NPSpecies - The National Park Service Species Database

NPSpecies is the National Park Service's master database for documenting the occurrence and status of species in more than 270 national park units that contain significant natural resources. The database includes standardized information associated with the occurrence of species in parks, including scientific names and their synonyms, common names, abundance, residency, nativity, T&E status, and reasons why a species may be of particular management interest to a park (e.g., invasive, weedy, overabundant, globally or regionally rare, state-listed species).

Within NPSpecies, each species record is supported by evidence in the form of voucher specimens, references (scientific reports or datasets), and/or observation records that document the occurrence of the species in the park. Records are managed in a standard data structure and are periodically verified (certified) by subject-matter experts with the goal of providing high quality, scientifically-credible, and continually improved data to users. Historical and currently-accepted scientific names from multiple taxonomic classification systems are cross-referenced using taxonomic standards (e.g., the Integrated Taxonomic Information System and the USDA PLANTS database) to allow for data integration and sharing across parks and with other agencies and organizations. In addition, parks are able to produce species lists based on the taxonomic authorities that are most accepted in their region and by their partner agencies.

The initial focus of NPSpecies has been on vertebrates and vascular plants in 270 parks because of data availability and funding constraints; however, the data system is designed to manage species information for all taxa and all parks in the National Park System.

NPSpecies supports NPS staff and collaborators at the park, network, regional, and national levels by managing fundamental park-level species information, and making this information available to other applications and databases for more specialized analyses. A primary purpose for NPSpecies is to provide park managers, planners, and scientists with basic information on species occurrences and status as a basis for making decisions and working with other agencies, the scientific community, and the public for the long-term protection of park ecosystems.

The database is currently restricted to NPS users and contractors, but data will be available through a public, web-based interface as soon as the initial quality assurance steps have been completed and sensitive data have been protected.