Executive Summary

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The Klamath Network (KLMN) is one of 32 National Park Service (NPS) networks responsible for developing vital signs-based monitoring programs for managing the longterm ecosystem health of the nation’s parks. The park units of the Klamath Network are Crater Lake National Park (CRLA), Lassen Volcanic National Park (LAVO), Lava Beds National Monument (LABE), Oregon Caves National Monument (ORCA), Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP), and Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (WHIS). National Park Service networks are required to formulate Vital Signs Monitoring Plans, consisting of three phases: Phase I compiles background information and data on network park unit resources and presents conceptual models for each park unit ecosystem; Phase II provides an augmented Phase I and the selection and prioritization of vital signs; and Phase III will include the entire scope of information in Phases I and II, as well as the monitoring objectives, sampling designs and protocols, and data management and analysis procedures of a long-term vital signs monitoring program. The Klamath Network Phase II Water Quality Report is intended to provide an overview of the previous water quality related inventory and monitoring work conducted in each of the network’s six park units and provide guidance in the direction of future monitoring objectives. The Phase II Report summarizes the activities undertaken to select vital signs to be used for monitoring the aquatic resources of Klamath Network park units.

The primary goal of the National Park Service Inventory & Monitoring (I&M) Program is to assess and monitor the long-term ecological health of park units. Other benefits of the program include the ability to detect change in resource condition and evaluate resource responses to management actions. Moreover, the program aims to create baseline knowledge of the condition of park unit resources for use by park unit scientists and those in academia or the private sector, and to create an effective method for data management, analysis, and reporting. Through information and data sharing the program hopes to increase public awareness of park unit activities and resources. The I&M program first focuses on inventories of park unit resources to assess the ecological health of the park units. While many aquatic resource-related inventories have been conducted within the Klamath Network, some fundamental inventories have not been completed. Then, given basic inventory data, a monitoring plan will be created to collect broad-based scientifically sound information on the current status and long-term trends in the health, composition, structure, and function of park unit ecosystems.

The I&M program was created through the Natural Resource Challenge, a method of improving natural resource stewardship in national parks. The Natural Resource Challenge requires managers to know the status or condition of natural resources under their stewardship and monitor long-term trends in those resources to conserve them unimpaired for future generations. Moreover, vital signs monitoring achieves the Category 1 goals found in the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) which requires that federal agencies account for money spent by reporting on the results of their activities.

To better understand and organize the information currently available about the aquatic resources of each park unit, the Klamath Network contracted the US Geological Survey to (1) compile background information on the primary aquatic resources of each network park unit, including past and current monitoring efforts, and (2) draft the Phase II Report. To date, over 100 aquatic inventory and monitoring related projects have occurred within Klamath Network park units and surrounding public lands. These projects include information on aquatic biota (e.g. amphibians, fishes, macroinvertebrates), baseline water quality (e.g. chemical and physical parameters), hydrological/ geological resources (e.g. surface flow, groundwater, geothermal/hydrothermal, ice in ice caves), recreation effects, land use impacts, and watershed restoration.

The Klamath Network, under the guidance of the National I&M Program, undertook the process of creating conceptual ecological models to help identify proposed candidate vital signs for selection and prioritization. Conceptual models formalize understanding of natural processes and facilitate a cross-discipline dialogue between scientists and resource managers. In addition, conceptual models provide an understanding of the structure, function, and interconnectedness of park unit ecosystems, enabling the identification of vital signs for assessing ecosystem health. Models were developed for freshwater and marine aquatic ecosystems found in Klamath Network park units. The conceptual modeling process also helped to identify many stressors that can potentially affect ecosystem components, patterns, and processes. Stressors, as defined by the I&M program, are forces of ecological change and can be of natural- or human-origin. The conceptual modeling process was particularly helpful in identifying proposed candidate vital signs that were not identified through other scoping processes.

The Klamath Network began in 1998 its scoping process to determine, or to prioritize, which vital signs the network should monitor. Initial park-specific Vital Signs Workshops were held between 1998 and 2003 to begin to identify stressors that potentially impact park unit ecosystems. These workshops were followed in 2004 by three network-wide workshops. The purpose of these workshops was to more specifically identify monitoring questions and vital signs associated with specific ecosystems and ecosystem categories (e.g., air, soil quality, hydrology, water quality, invasive species, etc.). The result of these workshops was the development of 172 monitoring questions and associated vital signs for the various park unit ecosystems. These monitoring questions and vital signs were sent out for review and prioritization by scientists/resource managers with research and management expertise related to park unit ecosystems; and two of the 10 most important network-wide vital signs monitoring questions identified were aquatic-resource focused. These two questions were: (1) what is the status and what are the trends of surface waters and pollutants; and (2) what is the status and what are the trends in structure, function and composition of locally limited (i.e., focal) aquatic communities?

The dominant theme during the initial identification of network-wide water quality issues was aquatic ecosystem health. The ability to (1) document improvement (or lack thereof) in the water quality of Clean Water Act section 303(d) listed impaired streams, and (2) the ability of park unit managers to document progress toward achieving GPRA goal 1.a4 (i.e., that parks have unimpaired water quality), underscored the importance of identifying a suite of vital signs useful for effective water quality assessment. The need to fully inventory aquatic resources and document baseline and reference water quality conditions also were identified as important objectives in the development of a vital signs-based long-term water quality monitoring program.

Detailed assessment and refinement of priority issues specific to Klamath Network water quality and the two aquatic resource-focused monitoring questions began in October 2004. The process was initiated by sending a questionnaire regarding aquatic resources and water quality to the Chief of Resources Management of each park unit. Park-specific information was sought in five basic categories: (1) identification of aquatic resources within park unit boundaries (i.e., marine, estuarine, lotic, lentic, palustrine, ice caves, and geothermal/ hydrothermal); (2) a list of water bodies of particular importance or interest to the park unit management; (3) a list of past and current water quality monitoring efforts; (4) a list of water resource management and/or land use issues that impact resources from either within or outside each park unit; and (5) qualification of the level of knowledge and experience of park unit staff in monitoring water quality. Questionnaire responses were summarized into preliminary park-specific Vital Signs Tables that included columns for: (1) Aquatic Resource; (2) Potential Resource Stressors; (3) Potential Indicators of Stress; (4) Potential Monitoring Options; and (5) Stressor Priority. The tables were reviewed and refined at an aquatic resources vital signs scoping session held in December 2004. Park unit staff identified the five most significant water quality resource management issues and aquatic resource stressors for each park unit (i.e., climate change, land use and non-recreational human impacts, introduced/invasive nonnative biota, visitor recreational activities, and atmospheric deposition of nutrients and pollutants). In addition, the assessment process was instrumental for identifying indicators (or vital signs) of aquatic resource stress, relative to the five identified stressors, and potential monitoring options for quantifying ecosystem health and/or disturbance. The park-specific and network-level results of this process are discussed in detail on pages 57-85.

Figure 1: Horseshoe Lake, Lassen Volcanic National Park