Monday afternoon, March 14, 4:00–6:05

Communicating about Climate Change to Internal and External Audiences

Chair: Susan Sachs, Education Coordinator, Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center – NPS, Lake Junaluska, NC

Session overview: The five presentations in this session will focus on creative ways to inform varying audiences about the results of climate change research on resources in National Parks. Park managers need the information in format that speaks to them, students in another and park visitors in many additional ways. The messages vary from the big impacts such as melting glaciers to more subtle ones such as shifts in phenology. Techniques vary from citizen science to virtual methods of communication. The parks represented include Glacier NP, Great Smoky Mountains NP, Kenai Fjords NP, Denali NP, Gateway NRA and Yellowstone NP.

Tara Carolin, Director, Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center, Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT

Since 2005 the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center has been fostering a sense of stewardship in park visitors who are trained to monitor focal species of concern and contribute reliable data to Glacier National Park. In 2008 we initiated the High Country Citizen Science Program, which focuses on species of concern due to climate change, emphasizing mountain goats and pikas. Participants learn how to safely identify and observe the species, about their behavior and habitat, and why managers are concerned for their future under a changing climate. More than 400 individuals have been trained as citizen scientists, including several high school student groups that have traveled across the country to engage in scientific data collection and learn about climate change. We have found that engaging the public in data collection instills a strong sense of responsibility and a desire to promote resource conservation on behalf of the park.
From Melting Glaciers to Subtle Shifts: Strategies to Communicate a Range of Climate Change Impacts

Susan Sachs, Education Coordinator, Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Lake Junaluska, NC

Jim Pfeiffenberger, Education Coordinator, Ocean Alaska Science and Learning Center, Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward, AK

The challenges of educating the public about climate change vary depending on your geographic location. At the Ocean Alaska Science and Learning Center, visitors interact with big examples such as melting glaciers and sea level rise. The changes predicted for the parks of the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center are much more subtle and harder for visitors to grasp. The two Research Learning Centers have found creative ways to tell both the “in your face” and the less obvious stories of climate impacts on park resources. Examples including citizen science monitoring, creative interpretative programs and video podcasting will showcase how parks can give visitors a better understanding of climate impacts on the resources they cherish.

Mark Christiano, National Park Service, Gateway National Recreation Area, Staten Island, New York

Norbert Psuty, Institute of Marine and Coastal Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey

Gateway National Recreation Area is one of the first national parks to consider the quantified effects of global climate change as part of its long-term planning process through the General Management Plan (GMP). The GIS team, partnered with Rutgers University, has been developing sea level rise (SLR) and storm models to help park planners predict the long-term effects of climate change on Gateway’s assets and infrastructure. Currently many of the fundamental resources of Gateway are close to sea level. Some examples include historic Fort Hancock’s Officer’s Row, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, and the historic life-saving station at Sandy Hook. The analysis is used in conjunction with facilities management information (FMSS) and the List of Classified Structures (LCS) to help guide park management decisions and aid GMP planners. The park has begun shifting its policies and looking for innovative ways to preserve the fundamental resources of Gateway for future generations.

Ann Rodman, GIS Specialist, Greater Yellowstone Science Learning Center, Yellowstone National Park, Mammoth, WY

The NPS Research Learning Center (RLC) websites and the NPS Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program data portal, IRMA, are perfect forums for disseminating the knowledge and information gained from large scale projects that affect multiple parks. RLCs are excellent at communicating the knowledge gained through science in the NPS. The I&M Program has developed an infrastructure of databases to store, organize, and serve very large datasets. Both programs are spread across the entire country and serve parks in all 5 regions. In 2010, a three year project was funded through the Climate Change Response Program to model the distribution of pollinators (bees) in climate sensitive habitats across at least 75 NPS units. The RLCs are helping with data collection and communicating the results of the study to park staff and the general public. Databases developed by I&M program are being used to store and disseminate the data from the project.
Session 28 • Napoleon B1 (3rd floor) • Day-Capper

PENDING
Session 29 • Napoleon B2 (3rd floor) • Panel Discussion

Monitoring and State of the Park Reporting Systems for Parks Canada and the U.S. National Park Service

Chairs: Stephen Woodley, Chief Ecosystem Scientist, Parks Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

Steven G. Fancy, Chief, Inventory and Monitoring Division, National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO

