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CURRENT PROJECTS
2008
Acadia National
Park
Visitor Impact
Protocol Development and
Mitigation Experiments to
Support Carrying Capacity Planning
The current phase of this visitor
carrying capacity research evaluates visitor-related impacts to the park's
natural resources. It includes (1) development and application of trail
condition assessment and monitoring protocols for 120 miles of designated
trails on Mount Desert Island, (2) development of monitoring protocols
for a GPS-based inventory of visitor-created trails, (3) development of
monitoring protocols for trampling impacts and evaluation of the success
of area closures at the summit of Cadillac Mountain, and (4) the experimental
application and evaluation of education and site management actions to
reduce selected high-priority trail-related visitor impact problems.
For more information, contact
Charlie Jacobi at 207-288-8727.
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Estimate the
Rate of Nitrogen Removal by Wetlands
of Acadia National Park
This study will quantify denitrification
potential in Acadia's estuarine wetlands. The results will enable Acadia's
resource managers to develop scientifically based strategies for limiting
nutrient inputs to these critical wetlands.
For more information, contact
David Manski at 207-288-8720.
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Cape Cod
National Seashore
Evaluate the
Status of Spawning Horseshoe Crabs, Limulus
polyphemus, within Cape Cod NS
As of 2001, all harvest of
horseshoe crabs was banned in Cape Cod NS waters. However, this extremely
controversial decision is currently being appealed. This is a precedent-setting
case as the classification of the horseshoe crab as wildlife gave it a
protected status apart from shellfish and finfish, which are currently
harvested in the park. Surveys of spawning horseshoe crabs were conducted
from 2000 to 2002 in an effort to collect baseline data on spawning populations
within the Seashore. This project will re-survey the same spawning locations
five and six years after the initial harvest ban was implemented in order
to evaluate the success of this management decision.
For more information, contact
Carrie Phillips at 508-487-3262, ext. 109.
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Cape Cod NS
Shoreline Change and Resource Protection
This study will examine current
and past measurements of outer Cape Cod coastal features and identify
trends affecting these landforms. Historical coastal profile measurements
will be analyzed along with newly acquired data for quantitative comparisons.
For more information, contact
Mark Adams at 508-487-3262 x113.
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Comparison of
Mercury in Atmospheric Deposition and Fish
At Cape Cod NS and two sites
on the Pacific coast, levels of mercury are being monitored in soil cores
(to determine depositon rate) and in fish, to determine whether there
is a difference in depositon rate "upwind" on the west coast
and "downwind" on the east coast. A preliminary conclusion is
that long-residence-time, global-pool atmospheric mercury is responsible
for a substantial amount of the mercury that accumulates in fish.
For more information, contact
Carrie Phillips at 508-487-3262, ext. 10.
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Fire Island
National Seashore
Characterize
Submarine Groundwater as a Component of
Managing Estuarine Eutrophication at Fire Island NS
A U.S. Geological Survey-National
Park Service marine study will
determine the nature of groundwater/surface-water interactions and associated
nutrient fluxes in Great South Bay along the Fire Island shoreline, the
Long Island shoreline, and representative transects across the bay.
For more information, contact
Patricia Rafferty at 631-687-4767.
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Impacts of Beach
Scraping and Artificial Dune Creation on the Natural Resources of Fire
Island NS
The purpose of beach scraping
is to provide storm protection to privatehomes and community infrastructure,
although little research exists that demonstrates the success of this
technique. This practice may have a negative impact on natural resources
in park lands including (1) loss of the ecological benefits of natural
dunes, (2) burial of habitat during the creationof the artificial foredune
or destruction of habitat directly from scraping, and (3) increase in
regional erosion and decrease in natural storm protection by decreasing
beach width and elevation, and (4)overall disruption of natural processes
of dune evolution. This project is studying long- and short-term impacts
of beach scraping and artificial dune formation by comparing aerial photography
prior to beach scraping with photos taken early in the history of beach
scraping to see how the system responds to this practice.
For more information, contact
Michael Bilecki at 631-687-4760.
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Gateway National
Recreation Area
Bathymetric
Survey of Jamaica Bay and Other Bays Parkwide:
Closing a Gap in the Saltmarsh Loss Model
Considering the importance
of accurate and current bathymetric
information to understanding saltmarsh loss, and the results of an earlier
trial, this project will conduct a more complete high-resolution bathymetric
survey for all of Jamaica Bay and selected areas of Sandy Hook and Great
Kills Park, using the SIMRAD EM3000 multibeam bathymetric system for waters
over 6 feet in depth. The survey will show the dimensions and features
of the channels as well as the edges of the shallow banks, with a data
density of approximately one square meter. Acquisition of bathymetry in
shallower areas will use a small boat, single-beam echo sounding time.
