Attachment_1_-_Foundation_Documents.pdf

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Foundation Document Capitol Reef National Park Utah January 2018

Attachment 1

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To Fremont and

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DIXIE NATIONAL

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Anasazi State Park

Post Corral

Burr Trail Switchbacks

Strike Valley

Overlook

Orientation Pullout

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Larb Hollow Overlook

Steep Creek Overlook

Homestead Overlook

Behunin Cabin

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Panorama Point

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Chimney Rock

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Caineville 4600ft 1402m

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Fruita Gifford House

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Picnic area Primitive campground (no water)

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Capitol Reef National Park

Contents Mission of the National Park Service 1

Introduction 2

Part 1: Core Components 3

Brief Description of the Park 3 Park Purpose 5 Park Significance 6 Fundamental Resources and Values 7 Other Important Resources and Values 8 Interpretive Themes 9

Part 2: Dynamic Components 10

Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments 10 Special Mandates 10

Administrative Commitments 11

Assessment of Planning and Data Needs 12 Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values 12

Analysis of Other Important Resources and Values 26

Identification of Key Issues and Associated Planning and Data Needs 29

Planning and Data Needs 30

Part 3: Contributors 36

Capitol Reef National Park 36 NPS Intermountain Region 36 Other NPS Staff 36

Appendixes 37

Appendix A: Presidential Proclamation and Legislative Acts for Capitol Reef National Park 37

Appendix B: List of Traditionally Associated Tribes 41 Appendix C: Past Planning and Information Resources 42

Foundation DocumentAttachment 1

Mission of the National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.

The NPS core values are a framework in which the National Park Service accomplishes its mission. They express the manner in which, both individually and collectively, the National Park Service pursues its mission. The NPS core values are:

· Shared stewardship: We share a commitment to resource stewardship with the global preservation community.

· Excellence: We strive continually to learn and improve so that we may achieve the highest ideals of public service.

· Integrity: We deal honestly and fairly with the public and one another.

· Tradition: We are proud of it; we learn from it; we are not bound by it.

· Respect: We embrace each other’s differences so that we may enrich the well-being of everyone.

The National Park Service is a bureau within the Department of the Interior. While numerous national park system units were created prior to 1916, it was not until August 25, 1916, that President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act formally establishing the National Park Service.

The national park system continues to grow and comprises more than 400 park units covering more than 84 million acres in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These units include, but are not limited to, national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House. The variety and diversity of park units throughout the nation require a strong commitment to resource stewardship and management to ensure both the protection and enjoyment of these resources for future generations.

The arrowhead was authorized as the official National Park Service emblem by the Secretary of the Interior on July 20, 1951. The sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water represent scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead represents historical and archeological values.

Introduction Every unit of the national park system will have a foundational document to provide basic guidance for planning and management decisions—a foundation for planning and management. The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park as well as the park’s purpose, significance, fundamental resources and values, other important resources and values, and interpretive themes. The foundation document also includes special mandates and administrative commitments, an assessment of planning and data needs that identifies planning issues, planning products to be developed, and the associated studies and data required for park planning. Along with the core components, the assessment provides a focus for park planning activities and establishes a baseline from which planning documents are developed.

A primary benefit of developing a foundation document is the opportunity to integrate and coordinate all kinds and levels of planning from a single, shared understanding of what is most important about the park. The process of developing a foundation document begins with gathering and integrating information about the park. Next, this information is refined and focused to determine what the most important attributes of the park are. The process of preparing a foundation document aids park managers, staff, and the public in identifying and clearly stating in one document the essential information that is necessary for park management to consider when determining future planning efforts, outlining key planning issues, and protecting resources and values that are integral to park purpose and identity.

While not included in this document, a park atlas is also part of a foundation project. The atlas is a series of maps compiled from available geographic information system (GIS) data on natural and cultural resources, visitor use patterns, facilities, and other topics. It serves as a GIS-based support tool for planning and park operations. The atlas is published as a (hard copy) paper product and as geospatial data for use in a web mapping environment. The park atlas for Capitol Reef National Park can be accessed online at: http://insideparkatlas.nps.gov/.

http://insideparkatlas.nps.gov/

Part 1: Core Components The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park, park purpose, significance statements, fundamental resources and values, other important resources and values, and interpretive themes. These components are core because they typically do not change over time. Core components are expected to be used in future planning and management efforts.

