Inventory & Monitoring at Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier as seen from Paradise Meadow

NPS photo

Mount Rainier National Park was established in 1899. The park is 235,625 acres, 97% of which is designated Wilderness. Ascending to 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape. An active volcano, Mount Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous US, with over 35 square miles of snow and ice and spawning six major rivers.

Approximately 58% of the Park is forested, 23% is subalpine parkland, and the remainder is alpine, half of which is vegetated and the other half consists of permanent snow and ice. Vegetation is diverse, reflecting the varied climatic and environmental conditions encountered across the Park's 12,800-ft elevation gradient.

The North Coast and Cascades Network provides natural resource inventory and monitoring information to help parks make effective, science-based management decisions. Inventories have been completed for birds, fish, mammals, reptiles & amphibians, and vascular plants (see species lists further down the page). Maps and reports detailing Mount Rainier National Park's soils are in progress and are complete for vegetation and geologic resources.

For more information about Mount Rainier National Park, visit the Park website.

Monitored Here

Climate
Elk*
Forest Vegetation*
Glaciers
Landbirds
Landscape Change
Mountain Lakes
Subalpine Vegetation
Water Quality

* Elk Monitoring has been suspended with protocol redesign pending
** Forest Monitoring is intermittent due to funding limitations

Publications

Monitoring Reports

Climate

Source: NPS DataStore Saved Search 558 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the NPS DataStore.

Elk

Source: NPS DataStore Saved Search 552 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the NPS DataStore.

Forest Vegetation

Source: NPS DataStore Saved Search 555 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the NPS DataStore.

Glaciers

Source: NPS DataStore Saved Search 3699 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the NPS DataStore.

Landbirds

Source: NPS DataStore Saved Search 3691 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the NPS DataStore.

Landscape Change

Source: NPS DataStore Saved Search 553 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the NPS DataStore.

Mountain Lakes

Source: NPS DataStore Saved Search 567 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the NPS DataStore.

Subalpine Vegetation

Source: NPS DataStore Saved Search 639 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the NPS DataStore.

Water Quality

Source: NPS DataStore Saved Search 640 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the NPS DataStore.

Inventory Reports

Inventory Reports

Source: NPS DataStore Collection 531 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the NPS DataStore.

Monitoring Protocols

Protocol Documents

Source: NPS DataStore Collection 7780 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the NPS DataStore.

Synthesis, Trend, and Journal Publications

Publications

Source: NPS DataStore Saved Search 3605 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the NPS DataStore.

Park Species List

×

Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

---

Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

---

Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

---

Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

×

List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Mount Rainier National Park

Select a Species Category (optional):

All Amphibians Birds Fish Mammals Reptiles Vascular Plants

Get Checklist Get Full List List Differences

Species attribute definitions

Search results will be displayed here.

Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.