Northern Colorado Plateau Network

The Northern Colorado Plateau Network (NCPN) is one of 32 National Park Service (NPS) inventory and monitoring networks nationwide that are implementing vital signs monitoring in order to assess the condition of park ecosystems and develop a stronger scientific basis for stewardship and management of natural resources across the National Park System. The network approach facilitates collaboration and information sharing, and will provide parks with a minimum infrastructure for initiating natural resource monitoring that can be built upon in the future.

The NCPN consists of 16 parks with diverse cultural and natural resources distributed across four states and three physiographic regions. Ecosystems include desert grasslands, shrublands and woodlands, forested terrestrial systems, and aquatic systems, including large rivers, perennial streams, seeps, springs, and cave systems. Parks in the network range in size from 16 to more than 136,000 hectares, and include one national historic site, one national recreation area, eight national monuments, and six national parks.

All NPS inventory and monitoring networks share a common set of goals:

1. Inventory the natural resources under National Park Service stewardship to determine their nature and status.
2. Monitor park ecosystems to better understand their dynamic nature and condition and to provide reference points for comparisons with other, altered environments.
3. Establish natural resource inventory and monitoring as a standard practice throughout the National Park system that transcends traditional program, activity, and funding boundaries.
4. Integrate natural resource inventory and monitoring information into National Park Service planning, management, and decision making.
5. Share National Park Service accomplishments and information with other natural resource organizations and form partnerships for attaining common goals and objectives.