National parks in both Canada and the United States come from similar historical traditions, and the enabling legislation and policies in the two countries provide for similar expectations. Managers at the park and agency level need to communicate complex information about the condition of key park resources and values, and how well we are managing the resources (accountability to the taxpayers), to park visitors, park staff, the general public, and government oversight entities. Both park services are involved in developing programs to monitor the condition of natural and cultural resource condition, visitor services, and facilities/infrastructure, for use in informing management plans and interpretation efforts and to demonstrate accomplishments and accountability. This joint session between Parks Canada Agency and the U.S. National Park Service will provide an overview of progress made, key lessons learned, and the challenges yet to be overcome in developing meaningful monitoring and reporting programs. There is a lot going on!

Panelists: Donald McLennan, Parks Canada Agency, National Monitoring Biologist, Gatineau, Quebec

Christie Spence, Head Planning and Reporting, Parks Canada Agency, Gatineau, Quebec

Stephanie Toothman, Associate Director, Cultural Resources, USNPS, Washington, DC

Bert Frost, Associate Director, Natural Resources, USNPS, Washington, DC

Advancing Wild and Scenic River Planning across the National Park Service

Chair: Tracy Atkins, Community Planner, NPS, Denver Service Center- Planning Division, Denver, CO

Rivers are protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to conserve certain values: the river’s outstanding resources, water quality, and free-flowing character. To enhance consistency across agencies in WSR studies and planning, the Interagency Wild and Scenic Rivers Coordinating Council has developed guidelines for identifying a river’s Outstandingly Remarkable Values (ORVs). Protection of ORVs, water quality, and free flow provides the basis for Comprehensive River Management Plans (CRMP), which are required by WSR legislation. With interagency guidance, NPS developed a standardized ORV workshop format to evaluate and identify ORVs. Three workshops were held in 2010. The workshop format includes identifying overall ORVs, water quality and free-flowing condition, evaluation of ORVs by river segment, developing ORV statements, mapping of issues and identification of potential stakeholders in preparation for public scoping on the CRMP. Come learn about this process and how it can be applied to your wild and scenic river.

Panelists: Bill Hansen, Acting Chief, NPS NRPC Water Rights Branch, Fort Collins, CO

Gary Weiner, Regional WSR Coordinator, NPS Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance, Bozeman, MT

Jennifer Carpenter, Park Planner, NPS Grand Teton National Park, Jackson, WY

Chris Church, Project Manager, NPS Denver Service Center, Planning Division, Denver, CO

Wilderness

Chair: Dick Anderson, Environmental Protection Specialist, Alaska Regional Office, National Park Service, Anchorage, AK
What Wilderness Needs: A Proposed Framework for Managing Commercial Services in Wilderness

Michele Dauber, Professor of Law and Sociology and Bernard Bergreen Faculty Scholar, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Mark Fincher, Wilderness Specialist, Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, CA

Jordan Dentler Segall, Stanford University Law School and Department of Sociology, Stanford, CA

The Wilderness Act strictly limits commercial services, such as packstock and hiking guides, in wilderness areas. Agencies may authorize commercial services only to the “extent necessary” to fulfill the purposes specified in the statute, such as recreation, education, and science. Recently, environmental groups have successfully challenged the legality of agencies’ processes for issuing commercial permits, focusing particularly on the Forest Service’s “public-need” approach, which determines the extent of services necessary on the basis of visitor desire for those services. This paper proposes a new system that instead authorizes the minimum level of commercial services necessary to fulfill the wilderness purposes after taking into account existing noncommercial use. We argue that commercialism is inherently inconsistent with wilderness character and was therefore intended by Congress to be strictly limited. Our method is more faithful to the wilderness-protective mandates of the Wilderness Act and to the anti-commercial views of its early proponents.
Alaska Case Study: Decision Making for Science in Wilderness

Judy Alderson, Regional Wilderness Coordinator, National Park Service, Alaska Region, Anchorage, AK

Robert Winfree, National Park Service, Alaska Region, Anchorage, AK

For several years, an NPS interdisciplinary working group assigned by the regional director has been working to improve the way decisions are made about scientific work in Alaska park wilderness. The group was tasked with developing products or guidance to improve decision making consistency between parks, address internal and external concerns about the cumulative impacts related to a growing number of facilities and installations in wilderness, and address the perception that NPS was presenting an unwelcoming atmosphere for scientists. It’s true that “Alaska is different” and nowhere is this more so than in the magnitude and scale of the wilderness resources, the challenges of logistics and access, and the unique legal requirements and policies that were established through the Alaska National Interest Lands Act of 1980 that set aside many of these areas. The products and process steps that were developed and are being implemented will be reviewed and discussed.

