TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface - Steven R. Beissinger
Section I: Mission and Relevance of National Parks - Kelly A. Kulhanek, Lauren C. Ponisio, Adam C. Schneider, Rachel E. Walsh
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0004
[mission of parks, national parks, protected area management, relevance of parks]
On 25 August 1916, the National Park Service Organic Act was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, thereby establishing the agency and its mission in a mere 731 words. The key mission, still in force today, is “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” Since then, the demographic, social, political, environmental, and economic landscape of the United States has dramatically changed. This strategic discussion, which transpired at the Berkeley summit “Science for Parks, Parks for Science” on 26 March 2015, focuses on the legacy of the National Park Service mission, its relevance in the 21st century, and protected area management. (pages 64 - 72)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
One / Parks, Biodiversity, and Education: An Essay and Discussion - Edward O. Wilson
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0001
[biodiversity;education;extinction;national parks;protected areas]
This essay provides a perspective on the current state of biodiversity conservation; suggests that the only viable solution to accelerated rates of extinction is to increase the area of protected, inviolable habitat to a safe level; and discusses how national parks, biodiversity, and education are inextricably linked as part of the solution. It was presented at the Berkeley summit “Science for Parks, Parks for Science” on 26 March 2015. Many of the ideas are further developed in the accompanying transcript of a moderated discussion on conservation and the role of parks that followed its presentation. (pages 7 - 16)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Two / Seas the Day: A Bluer, Saltier Second Century for American Parks - Kirsten Grorud-Colvert, Jane Lubchenco, Allison K. Barner
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0002
[blue parks;marine protected areas;marine reserves;national parks;ocean protection]
We propose an additional, bold focus for the centennial of the US National Park Service: to make protection of special places in the ocean as important as it has been on land. This vision reflects the fact that 55% of the United States by area is in the ocean, but only 15% of the US ocean is strongly protected. Marine protected areas vary greatly in extractive activities permitted, ranging from fully protected marine reserves that allow no destructive activities to multiple use areas that are zoned to permit different kinds of extractive uses. Ocean protected areas have grown rapidly from 0.08% of the global ocean coverage a decade ago to 1.8% today. Little of the open ocean is protected because the legal tools for creating protected areas reside within individual countries. Using top-down authorities have led to many of our most beloved large, blue parks, but most existing coastal protected areas are small and were developed from combined efforts of diverse stakeholders. We discuss pathways to ocean protection in the United States, review the scientific lessons learned over the past century of park management, and propose a focus on “blue” to complement the first century’s focus on “green” protected areas. (pages 17 - 45)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Three / A Global Perspective on Parks and Protected Areas - Ernesto C. Enkerlin-Hoeflich, Steven R. Beissinger
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0003
[biodiversity;climate change;conservation;ecosystem services;protected areas;stewardship;sustainability;2014 World Parks Congress]
This chapter provides a perspective on the state of protected areas around the world. The values that protected areas serve for different communities have evolved greatly over the past century. While initially about conservation, spiritual connections, and tourism, the values protected areas serve have expanded to include ecosystem services, poverty reduction, climate change mitigation, and human health benefits. Global targets for protected area coverage were set in 2010 to protect 17% of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020 (Aichi Target 11). The more ambitious “nature needs half” campaign advocates for 50% of the planet in mostly undisturbed ecosystems. Global protected area coverage is currently at about 15.4% of the planet’s terrestrial areas and inland water areas, and 3.4% of the oceans. Protected areas do not sufficiently cover areas of importance for biodiversity. The results of the 2014 World Parks Congress in Sydney and its main outcome, the Promise of Sydney, are reviewed, including the core vision, innovative approaches to park stewardship, a platform for sharing and exchanging inspiring solutions, and the commitments made to support protected areas. Future directions for protected area conservation and sustainability are discussed. (pages 46 - 63)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Four / Strategic Conversation: Mission and Relevance of National Parks
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0004
[mission of parks;national parks;protected area management;relevance of parks]
On 25 August 1916, the National Park Service Organic Act was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, thereby establishing the agency and its mission in a mere 731 words. The key mission, still in force today, is “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” Since then, the demographic, social, political, environmental, and economic landscape of the United States has dramatically changed. This strategic discussion, which transpired at the Berkeley summit “Science for Parks, Parks for Science” on 26 March 2015, focuses on the legacy of the National Park Service mission, its relevance in the 21st century, and protected area management. (pages 64 - 72)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
