Subject: Climate change
"On Feb. 10, 1988, Interior Deputy Undersecretary Becky Norton Dunlap appointed a 12-person Departmental Working Group on Climate Change (DWGCC) … to look into potential impacts of climate change on [Department of the Interior] bureaus and to come up with short[-] and long[-]term options as possible responses and mitigation measures. … In the face of such possibilities [i.e., certain animal and plant communities being stressed beyond their abilities to survive], the NPS science program must ask itself if the inventory and monitoring guidelines now under consideration will give the baseline information needed against which to measure future climate-induced changes. In other words, are we ready to do our part in assessing the natural responses that seem to be taking place? And as we find the answers, can we set up [an] intra-System strategy for dealing with these changes?"
Reference
Matthews, J. 1988. Editorial. Park Science 8(3):2.
* * *
Subject: Communicating research findings
"The results [of an informal questionnaire to all NPS scientists involved in fish and wildlife research] indicate that [78% of] NPS researchers place a great importance on publications. This was evident in the written comments attached to many questionnaires. Several individuals pointed to the need for an NPS technical report series as an outlet, particularly for management-oriented publications. The high interest in publications struck me as somewhat ironic because the reviews I have done of NPS scientific literature … have shown a low portion (< 20%) of NPS research winds up in professional journals. … These responses seem to indicate that more than any other factor, the NPS natural science program could be greatly improved by better communication between scientists and managers. This is not a new problem. It was voiced time and again in interviews I have conducted with retired NPS biologists in the course of my research."
Reference
Wright, R. G. 1988. Improving the NPS science program: A rejoinder. Park Science 8(3):4.
Return to top
This page updated:
24 November 2008
URL: http://www.nature.nps.gov/ParkScience/index.cfm?ArticleID=245&Page=1
20 Years Ago in Park Science: Article
Page 1 of 1