Robert Dvorak, Assistant Professor, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI

William T. Borrie, Professor, University of Montana, Missoula, MT

Alan E. Watson, Research Social Scientist, USDA Forest Service, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, MT

Ann Schwaller, Natural Resource Wilderness Specialist, USDA Forest Service, Superior National Forest, Duluth, MN

Wilderness and protected area managers are charged with, among other important attributes, providing outstanding opportunities for solitude. To meet this challenge, managers need to understand the issues surrounding wilderness inter-group encounter monitoring. Previous research has developed measures of inter-group encounters and examined procedures to predict encounter rates. However, despite advances in data collection technology and modeling software, a fundamental question still remains, “What are we measuring and monitoring and why?” This paper examines several questions: (1) How are wilderness encounters precisely being defined, (2) how are wilderness encounters being measured, and (3) how are managers utilizing this information to compare against standards and other applications? Using recent monitoring data, it explores how to better define inter-group encounters, the cost and feasibility of monitoring, and whether greater thought and precision is necessary in encounter standards. It also considers other applications of these ideas, such as effects on quotas and day use.

Erik Murdock, Ph.D. in Natural Resource Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

The issue of fixed anchors in wilderness challenges interpretations of the Wilderness Act. The Wilderness Act can be interpreted to allow or preclude fixed anchors in designated wilderness areas depending on whether the interpreter chooses a literal or general interpretation of the Act. Authorizing fixed anchors in Wilderness constitutes an interpretation that considers the entire Act as opposed to formalistically defining fixed anchors as ‘installations’. At Joshua Tree National Park, results reveal that wilderness climber destination choice is not dependent on fixed anchors, but other destination attributes. Therefore, place-based management options, supported by descriptive and evaluative studies, may be more closely aligned to Wilderness Act directives than nationwide, blanket regulations. This study’s results can be used as the basis for promoting place-based policy and demonstrate that fixed anchors can fit within the confines of the Wilderness Act as it is applied to the modern era of wilderness management.
Naturalness vs. Wildness: Visitor Support for Management Alternatives to Anthropogenic Changes in the Bridger Wilderness

Andrea Davidson, Graduate Student, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID

Troy Hall, Associate Professor of Protected Area Visitor Studies, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID

Currently, there is debate about whether to emphasize naturalness (typically through restoration) or wildness (typically through preservation) when managing anthropogenic changes in wilderness. We examined wilderness visitors’ opinions about this dilemma and factors that influence support for different management approaches. Trailhead questionnaires (N= 147) were administered on site to Bridger Wilderness (WY) visitors in 2010. Visitors were presented five issues (fish stocking, invasive weeds, non-native mountain goats, whitebark pine decline, and wildfire) and asked to select their preferred management alternative from among several choices that varied in protection of naturalness or wildness. They also listed factors that influenced their decisions. While most visitors favored alternatives involving some form of active restoration, self-expressed knowledge of wilderness and frequency of wilderness visits did not predict support for different management alternatives. Wilderness managers are currently faced with complex decisions in a time of rapid change and are supported by the public to take action.

Responding to Disaster: Katrina and Deepwater Horizon

Chair: TBD
How an Over-emphasis on Shoreline Resource Protection May Have Made the Gulf Oil Spill Worse

Sean Anderson, Assistant Professor, California State University Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill presented a mixture of unique and familiar environmental challenges to scientists, and managers, and policy makers. Intensive dispersant application at both the 1500 m-deep wellhead and sea surface attempted to foster an oil-dispersant emulsion at depth, while reducing the mass of floating mousse. This decision was a trade-off, limiting the amounts of floating oil transported to the beach and marsh over the first five months of the blowout at the expense of unknown chronic impacts on pelagic organisms and communities out of sight beneath the sea surface. This unfamiliar spill of subsurface pelagic oil at depth presents huge challenges to science, which can offer no historical guidance on risk of injury and is largely unprepared to track dispersions at depth or document injuries. Unwelcome surprises may lie ahead should trophic cascades ensue or stealth transport of subsurface oil impact the shoreline of such concern.
Irreplaceable Heritage at Risk: Preparing for Disasters in the Coastal Zone (and Elsewhere...)