Section II: Stewardship of Parks in a Changing World - Meagan F. Oldfather, Kelly J. Easterday, Maggie J. Raboin, Kelsey J. Scheckel
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0010
[climate change, invasive species, national parks, protected area management, stewardship, de-extinction, rewildling]
In a world with rapidly changing climate, rising sea levels, invasive species, and shifting disturbance regimes, national parks face huge stewardship challenges. Parks are challenged with reconciling management in the face of these changes while sustaining the preservationist values embedded in history, law, and policy. To maintain and restore ecosystem functions and combat climate change, should national parks embrace species once considered nonnative to a region, organisms produced by de-extinction, or populations introduced through rewilding? Should managers use historical baselines as goals for restoration, in the face of shifting climate and disturbance regimes? Is active management appropriate to resist novel ecosystems, or should trajectories of disturbance and succession be allowed to proceed unimpaired? This strategic discussion, which transpired at the Berkeley summit “Science for Parks, Parks for Science” on 26 March 2015, focuses on the role of stewardship and science in national parks and their role in confronting these looming challenges. (pages 212 - 222)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Five / Climate Change and Novel Disturbance Regimes in National Park Landscapes - Monica G. Turner, Daniel C. Donato, Winslow D. Hansen, Brian J. Harvey, William H. Romme, A. Leroy Westerling
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0005
[climate change;disturbance regime;fire;insect outbreaks;landscape change;national parks;Yellowstone]
National parks anchor many of our last intact natural landscapes and offer unparalleled opportunities for scientists to understand baseline ecological responses to global change. As climate warms, the frequency, severity, and extent of natural disturbances are changing profoundly. Understanding how, when, where, and why these changes may influence national parks is urgent for park management and conservation. In the northern Rocky Mountains, fire and insect outbreaks are key drivers of landscape pattern and ecosystem function. Long-term studies in Greater Yellowstone have documented tremendous ecological resilience to these natural disturbances, but projected climate change may lead to novel disturbance regimes and unforeseen ecological responses. Drawing primarily from research in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, we highlight the critical role of national parks as living laboratories for scientific research and the importance of science for park management during these times of rapid change. (pages 77 - 101)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Six / Climate Change Trends, Impacts, and Vulnerabilities in US National Parks - Patrick Gonzalez
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0006
[climate change;climate change impacts;climate change trends;climate change vulnerabilities;national parks;range shifts]
From glaciers melting in Glacier National Park to corals bleaching in Virgin Islands National Park, field research in US National Parks has detected statistically significant changes that analyses of possible causes have attributed to human-induced climate change. Research that has used data from US National Parks shows that climate change has also raised sea level, shifted vegetation and animal ranges, increased tree mortality, and caused other impacts. Average annual temperature of the US National Park System increased at a statistically significant rate of 0.9 ± 0.2ºC per century (mean ± SE) from 1895 to 2010. If we do not reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, cars, and deforestation, temperature in the 21st century could increase at two to six times the rate of 20th century warming, and temporal and spatial patterns of precipitation could change substantially. Analyses of vulnerabilities of resources in US National Parks indicate that continued climate change could fundamentally alter many of the globally unique ecosystems, endangered plant and animal species, and physical and cultural resources that national parks protect. (pages 102 - 140)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Seven / Protecting National Parks from Air Pollution Effects: Making Sausage from Science and Policy - Jill S. Baron, Tamara Blett, William C. Malm, Ruth M. Alexander, Holly Doremus
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0007
[acid rain;air pollution;atmospheric deposition;national parks;nitrogen deposition;visibility]
The story of air pollution research, policy development, and management in national parks is a fascinating blend of cultural change, vision, interdisciplinary and interagency collaboration, and science-policy-management-stakeholder collaborations. Unable to ignore the loss of iconic vistas from regional haze and loss of fish from acid rain in the 1980s, the US National Park Service (NPS) embraced an obligation to protect resources from threats originating outside park boundaries. Upholding the Organic Act requirement for parks to remain “unimpaired” for the enjoyment of future generations, and using the Clean Air Act statement that the NPS has an “affirmative responsibility” to protect park resources, the NPS has supported, and effectively used, research as a means to protect lands, waters, and vistas from a mostly unseen threat. Using visibility and atmospheric nitrogen deposition as examples, we illustrate some success stories where the NPS led the way to benefit not only parks, but the nation. (pages 141 - 160)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Eight / Biological Invasions in the National Parks and in Park Science - Daniel Simberloff