For more information, contact
Kathryn Mellander at 718-354-4525.
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Gettysburg
National Military Park
Methods of Estimating
Deer Abundance:
Testing Model Assumptions and Logistical Feasibility
This project will test whether
the proportion of the deer population
sighted during surveys has changed since the sighting probabilities were
estimated in 1987, test the assumption that roads can serve as transects
using distance sampling methods, and investigate the accuracy, precision,
and logistical feasibility of population estimators using deer population
reduction data.
For more information, contact
Michelle Batcheller at 814-863-9414.
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Richmond
National Battlefield Park
Conduct Biological
Inventories at Newly Acquired Park Sites
The park has acquired approximately
600 acres of new park land in the past year. This project will accomplish
a suite of baseline inventories usingsimilar protocols as those used during
previous park inventories, including birds, reptiles and amphibians, and
mammals.
For more information, contact
Kristen Gounaris Allen at 804-795-5019.
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Saugus Iron
Works National Historic Site
Real-time Monitoring
of Sodium and Chloride Loads
within the Saugus River
The U.S. Geological Survey,
in cooperation the with National Park Service, operates a continuous streamflow
monitoring station at the Saugus River Iron Works National Historic Site
in Saugus, Massachusetts. A probe for monitoring specific conductance
is located in a section of the river downstream from the gage pool that
is influenced by tidal inflows. This project will relocate the probe to
more accurately monitor specific conductance. A real-time interpretive
display of this Saugus River gage site data will be installed at the park
Visitor Center and data will be posted at an internet site.
For more information, contact
Curtis White at (781) 231-7342.
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Shenandoah
National Park
Characterize
Threatened and Impaired Headwater
Streams and Springs
Among the important water resources
at Shenandoah National Park are the "source waters" (headwaters
and springs) that are potentially the most sensitive to impairment, yet
the least well-understood. This project expands the water resource inventory
and thereby improves the basis for monitoring programs for the lower stream
reaches of the park.
For more information, contact
Gordon Olson at 540-999-3497.
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Develop a Long-Term
Monitoring Protocol
for the Endangered Shenandoah Salamander
The goal of the study is to
design a long-term monitoring program to detect future change within the
three populations of Plethodon shenandoah identified at the park
and explore natural and human-related factors that may be responsible
for population change.
For more information, contact
Jim Atkinson at 540-999-3433.
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Remove Non-native
Plants From A Globally Rare Community--
Monitor Rare and Non-native Species Extent
At Shenandoah National Park,
rapid action is needed to document the status and extent of rare plant
populations within Big Meadows, and to implement non-native species control
activities to preserve the community's virtually pristine character.
For more information, contact
Wendy Cass at 540-999-3432.
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Upper Delaware
Scenic and Recreational River
Define Existing
Water Quality in Park Streams
for Development of Special Protection Waters Standards
This project is utilizing a
nested sampling approach to establish benchmark loads for water-quality
parameters reflecting the Special Protection Waters Standards for the
Delaware River at five U.S. Geological Survey gaging stations on the main-stem
river and tributaries of the Upper Delaware River.
For more information contact
Don Hamilton at 570-729-7842.
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Identify Threatened
Bald Eagle Habitat and
Develop Management Plan
Habitats along the Upper Delaware
River important to threatened bald eagles are being identified using satellite
and radio transmitters and GIS mapping during three seasons of data collection.
This is a joint effort with the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Eagle Institute, and
the National Park Service.
For more information, contact
Don Hamilton at 570-729-7842.
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Determine Ecological
Flow Needs of the Federally
Endangered Dwarf Wedgemussel
The National Park Service is
involved in a multi-agency effort to
determine the quantity of water required to maintain the health of aquatic
communities in the Upper Delaware River. This project will determine the
biological response of adult federally endangered Dwarf Wedgemussel to
changes in flow parameters (velocity, temperature, oxygen) and habitat
needs of juvenile life stages. This information is essential to making
informed recommendations to the Delaware River Basin Commission on ecological
flow needs of the park.
For more information, contact
Don Hamilton at 570-729-7842
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