Searchable Park Access to Research Catchments (SPARC)

Summary

This project will establish an interactive consortium of watershed research sites in National Parks. The website and related activities will facilitate information exchange among watershed research sites. The National Park Service (NPS) has a need for research information to understand and protect natural resources. In particular, the need for long-term data collection includes the need to interpret the data in the context of the regional and national stressors on park resources. When set in a regional or national context, these needs can then be addressed via coordinated policies or legislation.

The proposed collaborative website will facilitate the integration of results and methods to enhance the national-scale applicability of NPS watershed research. Our proposal, following up on the EPA/NPS PRIMENet initiative, is to create a web-based information network for gauged watersheds in National Parks. The purposes of this network include: 1) providing guidance for uniform methods and site design; 2) facilitating collaboration and increasing regional/national cooperation; 3) developing national assessments on status and trends; and 4) increasing awareness about related research on a national scale. This project is expected to make recommendations such as a bi-annual meeting of park watershed researchers, sharing of data, methods, and interpretations, development of regional ecological models, and various web-based utilities to support the research consortium of sites. This integration will make the results from separate projects more relevant to national-scale research issues and regulations.