What We Inventory

University of Tennessee researchers sampling fish in Entrance Spring to Russell Cave.
University of Tennessee researchers sampling fish in Entrance Spring to Russell Cave.

NPS Photo

Effective long-term management and stewardship of natural resources in the Cumberland Piedmont Network begins with baseline knowledge of these resources. To acquire this knowledge, an inventory program was established by the National Park Service with the goals of acquiring baseline information for a variety of resources, from bibliographic information to species occurrence and distribution.

Baseline inventories are administered by the National Inventory and Monitoring Division and are defined in Appendix A of the Natural Resources Inventory and Monitoring Guidelines. For more information, see the Natural Resource Inventories page. The twelve basic inventories provide information that has been found to be of greatest value in the initiation of a Vital Signs Monitoring Program, and include:

  • Air Quality Related Values
  • Cartography
  • Climate
  • Geologic Resources
  • Natural Resource Bibliography
  • Soils Resources
  • Species List
  • Species Status and Abundance
  • Vegetation
  • Water Body Location and Classification
  • Water Quality

Last updated: October 22, 2019