Natural Resource Condition Assessments for Shiloh National Military Park

A line of cannons in a green field, backed by trees.
Cannon line, Shiloh National Military Park, 2013.

NPS photo.

Established in 1894, Shiloh National Military Park encompasses nearly 4,200 acres of land in southwestern Tennessee and contains a detached 21-acre urban unit located in the nearby community of Corinth in northeast Mississippi. The Park was created to protect and make accessible the events that happened at the site as pertaining to the Civil War and how the people, culture and land were impacted. Even though Shiloh National Military Park is known for its cultural resources, it also contains mixed hardwood forests and historic agricultural fields.

Traditional NRCA Report: 2017

In an effort to better understand the natural resources and processes in this park, a Natural Resource Condition Assessment for this park was conducted and published in 2017. This assessment was a collaborative effort between the National Park Service and St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. This team chose eleven resources to be evaluated:

- Hardwood forest communities

- Wetland and riparian communities

- Mammals

- Birds

- Native fish

- Hepetofauna

- Water quality

- Air quality

- Dark night skies

- Adjacent land cover and use

- Soundscape

Overall, resources in Shiloh National Military Park were found to be in good condition. Two resources (air quality, and dark night skies) were given a condition rating of significant concern; three resources (mammals, native fish, and soundscape) were not given condition scores due to lack of data; and the remaining resources were given a rating of good condition. The park represents a long-protected area in the American Southeast, and the threats/stressors, data needs, and priority habitats of Shiloh National Military Park are critical to park managers in order to fully understand this ecosystem. The lands surrounding the park have largely been developed, converted to agriculture, or heavily deforested, yet Shiloh remains an island of protected forests, wetlands, and Civil War monuments. Continued monitoring of these priority resources, combined with management efforts directed at minimizing disturbance potential, will aide many of these communities and maintain their presence within the park.




For other reports and natural resource datasets visit the NPS Data Store.

Source: Data Store Collection 7765 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Last updated: February 25, 2022

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