Intermountain Park Science
Volume 3, 2025
The National Park Service is required to protect, maintain, and restore nationally significant resources within parks. The Intermountain Region includes 87 parks across 8 states of the American West and protects a variety of natural and cultural resources. To protect them, a wide range of scientific research projects are conducted across the region to inform managers about park resource conditions.
Park staff often work with experts from universities, other federal and state agencies, and with colleagues across the National Park Service to learn more about park resources that helps inform resource management decisions. This issue of Intermountain Park Science highlights research projects that address a few of the human dynamics in parks. People are inextricably linked to the mission of the National Park Service. People visit parks to recreate, experience nature, and to connect with historic places and events. The National Park Service preserves these places so they can be experienced by generations to come.
The first article in this series describes snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park and the National Park Service’s steps to improve air quality. The second article describes how to model visitor use across large landscapes in Rocky Mountain National Park where monitoring is difficult. The third article summarizes historic preservation efforts at Tumacacori National Historical Park to protect the Spanish colonial mission structures and the cultural landscape. The last article is about internship opportunities available through the University of Montana and the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU) and through Northern Arizona University and the Colorado Plateau CESU.
The breadth of research conducted across the region is impressive and Intermountain Park Science strives to share and celebrate this work. Together, these studies demonstrate how the National Park Service protects nationally significant resources and provides the public access to experience them. We hope you enjoy this issue and that these projects stimulate new ideas for protecting Intermountain Region parks.
Park staff often work with experts from universities, other federal and state agencies, and with colleagues across the National Park Service to learn more about park resources that helps inform resource management decisions. This issue of Intermountain Park Science highlights research projects that address a few of the human dynamics in parks. People are inextricably linked to the mission of the National Park Service. People visit parks to recreate, experience nature, and to connect with historic places and events. The National Park Service preserves these places so they can be experienced by generations to come.
The first article in this series describes snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park and the National Park Service’s steps to improve air quality. The second article describes how to model visitor use across large landscapes in Rocky Mountain National Park where monitoring is difficult. The third article summarizes historic preservation efforts at Tumacacori National Historical Park to protect the Spanish colonial mission structures and the cultural landscape. The last article is about internship opportunities available through the University of Montana and the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU) and through Northern Arizona University and the Colorado Plateau CESU.
The breadth of research conducted across the region is impressive and Intermountain Park Science strives to share and celebrate this work. Together, these studies demonstrate how the National Park Service protects nationally significant resources and provides the public access to experience them. We hope you enjoy this issue and that these projects stimulate new ideas for protecting Intermountain Region parks.
Human Dynamics of Parks, 2025
Table of Contents-
Policy for Winter Air QualityBalancing policy and public interest resulted in positive outcomes for winter recreation and air quality.
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Parkwide Visitor Use ModelingVisitor use modeling efforts support better integration with ecological datasets and inform parkwide management strategies.
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Advancing Historic PreservationWorking with research institutes and preservation specialists has resulted in innovative techniques for preserving earthen architecture.
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Internship Opportunities in ParksInternship opportunities mutually benefit parks and students while increasing agency capacity and preparing future employees.
Editorial Staff
Editor-in-Chief: Sallie Hejl
Editors: Pam Benjamin, Dave Pettebone, Nina Chambers
Last updated: April 1, 2025