and

                  

Craters of the Moon National Monument

Northern Semi-Arid
 Network

 Nez Perce National Historical Park
 

Vital Signs Monitoring

 

Your input is important

This web page is designed to give you the opportunity to comment on key components of the conceptual model developed by the Northern Semi-Arid Network advisory group.  To see the complete report of their Vital Signs Monitoring Workshop held on April 16th and 17th, 2002, you may click here to open (Adobe Acrobat pdf file -- 584Mb). 

Please review the material on this page and enter your comments and ratings where appropriate. Your thoughts and comments are very welcome and it should only take you about ten minutes to complete the questions below.

Northern Semi-Arid Network
The parks in this network are:

  • Big Hole National Battlefield
  • John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
  • City of Rocks National Reserve
  • Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area
  • Craters of the Moon National Monument
  • Nez Perce National Historical Park
  • Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
  • Whitman Mission National Historic Site

The Conceptual Model of Network-wide Vital Signs
Keep in mind that the Conceptual Model for Vital Signs Monitoring was designed specifically to address vital signs that are common to all of the parks in the Northern Semi-Arid Network.

DRIVERS:  The model displays four columns.  The first column shows DRIVERS, which are overriding conditions which are affecting the whole network. These primarily include the influence which external changes in land use practices and land conversions exert on the parks. In addition, park visitation and climate change were seen as two broad influences which will drive the system. 

STRESSORS:  Column two shows the STRESSORS, which are specific events or altered conditions which have resulted from the drivers. These manifest their stress on the ecosystems within the Northern Semi-Arid Network parks causing both short term and long term impacts on the parks' ecosystem functions, structure, and processes.

ECOSYSTEM EFFECTS:  Column three shows the seven specific changes which are causing unacceptable impacts in network parks, such as altered riparian wetland plant communities or exclusion of native plant species. 

PARK COMMUNITY/COMPONENT.  The last column shows a series of seven park communities and components which are being altered by the ecosystem effects. For each community or component, vital sign indicators have been written that will allow managers to monitor or track the health of the ecosystem of the Northern Semi-Arid Network parks. After you comment on the conceptual model you will have the opportunity to rank individual Vital Signs which are the key elements that indicate the health of the park ecosystem. 

Please examine the model and then tell us whether you have any suggestions for additions, deletions or amendments to the drivers, stressors, ecosystem effects, or park community components displayed in the model. You may write as much as you like in the text boxes provided below the model.

CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF VITAL SIGNS INDICATORS
NORTHERN SEMI-ARID PARK NETWORK

 

  

 

 

Do you have any comments on the network-wide Drivers displayed in this Model?   Do you have any comments on the network-wide Stressors displayed  in this Model?   Do you have any comments on the network-wide  Ecosystem Effects displayed in this Model?   Do you have any comments on the network-wide park community/components displayed in this Model?
 

 

 

 

 

    

 

Prioritizing the Vital Sign Indicators

Your ratings of the vital signs displayed below will be used by the advisory committee to select the specific indicators and develop protocols which should be monitored network-wide to maintain healthy vital signs in these eight parks.  We need your help in focusing in on the top priority vital sign indicators so that a reasonable number of indicators can be selected. 

Objectives for Monitoring

First,  Select
TEN  

Park community/components and

  Vital Signs

Based on the objectives listed above, please rank what you think are the ten (10)  vital signs of the 18  listed below that best meet these objectives.
First, select ten Vital Signs in the check boxes to the left.
Next, RANK below only those ten you selected on the left.  
     

Riparian/Wetlands and Grassland/Shrub-Steppe Plant Communities  
Percent areal extent of exotic plant species           1st = best meets objectives
Species richness     
Species dominance       
Community structure
  		    
Change in coverage of sensitive & threatened/endangered species     
Index of Floristic Quality (IFQ)     
        
Amphibian/Reptile Community  
Amphibian species diversity     
Reptile species diversity     
Herpetofauna "Percent of Area Occupied"     
Bird Community  
Diversity / density of habitat-dependent species     
Diversity / density of area-sensitivity species     
Presence of threatened / endangered species     
Small Mammal Community  
Small mammal species diversity     
     
Invertebrate Community  
Richness of morpho-species (spp that appear the same based on body structure)     
Presence of Auchenorrhychus Homoptera (leaf hoppers)     
Anthropod functional diversity index     
Index of rarity, endemicity, & simplicity for Auchenorrhychus Homoptera (leaf hoppers)
  		    
Soil Properties  
Measurable level of pesticides in the soil
   		    

 

In addition to the vital signs listed above, do you think there are any other vital signs that should be monitored network-wide?

Riparian/Wetlands Plant Community:
Are there other vital signs that should be addressed?


  

Grassland/Shrub-Steppe Plant Community:
Are there other vital signs that should be addressed?


 

Amphibian/Reptile Community:
Are there other vital signs that should be addressed?


  

Bird Community:
Are there other vital signs that should be addressed?


   

Small Mammal Community:
Are there other vital signs that should be addressed?


   

Invertebrate Community:
Are there other vital signs that should be addressed?


   

Soil Properties:
Are there other vital signs that should be addressed?


   

In general:
Are there any other vital signs that should be addressed?


    

   You can be assured of complete confidentiality. The data you submit will be summarized and your name will not be associated with any of your answers.

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prefer to be contacted:

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Check if you think this was a really great survey!

Thank you for your help.  When you are finished completing the questions above, please click on the "Submit" button below. You will receive a confirmation page saying that your answers have been sent to our server. 

 

This Internet survey was developed by professor Ed Krumpe at the University of Idaho. If you have any problems feel free
to contact him at: 

Dr. Ed Krumpe
Department of Resource Recreation and Tourism.
 College of Natural Resources
University of Idaho
 Moscow, ID  83844-1139

 

 Email:  edkrumpe@uidaho.edu    Phone:  208-885-7428.

 

5/19/2002