Brief Description of the Park Capitol Reef National Park is located in south-central Utah within the Colorado Plateau. The spectacular geologic scenery and long cultural history of the area, along with ardent supporters, led President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937 to designate Capitol Reef National Monument.

Congress established Capitol Reef National Park in December 1971. The park encompasses approximately 242,000 acres of rugged bedrock heights dissected by deep canyons, mesas, and buttes, and sparsely vegetated badlands. These striking features are unified by the nearly 100-mile-long monocline (wrinkle in the earth’s crust) called the Waterpocket Fold. The park’s varied landscape is the result of 270 million years of geologic history and an abundance of colorful Mesozoic Era strata. The exposed geologic strata reflect the stories of changing ancient oceans, swamplands, riverine environments, desert climates, and volcanism.

The Waterpocket Fold is the classic definition of a monocline, a geologic fold with steeply inclined layers that create a warp, or step, in otherwise relatively horizontal layers of rock strata. The exposed Waterpocket Fold in Capitol Reef National Park is the largest monocline in North America and results from movement along faults deep in the Earth’s crust.

Geologic layers on the west side of the fold were lifted more than 7,000 feet higher than the respective layers on the east. The fold formed between 70 and 35 million years ago as part of a major mountain-building event in North America known as the Laramide Orogeny. Within the last 20 to 5 million years, continued uplift of the Colorado Plateau, combined with erosion, exposed this fold to the surface. The Waterpocket Fold was named for the many water-holding basins created in the exposed bedrock of the fold. The high rugged cliffs of the Waterpocket Fold appeared to early explorers and pioneers as a difficult barrier to cross, likened to a reef at sea, and this reef-like barrier helped give the park its name.

The southern section of the park, known as the Waterpocket District, provides superb opportunities to view and explore the Waterpocket Fold. Traveling the Burr Trail and Notom-Bullfrog Roads, visitors pass mile after mile of spectacular cliff faces, amphitheaters, strike valleys, narrow canyons such as Upper and Lower Muley Twist, and other geologic wonders.

Visitors who venture to the remote northern sections of the park, called the Cathedral District, are rewarded with spectacular vistas, and views of massive solitary sandstone monoliths standing in stark contrast over the vast desert landscape. The Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon monoliths are emblematic of the park.

The most visited areas of the park and most easily accessed, the Fruita Rural Historic District and nearby areas, were occupied both prehistorically and historically. Prehistoric peoples of the Archaic and Formative periods traveled through and lived in Capitol Reef, including the Fremont River valley and nearby stream valleys. Modern archeologists call the American Indians of the Formative period the Fremont Culture, based on work conducted along the Fremont River. These relatives of Ancestral Puebloans migrated out of the area around AD 1300, leaving behind petroglyphs and pictographs on rocks and canyon walls to mark their passage. In the early 1600s to 1800s, Paiute Indians lived and thrived in the area. Early explorers, Mormon pioneers, and others came to the area in the late 1800s and named Chimney Rock, Hickman Bridge (a natural arch spanning 133 feet and 125 feet tall), Capitol Dome (a large sandstone feature that also contributed to the park’s name), and other features throughout the park. The historic Mormon farming community of Fruita was occupied and actively farmed from the 1880s through the 1950s. Most private lands in Fruita were purchased in the 1960s, and by the time Capitol Reef was designated a national park in December 1971, little private land remained in Fruita. Substantial remnants of the extensive pioneer orchards are still managed by the park, and many of the historic buildings remain.

The gateway town of Torrey, 11 miles west of Capitol Reef National Park visitor center on Utah Highway 24, offers lodging, restaurants, and other services, and easy access to the scenic wonders inside the park. Other neighboring communities near the park, including Teasdale, Bicknell, Lyman, and Loa west of the park and Hanksville east of the park, make great staging areas for exploration of Capitol Reef National Park and the surrounding area.

Park Purpose The purpose statement identifies the specific reason(s) for establishment of a particular park. The purpose statement for Capitol Reef National Park was drafted through a careful analysis of its enabling legislation and the legislative history that influenced its development.

The park was first established as a national monument by presidential proclamation on August 2, 1937. It became a national park when the enabling legislation adopted by Congress was signed into law on December 18, 1971 (see appendix A for the presidential proclamation and legislative acts). The purpose statement lays the foundation for understanding what is most important about the park.

The purpose of Capitol Reef NatioNal paRk is to preserve striking geologic landscapes within the Colorado Plateau, including the Waterpocket Fold, Cathedral

Valley, and their associated ecosystems, as well as magnificent scenery, scientific value, wilderness character, and rich human history.

