Design and Build of a Portable Instrumentation Elevation Tower

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johnathan Jernigan ◽  
Christopher Moore ◽  
Ron Rizzo ◽  
Kevin Schmaltz
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
National Park ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
The United States ◽  
Battery Life ◽  
United States Geological Survey ◽  
Life Issues ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Cave Environment

The Western Kentucky University (WKU) Department of Engineering is collaborating with National Park Service – Inventory and Monitoring scientists to support National Park Service (NPS) cave environment and ecosystems research. The NPS, together with the United States Geological Survey, provided the funding that has allowed WKU Engineering students, working with WKU faculty and staff and NPS scientists, to design, build, test and deliver two transportable instrumentation lift systems. Each lift tower has a stationary top platform and a secondary platform capable of continuously raising and lowering instrumentation over extended, unattended periods. NPS-owned instrumentation on the platforms collects air temperature, relative humidity and air velocity data, storing results to NPS-owned devices located on or below the tower. NPS scientists will use the system to gather more accurate data on the quality and movement of air within cave passages and develop predictive models of the environment. The new system will allow measurements as high as 30 feet and make long-term data collection feasible. A variety of design challenges were met by the students working on the project. Portability, flexibility and weight reduction were achieved through a collapsible aluminum base securing the tower, with three-foot PVC sections to build varying tower heights. Stability was accomplished with a tensioning cable system and a gripping mechanism integrated into the base to secure the incomplete tower. Cable spool design and data collection programming achieved positioning accuracy of the moving platform. In addition to satisfying functional needs, the towers were also designed to avoid damage to cave surfaces and meet challenging operating requirements. Tower components are reasonably lightweight and durable, components are shock-resistant, moisture-resistant, easy to dry and clean, and non-corroding. The design modularity facilitates transport by two NPS personnel using duffle bags, and is easy to set up and move. The towers support multiple instruments weighing as much as 10 pounds, can be modified to support instruments in varied configurations, and can be repaired in-house by NPS personnel. The towers were designed and tested to assure user friendly, reliable operation. Tower stability, ease of tower construction, accuracy of platform movement, and required battery life issues were solved by the students.

scholarly journals Visualizing When, Where, and How Fires Happen in U.S. Parks and Protected Areas

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 333
Author(s):  
Nicole C. Inglis ◽  
Jelena Vukomanovic
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Park Service

Fire management in protected areas faces mounting obstacles as climate change alters disturbance regimes, resources are diverted to fighting wildfires, and more people live along the boundaries of parks. Evidence-based prescribed fire management and improved communication with stakeholders is vital to reducing fire risk while maintaining public trust. Numerous national fire databases document when and where natural, prescribed, and human-caused fires have occurred on public lands in the United States. However, these databases are incongruous and non-standardized, making it difficult to visualize spatiotemporal patterns of fire and engage stakeholders in decision-making. We created interactive decision analytics (“VISTAFiRe”) that transform fire history data into clear visualizations of the spatial and temporal dimensions of fire and its management. We demonstrate the utility of our approach using Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park as examples of protected areas experiencing fire regime change between 1980 and 2017. Our open source visualizations may be applied to any data from the National Park Service Wildland Fire Events Geodatabase, with flexibility to communicate shifts in fire regimes over time, such as the type of ignition, duration and magnitude, and changes in seasonal occurrence. Application of the tool to Everglades and Big Cypress revealed that natural wildfires are occurring earlier in the wildfire season, while human-caused and prescribed wildfires are becoming less and more common, respectively. These new avenues of stakeholder communication are allowing the National Park Service to devise research plans to prepare for environmental change, guide resource allocation, and support decision-making in a clear and timely manner.

scholarly journals Valuing Our National Parks: An Ecological Economics Perspective

Land ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Paul Sutton ◽  
Sophia Duncan ◽  
Sharolyn Anderson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
The United States ◽  
Commercial Real Estate ◽  
Annual Budget ◽  
Park Service

