NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The project was supported by Department of the Interior, contract no. 0490-9-8001.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
United States. Committee on Improving the Science and Technology Programs of the National Park Service.
Science and the national parks / Committee on Improving the Science and Technology Programs of the National Park Service [and] Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources, National Research Council.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-309-04781-1
1. National parks and reserves—Research—United States. 2. National parks and reserves—United States—Management. 3. United States. National Park Service—Management. I. National Research Council (U.S.) Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology. II. Title.
SB482.A3 1992
333.78'15'0973—dc20 92-26303
CIP
Cover: Nevada Fall, Rainbow, Yosemite National Park, c. 1947. Photograph by Ansel Adams. Copyright © 1992 by the Trustees of The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 1992 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing, August 1992
Second Printing,
May 1993COMMITTEE ON IMPROVING THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
PAUL G. RISSER (Chair),
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
ANN M. BARTUSKA,
U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D.C.
JOHN W. BRIGHT,
National Park Service (retired), Evergreen, CO
ROGER J. CONTOR,
National Park Service (retired), Ellensburg, WA
JERRY F. FRANKLIN,
University of Washington, Seattle
THOMAS A. HEBERLEIN,
University of Wisconsin, Madison
JOHN C. HENDEE,
University of Idaho, Moscow
IAN L. MCHARG,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
DUNCAN T. PATTEN,
Arizona State University, Tempe
ROLF O. PETERSON,
Michigan Technological University, Houghton
ROLAND H. WAUER,
National Park Service (retired), Victoria, TX
PETER S. WHITE,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
National Research Council Staff
DAVID J. POLICANSKY, Program Director
CHRIS ELFRING, Senior Staff Officer
ROBERT B. SMYTHE, Senior Staff Officer (until 8/91)
KATE KELLY, Editor
SANDRA S. FITZPATRICK, Program Assistant
Sponsor
National Park Service,
U.S. Department of the Interior
BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY
PAUL G. RISSER (Chair),
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
FREDERICK R. ANDERSON,
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Washington, D.C.
JOHN C. BAILAR, III,
McGill University School of Medicine, Montreal
LAWRENCE W. BARNTHOUSE,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge
GARRY D. BREWER,
Yale University, New Haven
EDWIN H. CLARK,
Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control, State of Delaware, Dover
YORAM COHEN,
University of California, Los Angeles
JOHN L. EMMERSON,
Lilly Research Laboratories, Greenfield, IN
ROBERT L. HARNESS,
Monsanto Agricultural Company, St. Louis
ALFRED G. KNUDSON,
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia
GENE E. LIKENS,
The New York Botanical Garden, Millbrook
PAUL J. LIOY,
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ
JANE LUBCHENCO,
Oregon State University, Corvallis
DONALD MATTISON,
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh
GORDON ORIANS,
University of Washington, Seattle
NATHANIEL REED,
Hobe Sound, Florida
MARGARET M. SEMINARIO,
AFL/CIO, Washington, DC
I. GLENN SIPES,
University of Arizona, Tucson
WALTER J. WEBER, JR.,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Staff
JAMES J. REISA, Director
DAVID J. POLICANSKY, Associate Director and Program Director for Applied Ecology and Natural Resources
RICHARD D. THOMAS, Associate Director and Program Director for Human Toxicology and Risk Assessment
LEE R. PAULSON, Program Director for Information Systems and Statistics
RAYMOND A. WASSEL, Program Director for Environmental Sciences and Engineering
COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT, AND RESOURCES
M. GORDON WOLMAN (Chair),
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore
ROBERT C. BEARDSLEY,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
B. CLARK BURCHFIEL,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
PETER S. EAGLESON,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
HELEN INGRAM,
Udall Center for Public Policy Studies, Tucson
GENE E. LIKENS,
The New York Botanical Garden, Millbrook
SYUKURO MANABE,
Geophysics Fluid Dynamics Lab, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Princeton, New Jersey
JACK E. OLIVER,
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
PHILIP A. PALMER,
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Newark, Delaware
FRANK L. PARKER,
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
DUNCAN T. PATTEN,
Arizona State University, Tempe
MAXINE L. SAVITZ,
Allied Signal Aerospace, Torrance, California
LARRY L. SMARR,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
STEVEN M. STANLEY,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore
CRISPIN TICKELL,
Green College at the Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford, United Kingdom
KARL K. TUREKIAN,
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
IRVIN L. WHITE,
Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Washington, D.C.
