Science Round-up Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

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1 Science Round-up Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument June 19, 2017 Dana Backer

2 Science Permits 2017 new permits: updated permits: 3 Current number of open permits: 47 (81% held by universities/colleges) Types of Permit: Biology: 23 Geology/Paleo: 20 Social Science: 4 Photo by Jared Warren, Artist in Residence

3 Backcountry Use Impacts Penn State Impacts of recreation-related activities by therapy programs (206 sites) & other backcountry camps (33 sites) Document 14 different types of impacts Therapy groups: Notable but avoidable impacts included stripped bark, presence of charcoal & litter (p-cord, tuna wrappers, etc.) Other camps: Most common impacts-litter, fire evidence & social trails Phase 1 of 5 complete Campsite Impact Frequency Percent Low Moderate Food scraps Heavy Ceremonial Ring Toilet Paper

4 Recreation Experience Baseline Data Colorado Mesa University Focus group methodology (in person & digitally) - gather info from local residents, business owners, outfitters/guides, & visitors Four years of data collection (50+ focus groups & 300+ participants) Multi-phased approach (2 of 4 phases completed) GSENM is special because wild and unspoiled & scenic quality Main interest natural landscape & tranquil escapes Primary activity hiking & exploring What diminishes experience vandalism, litter, graffiti and/or human waste Synthesis report due in FY2018

5 Special Places Identified by Participants - Hole in the Rock Area

6 Reptile and Amphibian Inventory and Treatment Survey Southern Utah University Two year study ( ) Comparison of: treated P-J encroachment (KFO) sagebrush (GSENM) untreated P-J encroachment (GSENM) Target surveys (chuckwalla, desert night lizard) & inventory Range extension for some snakes patch nose, ground, diamond back & glossy No new species yet

7 9 th year 2 common (black chin & broad tail) 2 uncommon (rufous and Anna) Hummingbird Banding Migratory (Idaho, Vancouver, Tucson) Monitoring locations: Escalante VC, Calf Creek, & Wildcat Gauge Station Categories: new, visitor, or return Pollen sample Numbers are down this year Volunteer to assist Contact Terry

8 Paleontological Resources In 2016: 2,800 acres surveyed & monitored 50 sensitive fossil sites Named 8 new species (turtles, armored & horned dinosaurs) Machairoceratops cronusi CURRENT RESEARCH (just a few examples): Document oldest known mosasaur (marine reptile) from North America Excavation of only known southern USA tyrannosaur mass death site Document ammonite (extinct cousins to squid) diversity in marine rocks

9 Paleontological Resources New finds this year! Articulated tyrannosaur Mammoth tusk and teeth Publication: Where Dinosaurs Roamed: Lost Worlds of Utah s Grand Staircase Featured in Travel Channel s Mysteries at the Museum

10 Assessment, Inventory and Monitoring (AIM) Spatially balanced sample design Samples weighted by ecological stratum Robust statistical inference Rangeland Health: AIM provides quantitative estimates of site stability, hydrologic function, and biotic integrity CORE METHODS Line-Point Intercept INDICATORS Bare ground, veg composition, nonnatives, species of mngt concern Vegetation Height Gap Intercept Soil Stability Other Vegetation Height Open canopy gaps Soil aggregate stability Modeled indicators susceptibility to wind and water erosion, wildlife habitat structure Initiated sites thru new sites

11 Baseline Acoustic Monitoring NPS protocols Definition: human perception of physical sound resource includes ambient natural & anthropogenic noise Natural sound intrinsic to resource conditions & visitor experience Initiated in 2015 with 14 sites Variables: hour and season One of quietest places in the country Highest percentages of anthropogenic noise are high altitude jets & popular visitor locations Spectrograph is an instrument that separates light/sound into a frequency spectrum and records the signal using a camera Aircraft Audibility

12 Cultural Resources In 2016: Inventoried 1,100 acres & documented 35 new historic properties Publication: Formative Chronology of Grand Staircase- Escalante National Monument: A Research Reference by Doug McFadden Current Work: Survey springs for ethnobotanically important plants Identify plant presence & absence (grazing, invasive species, loss of spring function, erosion, etc.) Identify plants that may have been transplanted & propagated Current use and importance of the plants and springs to Paiute, Hopi & Navajo Photos by D. Sabata

13 Cultural Resources Pollen Core Studies (Northern Arizona University) Extracted from Kaiparowits Plateau (7400 ) & Meadow Canyon (5400 ), surrounded by Ancestral Puebloans & Fremont era sites Direct correlation between the pollen cores & the surrounding cultural activity Results include 8,000 years of information on the Kaiparowits Plateau & over 4,000 years in Meadow Canyon: fire histories showing anthropogenic influences during the prehistoric farming period changes in local vegetation associated with prehistoric farming sedimentation rate changes over time evidence of Paiute bean farming in Late Prehistoric times vegetative changes with the advent of historic livestock grazing Ongoing analysis of pollen cores Documenting Livestock Grazing History in Kane and Garfield Counties (Colorado Plateau Archeological Association) New finds in this year! Pueblo I (~900 AD) sites: agro-residential site; conducting an inventory Prehistoric corn husks from a pit house site in Hackberry Canyon area

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15 Visual Resource Inventory Updating visual or scenic resource inventory; last done in 2012 Data collection scenic quality (what do areas look like) sensitivity (how sensitive is the public to changes in the existing landscape character) distance zones (how far away are areas when they are commonly viewed by the public) Results (2012) Class I = 937,745 Class 2 = 549,488 Class 3 = 361,673 Expected completion early 2018 Individual scenic quality rating units - similar types of landscapes into polygons categorized together

16 Night Sky International Dark Sky Association & Weber State University Baseline night sky quality measurements initiated in 2016 Sky Quality Meters calibrated with satellite images Light pollution (glare, sky glow, light trespass and clutter) is threat to resources and visitor experience Photo by Jared Warren, Artist in Residence

17 Night Sky Results Monument interior is as dark as can be measured More than 90% of the Monument consists of pristine sky, which is unprecedented in the continental U.S. for a park this size Pristine sky is no indication of artificial sky glow anywhere in the night sky, from the zenith down to the horizon; only natural sources of light Seeking International Dark Sky Sanctuary designation by IDA Several Dark Sky Parks in the Colorado Plateau Astro-tourism

18 Escalante Watershed Aquatic Resource Condition & Management Completed to Date Aquatic intactness identified Driving stressors & context analysis (REA) Sensitivity analysis of intactness scores to variables Aquatic resource condition (AIM) Vegetation condition & departure (RCAT) Work in Progress Integrate datasets to guide mngt activities (salinity issues & restoration of areas with low integrity) Developing resources to aid application & use of datasets

19 Science Needs to Inform Management Decisions Restoration treatments (invasives, seeding, pinyon- juniper) Visitor impacts loving it to death Ground water and spring monitoring Status and trends of threatened and endangered species Suggestion?

20 Thanks to the BLM staff, researchers, volunteers, and folks like you who care Questions? Dana Backer