The annual budget for the United States National Park Service was roughly $3 billion in 2016. This is distributed amongst 405 National Parks, 23 national scenic and historic trails, and 60 wild and scenic rivers. Entrance fees and concessions generate millions of dollars in income for the National Park Service; however, this metric fails to account for the total value of the National Parks. In failing to consider the value of the ecosystem services provided by the National Parks, we fail to quantify and appreciate the contributions our parks make to society. This oversight allows us to continue to underfund a valuable part of our natural capital and consequently damage our supporting environment, national heritage, monetary economy, and many of our diverse cultures. We explore a simple benefits transfer valuation of the United States’ national parks using National Land Cover Data from 2011 and ecosystem service values determined by Costanza et al. This produces an estimate suggesting the parks provide $98 billion/year in ecosystem service value. If the natural infrastructure ‘asset’ that is our national park system had a budget comparable to a piece of commercial real estate of this value, the annual budget of the National Park Service would be roughly an order of magnitude larger at something closer to $30 billion rather than $3 billion.

A Life in the Practice of Anthropology: Muriel Crespi and the Development of the Ethnography Program in the National Parks

2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gretchen Schafft
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
The United States ◽  
Seminal Work ◽  
Park Service

This issue of Practicing Anthropology is devoted to an exposition and discussion of the seminal work of Muriel (Miki) Crespi and its impact on the United States National Park Service (NPS). Changes that Crespi initiated and achieved with the collaboration of colleagues greatly enhanced the commemoration and documentation of the heritage of varied ethnic groups around whose lives and artifacts our national parks have been developed.

scholarly journals Valuing Our National Parks: An Ecological Economics Perspective

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul C. Sutton ◽  
Sophia L. Duncan ◽  
Sharolyn J. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
The United States ◽  
Commercial Real Estate ◽  
Annual Budget ◽  
Park Service

The annual budget for the United States National Park Service was roughly three billion dollars in 2016. This is distributed amongst 405 National Parks, 23 national scenic and historic trails, and 60 wild and scenic rivers. Entrance fees and concessions generate millions of dollars in income for the National Park Service; however, this metric fails to account for the total value of the National Parks. In failing to consider the value of the ecosystem services provided by the National Parks we fail to quantify and appreciate the contributions our parks make to society. This oversight allows us to continue to underfund a valuable part of our natural capital and consequently damage our supporting environment, national heritage, monetary economy, and many of our diverse cultures. We explore a simple benefits transfer valuation of the United States national parks using National Land Cover Data from 2011 and ecosystem service values determined by Costanza (et al). This produces an estimate suggesting the parks provide $84 billion / year in ecosystem service value. If the natural infrastructure 'asset' that is our national park system had a budget comparable to a piece of commercial real estate of this value, the annual budget of the National Park Service would be roughly an order of magnitude larger at something closer to $30 billion rather than $3 billion.

scholarly journals Preservation and DNA Fingerprinting of the Historic Tidal Basin Cherries

1999 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 189-192
Author(s):  
Margaret R. Pooler
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Rapd Markers ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
The United States ◽  
Genetic Distances ◽  
Tidal Basin ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Flowering Cherry ◽  
The U.S

Abstract The historic Japanese flowering cherry trees planted around the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, were given to the United States in 1912 as a gift from Japan, yet only a small portion of the original trees remain. In cooperation with the National Park Service, the U.S. National Arboretum clonally propagated a portion of these trees. DNA from these and other P. x yedoensis plants obtained from domestic commercial nurseries were compared using RAPD markers. Twenty-one 10-nucleotide primers yielded 80 repeatable bands that were used to assess genetic distances among the accessions. The genetic distances ranged from 0.65 to 1.0, with thirteen accessions identical at all loci tested. The most genetically dissimilar trees were P. x yedoensis accessions that were collected as seed in Japan. Accessions obtained from commercial nurseries including ‘Afterglow’, ‘Akebono’, and Yoshino were also dissimilar to the Tidal Basin trees. This study indicated that most of the older trees planted around the Tidal Basin are genetically very similar, but that variability in P. x yedoensis exists, especially in accessions collected as seed from Japan.

