Project Profile: Determine Climate Change Vulnerability of Water Resources in Arid & Drought-Affected National Parks

The western portion of Lassen Volcanic National Park's Butte Lake, including the boat launch, is without water during a drought.

NPS / Amanda Sweeney

Inflation Reduction Act
Resilience | FY23-26 $1,212,621

The National Park Service (NPS) will assess climate change vulnerability of groundwater resources and identify aquatic ecosystem restoration opportunities, data gaps, and priority monitoring locations to enhance ecosystem resilience in arid and drought-affected parks. The data gathered will be used to develop strategies for acquiring and protecting water rights and legal protection of aquatic ecosystems threatened by climate change. Additionally, the data will inform science-based decision making for current and future maintenance of water resources.

Why? Aquatic ecosystems and water resources are important qualities of numerous parks and hold both natural and cultural significance. The NPS’s ability to manage and protect these resources is challenged by a limited understanding of the resources and the impacts of climate change, which results in dwindling water supplies and increasing external water demands. This project represents an unprecedented opportunity for the NPS to improve scientific understanding and management and initiate significant climate change resilience actions.

What else? The parks involved in the project will engage youth through education, volunteer, and employment opportunities. Programs like these inspire future generations to protect, restore, and build resilience in the ecosystems around them. Through this project the NPS will also partner with hydrologic, ecosystem science, and legal experts including the Desert Research Institute and the Department of Interior Office of Solicitor.

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.