Natural Resource Year in Review—2002, A portrait of the year in natural resource stewardship and science in the National Park System, ISSN 1544-5437
Chapter00—Front Matter
Chapter06—Building on the Challenge
Chapter02—Citizen Scientists
Chapter06—Scientific Information for Management
Chapter06—Taking Stock of Biodiversity
Chapter06—Marine and Coastal Resource Preservation
Chapter06—Assessing and Managing Threats
Chapter07—Restoration
Chapter08—Looking Ahead
Chapters
Assessing and Managing Threats
Introduction
Monitoring border resource impacts in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Oil well blowout at Obed Wild and Scenic River
Chronic wasting disease: An emerging infectious disease of concern
Recent decisions protect resources at Lake Mead
Bank stabilization studied at Klondike Gold Rush
Reducing the impacts caused by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers activities in coastal national parks
Other Developments
Park soundscapes protected in litigation
Ensuring acceptable risk for Mojave National Preserve springs
Award-Winner Profile: Using science to bring life back to the Everglades
Anacapa Island restoration continues
Air quality improving in many parks
Complete Article List
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Assessing and Managing Threats
“We have to know what we have, how and why it is changing, what changes we can accommodate, and which we must combat.” Fran Mainella, Science and Learning Center Dedication, Crater Lake, 22 August 2002
Saguaro cactus grafitti in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ; NPS photo

Etched into a saguaro cactus, the Mexican state name “Sinaloa” betrays the path of illegal aliens and drug smugglers entering the United States at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Stepped-up efforts to shut down these activities at populated areas along the U.S.-Mexico border have led to an alarming increase in crossing attempts in remote areas like Organ Pipe.

A large part of the stewardship of the national parks is the assessment and management of influences and activities that are or could be damaging to park resources. This essential duty entails anticipating and detecting resource degradation and taking action to maintain resource quality. It involves attentiveness, rational planning, and diligent, hands-on intervention based in science. And it requires weighing a wide range of needs and potential responses. This year’s articles highlight the astonishing variety of challenges and the search for fair and effective management solutions. They tell of monitoring resource impacts from illegal border crossings, containing an oil well blowout, the worrying spread of infectious wildlife diseases, negotiating water resource protection in the desert Southwest, restoring an island ecosystem infested with nonnative rats, determining legal limits for noise pollution, and other issues. In each case the National Park Service is striving to provide opportunities for people to continue to enjoy unimpaired park resources.
Assessing and Managing Threats, Introduction
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last updated 4/14/2004
National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, Natural Resource Program Center, Natural Resource Information Division
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