Park Significance Significance statements express why a park’s resources and values are important enough to merit designation as a unit of the national park system. These statements are linked to the purpose of Capitol Reef National Park, and are supported by data, research, and consensus.

Statements of significance describe the distinctive nature of the park and why an area is important within a global, national, regional, and system-wide context. They focus on the most important resources and values that will assist in park planning and management.

The following significance statements have been identified for Capitol Reef National Park.

(Please note that the sequence of the statements does not reflect the level of significance.)

1. Capitol Reef National Park encompasses the Waterpocket Fold, the longest exposed monocline in North America, exhibiting a stunning array of geologic features resulting from the processes of deposition, uplift, deformation, and erosion.

2. Capitol Reef National Park protects one of the most complete, continuous, and exposed records of Colorado Plateau geology and paleontology from the Mesozoic Era.

3. The varied landscape created by the power of water and the environmental conditions of this high desert climate allow for a wide range of intact ecosystems and habitats supporting a diversity of plant and animal communities, including 27 locally endemic plant species and 8 federally threatened or endangered plants and animals.

4. Capitol Reef National Park features some of the most exceptional night skies in the world, as well as clean air, spectacular scenery and views, and opportunities to experience sounds of the natural world without interference from human sources.

5. The dramatic landscape and environment of Capitol Reef National Park have attracted humans for more than 10,000 years, including ancestors to several modern-day American Indian tribes. The historic district of Fruita preserves the rustic structures of early Mormon pioneers along with the largest ongoing cultivated orchard in the national park system.

6. Capitol Reef National Park preserves a rugged and remote undeveloped wilderness landscape where opportunities for solitude and wilderness recreation are abundant.

Dramatic views of striking rock cathedrals, colorful geologic strata and high forested slopes provide visitors with a sense of scale and isolation, free from the encumbrances of modern society. Human use and manipulation of the wilderness landscape is minimal and natural processes unfurl unhindered by human action.

Fundamental Resources and Values Fundamental resources and values (FRVs) are those features, systems, processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, or other attributes determined to warrant primary consideration during planning and management processes because they are essential to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. Fundamental resources and values are closely related to a park’s legislative purpose and are more specific than significance statements.

Fundamental resources and values help focus planning and management efforts on what is truly significant about the park. One of the most important responsibilities of NPS managers is to ensure the conservation and public enjoyment of those qualities that are essential (fundamental) to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. If fundamental resources and values are allowed to deteriorate, the park purpose and/or significance could be jeopardized.

The following fundamental resources and values have been identified for Capitol Reef National Park:

· Geological and Paleontological Resources. The nearly 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold defines much of the visible geologic features and topography of Capitol Reef National Park. The fold is an exposed monocline illustrating the earth processes of sediment deposition, regional uplift, deformation of rock layers, igneous activity, and erosion. The park exhibits 19 rock layers containing broad paleontological and related geological resources vital to unraveling the scientific history of the Colorado Plateau.

Iconic features and landforms such as domes, slot canyons, monoliths, natural bridges, arches, fins, basalt boulders, dikes, fissures, sills, gypsum deposits, sinkholes, and faults can be seen in the park. In combination, these features tell the complex story of dynamic geologic processes and their effects on life forms over hundreds of millions of years. The Chinle and Cedar Mountain formations within the park hold some of the most important paleontological resources found anywhere in Utah and add significant knowledge of the late Triassic period.

· Water Resources. Water in Capitol Reef National Park is the most active agent of change on the landscape. It both creates and changes topography as the primary depositional and erosional driving force. The Fremont River, Pleasant Creek, Oak Creek, Sulphur Creek, and other stream courses have provided travel corridors for millennia for people and wildlife through the almost impenetrable cliffs of the Waterpocket Fold. Streams, water-pockets, springs, seeps, and their associated riparian zones also contain the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the park.

· Assemblage of Ecosystems. The park protects a diverse and interconnected assemblage of Colorado Plateau ecosystems that host numerous endemic and rare plant species. The Waterpocket Fold creates a transitional connection between ecosystems representative of arid deserts to pine-dominated forests. Ecosystem health is dependent on various features such as biological soil crust, vegetation diversity, species interdependence, properly functioning hydrologic systems, and robust ecological processes.

