State of the Park Reports Glossary

An alphabetical list of terms or words found in the State of the Park Reports.

 

 

Alaska Interagency Coordination Center (AICC)

The Alaska Interagency Coordination Center provides coordination for all state and federal agencies involved in wildland fire management and suppression in Alaska. These agencies are the Bureau of Land Management, State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Fish and Wildlife Service. AICC serves as the focal point for initial attack resource coordination, logistics support, and predictive services The AICC is located on near Fairbanks on Fort Wainwright.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and American Barriers Act (ABA)

Laws enacted by the federal government that include provisions to remove barriers that limit a disabled person's ability to engage in normal daily activity in the physical, public environment.

Archeological Sites Management Information System (ASMIS)

The National Park Service's standardized database for the basic registration and management of park prehistoric and historical archeological resources. ASMIS site records contain data on condition, threats and disturbances, site location, date of site discovery and documentation, description, proposed treatments, and management actions for known park archeological sites. It serves as a tool to support improved archeological resources preservation, protection, planning, and decision-making by parks, centers, regional offices, and the national program offices.

Arctic Network (ARCN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Arctic Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in five parks located in Alaska.

Baseline Documentation

Baseline documentation records the physical condition of a structure, object, or landscape at a specific point in time. A baseline provides a starting point against which future changes can be measured.

Border Patrol

The U.S. Border Patrol is an agency of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Border Patrol agents enforce the laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to the United States.

Carbon Footprint

Carbon footprint is generally defined as the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person.

Central Alaska Network (CAKN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Central Alaska Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in three parks located in Alaska.

Climate Friendly Park

The NPS Climate Friendly Park designation requires meeting three milestones: completing an application; completing a comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory; and completing a Climate Action Plan, which is the actions, policies, programs, and measures a park will put into place to reduce its GHG emissions.

Cultural Landscape Inventory (CLI)

A Cultural Landscapes Inventory describes historically significant landscapes within a park. The inventory identifies and documents each landscape's location, size, physical development, condition, characteristics, and features, as well as other information useful to park management.

Cultural Landscape Report (CLR)

A Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) is the principal treatment document for cultural landscapes and the primary tool for long-term management of those landscapes. It guides management and treatment decisions about a landscape's physical attributes, biotic systems, and use when that use contributes to historical significance.

Cumberland Piedmont Network (CUPN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Cumberland Piedmont Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in 14 parks located in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Curation

National parks are the stewards of numerous types of objects, field notes, publications, maps, artifacts, photographs, and more. The assemblage of these materials comprises a museum collection. Curation is the process of managing, preserving, and safeguarding a collection according to professional museum and archival practices.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

A federal agency that, among other responsibilities, prevents and investigates illegal movements across U.S. borders, including the smuggling of people, drugs, cash, and weapons.

Environmental Contaminants

Biological, chemical, physical, or radiological substance (normally absent in the environment) which, in sufficient concentration, can adversely affect living organisms through air, water, soil, and/or food.

Exotic Plant Management Team (EPMT)

One of the ways the NPS is combating invasive plants is through the Exotic Plant Management Team Program. The program supports 16 Exotic Plant Management Teams working in more than 225 park units. EPMTs are led by individuals with specialized knowledge and experience in invasive plant management and control. Each field-based team operates over a wide geographic area and serves multiple parks.

Facility Condition Index (FCI)

FCI is the cost of repairing an asset (e.g., a building, road, bridge, or trail) divided by the cost of replacing it. The lower the FCI number, the better the condition of the resource.

Fire Weather Index (FWI)

The Fire Weather Index is a numeric rating of fire behavior (fire intensity). It combines the Initial Spread Index (based on effects of wind and fine fuel moisture) and the Buildup Index (an index of fuel available for combustion based on moisture in shallow duff and deeper organic layers). It is suitable as a general index of fire danger throughout the forested areas of Canada and has been applied in Alaska.

Foundation Document

A park Foundation Document summarizes a park's purpose, significance, resources and values, primary interpretive themes, and special mandates. The document identifies a park's unique characteristics and what is most important about a park. The Foundation Document is fundamental to guiding park management and is an important component of a park's General Management Plan.