Barrett Kennedy, Professor, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA

Andy Ferrell, LEED AP, National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, Natchitoches LA

Recent (and ongoing) disaster events have demonstrated the vulnerability of coastal regions around the world (…notably for the Gulf Coast, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike… and the BP Oil Blowout). Historically, the majority of the world’s population has lived in the coastal zone, meaning that a wealth of irreplaceable heritage sites around the globe are increasingly at risk due to the effects of climate change, rising sea levels, human error, and associated cataclysmic disaster events. This presentation will demonstrate a rapid, cost-effective approach to capturing baseline data about heritage resources in these high-risk coastal settings. This approach can also advance effective disaster planning and mitigation processes that anticipate a future of increasing coastal vulnerability. The broader goal of the presentation is to encourage an inclusive dialog about how emerging data collection technologies and information systems can advance cultural resource protection as an integral part of disaster preparedness and response activities.

Donald Rodriguez, Associate Professor and Chair Environmental Science and Resource Management Program, California State University Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA

Sean Anderson, Assistant Professor, California State University Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA

Douglas Meffert, Xavier University, New Orleans, LA

Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast more than five years ago. The storm ripped apart the landscape, lives, and social fabric of much of the region. In particular, the failure of the levee protection system that allowed 80% of the City of New Orleans to flood in the wake of this storm, and subsequent others including hurricanes Rita, Gustav, and Ike, have had an unprecedented influence upon the social, political, and environmental systems of the surrounding Gulf Coast Region. The focus of this paper will be to identify many of the important elements of “Living with Hurricanes” and to suggest a diverse interpretive approach that will embrace the complex nature of these important historical disasters in American history and their applications to natural resource and parks, both in urban and rural settings.
Post-Deepwater Horizon Marine Spatial Planning as an International Model for Marine Protected Areas

Shannon Sims, Law Student, University of Texas School of Law, Houston, TX

Marine spatial planning is an increasingly important concept around the world for the creation of marine protected areas. This paper addresses how marine spatial planning can be used as a tool to address some of the challenges to marine conservation exposed by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Between the fields of coastal development law and marine conservation, there is room to address how the energy industry can be linked in to the development of marine protected areas. Using examples from Texas, Brazil and the Mediterranean Sea, this paper examines how international and national law both succeeds and fails at preserving coastal and marine protected areas. Further, this paper addresses how endangered species protection and tourism development impact the development of marine protected areas and the future of marine spatial planning. (Keywords: marine spatial planning, coastal development, oil spill, marine protected areas, endangered species, tourism. Areas studied: Gulf of Mexico, Texas, Brazil, Mediterranean Sea.)"
Strategic Sciences and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Gary Machlis, Science Advisor to the Director, National Park Service, Alexandria, VA

Marcia McNutt, Director, US Geological Survey, Reston, VA

In response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Department of the Interior established a Strategic Sciences Working Group, composed of an interdisciplinary mix of federal and nonfederal scientists. The Working Group’s assignment was to develop alternative scenarios of how the oil spill and its cascading consequences could affect the Gulf of Mexico as a coupled natural-human system. This paper reports the results of the Working Group, including a description of the scenario-building methods, a summary of the five scenarios developed to date (with special emphasis on consequences to protected areas), and an analysis of how the scenarios have been used by policy and decision-makers. The need to establish a standing capacity for strategic sciences in order to deal with future environmental challenges is described.

Knowledge All Around You: Cultural Landscapes Management from a Landscape Point of View

Chair: Jill Cowley, Historical Landscape Architect, National Park Service IMR Historic Preservation Programs, Santa Fe, NM

An ethnographic approach to cultural landscape management assumes that landscape use informs personal and cultural identity. Cultural landscapes are evidence of continuing and changing relationships between particular places and the inhabitants of those places. As these relationships grow and change, cultural landscapes provide information about race, class, and gender as constructs of nature as well as culture. Panelists will discuss three case studies that speak to this topic: the relationship between the African-American community of Cemetery and the Stones River National Battlefield in Tennessee; the influence of Puebloan and Anglo culture and art on the gendering of the northern New Mexico landscape; and how traditional Hawaiian knowledge of a female deity (Pelehounaumea) can guide management decisions at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. After a five minute introduction, each panelist will have fifteen minutes, with Q&A and discussion following.