· Cultural Resources. The park’s continuum of human use and cultural ties to the surrounding region is evidenced by extensive petroglyphs, pictographs, and rock structures from the “People of Long Ago,” or Hisatsinom as modern-day pueblo groups refer to them. To the Paiute Tribe, they are known as the Nengwoots—the People Who Lived the Old Ways. Archeologists named them the Fremont Culture for the Fremont River where they were first studied. Human use continued to be revealed through successive American Indian tribes migrating into and settling in the area. Tribes were followed by Mormon pioneers as evidenced by extensive orchards, kilns, and other structures. Among a number of National Register of Historic Places listed properties within the park, the Fruita Rural Historic District encompasses the site of the historic Mormon settlement of Fruita at the confluence of the Fremont River and Sulphur Creek. The historic district covers approximately 200 acres within the Fremont River District of the park and includes the Fruita schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, the Gifford House (now used as a store and museum), and other buildings and features. In addition, 40 acres of historic fruit orchards lie within the Fruita Rural Historic District. The orchards, which contain heirloom fruit trees, were planted by early Mormon pioneers in the late 1800s and their successors continued to plant and care for the orchards through the 1950s. There are approximately 2,800 fruit trees consisting of 12 species and 65 varieties, 48 of which are heirloom varieties. Visitors are able to pick and eat fruit while visiting the park, and harvest fruit for a nominal fee.

· Air Quality, Night Skies, and Scenery. Capitol Reef National Park is a designated Class I Air Park as defined by the Clean Air Act and a gold-certified International Dark Sky Park. Multiple factors contribute to these designations, including remoteness, high elevation, and clean, dry air. Clean air contributes to the health of the park’s water, vegetation, wildlife, and soil. The crisp clean air allows for spectacular visual scenery, with expansive views of distant landscapes extending to the horizon. The scenery provides myriad visual and sensory experiences ranging from idyllic and pastoral orchards and pastures to a maze of towering cliffs and terraces, red and white domes, and deep, narrow canyons carved through colorful rock layers glowing with bright colors.

Other Important Resources and Values Capitol Reef National Park contains other resources and values that are not fundamental to the purpose of the park and may be unrelated to its significance, but are important to consider in planning processes. These are referred to as “other important resources and values” (OIRV).

These resources and values have been selected because they are important in the operation and management of the park and warrant special consideration in park planning.

The following other important resources and values have been identified for Capitol Reef National Park:

· Wilderness. Deep in the heart of the Southern Utah high desert, Capitol Reef National Park offers a remote wilderness expanse free from modern human manipulation and development. Composed of rugged slickrock domes, labyrinthine canyons, and sprawling desert vistas, this unique wilderness environment provides outstanding opportunities for solitude and reflection, as well as primitive and unconfined wilderness recreation. The natural acoustical environment, dark night skies, and wholly undeveloped nature of Capitol Reef National Park’s wilderness lands are unique resources that contribute to the area’s outstanding wilderness character.

Interpretive Themes Interpretive themes are often described as the key stories or concepts that visitors should understand after visiting a park—they define the most important ideas or concepts communicated to visitors about a park unit. Themes are derived from, and should reflect, park purpose, significance, resources, and values. The set of interpretive themes is complete when it provides the structure necessary for park staff to develop opportunities for visitors to explore and relate to all park significance statements and fundamental and other important resources and values.

Interpretive themes are an organizational tool that reveal and clarify meaning, concepts, contexts, and values represented by park resources. Sound themes are accurate and reflect current scholarship and science. They encourage exploration of the context in which events or natural processes occurred and the effects of those events and processes. Interpretive themes go beyond a mere description of the event or process to foster multiple opportunities to experience and consider the park and its resources. These themes help explain why a park story is relevant to people who may otherwise be unaware of connections they have to an event, time, or place associated with the pa rk.

The following interpretive themes have been identified for Capitol Reef National Park:

· The magnitude and variety of geologic features at Capitol Reef National Park reveal a long and perpetual story of dynamic geologic processes, which provide outstanding opportunities for research and education and provoke reactions of awe and wonder, and powerfully illustrate the inspirational qualities of “landscape.”

· The rich cultural legacy found in Capitol Reef National Park portrays a continuum of human activity spanning thousands of years and stimulates contemplation of the past and ongoing relationships between people and places.

· With its wide range of microhabitats, the Waterpocket Fold supports a high desert ecosystem with an extraordinarily diverse combination of plant and animal life, including a large assemblage of rare and endemic plant species, which fosters opportunities for education, scientific research, and a deeper connection to the natural world.

