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Where Can I Find Out More About My Park?
National Capital Area (NCA) Resource Stewardship & Science (RESS) can support your work interpreting, preserving, and maintaining your park. Use the sources below to learn about research done for the parks in natural science, culture, and history, and where you can find it.

NPS/Thomas Paradis
NPS Report Libraries & Websites
● The IRMA Data Store- a large collection of NPS natural and cultural resource reports, articles, and geographic data.● ETIC (Electronic Technical Information Center)- an NPS repository for planning, drawings, designs, and technical reports.
● NPS Library
● NCA Cultural and Natural Resources (known as RESS; Resource Stewardship and Science)
Cultural Resource Records

NPS
● Historical summaries and why a place is worth preserving:
● Timelines and lists of important places and features
Cultural Landscape Inventory reports
Cultural Landscape Profile articles
NCA Cultural Landscape Program
Special History Studies (local or regional themes)
National Historic Landmark theme studies
NPShistory.com- an easy to browse, external site updated with publications listed by park
NCA Anthropology Program
Museum Collections
● Museum Resource Center- National Capital Area- History, Archeology, Natural Resources, and Archives collections.Natural Resource Data
NPS
● Inventory & Monitoring (I&M), the National Capital Region Network. An NPS in-house, long-term natural resource monitoring team.
● Park-specific collections of I&M information.
● Park Species Lists
● Climate Change and Air Quality data.
● Stream Water Quality monitoring data.
● Natural Resource Condition Assessments reports evaluate natural resource conditions and trends for a park. Initial chapters often provide environmental and landuse history information.
● Invasive Plant Species information from the team that manages invasive plants in NCA.
● Geographic data in a user-friendly format (no GIS software needed!) includes landcover, population density, Landscape Dynamics Viewer
● Vegetation Maps- an external site that depicts the natural communities of plants and animals that occur together in NCA parks.
About Us
In Region 1 - National Capital Area (NCA), cultural and natural resources staff form what’s called the Resource Stewardship and Science directorate (RESS). They support park resource managers, superintendents, and others in making well-informed decisions that impact natural and cultural resources. RESS staff also provide technical assistance, analysis, and evaluation of a wide range of resource management issues in biology, ecology, archeology, history, and preservation.
Ultimately, the work of RESS staff supports the National Park Service mission, by helping parks to “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife” of parks, and in finding ways for the enjoyment of these resources that will leave them “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”
Learn more about NCA’s RESS directorate and more about Region 1 - National Capital Area.
Last updated: December 7, 2020