Panelists: Elizabeth K. Goetsch, Park Ranger, Stones River National Battlefield, Murfreesboro, TN

Jill Cowley, Historical Landscape Architect, National Park Service Intermountain Region, Santa Fe, NM

Laura Shuster, Chief, Cultural Resource Division, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, HI
Session 34 • Oak Alley (4th floor) • Day-Capper

Five Minutes of Fame: Using Video to Promote Science and the Parks

Chairs: Ted Gostomski, Science Writer/Biologist, National Park Service, Great Lakes Inventory and Monitoring Network, Ashland, WI

Sara Melena, Education Specialist, National Park Service Office of Education & Outreach, Fort Collins, CO

Many national park units have a 20-30-minute movie that extols the virtues of the park and its reasons for being. A more recent development is the use of videos lasting only 1 to 5 minutes that tell a short story about the parks and the work being done in them, namely science and research. These videos inspire (as in the story of George Wright) and educate the public, and they are available online so anyone can see them at any time. This session will showcase some of the “video shorts” developed to reach a broad audience. Included will be screenings of three shorts: one on George Melendez Wright, one titled “Science in Parks,” and one called “Get Involved.” Group discussion afterwards will include how successful these videos are in reaching the intended audience and the specifics (cost and equipment) of making such a film.
Session 35 • Bayside A (4th floor) • Invited Papers

Tracking Global Change at Local Scales: Phenology for Science, Conservation, Management, Education, and Outreach

Chairs: Jake Weltzin, Executive Director, USA National Phenology Network, Tucson, AZ

Brian Mitchell, Inventory and Monitoring Program Manager, Northeast Temperate Network, National Park Service, Woodstock, Vermont

Session overview: One of the most visible effects of global change is changes in phenology, the timing of biological events. Shifts in migration, flowering, and other aspects of phenology are already occurring, and reflect biological responses to climate change at local to regional scales. Changes in phenology have important implications for ecology and resource management, and because they are place-based and tangible, serve as an ideal platform for education, outreach, and citizen science. The USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) facilitates the development and integration of public and agency phenology monitoring. In this session, National Park Service and USA-NPN staff present their perspectives on the development of phenology monitoring across NPS. The session includes 5 20-minute presentations (including Q&A) on several developing local and regional projects and includes 20 minutes for general discussion of new projects and initiatives. Participants are also encouraged to attend the related phenology affinity meeting.
The Potential Contribution of Phenology to the National Park Service

Abraham Miller-Rushing, Science Coordinator, Acadia National Park, Schoodic Education and Research Center, Bar Harbor, Maine

Studying phenology in parks offers the dual opportunities of (1) gathering important data for managing natural resources in a changing climate and (2) engaging the public in doing science and seeing the effects of climate change with their own eyes. Understanding changes in phenology is key to forecasting biological responses to climate change. In many cases, phenology data are also necessary to properly interpret historical monitoring data. In addition, members of the public can actively participate in monitoring—in fact, amateur naturalists have been observing and recording phenology since the beginning of agriculture, leading to many of our best long-term ecological data sets. Because phenology is changing everywhere the climate is changing, it provides a local impact of climate change that people can see nearly everywhere, an impact that affects both ecology and people’s day-to-day lives.
The California Phenology Network (CPN): Integrating Phenology Monitoring Across Protected Areas in California

Angela Evenden, NPS, Californian CESU Research Coordinator, Berkeley, CA

Christy Brigham, Chief of Planning, Science, and Resources Management, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Thousand Oaks, CA

Sylvia Haultain, Plant Ecologist, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, CA

