CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN THE NATIONAL PARKS: ADDRESSING NEEDS AS A PATHWAY TO OPPORTUNITIES

Our national parks are being squeezed in many ways: land use change on park borders, budgets that can’t keep up with visitor demands, park scientists and resource managers stretched thin. These difficulties provide interested researchers with opportunities to help fill in the gaps while completing meaningful scientific research projects. All that is needed is a little persistence and a willingness to craft projects that can meet a specific resource management goal of an individual park. The parks seldom have big dollar funding, but collaboration can produce partnerships that are very attractive to funding agencies. The author’s experiences have included externally funded coastal hazards research at Cape Lookout National Seashore, local NPS funded projects examining wetland and bald evolution in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway, on-going coastal restoration projects at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Channel Islands National Park, and finally, a sabbatical leave with the Elwha River Restoration Project at Olympic National Park. The key to success is being able to understand the needs of overworked park managers and scientists, while crafting projects that will help them reach their goals rather than adding to their responsibilities. This sensitivity can allow one to develop long-term working relationships that will benefit both the park and researcher. Once a relationship is established, small funds to meet individual park needs can be easily distributed through the Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU) agreements. These are regional agreements of grant management between federal agencies and universities. A resourceful PI can devise a project that answers important scientific questions while meeting resource management needs. Ultimately, the best reason to work in the parks, and to work directly with park resource managers is because the parks are a national resource beyond compare. Geological expertise is particularly lacking in the vast majority of parks. Finding a way to bring your own research experience into a park project is not just good public service, it is a privilege.