An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
Official websites use .gov A
.gov website belongs to an official government
organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A
lock (
) or https:// means you've safely connected to
the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official,
secure websites.
Sula Jacobs, Olympic National Park Superintendent •Dr. Andy Ray, North Coast & Cascades Network Program Manager • Brent Johnson, NPS Regional Vegetation Ecologist
Meet park scientists! Subject matter experts from North Coast & Cascades parks will discuss big questions, challenges, and opportunities facing parks at a moderated roundtable discussion with an opportunity for audience Q&A.
12:00
Lunch: Brown Bag BreakoutsROOM B*
Olympic Peninsula • Mount Rainier & Environs • Columbia River • San Juan Islands • North Cascades • Puget Sound
How are changing landscapes, shifting ranges, and stresses faced both within and beyond park boundaries reshaping wildlife communities of all types? The recent and future restoration of some long-absent species to NCCN parks poses timely questions about human-wildlife relationships and ecological resilience through biodiversity.
How else can we understand—and connect with—the stories taking place in our parks? Three artists whose work is entwined with park science and stewardship share their pieces and process.
Wednesday, February 12 10AM – 4PM; TIMES IN PACIFIC STANDARD TIME
Scott Schuyler, Upper Skagit Indian Tribe •Emma Korteum, Samish Indian Nation Department of Natural Resources – See changes to this session in the full agenda.
What challenges and opportunities lie ahead in our work to understand and protect cultural landscapes? While climate change threatens some important archeological sites, new technologies expand our toolbox for research and conservation while enhancing our understanding of our region’s overlapping natural and cultural resources.
12:00
Lunch: Brown Bag BreakoutsROOM B*
Youth Engagement • Data Management & Data Access • Managing for the Unknown • Remote Sensing & Emerging Technologies • Science Communication & Art
Pacific Northwest forests are vast organic sponges, sequestering globally significant quantities of carbon and keeping it out of the atmosphere. However, monitoring shows a rise in area burned in and around Olympic and Mount Rainier over 30 years, while new regional simulations project a fire future beyond all historical norms. How are research and monitoring informing stewardship in the face of fire and other forest threats?
Pacific Northwest ecosystems are knit together with players of all sizes. This session explores the roles of microbes, pollinators, and other small but mighty actors on the large stages of forests, rivers, and mountain lakes. How do changes like rising temperatures or the introduction of nonnative species ripple through invertebrate communities and into the broader ecosystem?
Thursday, February 13 10AM – 4PM; TIMES IN PACIFIC STANDARD TIME
What’s new in the Cascadia Subduction Zone? New techniques are improving our ability to predict and detect geologic hazards in our parks. Meanwhile, lidar and other remote sensing technology is revealing information and trends invisible from the ground. How can these new tools and perspectives inform stewardship priorities?
Threats, such as landscape fragmentation, shifting fire regimes, invasive species, and pathogens, impact resources at large scales and are often interconnected. Therefore, conservation and management actions often need to be at the landscape scale. During this moderated discussion, hear from three experts meeting broad-scale challenges with landscape level approaches to research and conservation.
From the San Juan Islands and the Olympic coast to the mouth of the Columbia River, our parks’ coastlines are plugged directly into the global ocean system. Vibrant coastal ecosystems collide with marine debris, human use, and shifts like ocean acidification in ways that reach beyond just tidepools and estuaries. What does research and stewardship of our “blue planet” look like in the NCCN?
With growing visitation compounding outside stresses, parks are grappling with novel challenges around rising human use. At the same time, new tools are emerging to understand these effects and restore impacted areas. How can social science guide effective communication for resource protection, while welcoming a broader coalition of stewards?
The North Coast & Cascades Network is a group of eight National Park Service sites in western Washington and northwestern Oregon, united by similar ecological features. They also share a long-term monitoring program, which tracks ecological vital signs across the network. Click to visit each park!
Frequently Asked Questions
I'm not a scientist. Should I come to Science Days?
Yes! We welcome anyone curious about science in parks to attend. Talks will be academic in style but accessible to a broader audience. We invite community park partners, affiliated Tribes, partner agencies, members of the scientific community, local educational organizations, and all NPS staff, volunteers, and friends to join us. Help spread the word!
Can I attend in person?
Science Days is a fully virtual symposium. However, you may be able to view the event and join in real-life discussions alongside park staff and community members! Olympic, Fort Vancouver, Lewis and Clark, and Klondike Gold Rush will be hosting watch parties at their main visitor centers; contact the parks directly for further information.
Will sessions be recorded?
All presentations will be recorded and posted online. However, please expect a delay of weeks to months to allow for recordings to be processed and captioned in accordance with federal accessibility guidelines.
