Wildland NaturalAreas are similar to U.S. Forest Services "Research Natural Areas. " Each Natural Area is highly protected. Their primary purpose or use is for monitoring, acquiring knowledge, educating, and fostering the metaphysical benefits stated by many people, i.e., the values of "just knowing they are there and well tended. " They are areas where some communities or natural features are preserved for scientific purposes and where natural processes are allowed to dominate. Their main purposes are to provide:
- Baseline structure, dynamics, and relations against which effects of human activities or natural change elsewhere can be measured;
- Sites for study of natural processes in relatively undisturbed ecosystems;
- Gene pools of all types of organisms, especially rare and endangered species and their dependents.
The guiding principles in managing these natural areas are to prevent unnatural encroachments or disturbances that directly or indirectly modify ecological processes or structures of the areas. Typically, logging or grazing are not allowed, neither is human use which threatens to prevent achieving the objectives of the areas in general or the specific objective of a particular area.Management practices are allowed. Studies of a non-destructive nature must not compromise the natural conditions. Limited, essential changes may be made and small samples may be removed. It is critical that the investments made in long-term studies on these areas not be lost to later disturbances (e.g., logging, roads, powerlines, etc.). The needs are to avoid impairing the site for producing useful conclusions and to avoid conflicts among users (both current and with past or on-going studies). Protection is essential, but the costs are high and thus the production of knowledge from the area is expected to be equal or greater value in relative terms.
- Observersneed to obtain permission to use the area,
- Regulations need to be followed,
- Reports need to be completed (at least preliminary or "insurance " reports) regularly and soon after studies;
- Reports and photographs or images (published or not) need to be filed with the Natural Area administrator
- Samples and photographs or images need to be cataloged and storage/disposition reported;
- Predictive models need to be attempted and adjusted
- Methods must be described so that they can be repeated or appropriate adjustment made for new technology used
- Explanatory or historical models need to be created
- Predictions (registered-mail notarized) need to be made to allow tests of the dynamics of predictive abilities of ecosystem diagnosticians.
Each Wildland Natural Area is administered as a unique area and decisions about uses are made case-by-case. Descriptions, hopefully, will usually include:
- Name
- Date of establishment
- Location (to within-state smallest scale)
- Elevations
- GIS map layers
- General description-vegetation
(community
names)
- Geology
- Administrative units
- Access
- Accommodations
- Lakes, streams, wetlands
- Topography
- Temperature
(max, mean, mm., monthly)
- First and last frost dates
- Soils general
- Wind
- Precipitation
- Solar radiation
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- Evapotranspiration
and moisture index
- Decomposition rates
- Biomass estimates
- Species list (dated)
- Select abundance estimates
- Forest types
- Wetland types
- Range types
- Climax concepts
- History of study
- Students/researchers
- Literature bibliography
- History of disturbance
- Human influences
- Fire history
- Maps (topographic, etc.)
- Permanent plat descriptions
- Picture point descriptions
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Biology and other classes of students may visit and use the site and contribute to a dynamic array of text files, the system book." Each file is about one of the above topics and has its own set of references and authors. "Expeditions" are encouraged to gain a variety of observations in a brief period on the listed topics.