Natural Resource Condition Assessments

This article was originally published in The Midden – Great Basin National Park: Vol. 16, No. 1, Summer 2016.

By Gretchen Baker, Ecologist

The Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) Program is a nation-wide NPS effort to document important natural resource conditions through a spatially explicit, multi-disciplinary synthesis of existing scientific data and knowledge. In 2012 Great Basin National Park staff sat down with NatureServe scientists, led by Pat Comer and Marion Reid, to determine which natural resource conditions would be evaluated. Information was gathered and then an ecological integrity assessment framework was used to evaluate the conditions. SoundScience and the Pacific West Region also contributed.

Sixteen focal natural resources and ecological stressors were assessed (Table 1). Of these sixteen, seven are considered to be in good condition, seven are of moderate concern, one is of significant concern (bighorn sheep), and not enough data is available to assess one (wild turkeys). The trend is improving for no focal resources, stable for nine, deteriorating for six, and unknown for one. The data available is strong for seven focal resources, weak for five, and barely existent for four.

In addition, two-page briefing statements were written about each of the sixteen areas. These provide a succinct description of what is known, the status of the resource, and discussion. They are found at the very end of the document.

This report will help managers focus on priority areas. To view the whole document, visit this link

Table 1. Summary of findings from the Great Basin NP natural resource assessment. Condition symbols: green=good condition, yellow=moderate concern, red=significant concern; up arrow=condition improving, sideways arrow=condition unchanging, down arrow=condition deteriorating; heavy circle=high confidence, light circle=medium confidence, dashed circle=low confidence.

Table 1 (continued). Summary of findings from the Great Basin NP natural resource assessment.