Last updated: October 9, 2018
Article
IRMA - the portal to park resource data and information
What is IRMA?
IRMA, which stands for Integrated Resource Management Applications, is a web-based portal with information about parks and park resources. From irma.nps.gov you can find and download reports, data sets, geospatial data, and park species lists. You can get information on park visitor numbers, park projects, and apply for a park research permit.
The best way to learn about IRMA is to simply visit the site and start exploring.
IRMA Features
Some of the information you can find in IRMA includes:
- Documents and data: The IRMA Data Store gives you easy access to tens of thousands of documents, data sets, geospatial data, and other information resources related to national parks. Enter a search term and the park you're interested in, and you'll retrieve a list of titles and associated information, many with the full-text document or data file attached.
- View current and historical statistics on park visitors: via IRMA you can find statistics for 377 park units, in some instances dating back to 1904.
- Species lists, along with additional information, for over 300 parks.
- Apply for a permit to conduct scientific research in a park and report on the findings.
- Get involved in the park planning process, and find environmental documents that are used to guide park management.
The IRMA Portal continues to grow and improve, and to incorporate additional data systems and applications. While initially focused on natural resource-related information, IRMA broadened its scope to encompass all types of park resource data. The Data Store now contains thousands of documents related to park cultural resources and history.
IRMA Services
The underlying framework of IRMA allows data from the Data Store, NPSpecies, and other IRMA applications to be available via web services. This means data can be fetched and displayed in other applications using tools such as REST (representational state transfer). For instance, a species list can be pulled directly from NPSpecies and displayed on an end-user’s website. This greatly expands the usability and versatility of data in IRMA: the Portal is simply one way to access the data within the systems. IRMA services and associated help documentation are available at irmaservices.nps.gov.
Updates
New releases of IRMA occur regularly, with each release providing additional information and capabilities. The goal of IRMA is to help users find park resource information quickly, easily, and reliably.
We appreciate your comments and suggestions— they're essential to the IRMA improvement process. You can contact us at irma@nps.gov.