Fundamental and Other Important Resources and Values

Fundamental resources and values are the particular systems, processes, experiences, scenery, sounds, and other features that are key to achieving the park's purposes and maintaining its significance. Other important resources and values are those attributes that are determined to be particularly important to park management and planning, although they are not central to the park's purpose and significance. These priority resources are identified in the Park Foundation Document and/or General Management Plan. The short-cut name that will be used for this will be Priority Resources.

General Management Plan (GMP)

A General Management Plan is a strategic planning document that outlines the future management of a National Park Service site for the next 15 to 20 years. The plan will set the basic philosophy and broad guidance for management decisions that affect the park's resources and the visitor's experience.

Great Lakes Network (GLKN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Great Lakes Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in nine parks in Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Green Parks Plan (GPP)

The Green Parks Plan defines a collective vision and a long-term strategic plan for sustainable management of NPS operations. A critical component of the implementation of the GPP will be informing and engaging park staff, visitors, and community partners about climate change and sustainability to broaden opportunities to foster change.

Historic Integrity

Historic Integrity is the assemblage of physical values of a site, building, structure or object and is a key element in assessing historical value and significance. The assessment of integrity is required to determine the eligibility of a property for listing in the National Register.

Historic Resource Study (HRS)

The historic resource study is the primary document used to identify and manage the historic resources in a park. It is the basis for understanding their significance and interrelationships, a point of departure for development of interpretive plans, and the framework within which additional research should be initiated.

Historic Structures Report (HSR)

The historic structure report is the primary guide to treatment and use of a historic structure and may also be used in managing a prehistoric structure.

Indicator of Condition

A selected subset of components or elements of a Priority Resource that are particularly "information rich" and that represent or "indicate" the overall condition of the Priority Resource. There may be one or several Indicators of Condition for a particular Priority Resource.

Integrated Resource Management Applications (IRMA)

The NPS-wide repository for documents, publications, and data sets that are related to NPS natural and cultural resources.

Interpretation

Interpretation is the explanation of the major features and significance of a park to visitors. Interpretation can include field trips, presentations, exhibits, and publications, as well as informal conversations with park visitors. A key feature of successful interpretation is allowing a person to form his or her own personal connection with the meaning and significance inherent in a resource.

Invasive Species

Invasive species are non-indigenous (or non-native) plants or animals that can spread widely and cause harm to an area, habitat or bioregion. Invasive species can dominate a region or habitat, out-compete native or beneficial species, and threaten biological diversity.

List of Classified Structures (LCS)

LCS is an inventory system that records and tracks the condition of the approximately 27,000 historic structures listed in the National Register of Historic Places that are the responsibility of NPS.

Mediterranean Coast Network (MEDN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Mediterranean Coast Network includes Cabrillo National Monument, Channel Islands National Park, and Santa Monica National Recreation Area.

Mid-Atlantic Network (MIDN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Mid-Atlantic Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in 10 parks in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Mission 66

Mission 66 was a 10-year program, begun in 1955, devoted to expanding and improving NPS infrastructure (including visitor facilities, roads, utilities, and park employee housing) by 1966, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of NPS.

Museum Collection

NPS is the steward of the largest network of museums in the United States. NPS museum collections document American, tribal, and ethnic histories; park cultural and natural resources; park histories; and other aspects of human experience. Collections are managed by professionally-trained NPS staff, who ensure long-term maintenance of collections in specialized facilities.

National Capital Region Network (NCRN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The National Capital Region Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in 11 parks in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

National Historic Landmark (NHL)

National Historic Landmarks are nationally significant historic places designated by the Secretary of the Interior because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. They are exceptional places and form a common bond between all Americans. While there are many historic places across the nation, only a small number (fewer than 2,500) have meaning to all Americans—these we call our National Historic Landmarks. Working with citizens throughout the nation, the National Historic Landmarks Program draws upon the expertise of NPS staff who work to nominate new landmarks and provide assistance to existing landmarks.

National Historical Park (NHP)

Historic areas in the National Park System that have great physical extent and complexity. NHPs are automatically listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Natural Landmark (NNL)

The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of sites that contain outstanding biological and geological resources, regardless of landownership type. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in both public and private ownership.

National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic properties worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources. Listing in the National Register of Historic Places provides formal recognition of a property's historical, architectural, or archeological significance based on national standards used by every state. The National Register is a public, searchable database about the places.