Part 2: Dynamic Components The dynamic components of a foundation document include special mandates and administrative commitments and an assessment of planning and data needs. These components are dynamic because they will change over time. New special mandates can be established and new administrative commitments made. As conditions and trends of fundamental and other important resources and values change over time, the analysis of planning and data needs will need to be revisited and revised, along with key issues. Therefore, this part of the foundation document will be updated accordingly.

Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments Many management decisions for a park unit are directed or influenced by special mandates and administrative commitments with other federal agencies, state and local governments, utility companies, partnering organizations, and other entities. Special mandates are requirements specific to a park that must be fulfilled. Mandates can be expressed in enabling legislation, in separate legislation following the establishment of the park, or through a judicial process.

They may expand on park purpose or introduce elements unrelated to the purpose of the park. Administrative commitments are, in general, agreements that have been reached through formal, documented processes, often through memorandums of agreement. Examples include easements, rights-of-way, arrangements for emergency service responses, etc.

Special mandates and administrative commitments can support, in many cases, a network of partnerships that help fulfill the objectives of the park and facilitate working relationships with other organizations. They are an essential component of managing and planning for Capitol Reef National Park.

Special Mandates

· The August 2, 1937, presidential proclamation that created Capitol Reef National

Monument stated that “nothing herein shall prevent the movement of livestock across the lands included in this monument under such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior and upon driveways to be specially designated by said Secretary.”

On December 18, 1971, Capitol Reef National Monument became a national park and it was reiterated, “where any Federal lands included within the park are legally occupied or utilized on the date of approval of this Act for grazing purposes pursuant to a lease, permit, or license for a fixed term of years issued or authorized by any department, establishment, or agency of the United States, the Secretary of the Interior shall permit the persons holding such grazing privileges or their heirs to continue in the exercise thereof during the term of the lease, permit, or license, and one period of renewal thereafter.” It further stated that, “Nothing in the Act shall be construed as affecting in any way rights of owners and operators of cattle and sheep herds, existing on the date immediately prior to the enactment of the Act, to trail their herds on traditional courses used by them prior to such date of enactment, and to water their stock, notwithstanding the fact that the lands involving such trails and watering are situated within the park:

Provided, that the Secretary may promulgate reasonable regulations providing for the use of such driveways.”

Capitol Reef currently operates under Public Law 100-446, passed in September 1988, which extended grazing privileges for the lifetime of the 1971 permit holders and their children born on or before December 18, 1971. Grazing will phase out after the current generation of permit holders ceases operations in Capitol Reef National Park.

· Capitol Reef’s enabling legislation grants easements and rights-of-way on a nondiscriminatory basis upon, over, under, across, or along defined routes in the park where the route of such easements and right-of-way would have significant adverse effects on the administration of the park.

· A cooperative agreement between the National Park Service and the State of Utah on May 16, 1961, mandates no fees to be charged on Utah State Route 24 through the monument. Fees, however, can be charged at the entrance to park facilities on the south side of the highway.

· There are a few parcels of state lands, and a parcel owned by Garfield County, in key locations within the boundaries of Capitol Reef National Park that require the park to work closely with state and county officials on projects in those areas.

· The Clean Air Act, as amended, requires all park units to meet federal, state, and local pollution standards. Additionally, Capitol Reef National Park is a mandatory Class I area under the prevention of significant deterioration provisions of the act. This gives the National Park Service an “affirmative responsibility” to protect the air quality and air quality-related values in the park from the adverse effects of air pollution. Air quality-related values are resources that are sensitive to air pollution, such as visibility, plants, animals, soils, water, and certain cultural resources. State and federal permitting authorities must consult with the National Park Service regarding new sources of air pollution. Impacts on park air quality-related values must be considered in the permitting process. Further, the act requires NPS involvement in national regulatory efforts aimed at eliminating human-caused visibility impairment in all Class I areas.

· The 1964 Wilderness Act mandated evaluation of federal lands for potential wilderness designation. Pursuant to the directive in the 1964 Wilderness Act, a wilderness suitability study was conducted for lands within Capitol Reef National Park in 1974.

This study resulted in 179,815 acres in the park being recommended for wilderness designation along with 4,050 acres that showed wilderness potential. This official recommendation was submitted to Congress on May 23, 1977, by President Carter.

Although this wilderness recommendation still awaits Congressional action, Director’s Order 41: Wilderness Stewardship mandates that recommended wilderness lands be managed in the same manner as designated wilderness. In total, almost 75% of Capitol Reef National Park is recommended wilderness and is managed to preserve wilderness character. In these areas, the preservation of wilderness character must be considered in management decisions, including the integration of the “minimum requirements analysis” process.