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0008
[biological control;biological invasions;invasive species;national parks;nonnative species]
In its early history, the US National Park Service (NPS) had no policy on nonnative species, and even introduced nonnative fishes for sport fishing and plants for landscaping. By the 1920s, scientists within and outside the NPS militated against new introductions and urged the agency to minimize or eradicate existing ones, but not until a 1968 directive was such a policy substantially implemented. Some park efforts to eradicate or decrease mammal populations aroused opposition from hunters or advocates of animal rights. Park Science was first published in 1980 and initially targeted NPS managers; in the 1990s it broadened its audience to include the general public. Articles in Park Science, though more heavily focused on management than those in most academic journals, track most of the explosive recent development of invasion biology, in particular incorporating the recognition that some invasions can affect entire ecosystems rather than just particular native species. The journal has generally downplayed controversies that have recently roiled invasion biology. National parks, islands in a larger landscape and unable to control national policy on nonnative species, are continually invaded by new nonnatives, but the NPS has risen to the challenge of managing them with some striking successes. (pages 161 - 188)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Nine / The Science and Challenges of Conserving Large Wild Mammals in 21st-Century American Protected Areas - Joel Berger
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0009
[climate change;conservation;corridors;dispersal;isolation;large mammals;migration]
As the United States continues to grow beyond its current level of 320 million people, lands will become more crowded, parks will become more isolated, and species inimical to people will become less tolerated. Large mammals require extensive areas to survive, reproduce, and move. This chapter focuses on what is and is not known of the science of conserving large mammals in parks and the consequent conservation challenges. Using examples from human-dominated sites on the east and west coasts of the United States and the uncrowded Arctic, three key points emerge. First, in the contiguous United States, both carnivores and ungulates isolated from neighboring populations for as few as 75–100 years suffer from small population syndromes. Morphological deformities have appeared in cougars and bison. Second, more area will be needed to connect populations and alternative strategies developed for forced migration, when creation of dispersal corridors is no longer possible and additional lands are no longer available to conserve wild species. Third, serious climate challenges confront cold-adapted species including those in Arctic parks. Conservation science and human dimensions will continue to play important roles if species present in parks in the 19th century will be conserved for another 100 years. (pages 189 - 211)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Ten / Strategic Conversation: Stewardship of Parks in a Changing World
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0010
[climate change;invasive species;national parks;protected area management;stewardship;de-extinction;rewildling]
In a world with rapidly changing climate, rising sea levels, invasive species, and shifting disturbance regimes, national parks face huge stewardship challenges. Parks are challenged with reconciling management in the face of these changes while sustaining the preservationist values embedded in history, law, and policy. To maintain and restore ecosystem functions and combat climate change, should national parks embrace species once considered nonnative to a region, organisms produced by de-extinction, or populations introduced through rewilding? Should managers use historical baselines as goals for restoration, in the face of shifting climate and disturbance regimes? Is active management appropriate to resist novel ecosystems, or should trajectories of disturbance and succession be allowed to proceed unimpaired? This strategic discussion, which transpired at the Berkeley summit “Science for Parks, Parks for Science” on 26 March 2015, focuses on the role of stewardship and science in national parks and their role in confronting these looming challenges. (pages 212 - 222)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
Section III: Engaging People in Parks
Eleven / The Tangled Web of People, Landscapes, and Protected Areas - Ruth Defries
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0011
[conservation;coupled human-natural systems;development;protected area management;socio-ecological systems;protected area management]
