Inventory & Monitoring at National Capital Parks - East

Water monitoring in Still Creek at Greenbelt Park. Photo: NPS.

To help protect park natural resources like forests, streams, and wildlife, a team of National Park Service ecologists with the National Capital Region Inventory & Monitoring Network (NCRN I&M) is continually assessing conditions at the parks that make up National Capital Parks-East (NACE).

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Species Lists
Resource Briefs
Reports
Quick Reads

NACE refers to a group of park sites stretching from Capitol Hill out into the Maryland suburbs. The National Capital Region Network (NCRN) monitors forest vegetation, water quality, birds, and other variables at the parks below (listed from north to south).

Greenbelt Park: 9 forest vegetation sites, 7 forest bird sites, and water quality in Still Creek (both quarterly and continuous)
Baltimore-Washington Parkway: 10 forest vegetation sites, 0 forest bird sites due to road noise.

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens: 1 forest vegetation site, 5 marsh elevation (SET) sites
Anacostia Park: 1 forest vegetation site, 1 forest bird site, 5 marsh elevation (SET) sites (in Kingman Marsh)
Fort Circle: 2 forest vegetation sites, 2 forest bird sites
Fort Dupont: 3 forest vegetation sites, 4 forest bird sites
Shepard Parkway: 2 forest vegetation sites
Suitland Parkway: 2 forest vegetation sites, water quality in Henson Creek

Oxon Cove: 2 forest vegetation sites, 2 forest bird sites, and water quality in Oxon Run
Fort Washington: 2 forest vegetation sites, 3 forest bird sites
Piscataway Park: 13 forest vegetation sites, and 11 forest bird sites

Monitored Here

• Air & Climate
• Amphibians
• Birds
• Forest Pests
• Forest Vegetation
• Invasive Plants
• Stream Biota
• Stream Water

Ongoing monitoring of forest vegetation occurs at 47 plots spread throughout the park forests. At these plots the trees, shrubs, vines, and specific non-woody plants are identified to group or species, and trees are measured and labeled. Any evidence of deer browse on trees or shrubs is noted. Diseases and pests are also recorded along with targeted invasive plant species. Fallen and standing woody debris (that provides essential habitat to many types of wildlife) is also monitored.
Forest birds are monitored twice each year at 30 forest plots.
NCRN I&M also monitors water quality every other month in Henson Creek, Oxon Run, and Still Creek. Water is tested for levels of dissolved oxygen, pH, acid neutralizing capacity, salinity/specific conductance, total nitrate, total phosphorus, and water temperature. NCRN I&M also measures stream width, depth, flow, and discharge.
NCRN monitored aquatic macroinvertebrates, fish, and stream physical habitat between 2008 and 2013.
Marsh elevation is monitored at 10 sites in Kingman and Kenilworth Marshes.

Species Lists

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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:

Anacostia Park Baltimore-Washington Parkway Capitol Hill Parks Fort Dupont Park Fort Foote Park Fort Washington Park Greenbelt Park Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens National Capital Parks-East Oxon Cove Park & Oxon Hill Farm Piscataway 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.

Publications and Other Information

Resource Briefs

A quick and easy look at NCRN monitoring data or notable natural resource issues in the parks of National Capital Parks - East.

Air & Climate

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 2221. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Amphibians

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 1266 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Forest Birds

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 1353. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Forest Vegetation

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 1492. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Stream Biology

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 1371. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Water & Other Vital Signs

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 1380. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Reports

In-depth research on natural resources in the parks of National Capital Parks - East.

Air & Climate

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Source: Data Store Collection 3832. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Amphibians

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 2583 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Forest Birds

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 2584 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Forest Vegetation

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 2587 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Geology & Fossils

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 1298 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Small Mammals

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 2588 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Soil Data

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 1337. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Stream Biology & Fish

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 2589 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Water Quality

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Source: Data Store Saved Search 2592 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.