Administrative Commitments

· Capitol Reef Natural History Association operates sales outlets under a cooperating association agreement. Proceeds from sales help support park interpretation, science, and education programs.

· Utah Valley University manages and operates the Capitol Reef Field Station under a five-year memorandum of agreement, which was updated in May 2014. The Capitol Reef Field Station supports and promotes engaged learning, research, and environmental ethics in the context of the Colorado Plateau.

· Rights-of-way corridors exist for water, electricity, communications, and other infrastructure.

· Capitol Reef National Park has a Service First interagency agreement with the U.S.

Forest Service for refuse pickup at some remote sites.

Assessment of Planning and Data Needs Once the core components of part 1 of the foundation document have been identified, it is important to gather and evaluate existing information about the park’s fundamental and other important resources and values, and develop a full assessment of the park’s planning and data needs. The assessment of planning and data needs section presents planning issues, the planning projects that will address these issues, and the associated information requirements for planning, such as resource inventories and data collection, including GIS data.

There are three sections in the assessment of planning and data needs:

1. analysis of fundamental and other important resources and values

2. identification of key issues and associated planning and data needs

3. identification of planning and data needs (including spatial mapping activities or GIS maps)

The analysis of fundamental and other important resources and values and identification of key issues leads up to and supports the identification of planning and data collection needs.

Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values The fundamental resource or value analysis table includes current conditions, potential threats and opportunities, planning and data needs, and selected laws and NPS policies related to management of the identified resource or value.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Geological and Paleontological Resources

Related Significance Statements

Significance statements 1 and 2

Current Conditions and Trends

Conditions

• Geologic conditions and features are subject to the natural process of erosion common in high deserts

• Recent research on paleontological resources focuses on the Moenkopi Formation (Triassic) and suggests that the Chinle (Triassic) and Cedar Mountain (Cretaceous) formations in Capitol Reef have paleontological resources that are among the most important sites anywhere in Utah, which help tremendously to provide knowledge of the Mesozoic Era

Trends

• Geological and paleontological resources remain stable; however, climate change may alter erosional rates and accelerate natural Earth processes

Threats and Opportunities

Threats

• Visitor impacts, such as graffiti, driving over sensitive areas, off-trail backcountry hiking, illegal collection of rocks or fossils, or toppling geological features, have the potential to damage irreplaceable resources, alter erosional paths, as well as alter scenic values

• Potential for natural processes such as landslides, erosional spalling, and rock falls may threaten visitor safety and property, damage park roads and trails, buildings, or related park infrastructure

• Climate change and the associated impacts such as increased or prolonged heavy rain events or related significant weather changes could cause prolonged and extensive flooding, thereby increasing erosion of natural features In addition, less water availability in the form of drought will cause soil to dry out and become more susceptible to erosion

• Lack of active monitoring and surveying for paleontological resources allows recently exposed resources to go undocumented This has the potential for scientific loss through natural erosion, theft, or vandalism of resources

• Increased visitor use in the backcountry and activities such as climbing and canyoneering could detrimentally alter geologic features by discoloration of surrounding rock around bolts, cracking, or spalling

• Lands in an arid region such as Capitol Reef are more susceptible to erosion, gullying, and denuding bedrock of overlying soil, thereby increasing physical and chemical weathering of bedrock

• Visitors entering and exploring abandoned mining claims and sites could be in danger from potential collapse of tunnels or excavations, remote backcountry injuries, and negative encounters with wildlife

Opportunities

• Continue participation of the NPS Geologic Resources Division internship program

“Geoscientists-in-the-Parks,” administered in partnership with Environmental Stewards and the Geographical Society of America

• Provide opportunities for university, state (e g , Utah Geological Survey), and federal (e g , U S Geological Survey) researchers to conduct advanced research and monitoring of geologic features, processes, and conditions

• Expand public education on park geology and paleontology through an active web presence and incorporate paleontological resources into the park’s Junior Ranger Program

• Expand educational efforts to educate visitors of specific dangers relating to abandoned mines

• Expand the scope of university partnership (20 universities come every year—most are here to study geology) to focus on the park’s paleontological resources

Fundamental Resource or Value

Geological and Paleontological Resources

Threats and Opportunities

Opportunities (continued)