Protected areas currently comprise a substantial land use and cover 14% of the Earth’s land surface. Their expansion in recent decades, combined with increasing economic growth and aspirations in high biodiversity areas, has brought the relevance of socio-ecological systems (also known as coupled human-natural systems)to the fore for conservation. Socio-ecological processes operate at multiple scales: within protected areas, for example resource use by people living inside protected areas; surrounding protected areas, for example poverty alleviation for communities on the fringes; and larger landscapes, for example conflicts between infrastructure expansion and corridors for animal movement between networks of protected areas. National- and global-scale processes such as climate change, shifting priorities of international donors, and market forces that lead to land use change influence outcomes for conservation and people at all of these scales. Protected area management faces several mismatches in addressing these socio-ecological dimensions: conflicting objectives for conservation and development; ecological and social processes that operate at larger spatial scales than protected areas; and governance of land use in the larger landscape in which protected area managers have no authority. The next step in the historical evolution of protected area management is incorporating socio-ecological dynamics and addressing these mismatches. (pages 227 - 246)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Twelve / Science, Values, and Conflict in the National Parks - Thomas Dietz
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0012
[adaptive risk management;analytic deliberation;decision making;global environmental change;national parks;uncertainty;values]
The US National Parks were born in public conflicts and conflicts continue in the 21st century. Differing values and uncertainty about facts, values, and the mission of US National Parks make such conflicts almost inevitable. Global environmental change will exacerbate them. Environmental decision sciences offer insights and tools that can lead to better decisions even in the face of uncertainty and conflict. Uncertainty makes national park decisions a form of adaptive risk management (ARM). ARM can be improved by linking scientific analysis to public deliberation, engaging multiple forms of expertise, building evaluation into decisions, and making use of bridging organizations to span the diverse set of parties interested in or affected by decisions about parks. By helping design ARM processes, environmental decision sciences can make important science contributions for parks. In turn, national parks can contribute to environmental decision sciences by serving as a testbed for the study of conflict and decision making. (pages 247 - 274)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Thirteen / The World Is a Park: Using Citizen Science to Engage People in Parks and Build the Next Century of Global Stewards - John Francis, Kelly J. Easterday, Kelsey J. Scheckel, Steven R. Beissinger
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0013
[BioBlitz;biodiversity discovery;citizen science;national parks;nature;public engagement]
This chapter examines opportunities to engage people with nature while collecting research-grade data through biodiversity discovery activities in parks. After briefly discussing the growth of citizen science, we examine the largest, organized citizen science event occurring in parks, the BioBlitz, which features direct engagement of scientists with the public. A BioBlitz is an intensive field study that attempts to inventory all species or particular taxa in a park or protected area, typically within a 24-hour period. Since the first BioBlitz in 1996, they have been conducted in 119 national park units and a dozen countries, with over 30 events occurring annually. Species new to park inventories are often identified and occasionally species that are new to science have been discovered. An important outcome of biodiversity discovery is bringing nature to children and adults in a way that has lasting impact and encourages the need to nurture and protect nature, even in their own backyard. We discuss the communication and analytical skills that professional scientists need to work successfully with citizen science. The ubiquitous use of cell phone and similar handheld technology that is often blamed for deteriorating a child’s connection with nature may also provide an opportunity to reinvent it. (pages 275 - 293)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Fourteen / The Spiritual and Cultural Significance of Nature: Inspiring Connections between People and Parks - Edwin Bernbaum
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0014
[conservation;culture;diversity;inspiration;interpretation;protected area management;public engagement;national parks;nature;spiritual]
This chapter explores various ways that the cultural and spiritual significance of nature can play a key role in addressing challenges that the US National Park Service faces in engaging people and diversifying its visitor base. It draws on case studies developing interpretative materials for national parks that evoked the cultural and spiritual meanings of natural features in mainstream American, Native American, Native Hawaiian, and other cultures around the world. Rather than simply conveying information, interpretation focused on enriching people’s experience and appealing to the cultural backgrounds of diverse ethnic groups in order to inspire deep-seated, sustainable motivations for supporting parks and protecting the environment. The chapter also discusses ideas for a new International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) project that brings international protected area managers together with representatives of indigenous traditions, mainstream religions, and the general public. Here the goal is to integrate the cultural and spiritual significance of nature into protected area management and governance. The chapter concludes with remarks on the need to supplement objective scientific knowledge with subjective personal knowledge that connects people with nature and inspires conservation. (pages 294 - 315)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Fifteen / Strategic Conversation: Engaging and Disengaging People in Parks - Emily E. Kearny, Audrey F. Haynes, Carrie R. Levine
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0015
