Vital Signs

The NPS Inventory & Monitoring Program defines the term "vital sign" as "a subset of physical, chemical, and biological elements and processes of park ecosystems that are selected to represent the overall health or condition of park resources, known or hypothesized effects of stressors, or elements that have important human values."

The Rocky Mountain Network has identified 12 high-priority vital signs for monitoring. In the context of the NPS Ecological Monitoring Framework, two high-priority Rocky Mountain Network vital signs relate to Air and Climate, three relate to Water, six relate to Biological Integrity, and one relates to Ecosystem Pattern and Processes.

The Rocky Mountain Network vital signs selection process was a three-year collaborative effort among park managers, park professional staff, Rocky Mountain Network and other NPS staff, and scientific and technical partners outside the NPS. Vital signs development included conducting park scoping meetings, developing descriptions of the natural setting and management issues in each park, and formulating conceptual models of key ecological processes within possible vital signs. We held two widely attended workshops to develop vital signs objectives and initially prioritize vital signs. Working with the Rocky Mountain Network Technical Committee and Board of Directors during a two-day follow-up meeting, we utilized workshop results to "select" the 12 highest priority vital signs for the network:

Vital Signs and their Monitoring Protocols, Ordered by Vital Sign:

Vital Sign	Monitoring Protocol
1. Wet and Dry Deposition	Snow Chemistry
2. Weather and Climate	Alpine Vegetation & Soils Climate Snow Chemistry
3. Water Chemistry	Stream Ecological Integrity Wetland Ecological Integrity
4. Surface Water Dynamics	Stream Ecological Integrity Wetland Ecological Integrity
5. Freshwater Communities	Stream Ecological Integrity
6. Invasive/Exotic Aquatic Biota	Stream Ecological Integrity
7. Groundwater Dynamics	Stream Ecological Integrity Wetland Ecological Integrity
8. Wetland Communities	Wetland Ecological Integrity
9. Invasive/Exotic Plants	Alpine Vegetation & Soils Upland Vegetation & Soils Wetland Ecological Integrity
10. Vegetation, Composition, Structure, and Soils	Alpine Vegetation & Soils Upland Vegetation & Soils
11. Focal Species (Beaver, Elk, Grizzly Bear)	Alpine Vegetation & Soils Landscape Dynamics Stream Ecological Integrity Wetland Ecological Integrity
12. Landscape Dynamics	Landscape Dynamics

Vital Signs and their Monitoring Protocols, Ordered by Protocol:

Monitoring Protocol	Vital Sign
1. Alpine Vegetation & Soils	Invasive/Exotic Plants Focal Species (Elk) Vegetation Composition, Structure, and Soils Weather and Climate
2. Climate	Weather and Climate
3. Landscape Dynamics	Focal Species (Beaver, Elk, Grizzly Bear) Landscape Dynamics
4. Snow Chemistry	Weather and Climate Wet and Dry Deposition
5. Stream Ecological Integrity	Focal Species (Beaver) Fresh Water Communities Ground Water Dynamics Invasive/Exotic Aquatic Biota Surface Water Dynamics Water Chemistry
6. Upland Vegetation & Soils	Invasive/Exotic Plants Vegetation Composition, Structure, and Soils
7. Wetland Ecological Integrity	Focal Species (Beaver, Elk) Ground Water Dynamics Invasive/Exotic Plants Surface Water Dynamics Water Chemistry Wetland Communities