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.
