Inventories 2.0: A plan for the next generation of NPS natural resource inventories

Abstract

This Inventory 2.0 plan identifies IMD’s planned role in each of the ten inventories, and lays out a framework for ensuring the inventories led by IMD result in scientifically credible information for parks resource management, planning, and operations; and also identifies the means by which studies to collect new inventory data will be identified, prioritized, and implemented. Highlights include: IMD plans to lead three of the ten inventories (Species, Vegetation Community Mapping, and Surficial Geology/Soils Mapping), and contribute to the others in partnership with other programs. For the three IMD-led inventories, IMD will develop (or work with the Geologic Resources Division to develop) peer-reviewed inventory science plans that will lay out inventory objectives; and methods for data management, analysis, and integration to ensure that credible and useful inventory data are provided to parks in a timely manner. IMD will phase in implementation of IMD-led inventories during the first five years of program implementation. This will allow IMD to focus near-term efforts on meeting needs identified by the greatest number of parks (Species) while conducting necessary scoping to further refine needs for Vegetation Community Mapping and Surficial Geology/Soils Mapping inventories. During the next two years, IMD inventory efforts will be focused on implementing the Species Inventory, beginning with foundational work in advance of field data collection efforts to be funded in 2020. Additional scoping to identify suitable methods and minimum product specifications for Vegetation Community and Surficial Geology/Soils Mapping will be conducted in 2019-2020. These two new inventories will be phased in based on findings from scoping and progress toward closing out existing (1.0) inventory efforts. All I&M parks will be eligible for IMD funding to support inventories (see Appendix A). Non-I&M parks established before 2000 may be eligible for studies and activities to collect new inventory data pending approval of the project by the IMD Leadership Team. Inventories 2.0 funding cannot be spent to collect new data in parks established in 2000 or later, that are not currently served by an I&M network. Existing data from other sources may still be synthesized and delivered to these parks, however. Inventories 2.0 funding will not be used to fund programs or initiatives already funded or implemented by other programs or agencies. We will endeavor to partner with these entities when possible and appropriate to meet inventory needs identified in this plan, and to ensure IMD-created inventory (and monitoring) data are available to support other programs. Data and other information products resulting from new IMD-funded inventory studies will be managed by IMD rather than third-party repositories. This does not preclude sharing data with third parties or use of third-party tools or data distribution systems. At a minimum IMD commits to make inventory data available to others via the NPS Data Store (https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/) as well as data and/or map services. To the extent possible, IMD management of inventory data will use the data management infrastructure used for managing monitoring data. This includes a commitment to leverage data, tools, systems, and expertise where it already exists. Because of IMD’s explicit mandate to integrate I&M data with planning, wherever practicable, IMD commits to work with NPS Planning to ensure map and data services are integrated into NPS Atlas projects for each park or other planning tools as they are developed over time.