• Expand partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other entities with expertise in weather and climate to correlate erosion data with weather data; this would help to explain the impact of climate change historically and project future scenarios

• Partner with a resource specialist within the Bureau of Land Management along with other NPS paleontological parks to share information and train interpreters to provide and impart effective stewardship and visitor education on the park’s fossil resources

• Partner with the State of Utah, Geology Division, to perform a comprehensive geo-hazard analysis of abandoned mineral land sites

Data and/or GIS Needs

• Climate change vulnerability assessment

• Groundwater resources survey

• Paleontological inventories

• Geologic mapping and evaluation of historic landscape

• Assess geologic hazards

• Geomorphologic studies of river corridor

• GPS fossil sites for baseline data

Planning Needs

• Paleontological protection plan

• Backcountry management plan

• Climate change scenario planning

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations That Apply to the FRV, and NPS Policy-level Guidance

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations That Apply to the FRV

• Paleontological Resources Preservation Act of 2009

• Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968

• Clean Water Act

• Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988

• Wilderness Act of 1964

• Secretarial Order 3289, “Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change on America’s Water, Land, and Other Natural and Cultural Resources”

NPS Policy-level Guidance (NPS Management Policies 2006 and Director’s Orders)

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§1 6) “Cooperative Conservation Beyond Park

Boundaries”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4 6 1) “Protection of Surface Waters and Groundwaters”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4 6 2) “Water Rights”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4 6 4) “Floodplains”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4 7 2) “Weather and Climate”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4 8) “Geologic Resource Management”

• NPS Natural Resource Management Reference Manual 77

Fundamental Resource or Value

Water Resources

Related Significance Statements

Significance statements 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6

Current Conditions and Trends

Conditions

• Ecosystems in the Fremont River (the major riparian corridor through the park) are influenced by upstream agricultural use and the presence of invasive plant species, warm water temperature, low oxygen levels, and high turbidity

• High levels of nitrogen and E coli bacteria due to local agricultural use impacts water quality as does the local geology; for example, the presence of natural salts and sediments

• Conditions of the riparian zones, water-pockets, and springs in the park vary Those used by livestock are more heavily impacted than others

• Much is unknown about current conditions of water resources in the park; for example, waterborne bacteria and viruses and the taxonomy of aquatic organisms

• Flash flooding has occurred in the park during high rain events causing extreme erosion and soil displacement along stream banks and occasionally impacting the park infrastructure

Trends

• More information and data are needed to establish trends with a high degree of confidence

Threats and Opportunities

Threats

• Inadvertent upstream pollution of the Fremont River by nonpoint-source runoff from animal husbandry, agricultural lands, and human effluent waste Deposition of excess nitrogen air pollutants may also be contributing Together this could impact wildlife, river ecology, and public health

• Levels of methylmercury in some park surface waters are very high and high levels of mercury have been detected in speckled dace in the Fremont River Airborne toxics including mercury can deposit with rain or snow This can accumulate in park wildlife, resulting in reduced foraging efficiency, survival, and reproductive success

• Climate change and its associated impacts Potential impacts may change weather patterns that could create prolonged flooding events or extended periods of extreme drought This would lead to decreased availability of both surface and groundwater in the system as a whole (e g , reduction in snow pack, stream flow, etc )

• Key threats to the park’s natural water resources are agricultural pollution in the form of pesticides, nitrogen runoff, and fertilizers Livestock grazing and trailing in the park bring seeds of invasive plant species as well as animal waste

• Nonnative species along riparian corridors, primarily tamarisk and Russian olive, are outcompeting and replacing native species and disrupting habitats

• The National Park Service maintains state appropriative water rights and federal reserved water rights in Capitol Reef National Park State appropriative rights are a fixed allocation and must be used or the park risks potential loss of these rights Federal reserved rights have not been quantified for the park Maintaining state appropriative rights is a critical issue for Capitol Reef, giving the park the ability to manage water resources consistently for domestic, irrigation, and ecosystem consumption

• Visitor use through activities such as canyoneering and backpacking impacts natural springs and the microenvironments of water-pockets

Fundamental Resource or Value

Water Resources

Threats and Opportunities

Opportunities

• Expand efforts with the NPS Washington office (WASO) Water Resources Division for management assistance and continued research

• Partner with the Wayne County Soil & Water Conservation District Board to resolve issues and concerns to both the county and the park

• Continue to work with Utah Division of Water Resources on water rights issues and uses and concerns outside park boundaries