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)

A federal law passed in 1990. NAGPRA provides a process for museums and federal agencies to return certain Native American cultural items (e.g., human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, objects of cultural patrimony) to lineal descendants and culturally-affiliated Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations.

Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA)

A synthesis of existing scientific data and knowledge, from multiple sources, that helps answer the question: what are current conditions of important park natural resources? NRCAs provide a mix of new insights and useful scientific data about current park resource conditions and factors influencing those conditions. NRCAs have practical value to park managers and help them conduct formal planning and develop strategies on how to best protect or restore park resources.

Northeast Temperate Network (NETN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Northeast Temperate Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in 12 parks in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.

Northern Colorado Plateau Network (NCPN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Northern Colorado Plateau Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in 16 parks in Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming.

Pacific Island Network (PACN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Pacific Island Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in 11 parks located in Hawaii , American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Priority Resource or Value

This term refers to the Fundamental and Other Important Resources and Values of a park. These can include natural, cultural, and historic resources as well as opportunities for learning, discovery and enjoyment. Priority Resources or Values include features that have been identified in park Foundation Documents, as well as other park assets or values that have been developed or recognized over the course of park operations. Priority Resources or Values warrant primary consideration during park planning and management because they are critical to a park's purpose and significance.

Project Management Information System (PMIS)

A servicewide intranet application within the National Park Service to manage information about requests for project funding. It enables parks and NPS offices to submit project proposals to be reviewed, approved and prioritized at park units, regional directorates, and the Washington Office.

Resource Management

The term "resources" in NPS encompasses the many natural, cultural, historical, or sociological features and assets associated with parks. Resource management includes the knowledge, understanding, and long-term stewardship and preservation of these resources.

Rocky Mountain Network (ROMN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Rocky Mountain Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in six parks located in Colorado and Montana.

San Francisco Bay Area Network (SFAN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The San Francisco Bay Area Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in eight parks in California.

Section 106

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act requires the evaluation of historic properties in advance of activities which could potentially cause adverse effects to those properties.

Sonoran Desert Network (SODN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Sonoran Desert Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in 10 parks in central and southern Arizona, and one park in southwestern New Mexico.

Southeast Alaska Network (SEAN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Southeast Alaska Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in three parks located in Alaska.

Southeast Archeological Center (SEAC)

Located in Tallahassee, Florida, the Southeast Archeological Center (a unit of the National Park Service) is dedicated to the study, interpretation, and preservation of archeological resources within National Park Service units.

Southeast Coast Network (SECN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Southeast Coast Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in 20 parks in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Southern Plains Network (SOPN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Southern Plains Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in 11 parks in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Southwest Alaska Network (SWAN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Southwest Alaska Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in five parks located in Alaska.

Specific Measure of Condition

One or more specific measurements used to quantify or qualitatively evaluate the condition of an Indicator at a particular place and time. There may be one or more Specific Measures of Condition for each Indicator of Condition.

Subsistence

In the broadest sense, subsistence is the taking of fish, wildlife, or other wild resources for the sustenance of families, communities, and cultures. Subsistence has been a way of life for Alaska Natives for thousands of years. Subsistence activities also are vital to many non-Natives in Alaska. Subsistence is recognized by the United States and by the State of Alaska as the highest-priority consumptive use of fish and wildlife. In a regulatory and legal sense, subsistence is a protected set of uses of fish and wildlife, reserved for Alaska rural residents.

Upper Columbia Basin Network (UCBN)

One of 32 I&M networks established as part of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program. The Upper Columbia Basin Network provides scientific data and expertise for natural resources in nine parks in Idaho, western Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

Visitor and Resource Protection (VRP)

VRP includes, among other responsibilities, protecting and preserving park natural and cultural resources, enforcing laws that protect people and the parks, fire management, search and rescue, managing large-scale incidents, and on-the-ground customer service.

Volunteers In Parks Program (VIP)

The Volunteers In Parks Program (VIP) was authorized by Public Law 91–357 enacted 1970. The primary purpose of the VIP program is to provide a vehicle through which the National Park Service can accept and utilize voluntary help and services from the public. The major objective of the program is to utilize this voluntary help in such a way that is mutually beneficial to the National Park Service and the volunteer. Volunteers are accepted from the public without regard to race, creed, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, or disability.

Wilderness

A designation applied to certain federal lands set aside for preservation and protection in their natural condition, in accordance with the Wilderness Act of 1964.