The Anchor on a Long Chain: The National Park Service Act of 1916 Related to Historical and Cultural Resources

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-46
Author(s):  
Jerry L. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
The United States ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Leadership Responsibilities ◽  
Cultural Resource ◽  
Park Service ◽  
A Chain ◽  
Long Chain

The National Park Service Act of 1916, often dangerously considered alone, is only one link, although a fundamental one, in a chain of authorities that acknowledge and preserve historical and cultural resources everywhere in the United States. By fully exercising its cultural resource leadership responsibilities and expanding them to natural resources, the National Park Service can help to make the second century of the service amount to a “Century of the Environment.”

scholarly journals Understanding Visitor Motivations at Jimmy Carter National Historic Site: A Principal Components Approach

Heritage ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 328-334
Author(s):  
Zachary Miller ◽  
William Rice ◽  
B. Taff ◽  
Peter Newman
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
The United States ◽  
Jimmy Carter ◽  
Historic Sites ◽  
Historic Site ◽  
The People ◽  
Natural Parks ◽  
Visitor Experiences ◽  
Park Service

National park sites draw tourism all across the United States. Although large natural parks see much attention, most national park units are actually designed to protect and interpret unique cultural and historic resources. As an example of this, the National Park Service administers numerous presidential historic sites. However, we know very little about the people who visit them. Understanding visitor motivations to presidential historic sites can help to provide for better visitor experiences of presidential resources. This research uses intercept surveys at the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains, Georgia, to gain an understanding of visitor motivations. From the results, seven motivation types are identified. The information in this article can be used to better understand public values related to presidential resources, and to help the managers of these resources to improve on-site experiences by addressing visitor motivations.

scholarly journals Creating Grand Teton National Park: A Case Study in Honor of the National Park System’s Centennial

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Leah Sherman
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
The United States ◽  
Woodrow Wilson ◽  
Grand Teton National Park ◽  
Government Documents ◽  
Historical Monuments ◽  
Park Service ◽  
National Park System

In August 1916 President Woodrow Wilson founded the National Park Service (NPS) as a means of preserving the United States’ wildlands, battlefields, and historical monuments. Over the last century this agency has grown exponentially, rising to 409 sites of significance as of 2014. In celebration of this achievement and in time for the National Park Service’s centennial later this year I have chosen to focus on the origin of one site in particular: Grand Teton National Park. This article thus seeks to present a case study of the park’s creation narrative as told through government documents, and to provide a starting place for researchers interested in the National Park System and/or Grand Teton National Park.

Department of the Interior

1978 ◽  
Vol 8 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 16-17
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Department ◽  
States Department ◽  
Park Service ◽  
The U.S

The United States Department of the Interior is responsible for several programs in Africa through the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Mines, and the National Park Service. These programs range in scope from training programs to technical assistance to research for the Bureau of Mines annual publication. The Minerals Yearbook.

An unexpected early record of Mictomys Vetus (Arvicolinae, Rodentia) from the Blancan (Pliocene) Glenns Ferry Formation, Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Idaho

2008 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 638-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis R. Ruez ◽  
Philip A. Gensler
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Museum ◽  
University Of Michigan ◽  
National Monument ◽  
Park Service ◽  
The University ◽  
Land Mammal ◽  
Continental Glaciation

The cooling during the Pliocene that preceded major continental glaciation in North America is recorded by thick fluvial and lacustrine sequences at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument (HAFO) in southcentral Idaho (McDonald et al., 1996). Fossiliferous beds at HAFO occur within the nearly 200 m of exposed Glenns Ferry Formation west of the Snake River. This formation extends from southwestern Idaho into easternmost Oregon (Malde and Powers, 1962). The Glenns Ferry Formation within HAFO contains hundreds of localities that are within the Blancan North American Land Mammal Age. Collection of specimens from these localities since the late 1920s has resulted in large repositories of fossils currently housed, in part, at the United States National Museum, the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology (UMMP), and the Idaho Museum of Natural History (IMNH); additionally, smaller collections were accumulated by other museums (McDonald et al., 1996). Today the paleontological resources of HAFO are stewarded by the National Park Service. In spite of the extensive previous collections, significant new discoveries are still being made at HAFO.

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