jen_coffey@nps.gov
Natural Resource Specialist, Natural Resource Information Division; Natural Resource Program Center, Fort Collins, Colorado
PUBLICATION RELEASED ON CD
Sixty-seven issues of Park Science, from the inaugural 1980 edition to the present, were electronically published in a fully indexed, two–CD-ROM set and released to readers in November. This new information tool provides an efficient way for resource managers and researchers alike to search for resource management topics and articles of interest.
Back to Chapter 6: New Horizons
President mandates coral reef protection
by James Tilmant
Feral burro removal: New solutions to an old problem
by Christopher J. Stubbs
Doppler technology applied to large-river studies
by Brian L. Cluer
Congress places a positive imprint on park management
by Mike Soukup
Solicitor opinions advance park protection
by Julia Brunner and Carol McCoy
Research and collecting permit procedures revised
by Robert Winfree
Fee demonstration funds bolster natural resource protection
by Abigail Miller
A good example of a useful natural resource information tool that debuted on the web in March 1998 is the Environmental Contaminants Encyclopedia (www.nature.nps.gov/toxic/index.html). The encyclopedia is a tool that can be used to quickly ascertain general information about 118 environmental toxicology elements, compounds, and products. The website is particularly useful because it summarizes information on environmental contaminants in a single, easily searchable source. The encyclopedia is used not only by those in the National Park Service but also by other agencies and organizations, which makes the web the perfect medium for this information.
Another useful tool was made available in 1998 for downloading from both the Internet and the Intranet. The White-tailed Deer Management Simulator (lutra.tamu.edu/dms/dms.htm) is a general but powerful simulation tool developed for the National Park Service by Ken L. Risenhoover (Texas A&M University) and H. Brian Underwood (U.S. Geological Survey). The Deer Management Simulator helps natural resource specialists develop management strategies to deal with overabundant ungulate populations. The simulator also provides researchers with valuable information.
In December 1998 the Investigators Annual Report (IAR) was added to the web. This database, used by researchers holding permits from the National Park Service to report on research activities conducted within parks, is made available to both NPS and non-NPS users. Non-NPS researchers around the globe can now access the system via the Internet while park staff and IAR coordinators access the system through the Natural Resources Intranet. In both cases, the database is password protected. (For instructions on accessing the database, parks should contact their regional IAR coordinator, and non-NPS researchers should contact the park in which they want to conduct research.) Because researchers can enter their information directly into the database through their web browser, the web-based program saves both time and paper. A standardized research and collecting permit is also under development, with plans to add it to the Internet in 1999.