Tracking Change in Mountain Landscapes

Glacier-carved canyons, granite domes, spectacular waterfalls, rivers, and lakes. Landscapes ranging from low-elevation oak woodlands, to conifer forests to rocky alpine terrain. The Sierra-Nevada parks all offer stunning scenery, essential habitats for plants and animals, and critical water resources for California.

Sierra Nevada Network scientists and partners take inventory of park species and natural features (such as wetlands, lakes, and geology), which provides baseline information for studying and managing these parks. We monitor, over time, natural resources such as birds, high-elevation forests, lakes, rivers, wetlands, and climate, to better understand their condition and detect any potential changes.

This network is one of 32 National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring networks across the country. We work to provide park managers, scientists, and the public with reliable scientific information about our parks' important natural resources.