Recurrent themes of water resources management plans--National Park Service--WASO-INFO




					by David L. Vana-Miller
					Aquatic ecosystems play a central role in the social, economic, environmental, and political mosaic of units of the national park system. Scientists and managers are increasingly called upon to respond to disruptions of water resources that threaten the quality of human life and environmental sustainability. However, fewer than 9% of those parks with significant water resources have some type of water specialist on staff. For the remaining parks, the development of water resources management plans can assist in the development of a parkwide strategy to ensure that park managers and policy makers have adequate and timely information to protect, use, and enhance water resources. A water resources management plan identifies high-priority management and research areas and proposes a conceptual framework for building a comprehensive, integrated, and durable water management program that will position a park to address the issues of the next century in a realistic manner. During 1998 the Water Resources Planning Program, initiated by the NPS Water Resources Division in 1991, completed water resources management plans for Cape Cod National Seashore, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Obed Wild and Scenic River, and Chickasaw National Recreation Area. Although these parks have obvious hydro-ecological differences, the water resources management plans, taken together, continue to demonstrate recurrent themes of plans completed during the last several years. These themes include the following: Effective managerial solutions to problems concerning water resources will be achieved only with the understanding that changes in environmental conditions are directly linked to socioeconomic patterns and processes, especially land use. Interactive partnerships among policy makers, hydrologists, and park resource managers are essential for developing a comprehensive approach to integrating water sciences with management of water resources. Viewing water problems holistically and integrating management and research needs into a watershed context link the sciences involved in water research and management. The transfer of scientific information to regional and local leaders and the public should be done in a manner that will produce an informed and responsive citizenry who are willing and able to provide direct feedback on water-based programs. Proposed recommendations are seemingly connected to issues that are related directly to societal needs, namely restoring and rehabilitating ecosystems, maintaining biodiversity, and understanding the effects of modified hydrologic flow. In all likelihood, these same themes will continue to appear in future water resources management plans; they are ultimately the foundation for any water resource management program. However, the development of water resources management plans is limited by resource constraints. To date, water resources management plans have been completed for 27 parks, representing only 10% of parks with significant water resources. Nonetheless, these parks have benefited in several ways from their water resources management plans. For example, they obtained approximately 40% of available funding from one competitive program because proposed water resource management actions, developed in their plans, were well thought-out and firmly grounded in science. Clearly the road is long, but the task is not daunting.

		The water resource management planning process illuminates water resource issues in parks, such as the effects of oil and gas infrastructure and activities, and is the basis for better management of these resources. Photo Credit: Padre Island National Seashore (Texas) by Geologic Resources Division david_vana-miller@nps.gov Ecologist, NPS Water Resources Division; Natural Resource Program Center, Lakewood, Colorado WETLAND PROTECTION STRENGTHENED A new set of wetland protection procedures was issued in 1998 in Director’s Order #77-1: Wetland Protection and an accompanying manual. Last updated in 1980, the guidance identifies those procedures that work well and those that are ineffective. In particular, wetland protection is strengthened through wetland inventory requirements and procedures for avoiding, minimizing, or compensating for wetland impacts during restoration activities. Additionally, the procedures eliminate unnecessary paperwork and review for projects that have a negligible effect on wetlands. GEOLOGY LINKED TO RESOURCE PROTECTION A geologic map produced in 1998 by a Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado) volunteer shows how rock type prescribed the location of the cliff dwellings at the park and influences the distribution of threatened and endangered plants. Both associations are important in the preservation of these resources. Back to Chapter 2: NPS Science Shoreline studies at Padre Island point to trash sources by John Miller White abalone: Going, going, gone? by Gary E. Davis Riparian monitoring focused on stream recovery in Canyonlands by Charlie Schelz Science-based planning at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve by John Neal and George Oviatt Program Center takes on geologic inventories by Bruce Heise and Joe Gregson Bats surveyed at Grand Canyon by Elaine Leslie Survey research provides management information by Jean E. McKendry Home

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Last Updated: 07/22/99
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This article is from Natural Resource Year in Review--1998, published by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, in June 1999 (publication D-1346)