NATURAL RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
FOR
MINUTE MAN NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

Natural Resources Report NPS/NER/NRR—2009/022

Mary-Jane James-Pirri

Graduate School of Oceanography
University of Rhode Island
Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882

With GIS Support from
Rebecca Bannon and Roland Duhaime

Environmental Data Center
University of Rhode Island
Kingston, Rhode Island 02881

August 2009

U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Northeast Region
15 State Street
Boston, MA 02109
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Executive Summary

The purpose of this document is to provide information on the current condition of natural resources at Minute Man National Historical Park (MIMA). The assessment of current condition was based upon existing data, technical reports, and the published literature; no new data were collected. Whenever possible, current condition was related to historical data or trends and was presented in a GIS framework.

The natural resources that were evaluated in this assessment were land use dynamics, vegetation communities (including information on plant diseases), wetland resources, faunal communities (including potential insect pests), water resources, and parkwide resources such as soils, air quality, soundscape, and visitor use.

Most of natural resources at MIMA appear to be in less than desirable condition based on available data. Urban lands (roads and residential housing) occupy a considerable proportion of the park and these areas may be detracting from the natural resources and cultural atmosphere of MIMA. The vegetation, forest, and wetland communities of the park are under assault from invasive plants, which have persisted and increased in abundance and distribution over the years. Even areas that are considered good examples of natural native communities, such as the kettlehole wet meadows, are threatened by invasive plants. This is the legacy of disturbed lands and the opportunistic colonization of non-native species over the past few centuries. The available data for faunal communities indicate that landbird, amphibian, and fish communities are in a less than desirable condition primarily due to a loss of specialist or sensitive species and a higher incidence of non-desirable species (e.g., non-natives/exotics, disturbance tolerant species). Threats to these communities include habitat loss/deterioration and fragmentation, competition with non-native and/or exotic species, and environmental contaminants including impaired water quality. There are potential emerging threats to the forests of MIMA from several insect pests and it would be prudent to establish early detection plans for these detrimental insects. MIMA also has had persistent degraded water quality of its streams and rivers for the past 20 years. Soil chemistry, assessed during forest monitoring, has undesirable ratios of Ca:Al and C:N that in turn may negatively impact forest vegetation. In terms of parkwide resources, air quality, and soundscape are also of concern. There may be little that MIMA can do about these resources as they are extensively influenced by factors outside of the park’s control.

Several data gaps exist especially in terms of the condition of wetland resources. Important wetland ecosystems in the park include kettlehole wet meadows, a red-maple black gum swamp, the Elm Brook wetland, and vernal pools. Threats to these include invasive plants, impacts from roads (e.g., road runoff, barriers to faunal movement), and impaired water quality. Monitoring these areas (e.g., water quality, hydroperiod, presence of rare and/or iconic flora and fauna) should be a priority for the park. Other data gaps include the uncertainty of the presence of state listed flora and fauna throughout the park, and information concerning visitor impacts on natural resources.

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To open the report, click here (3.62 MB).