• Initiate public education efforts for visitors, park staff, local residents, and stakeholders about how to preserve water resources

• Continue to work with Utah Division of Water Quality on E coli monitoring and implementing adaptive management if critical levels are reached

• Engage volunteers to join in citizen science by monitoring water quality and identifying potential threats to human health or environmental concerns

Data and/or GIS Needs

• Groundwater resources survey

• Climate change vulnerability assessment

• Water quality and quantity data

• Aquatic biota composition, health, and demographics survey

Planning Needs

• Water rights settlement plan

• Wastewater management plan

• Climate change scenario planning

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations That Apply to the FRV, and NPS Policy-level Guidance

Laws, Executive Orders, and Regulations That Apply to the FRV

• Clean Water Act of 1972

• Water rights adjudication and law

• Executive Order 11514, “Protection and Enhancement of Environmental Quality”

• Executive Order 11988, “Floodplain Management”

• Executive Order 12088, “Federal Compliance with Pollution Control Standards”

• Executive Order 13007, “Indian Sacred Sites”

• Secretarial Order 3289, “Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change on America’s Water, Land, and Other Natural and Cultural Resources”

NPS Policy-level Guidance (NPS Management Policies 2006 and Director’s Orders)

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§1 6) “Cooperative Conservation Beyond Park

Boundaries”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4 6 1) “Protection of Surface Waters and

• Groundwater”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4 6 2) “Water Rights”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4 6 4) “Floodplains”

• NPS Management Policies 2006 (§4 7 2) “Weather and Climate”

• Director’s Order 77-2: Floodplain Management

Fundamental Resource or Value

Assemblage of Ecosystems

Related Significance Statements

Significance statements 3, 4, and 6

Current Conditions and Trends

Conditions

• Impacts on endemic and rare plant species result from visitor recreational use, livestock grazing and trailing, expansion of native ungulates, reduction of native predators, and increase of invasive plants Impacts vary by location within the park

• A total of 909 plant species have been documented in the park, many of which have very restricted distributions, occurring on specific geologic formations, soils, slopes, aspects, elevations, or precipitation ranges Of the 909 plant species in Capitol Reef National Park, 13% are nonnative

• Vegetation associations, which describe repeatable vegetation assemblages in terms of physiognomy, distribution, and other environmental factors, were mapped throughout the park There are 175 vegetation associations in the park

• The interconnected ecosystems throughout the park demonstrate a high degree of biodiversity and functioning natural systems due to geology and soil types, management actions, the remoteness of the area, and environmental stability Areas within the park’s grazing allotments have been heavily impacted

• More information is required to fully evaluate current conditions for all species and habitats

Trends

• Wright fishhook cactus (Sclerocactus wrightiae), Winkler cactus (Pediocactus winkleri), and Last Chance Townsendia (Townsendia aprica), all federally listed plants, are declining While the combination of causes is not fully known, much of the stress comes from drought, livestock grazing and trailing, native ungulates, native insect and rodent predators, poachers, invasive plant species, and increased recreational use of sensitive areas

• While overall conditions for ecosystems remain stable, there is insufficient data to fully establish trends

Fundamental Resource or Value

Assemblage of Ecosystems

Threats and Opportunities

Threats

• Trampling, uprooting plants, and damage to sensitive ecosystems by livestock grazing and trailing and native ungulates threaten the stability of the ecosystem Management practices outside the park can create an imbalance of native predators

• Illegal collection of listed cacti species in the park is reducing a viable native population This has subsequent impacts on plant reproduction and dispersal

• Increasing recreational hiking and off-trail exploring creates social trails and results in disturbance of sensitive biological soil crusts and their ecosystems through soil compaction, increased erosion and gullies, and a degradation of habitats

• Climate change and associated influences on the ecosystems Changes in precipitation and temperature regimes are expected to have detrimental impacts to the assemblage of ecosystems throughout the park This includes the direct effects of erosion, loss of water, and increased aridity Specifically, studies show that increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation will have detrimental impacts on federally listed plant species that are found in the park In addition, extended drought could impact higher forested land, leading to disease and wildfire

• Natural communities are at risk from air pollution due to potential impacts on ozone-sensitive plants, mercury contamination, and nutrient enrichment from excess deposition of nitrogen Sources of air pollution include coal-fired power plants, vehicle exhaust, oil and gas production, dust, fires, urban development, and agriculture

• Nonnative (invasive) species are displacing native plants and animals

• Arid and semiarid ecosystems and…