Project Profile: Analyze Monitoring and Inventory Data for Climate Vulnerability Analysis and Adaption Planning

The Inventory and Monitoring Division of the National Park Service is like a physician for our parks. We track the health of key vital such as water, plants, and wildlife. Together we can use information to take care of our national parks for this and future generations.

Inflation Reduction Act
Resilience | FY24-27 $4,005,000

The National Park Service (NPS) will analyze historical and ongoing inventory and vital signs monitoring data for climate vulnerability analysis and adaptation planning. This project encompasses analyses in four major themes: Vegetation, Aquatic Resources, Wildlife, and Ecosystems. Scientific information on resources ranging from coral reefs to whitebark pine, and from river hydrology to fire severity, are being synthesized and analyzed across local, regional, and national scales.

Why? With more than two decades of data, the vital signs monitoring program provides the largest available body of scientific knowledge on long-term trends in natural resource condition across nearly 300 NPS units nationwide. These analyses will focus on understanding climate signals in this data, evaluating the influence of climate projections on vital signs, and assessing the adaptive capacity of natural resources to changing conditions. The outcomes of this project will inform conservation strategies that can help mitigate climate impacts to park resources across landscapes.

What Else? The project will produce resource briefs, workshops, and thematic vulnerability assessments. Visualizations and trend reports will link vital signs with changing conditions, aiding parks in understanding resource adaptations and informing climate-resilient management strategies. The results will contribute to effective decision-making for the protection and restoration of natural resources in the face of climate change.

About the Inflation Reduction Act

The Inflation Reduction Act provides the National Park Service with an historic opportunity to address critical ecosystem resilience, restoration, and environmental planning needs. Projects funded in national parks represent broad-scale and impactful resource investments across every corner of our nation—from Alaska to Florida to Maine.