In 2010 the National Park Service funded a three year effort to establish integrated phenology monitoring and citizen science efforts across all of the National Park units within California. The network will also engage broad participation across neighboring land management agencies, CESU academic and NGO partners including the UC Natural Reserve System. The goals of this project include selecting target species for monitoring, developing phenophases and monitoring protocols for pilot parks in each NPS network, and testing several different citizen science approaches to engage the public in phenology monitoring. The CPN project is a partnership between USGS National Phenology Network National Coordinating Office, the University of California, Santa Barbara Phenology Stewardship Program and NPS. We will report on our preliminary efforts to identify phenology and climate change research questions and select species for monitoring as well as our overall approach and the educational/outreach tools we will test.
Watching, Photographing, and Listening: Phenology Monitoring in the Northeast Temperate Network

Brian Mitchell, Inventory and Monitoring Program Manager, Northeast Temperate Network, National Park Service, Woodstock, VT

Phenology monitoring is an important tool for tracking the effects of climate change within National Parks. The Northeast Temperate Network (NETN) is working with the USA-NPN and other organizations to develop an integrated phenology monitoring protocol that will help document the effects of climate change on phenology while engaging citizens in stewardship of natural areas. The monitoring will use observations submitted by casual observers and dedicated volunteers, with quality control provided by “plantcam” photographs and audio recordings at a subset of locations. Automated analysis of audio recordings will provide phenology records at sites and times that are hard to sample with volunteers, and “phenocams” will sample tree phenology at the stand level. This presentation will provide an overview, current status, and preliminary results from the NETN protocol development process, which is scheduled to finish in 2012.
Phenology at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Keith Langdon, Inventory & Monitoring Coordinator, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, TN

Due to the topographic and biological complexity of the Great Smokies, seasonality notes on flora and fauna have been made in the park since the 1930’s to inform tourists about floral and foliage displays. The resulting legacy data, plus studies in the intervening years, are now being incorporated into new databases for new needs. New needs for phenology data include: synchronizing the collection of scientific data each year (instead of calendar dates), predicting new phenomena requested by the public, predicting changes in species/ecological interactions, tracking impacts of climatic change. New issues: recruiting a citizen science corps to collect abundance level data on multiple species at plots, linking/analyzing plot measurements with new remote sensing tools, serving data to different user groups locally and globally.
Role of the USA National Phenology Network: Tools and Opportunities

Jake F. Weltzin, Executive Director, USA National Phenology Network, National Coordinating Office, Tucson, Arizona

The USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN; www.usanpn.org), established in 2007, is a national science and monitoring initiative focused on phenology as a tool to understand how plants, animals and landscapes respond to climatic variability and change. Core functions of the National Coordinating Office (NCO) of USA-NPN are to provide a national information management system including databases, develop and implement internationally standardized phenology monitoring protocols, create partnerships for implementation, facilitate research and the development of decision support tools, and promote education and outreach activities related to phenology and climate change. The purpose of this talk is to describe programs, tools and materials developed by USA-NPN to facilitate science, management and education related to phenology of plants, animals and landscapes within protected areas at local, regional and national scales. Example tools and materials include databases, user interfaces, web services, support materials for partnership development, communication, education and outreach.
Session 36 • Bayside B/C (4th floor)

PENDING
Session 37 • Maurepas (3rd floor) • Invited Papers

Advances in Understanding Human–Wildlife Habituation in and Around Protected Areas

Chair: Kirsten Leong, Human Dimensions Program Manager, Biological Resource Management Division, National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO

Session overview: This session will advance understanding of human–wildlife habituation in and around protected areas. For the past two years, the Biological Resource Management Division and a steering committee of NPS wildlife biologists have been working on this issue in collaboration with Antioch University and Cornell University. The session will begin with talks describing: advances to improve communication about habituation; a situation analysis evaluating current understanding about human behavior under risk that influences human–wildlife interactions and describing the NPS management context; and the steering committee’s response to this new information. For the remainder of the session, presenters and steering committee members will serve as panelists to discuss with the audience future needs related to managing human–wildlife interactions in parks and protected areas. We encourage participation of managers, visitor protection, social scientists and others who are tackling this management issue. Talks will be 25 minutes to track with other concurrent sessions.
Improving Communication about Habituation and Other Learned Behaviors in Wildlife to Inform Management

Lauren Barish, Biological Technician, Biological Resource Management Division, National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO

Kirsten Leong, Human Dimensions Program Manager, Biological Resource Management Division, National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO

Tania Schusler, Core Faculty, Antioch University, Keene, NH

Kurt Fristrup, Scientist, Natural Sounds Division, National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO

