Rare Plant and Exemplary Community Monitoring

1. National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Northeast Temperate Network Rare Plant and Exemplary Community Monitoring Fred Dieffenbach, Environmental Monitoring Coordinator E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

2. Outline History, Perspective and the Future 2007 Program Review New Protocol New Database and Decision Support System (DSS) E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

3. National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Northeast Temperate Network History, Perspective and the Future E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

4. History, Perspective and the Future • 14 inventories • Maine – 1998 • New Hampshire – 1991 • Vermont – 1991 • Massachusetts – 2000 • Connecticut – 1992 • New York – 2000 • New Jersey – 2000 • Pennsylvania – 1990 • Maryland – 2000 • West Virginia – 1997 • Virginia – 1994 • North Carolina and Tennessee – 1993 • Georgia – 2000 E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

5. History, Perspective and the Future What’s in a Name? • Natural heritage monitoring program • Rare, threatened and endangered (RTE) species monitoring program • Rare plants and exemplary community monitoring program Names may not seem important, and the distinctions may seem trivial but a name should not imply that the program “is something” that it is not.

6. History, Perspective and the Future Sites, Occurrences & Species Oh My • Species – “the major subdivision of a genus or subgenus, regarded as the basic category of biological classification, composed of related individuals that resemble one another, are able to breed among themselves, but are not able to breed with members of another species.” Dictionary.com • Occurrences – a place where a species is found; can be an individual or a population; can be discrete or diffuse; typically some unifying element • Sites – a location where one or more occurrences are found; can contain multiple species occurrences

7. History, Perspective and the Future E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

8. History, Perspective and the Future E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

9. History, Perspective and the Future E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

10. History, Perspective and the Future E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

11. History, Perspective and the Future E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

12. History, Perspective and the Future E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

13. History, Perspective and the Future Future • Acquire better spatial data • Develop a “site level” monitoring effort • Improve occurrence documentation and monitoring • Photo-monitoring • Add new sites, occurrences and species E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

14. National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Northeast Temperate Network 2007 Program Review E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

15. 2007 Program Review Clearly state the existing program’s goals and objectives Evaluate whether the program’s methods and procedures are sufficient to meet program goals and objectives Evaluate current process and criteria for regularly reviewing monitoring priorities Evaluate the current program’s ability to coordinate with relevant organizations Evaluate the process, schedule and criteria for periodic program review (after-action review) aimed at evaluating existing programmatic procedures, including: data collection; reporting and data integration; volunteer recruitment, training and retention; and, program management Make recommendations for improvements as appropriate E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

16. 2007 Program Review Approach “In addition to reviewing the program’s data, ATC will consult with key staff from the managing partners involved in the program, as well as with other stakeholders and experts including but not limited to members of the A.T. MEGA-Transect vegetation working group, Trail club representatives and staff from the State Natural Heritage Programs, as appropriate. The review results will be shared with all stakeholders as frequently as practicable and appropriate. The ATC will convene an independent group of experts that will review and finalize the recommendations generated by each phase of this project.” E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

17. 2007 Program Review Reviewers: Caroline Dufour – Evaluation Project Manager (ATC) Geraldine Tierney – (SUNY) David Field – (MATC) Robert Pickett – (PATC) Chris Mattrick – (White Mountain National Forest) Diane Pavek – (NPS) Nora Murdock – (NPS APHN) Ted Elliman – (Consultant/IPANE Volunteer Coordinator) Wendy Cass – (NPS SHEN) Carolyn Wells – (USFWS) E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

18. 2007 Program Review Program Goals Contribute to the protection of rare species and communities on Appalachian National Scenic Trail corridor lands Improve natural resources management and stewardship capacity by providing essential information in a timely fashion to land managers and decision-makers Develop an appreciation for rare plants and animals in the A.T. community through volunteer involvement Raise public awareness of the A.T. as a protected refuge for significant biodiversity E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

19. 2007 Program Review Program Objectives Identify trends such as decline, stability or increase in populations or occurrences of priority rare species Identify and track threats to priority element occurrences of rare species, populations and rare communities, anthropogenic or otherwise, and react as is appropriate and possible with available resources Prevent damage to rare species element occurrences by A.T.-related recreational use or maintenance by using and distributing element occurrences information in all planning and implementation of operations and maintenance by relevant organizations and individuals Actively protect priority rare species on ATPO lands; provide information and encourage the protection of RTE species on lands owned by other agencies Evaluate the effectiveness of management actions; implement adaptive management E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

20. 2007 Program Review E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

21. 2007 Program Review Results 96 recommendations (7 categories) Program (2) Monitoring priorities (12) Coordination with relevant organizations (14) Data collection, reporting, management & sharing (36) Management priorities (8) Volunteer management (20) Implementation (4) ATPO / NETN debated and prioritized recommendations 20 to be implemented ASAP, others over time E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

22. 2007 Program Review E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

23. Programmatic Review Findings Develop a written protocol Design and develop a new database Improve volunteer support Training Supplemental materials Prioritize monitoring E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

24. New Protocol National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Northeast Temperate Network E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

25. New Protocol E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

26. New Protocol To “… develop a protocol, including detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs), for citizen scientist monitoring of natural heritage elements along the Appalachian Trail. This protocol will build upon the existing natural heritage monitoring program, and draw upon the conclusions and recommendations of the January 2008 Program evaluation ……. ESF staff will attempt to enlist members of the AT MEGA-Transect Citizen Science Workgroup to provide pier review of the draft protocol, thereby ensuring that the protocol conforms with expectations for citizen scientist monitoring …” E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

27. New Protocol Objectives Determine long-term trends and variability for selected rare plant occurrences Number Life-stage distribution Determine long-term trends and variability in spatial extent Identify threats to rare plant occurrences E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

28. Database and Decision Support System National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Northeast Temperate Network E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

29. Database and Decision Support System Database \ˈdā-tə-ˌbās, ˈda- also ˈdä-\ : a usually large collection of data organized especially for rapid search and retrieval (as by a computer) Merriam-Webster Online A database is a structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer system. The structure is achieved by organizing the data according to a database model. The model in most common use today is the relational model. Other models such as the hierarchical model and the network model use a more explicit representation of relationships. Wikipedia E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

30. Database and Decision Support System Approach Redesign db to conform with NPS standards Consolidate existing information when possible Provide access to on-line resources Develop standardized reporting routines Create multiple pathways to critical information Integrated QAQC system Develop decision support system Occurrence prioritization Site prioritization Improved data entry E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

31. Questions E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

32. Northeast Temperate Network 54 Elm Street, Woodstock, VT 05091 http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/netn/ 802-457-3368 National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A