Staff
STEPHEN RATTIEN, Executive Director
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Associate Executive Director
JANICE E. MEHLER, Assistant Executive Director
JEANETTE A. SPOON, Administrative Officer
CARLITA PERRY, Administrative Assistant
ROBIN L. LEWIS, Senior Project Assistant
The National Park Service has reached a time in its history, and in the history of the nation, when science and research should be given a much greater and clearly recognized responsibility in policy making, planning, and operations. Seat-of-the-pants guessues in resource preservation and management are open to challenge and do not stand up well in court or in the forum of public opinion. To be right in decisions affecting natural environments, and to serve its educational missions, the Service requires an increasingly sophisticated system of gathering new facts and getting them applied at all levels, from the back country to [the Washington office].
DURWARD ALLEN AND STARKER LEOPOLD, 1977
Preface
America's national parks are more than just special and often spectacular pieces of landscape; they are a shared, precious part of our national heritage. For more than three quarters of a century, through the lifetime of most of us, the National Park Service has held a dual responsibility to conserve the resources of the parks and to provide for their enjoyment by the American people. But increasing numbers of visitors and the myriad stresses of the modern world are turning that dual mission into a losing battle. Today, many distinguishing features and resources of the national parks are in serious jeopardy.
Over the past 30 years, more than a dozen major reviews by independent experts and the National Park Service itself have concluded that park management must be guided much more by scientific knowledge and less by managerial guesswork. Yet, over three decades, little meaningful and consistent action has been taken by the National Park Service in response to repeated recommendations for a substantially stronger research program.
In 1990, National Park Service Director James M. Ridenour stated his intent to place high priority on strengthening the research program and the role of science in park man-
agement, and he asked the National Research Council for assistance. In response to his request, the Council convened the Committee on Improving the Science and Technology Programs of the National Park Service, which prepared this report.
The 12 members of this independent, multidisciplinary committee brought a wide array of expertise and experience in various fields of research, as well as experience with the National Park Service and other federal agencies. Four members of the committee had served with the National Park Service at one time in their careers, and virtually all members have conducted research in the parks. The committee's meetings included extensive discussions with National Park Service staff and a site visit to observe research activities at Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park. A National Park Service working group organized by Dr. Eugene Hester, the Associate Director for Natural Resources, was very helpful in providing information and insights, as were the thoughtful letters and calls from many other individuals throughout the Service, from Regional Directors to park scientists.
Writing this report was challenging for several reasons. First, the scope of the needed research is quite broad, including such fields as biology, physics, chemistry, meteorology, geology, anthropology, sociology, archaeology, and data management. Second, the administrative and organizational questions required consideration at various levels ranging from individual parks, to cooperative park study units, to the Service's ten regions, to the Washington office and the Servicewide programs operated by that office. Also, we wanted to write a report worded strongly enough to prompt real change by the Service but not implying criticism of the scientists and other National Park Service employees who have been making outstanding contributions, often under extremely demanding conditions. Finally, the committee was aware that many previous reviews examining essentially the same issues have seen little response from the National Park Service, so there was considerable discussion about how to present the committee's conclusions and recommendations in ways that could really help make a difference.
Throughout this process, several National Research Council staff members were extremely dedicated and effective. Chris Elfring, David Policansky, and James Reisa performed valuable roles in helping the committee reach consensus on complex points, in writing and editing the report, and in responding to the comments of reviewers. Robert Smythe assisted during the committee meetings. And throughout the project, Sandi Fitzpatrick supported all of us cheerfully, patiently, and effectively. On behalf of the entire committee, I extend grateful appreciation to these fine professionals for a job well done.
Finally, I wish to express my personal appreciation and admiration to the members of the committee. Throughout this effort, we all felt an enormous sense of responsibility because of the importance of the national parks and our knowledge of the needs and opportunities for science to help protect them. Dealing with the issues dispassionately was difficult at times. Yet, each committee member listened carefully to the opinions and ideas of others, weighed the various arguments, and worked together toward a common understanding and set of recommendations that we fervently hope will benefit the Service and the national parks.
Paul G. Risser, Chair
Committee on Improving the Science and Technology Programs of the National Park Service
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, non-profit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.