[national parks;nature;park visitors;public engagement;urbanization;park visitation;protecting park resources]
The mission of the US National Parks includes the preservation of natural and historical beauty and the enjoyment of that beauty by visitors. Over the past century in the United States, however, urbanization has increased and most children grow up apart from nature. Visitation of national parks has been declining and use by ethnic minorities, which will soon outnumber Caucasians, lags behind other user groups. Nevertheless, some parks are heavily visited during summer months and impacts on sensitive park resources can require disengaging visitors from some areas. This strategic discussion, which transpired at the Berkeley summit “Science for Parks, Parks for Science” on 27 March 2015, focuses on how the relationship between people and parks will change in the coming century. (pages 316 - 324)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Section IV: Future of Science, Conservation, and Parks
Sixteen / A New Kind of Eden - Jamais A. Cascio
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0016
[emerging technologies;foresight scenarios;future;national parks;predictions;sustainability]
What would a sustainable future look like? This chapter explores three 50-year scenarios of how we may develop a globally sustainable society and what each might foretell for national parks. Professional foresight, or “futurism,” surveys the dynamics of change across disciplines in order to construct scenarios of future changes to society. Foresight scenarios are not intended to be predictions, but examinations of different ways in which current trends and likely future developments may co-evolve. Such scenarios can illuminate options and highlight unexpected challenges for decision-makers. In this endeavor, scenarios of success can be as useful as scenarios of risk. The narratives in this chapter consider a future for national parks in three scenarios; each attempts to illustrate how we might succeed in overcoming the global sustainability crisis, in direct response to the dominance of apocalyptic narratives in popular discussions of sustainability. The first describes a future in which sustainability emerges from increased control over the economy by global institutions. The second describes a future in which, subsequent to a global climate disaster, civil society creates new institutions through open-source and collaborative tools. The third describes a future in which radical technological developments allow for unprecedented social, economic, and environmental transformation. (pages 329 - 346)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Seventeen / The Near-Horizon Future of Science and the National Parks - Gary E. Machlis
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0017
[future;park science;science applications;science policy;citizen science;de-extinction]
The near-horizon future of science in the national parks is likely to include significant new advances in theory, methods, and applications. These new challenges and opportunities are accompanied by complex scientific controversies. This chapter presents examples of emerging scientific fields and disciplines (from quantum biology to cliodynamics) and for each describes possible implications for park science. It briefly describes emerging methods, tools, and datasets (such as eDNA, biocuration, and big data analytics), discussing how each of these innovations may contribute to park science. The chapter identifies several scientific and science policy issues that are controversial, including de-extinction, human-assisted evolution, the role of citizen science, and the tension between data collection and surveillance. It concludes with an example of science policy recommendations from the 2012 Revisiting Leopold Report that may help shape the near horizon future of science in the national parks. (pages 347 - 362)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Eighteen / Science, Parks, and Conservation in a Rapidly Changing World - Steven R. Beissinger, David D. Ackerly, Steven R. Beissinger, David D. Ackerly, Holly Doremus, Gary E. Machlis
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0018
[climate change;conservation;future;national parks;park science;stewardship;management paradigms]
We examine how science, conservation, and management of park resources have changed over the past century since the birth of the US National Park Service, and how climate change may require shifts to conservation and management paradigms during the second century of national parks. We first review the state of science and conservation at the time the Organic Act was passed in 1916. Within a month of passage, Grinnell and Storer argued for science-based management of national parks and for parks to be free from human impacts on nature. Nevertheless, Mather chose to invest in infrastructure and no park scientists would be hired until 1928. The fall and rise of science in the US National Parks would be repeated several times during the 20th century before expansion in the 21st century. We then examine the key issue facing the future of parks throughout the world: how to steward them through the rapid environmental and cultural changes taking place. Success may require the dominant paradigm of 20th century conservation—“manage to maintain current and historic baseline conditions”—to be co-mingled with two other paradigms: “manage for natural processes and trajectories of change” and “manage proactively for projected future conditions.” (pages 363 - 388)
This chapter is available at:
University of Chicago Press
https://academic.oup.com/chica...
Appendix / Historical Connections between UC Berkeley, the Birth of the US National Park Service, and the Growth of Science in Parks - Steven R. Beissinger and Tierne M. Nickel
About the Contributors
Index