Frank Turina, Planner, Natural Sounds Division, National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO

Scientific studies have addressed wildlife habituation for over fifty years, yet the term has been used with multiple meanings, resulting in confusion about the implications of habituation and how best to manage habituated wildlife. Using basic animal behavior principles, we developed a framework to examine the historical use of “habituation” and offer suggestions to improve communication about the topic. In a content analysis of 93 articles on habituation published from 1970 to 2009, we found that while over half of the articles (61%) used the classical definition of habituation at least once, most (76%) provided conflicting definitions or did not acknowledge behavioral learning as a process. Developing consistent terminology will be crucial for managers to effectively learn from and communicate with each other; can inform strategic management of wildlife habituation and related processes; and can advance future studies of anthropogenic disturbance on wildlife.
A Situation Analysis of Human–Wildlife Habituation in NPS Units

Heather Wieczorek Hudenko, Graduate Research Assistant, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Daniel J. Decker, Director, Human Dimensions Research Unit, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

In collaboration with NPS, we conducted a situation analysis of human-wildlife habituation in parks. To advance knowledge of the human components of human-wildlife habituation, we reviewed the published literature related to understanding and managing human behavior that results in wildlife habituation. To explore the NPS management context, we conducted an online survey of NPS managers, held workshops at professional conferences, and systematically collected and analyzed NPS guidance documents related to the management of human-wildlife habituation and human-wildlife interactions across the National Park system. Through this situation analysis, we identified elements of visitor decision-making around wildlife that were particularly relevant to both NPS managers and the process of habituation. Future research will involve an examination of the potential influence of these elements such as a visitor’s: emotions; prior experience with wildlife; and expectations for wildlife encounters. In addition, communication efforts that incorporate these elements will be evaluated.

Human-Wildlife Habituation Steering Committee

Members of the steering committee will reflect on the previous presentations outlining advances in the understanding of wildlife behavior, human dimensions, and the managerial context associated with human-wildlife habituation. With respect to this new information, they will describe additional research and management needs associated with habituation, the current state of management of human-wildlife interactions in NPS units, how well biological knowledge/understanding about habituation and the related human behaviors and underlying attitudes are integrated into NPS management approaches, and implications of wildlife habituation in parks with respect to the NPS mission.
The remainder of the session will be conducted as a panel discussion with audience participation. Presenters and steering committee members will serve as panelists to discuss future directions and research needs, as well as answer audience questions.
Session 38 • Borgne (3rd floor) • Sharing Circle

Keeping Parks Relevant to a Changing American Public

Organizers: Erik Eichinger, Director, NPCA’s Center for Park Management, Dallas, TX

Cyndi Szymanski, Director, NPCA’s Center for Park Management, Golden, CO

Tom Ferranti, Deputy Associate Director, Workforce Management, Washington, DC

In order for parks to remain relevant to an ever-changing American demographic, they must embrace the diverse nature of that constituency. Using the inclusion and diversity program NPCA’s Center for Park Management (CPM) is conducting in partnership with the NPS’ Workforce Management leadership as a starting point, we will be discussing how parks of all types remain relevant “In a Changing World.” We’ll discuss various necessary elements including developing a definition/vision for the organization, putting the right culture and leadership in place, and making systemic changes in policies and practices. The CPM/NPS project is designed to improve the levels of inclusion and diversity, at the workforce level—from WASO to the individual park—and in terms of visitor engagement and park interpretation.

Organizers: Oil Spills and Protected Areas: Management Considerations

Fritz Klasner, Resource Management Team Leader, Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward, AK

Jeff Mow, Superintendent, Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward, AK

The impacts from both the Mississippi Canyon (Deepwater Horizon) Oil Spill of April 20, 2010 and Exxon Valdez Oil Spill of March 24, 1989 on areas such as Gulf Islands National Seashore and Kenai Fjords National Park, encompassing both marine and coastline resources, were significant; as were the impacts to local and regional communities. This session provides a brief review—from both oil spills—of the initial incident, subsequent response, immediate impacts to local protected area managers, and long-term implications for management. We hope to prompt discussion and an improved understanding of the benefits of making basic preparations for such a catastrophic incident, which go beyond simply being ready to respond and extend to management of information, partnerships within the community, education and outreach programs, and maintaining diversity in skill sets and staff experience.