Denali National Park and Preserve - Research Results and Resource Information (U.S. National Park Service)

Special review occurs for research that proposes to collect soils or other specimens.

Jessie Cable

A 2008 Discover Denali Research Fellow collects soil samples to study impacts of melting permafrost on plants.

What kind of research goes on at Denali?Researchers and resource specialists study everything imaginable in Denali from why glaciers surge, to the population dynamics of wolves and their prey, to the physiological effects to humans of climbing Denali. Research on subarctic ecosystems and studies of culture, history, and place have been an integral part of understanding and protecting Denali’s natural and cultural resources since the park’s inception.

Moose research in Denali explores behaviors of bulls in rut, nutrition in relation to calf production, calf survivorship, and estimates of population size.

Kent Miller

Visitors might spot a radio-collared moose along the Denali Park Road.

More than 780 scientific and scholarly studies have taken place in the park since the early 1900’s. In 2008, there were 80 active Research and Collecting Permits for studies in Denali. Some researchers are conducting more than one study. These scientific studies are either conducted by Denali staff, park cooperators (e.g., U.S. Geological Survey or Alaska State Department of Fish and Game), and investigators from other agencies, universities, and other institutions. Appropriate research for Denali is that which gathers information while making minimal impacts to park resources and visitor experience.

Ree Nancarrow's Seasons of Denali quilt at the Eielson Visitor Center colorfully illustrates some of the plants and animals that researchers study in Denali.

Lucy Tyrrell

Close-up of Quilt Displayed
at Eielson Visitor Center

Research Results and Resource Management
On these web pages are highlights of selected research studies and resource activities. These materials may help you learn more about what you saw or experienced during your recent trip to Denali, or may enhance your future visit.

David Sunderlin

Dinosaur fossil footprint

Investigator Annual Reports
Each year researchers at all national parks submit an Investigator Annual Report (IAR) summarizing their findings to the National Park Service’s Research Permit and Reporting System (RPRS) website. You can go on-line and read the IAR’s submitted about Denali or any other park. You can search IAR’s by park, investigator name, year, or general subject heading. Researchers also use this website to apply for a research and collecting permit. http://science.nature.nps.gov/research

What animals make their home in Denali's spruce forests?

Kent Miller

Spruce forest in Denali

Current Resource Projects
Denali produces Current Resource Projects annually to summarize results of resource studies from the previous year, and describe what resource projects are planned for the next field season. The document gives information primarily about the research and monitoring activities of Denali’s resource staff, but it also provides excerpts from all external researchers’ Investigator Annual Reports for the previous year.

[Caution! These are large documents. Please be patient when opening the links.]

Current Resource Projects 2009

Current Resource Projects 2008
Current Resource Projects 2007
Current Resource Projects 2006
Current Resource Projects 2005

How do soils develop at the retreating edge of glaciers?

Barbara-Lynn Concienne

Researchers near the Middle Fork (Toklat) Glacier

Science at Denali
This document, Science at Denali, provides an overview of park science, describes early science at Denali, gives examples of current or recent projects (inventory, monitoring, and research), and tells how science has been useful to management of Denali resources.

[Suggestion: For best results, print this document on 11" x 17" paper (double-sided) and fold to produce a 12-page booklet.]