Science and the National Parks (1992) / Chapter Skim
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4 THE CURRENT RESEARCH PROGRAM OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
4 THE CURRENT RESEARCH PROGRAM OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Pages 59-86
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From page 59... ...
Information from research is needed at many levels throughout the Park Service. For example, individual parks often have specific issues of importance, such as wolf-moose interactions at isle Royale National Park or coral reef degradation at Virgin Islands National Park.
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From page 60... ...
In conducting this study of science in the national parks, the Committee on Improving the Science and Technology Programs of the National Park Service originally set out to perform a standard peer review of NPS research activities. However, the committee soon determined that the real problems in the NPS research program are not at the level of individual projects.
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From page 61... ...
Park Service research and resource management generalTy are organized at three levels of authority: in the Washington office, in the 10 regional offices (Figure 4-~) , and in the individual park units.
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From page 64... ...
Interpretation This category includes all activities designed to explain, translate, or define research and implementation activities for management personnel and visitors to the park units. Close communication between those who work in research, resource management, and interpretation is essential to the success of the NPS science program because it is through interpretation that the knowledge gained through science is conveyed to decision makers and, ultimately, to the owners
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From page 65... ...
In the other model, the scientific staff at the parks and in cooperative park stucly units report to the regional chief scientist while resource management specialists, who translate research
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From page 66... ...
gives the research staff some independence from the temporary crises political influences, and immediate needs of front-line park managers. it offers the potential disadvantage that scientists might miss critical information that can be gained from the management perspective on priorities and problems.
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From page 67... ...
In fact, when the NPS science program was being developed in the 1960s the original structure selected was a centralized organization patterned after the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S.
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From page 68... ...
Coordination and Planning Park Service research activities must be well coordinated to ensure that research funds are spent wisely, accounted for properly, and that unnecessary duplication of effort is minimized. This is a major responsibility of the regional chief scientists and the chief scientist.
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From page 69... ...
The Water Resources Division activities include formulating water resources policy; offering planning assistance and regulatory reviews; conducting water resources inventories and monitoring; and identifying, evaluating, and mitigating threats to park water quality and quantity. The division also conducts flood plain and floor!
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From page 71... ...
it provides expert scientific assistance to support management and policy decisions throughout NPS. The division coordinates the NPS's involvement in the National Natural Lancimarks Program and the Man and the Biosphere Program, and it coordinates servicewide research on issues of national and international significance, including biological diversity, global climate change, and the bioloq;ical effects of acid precipitation.
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From page 72... ...
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From page 73... ...
For example, the geographic information system is a sophisticated data-gathering unit that is not fully exploited, and the computer systems in use in different areas are not compatible for transfer of data. PERSONNEL In theory, the NPS conducts research using its own staff scientists stationed in the parks, in science centers, and in regional offices; in cooperation with university scientists associated either with cooperative park study units or under other cooperative agreements; in cooperation with other government agencies; or through competitively negotiated contracts.
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From page 74... ...
. In 1987, the NPS natural science staff included 73 scientists classified under the research grade evaluation located primarily in the parks, 22 employees who conducted some research within a resource management context, and 20 research administrators.
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From page 75... ...
Research grade scientists are required to spend at least half of their time on publishable research activities for the benefit of the park system. They are subject to evaluation every four years, arid they include most of the scientists stationed in parks, many of the scientists in the cooperative park study units, and a few regional office scientists.
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From page 76... ...
The grants grade currently includes the regional chief scientists, some cooperative park study unit leaders, and one park scientist. These positions correspond to department chairs and admin istrative officers at a university.
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From page 77... ...
Numerous resource management activities undertaken in the field by park rangers often are classified as visitor protection. Most NPS funding is combined into one legislative appropriation, called "operation of the National Park Service," or ONES.
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From page 78... ...
The Park Service's budget for scientific research is often contrasted with the budgets of other federal land management agencies (Figure 4-3~. For example, in FY 1987 the Forest Service spent $122 million for research, or 5.6 percent of its budget (this does not include substantial administrative studies which would be comparable to management-oriented research in the NPS)
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From page 79... ...
The National Parks and Conservation Association report "Investing in Park Futures" (NPCA, 198Sb) identified a $522 million backlog of neecTs and recommended a $50 million increase in natural science funding.
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From page 80... ...
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From page 82... ...
. ,.~L 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 Fiscal Year FIGURE 4-3 Annual research budgets of National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Forest Service.
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From page 83... ...
Overall, based on its review and discussions with NPS officials, the Committee on improving the Science and Technology Programs of the National Park Service found much to be admired, much to be act~ed or expanded, ancT very little to be eliminated from the current NPS science program budget. Some research has resulted from political crises, with funding and direction from Congress to solve or mitigate the problems.
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From page 84... ...
SCIENCE AND THE NATIONAL PARKS tional funding alone is not enough. NPS research needs its own leadership and budget allocation and tracking system that is on a par with and independent from other major program elements of the NPS budget, such as management, maintenance, and visitor protection.
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From page 85... ...
This fuller participation puts additional demands on research staff already spread thin among varied responsibilities, so it will be necessary to find new ways to increase the research-planning component in the preparation of resource management planning. Questions about the effectiveness of science in park management have been raised throughout the history of the NPS.
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