Recipient Organization
STATE UNIV OF NEW YORK
(N/A)
SYRACUSE,NY 13210
Performing Department
Natural Heritage Program
Non Technical Summary
The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) administers over 200 State Parksand Historic Sites encompassing approximately 328,000 acres of land. Annual attendance is estimated at57 million visitors. The parks offer an astounding array of landscapes and habitats in exceptional qualityand support hundreds of locations for rare plant and animal species. The work conducted under thiscontract will assure that the information necessary for making informed, ecologically responsiblemanagement decisions is current and available in a comprehensive database that is regularly updated. Thework will also provide expe1iise to interpret the information and assist planners and managers inimplementing conservation recommendations that are consistent with park goals.In order to make informed land-use decisions and balance the full range of objectives, OPRHP needsinformation on the natural communities, plants, and animals that occur within their parks. In 1998 the NYNatural Heritage Program (NHP) began a state park inventory project to collect biological and ecologicalinformation within all state parks that contain natural areas. In 2008, a formal partnership betweenOPRHP and NHP was established to continue that invent01y effo1i and to advance the interpretation andapplication of NHP information for park planning and management. Two NHP biologists now sit withinthe state park's office, greatly increasing the level of collaboration and communication with OPRHPResource Management staff and the regional stewardship biologists.Awarded Start Date: 1/2/13Sponsor: NYS Office of Parks Rec & Historic Preservation
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
To continue the NY Natural Heritage field inventories of rare species and rare and/or outstandingexamples of common natural communities (i.e., "significant natural communities") on state parks andhistoric sites across the state and provide reprorts or tools, data, and expert advice to facilitate conservationof significant biodiversity elements on state park lands.
Project Methods
The biodiversity invent01y includes the identification and documentation of rare and/or high qualitynatural communities, rare plant species, and rare animal species following standard NHP and NatureServemethodology. The reports include descriptions and distributions of the known rare plants, rare animals,and rare or outstanding natural communities within each park, as well as an evaluation of potentialthreats. Recommendations for the protection and management of these sensitive resources are presentedand the NHP biologists are available to assist OPRHP planners and managers in interpreting and applyingthe information. All data collected are geographically referenced, conve1ied to digital format, and stored in a geographic information system (GIS). Products have included written rep01is, maps, and digital datalayers for approved GIS users. In upcoming years, NHP may explore other means of product deliverysuch as online map servers, intranet, and other tools to provide broader access, more flexibility, andhigher efficiency. The information is used to improve our understanding of New York's biodiversity andas a tool for guiding management and identifying protection and/or conservation priorities withinindividual parks and across the state park system.