The National Park Service (NPS) initiated development of the Compendium of Ecological Assessment Methods to provide park managers the information necessary for identifying and selecting assessment methods. Park managers need replicable, planning-level assessments of the ecological conditions within parks. They must also be able to compare those conditions to the objectives for park watershed resource management (see Background). Choosing an assessment method is challenging because there are numerous methods and there is no complete listing. Our Team began compiling methods in Fall 2003. We are reviewing each, will provide concise descriptions to facilitate comparisons, and develop a decision matrix to aid users in selecting a method. This information will be summarized in the Compendium, a publication that will also be available on a Web site (see Project Description). It is anticipated that this Compendium will be a useful tool to park and other resources/project managers who use assessment methods.

We invite you to participate in our general survey and to help us create this Compendium of Ecological Assessment Methods. We would like to hear about existing, newly developed or draft methods applicable to one or various habitats. We are particularly interested in wetlands, stream/riparian areas, and uplands. We would also like to include 1-page summaries for selected Case Studies to illustrate the use of the different methods in a variety of habitats and applications. These case studies will include both National Park Service and other projects (e.g., watershed planning, Corps of Engineers planning projects, highway projects). If you have a case study that you believe provides useful information (e.g., successful method application and/or lessons learned), then please complete the case study survey.

The scheduled completion of the Compendium is Spring 2005.

For more information, please contact the Team Leader:
Candy Bartoldus, Ph.D. George Mason University, cbartold@gmu.edu

Updated: Feb. 20, 2004