects, and 8,520 hours in interpretation, mostly staffing visitor centers. Campground hosts also volunteered 2556 hours of time.
Redwood National and State Parks has the largest international volunteer program in the NPS. The maintenance division accepts landscape architect students from Germany who work primarily on road and trail maintenance and construction projects, and assist the Resource Management and Science staff with resource management projects including exotic plant control, prairie restoration, and endangered species surveys. The German volunteers are completing a work requirement for their landscape architecture degrees, so that these volunteers bring planning and design skills that are used wherever possible.
Every $1.5 million in NPS VIP funds generate a $45 million value in volunteer hours. The 1996 volunteers contributed 3.5 million hours of service, valued at $44.9 million. In 1997 Congress increased the VIP program funding cap to $2.6 million, but no additional funds were provided. Funding for 1997 was $1.6 million. For 1998 the NPS requested a $981,000 increase to recruit, train, and provide uniforms for volunteers and to reimburse their minor expenses. This goal will be tracked through the annual VIP Report completed by all participating parks and will be compiled by the associate director for park operations and education.
IVb2A. Donations and Grants: Cash donations are increased by 3.5 % over the $35,600 in donations collected in 1998.
As Redwood National and State Parks continues to experience a widening of the gap between funded projects and unfunded needs, the ability to stimulate additional dollars through donations and grants becomes increasingly important. Appropriated dollars are inadequate to address needed rehabilitation of disturbed lands, maintenance and upgrade of park facilities or visitor use and education and fall far short of addressing the growing demand for new services and programs.
The NPS received a total of almost $35,600 donations from several sources in 1998. The largest sources of donations were $16,487 for overnight camping at Freshwater Spit and $15,529 from the environmental education programs at the two outdoor schools. The NPS also received $1700 for forest restoration, $122 from recycling cans and bottles collected at trailheads and visitor use sites throughout the national park, and $1734 from donation boxes in visitor centers and other cash donations of less than $100.
The two largest sources of donations are expected to change over the life of this plan. Overnight use at Freshwater Spit will be phased out by the end of this planning period under the selected action in the 1999 GMP. Camping fees will be charged during the phase-out period, and these fees will not be tracked under this goal. The NPS is developing a business plan for the operation of the outdoor schools. Whether or not fees are charged rather than accepting donations for use of the outdoor schools will depending on the outcome of that plan.
Donations and grants to RNSP include a $10,000 grant received in FY 2000 to purchase bear-proof food storage lockers, and cash donations from visitors at visitor center donation boxes.
The NPS has broad authority under the 1978 legislation expanding the national park to acquire lands to protect resources. RSNP occasionally receives significant donations of land from land conservation organizations. These organizations purchase private lands from willing sellers and subsequently donate these lands to the NPS. The NPS identifies lands or interests in lands, generally adjacent to existing park lands, that need to be in Federal ownership to achieve management purposes consistent with public objectives for the parks. Management purposes include both resource protection and visitor use. Examples are lands containing significant resources that would enhance the purpose for which the park was established; lands needed to protect or enhance existing park resources; lands needed to enhance or provide visitor use and enjoyment of the parks; or lands needed for effective management of the parks.
Achieving this goal will increase donations and grants in support of priority unfunded needs.
IVb2C. Cooperating Associations: By September 30, 2005, the value of donations, grants, and services from the Redwood Natural History Association is maintained at 1998 levels.
The Redwood Natural History Association (RNHA) is a not-for-profit cooperating association established to aid and support NPS interpretive programs. The RNHA actively supports the parks through sales of educational items and books in the visitor centers. Proceeds from sales are returned directly to the parks for visitor programs, museum activities, research, library operations, exhibits, and publications.
The RNHA provided $23,100 in donations and grants to the NPS in 1998. In cooperation with the RNHA, the NPS redesigned and remodeled the Kuchel Visitor Center to increase the space available to the RNHA, and allow the RNHA to increase the educational items and books offered for sale to visitors. These sale items are the primary source of revenue that the RNHA uses for donations, grants, and services to the NPS. Under this goal, the NPS will seek to maintain donations from RNHA over the 5-year life of this strategic plan. We anticipate that the Museum Store that was incorporated into redesigned Kuchel Visitor Center will generate additional funds but we cannot estimate what the annual increase will be at this time.
