Science

Discover some of the exciting projects happening in the parks of the North Coast and Cascades!

  • View of mountains partly cloaked in clouds
    Air Quality

    Air pollutants can impair visibility, harm human, animal, and ecosystem health, and erode buildings and monuments.

  • Two scientists with monitoring equipment beside a lagoon.
    Aquatic Ecosystems

    Aquatic ecosystems connect the nature and history of parks in the North Coast and Cascades Network.

  • Black bear browsing among greenery
    Carnivores

    Carnivores are predators that serve critical roles in food webs and nutrient cycling.

  • Alpine meadows being overtaken by evergreen trees beneath a towering mountain
    Climate Change

    Changing climates in the Pacific Northwest will result in lower snowpacks, warmer summers, and changes in plant and animal distributions.

  • European green crab
    Nonnative Invasive Species

    Some nonnative species degrade native ecosystems because they are able to reproduce and displace native species.

  • Arctic fritillary butterfly on a plant stem
    Pollinators

    Pollinators like bees, flower flies, and butterflies, provide an essential ecosystem service that most wild plants and animals depend on.

  • Living and dead trees on a ridge-top at sunrise
    Vegetation Ecology

    Changes in plant distribution, abundance, and phenology are valuable indicators of current and past environmental and climate factors.

Last updated: February 17, 2023