What We Inventory

Red fox kit, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve

NPS Photo

Basic Inventories

Conducting a set of basic natural resource inventories is an essential first step towards establishing long-term monitoring.

A suite of inventories conducted by the network helped establish a starting baseline for the work that was to follow. These inventories encompassed plants and animals, soils and geology, water, air, climate, and more. In addition, a set of 12 basic natural resource inventories was completed across the country in parks that have significant natural resources.

For details on the specific inventories conducted in Upper Columbia Basin parks, see our collection of inventory reports.

Park Species Lists

Part of the initial inventory project was to assemble information on species in parks. Below you can find lists of vertebrates and vascular plants in our eight network parks. Keep in mind that these lists are always works in progress, and the information may change as our knowledge of species increases.

×

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:

Big Hole National Battlefield City Of Rocks National Reserve Craters Of The Moon National Monument & Preserve Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument John Day Fossil Beds National Monument Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Nez Perce National Historical Park Whitman Mission National Historic Site

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.

Network Inventory Highlights

• 

  Rare Endemic Species in the UCBN
• 

  Pikas as Indicators of Climate Change
• 

  Bat Inventories at John Day Fossil Beds

---