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"Vital Signs" Report Sheds Interesting Light On State Of Grand Teton National Park

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How many pairs of bald eagles call Grand Teton National Park home? Do you know how much of the park has been surveyed for archaeological resources? How many glaciers are there in the park, and how are they faring? The answers to those questions are just some of the information you can glean from the park's Vital Signs report for 2013.

"To protect and manage the wide variety of natural and cultural resources held within both Grand Teton and the JDR Memorial Parkway, resource management staff monitor and study individual resources as well as ecological processes'”essentially the vital signs'”of the park and parkway," a park release said in announcing the report's release. "Information on the state of key resources helps guide decisions made for their long-term management. Although data collected on some resources may be too limited to predict significant trends, the information gathered provides a baseline for future assessment of resource conditions."

'œWe are committed to educating the public about the natural and cultural resources of both Grand Teton and the Rockefeller Parkway, and so it'™s important that we share this Vital Signs 2013 report as a necessary step in that direction,' said Superintendent David Vela in an accompanying statement. 'œWe hope that anyone interested will take the time to review these findings and become better informed about our management activities related to the long-term conservation of these elemental resources.'

If you're curious about the health of Grand Teton, this is a good report to thumb through. For instance, in regard to those initial questions:

* There were 14 pairs of bald eagles in 2013, or just one more pair than the average for 2003-2012;

* Just 4 percent of the Grand Teton's 310,000 acres have been surved for archaeological materials;

* There are 12 glaciers in the park, and combined they cover just 1.5 square kilometers.

"Recent studies show significant and rapid retreat of the glaciers in all areas of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Additionally, climate change studies indicate that high-elevation areas of the Rocky Mountains are experiencing rising temperatures, shrinking snowpacks, and earlier meltouts at a more rapid rate than the region overall," the report's narrative notes. "Early studies of changes in glacier volume and extent in the Teton Range showed that despite short-term advances, significant glacier retreat occurred from 1929 to 1963. In 1993, researchers conducted a winter mass balance study of the Teton Glacier to provide a baseline for future comparisons. A 2010 study documented surface area declines in three Teton glaciers ranging from 25% (Middle Teton Glacier) to 60% (Teepe Glacier)."

Interestingly, according to report, the park recently has experienced slightly cooler temperatures than the long-term average reflects.

"Since 1950, average annual temperatures have increased, but 2013 was about 1 degree C cooler than the long-term average," the report states. "It is clear from the data that increasing minimum temperatures influence the average more than maximum temperatures. In 2013, the growing degree days'”a measure of heat that is suitable for plant growth'”were about 5 percent below the long-term average."

While park officials, along with those from the nearby National Elk Refuge, have set a goal for a bison population of 500 animals, the current herd is above 850, a number that requires higher hunter success -- focused on cows -- for an overall herd reduction.

Elsewhere in the report are updates on wolves, moose, peregrine falcons, grizzlies, osprey, and pronghorn antelope that reside in, or roam through, Grand Teton.

Visitors, as with those at other national park destinations, largely remain in the front-country of Grand Teton, with few venturing down the trail for backcountry treks.

"In 2013, the park received over 2.69 million recreational visits with a total of 525,702 overnight stays. Frontcountry camping ranked first in visitor accommodations accounting for 55% of the overnight stays, followed by lodging with 39%. While almost half of the park (44%) is considered backcountry, only 5.7 % of the overnight stays were in backcountry campsites," the report notes.

 

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