Diagnostic of Adaptive Management in the National Park Service

Keywords: adaptive management, National Park Service;
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 62

Abstract

Adaptive management (AM) is the application of a systematic and iterative approach to improve natural resource management. AM encourages learning of both the environmental system and then of the management schema to use as a baseline to adapt based on what is learned. This can be most exemplified in monitoring of the ecosystem process or indicator that is most representative of the process being managed. This paper hopes to observe how the National Park Service (NPS) is taking steps forward to further AM as its preferred method of management for the future of our resources. This was achieved with 3 interviews with employees of the Inventory and Monitoring Network of the NPS. We have found that most national parks mention that they are using AM strategies for site-specific problems, however we have not found documentation on the outcome of actions taken and/or the experiences in the process of carrying out AM. This paper hopes to expose and understand some of the barriers to the heterogeneous application of AM in the NPS.