IVbX. Park Partnerships: By September 30, 2005, the number of projects satisfactorily completed by partners under formal agreements that protect park resources or serves the park visitors is increased by 5%.
This goal tracks the number of projects completed inside RNSP boundaries that are conducted by park partners in cooperation with park staff. These projects are all conducted under long-term formal agreements with the non-NPS agency. Long-term agreements include cooperative agreements, interagency agreements, and memoranda of understanding or agreement. Some of these agreements involve exchange of funds, but most involve personnel working on projects that benefit park resources.
This goal covers projects that protect NPS resources completed by two major partners– CDPR and the Yurok Tribe. Memoranda of Understanding for these partners were first developed in 1994 and 1996, respectively, and are expected to be renewed well beyond the life of this strategic plan. These are broad partnerships that include many management activities in RNSP. The CDPR partnership covers all aspects of park management including interpretation, maintenance, resource management, visitor and resource protection, and administration. The partnership with the Yurok Tribe is in its early stages, and a number of resource management and interpretation projects are being developed. Projects undertaken with the Yurok Tribe include interpretation of Yurok culture and traditions for visitors; watershed and vegetation management; identification of ethnographic resources and traditional cultural properties; and protection and adaptive use of historic structures.
In April 1994, the NPS entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with CDPR for the cooperative management of the three state parks and the federal lands within the national park boundary. Pursuant to P.L. 105-83, the FY 98 Interior Appropriations Act, the Secretary of the Interior was authorized to enter into agreements with the State of California for the cooperative management of Redwood National Park and proximate state lands. The purpose of such agreements is to acquire from and provide to the State of California goods and services to be used by the Secretary and the State of California in cooperative management of lands if the Secretary determines that appropriations for that purpose are available and an agreement is in the best interest of the United States. In April 1999, the NPS and CDPR entered into a new agreement to renew and strengthen the Memorandum of Understanding to provide for continued cooperative management of all CDPR and NPS lands within the congressionally authorized boundary of Redwood National Park.
Among the cooperative projects undertaken between the two park agencies are construction and maintenance of facilities and grounds; waste disposal and recycling; and planning for land use, resource management and protection, and visitor recreation. The 1999 GMP proposes to combine NPS and CDPR maintenance facilities into a single facility if the NPS Requa facility cannot be operated because of physical site conditions that lead to unsafe working conditions or significantly cost-ineffectiveness.
Vegetation management projects conducted cooperatively with CDPR on state park lands include Ossagon Prairie restoration, prescribed burns at Boyes Prairie, exotic plant control, surveys for pink sand verbena, and review of environmental clearances for sensitive plant species.
Numerous resource management projects are conducted under agreements with the California Conservation Corps; Pacific Coast Fish, Wildlife, and Wetlands Restoration Association; the Environmental Protection Agency; the USDA Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service; the US Geological Survey; the California Department of Fish and Game; the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection; and the Humboldt Resource Conservation District.
In FY 2000, resource management projects completed or on-going in partnership with the above agencies include stream gaging work conducted with the US Geological Survey; development of GIS themes for threatened and endangered species done in association with the US Fish and Wildlife Service; two vegetation management projects (European beach grass removal and oak-woodland restoration) conducted with California Conservation Corps; and prescribed burns conducted in cooperation with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Other agreements govern projects in maintenance, interpretation, and visitor services and resource protection. These projects include highway maintenance and resource protection associated with Highway 101 through the park conducted in cooperation with the California Department of Transportation; emergency medical and fire protection services provided cooperatively with the Orick Community Services District; and interpretive and resource management projects conducted with the Student Conservation Association.
Andrew T. Ringold: Superintendent, RNSP
Amy C. Robertson: Chief of Administration, RNSP
Cathleen J. Cook: Chief of Interpretation, RNSP
Richard C. Schneider: Chief of Maintenance, RNSP
Terrence D. Hofstra: Chief of Resource Mgmt & Science, RNSP
Robert R. Martin: Chief of Visitor Services & Protection, RNSP
Aida Parkinson: Environmental Specialist