PROJECT ABSTRACT
Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit
(Cooperative Agreement # H1200-09-0005)
Park: Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument
Project Title: Annotated Vascular Plant Database and Publication for Grand Canyon-Parashant
National Monument
Funding Amount: $19,000
CPCESU Partner Institution: Southern Utah University
Principal Investigator: Walter Fertig, Adjunct Professor, Office of the Dean, College of
Science, Southern Utah University, 51 W. University Blvd, Cedar City, UT, 84720, 435-6890224, walt@xpressweb.com
Co-Investigator: Dr. Robert Eves, Dean, College of Science, Southern Utah University, 51 W.
University Blvd, Cedar City, UT, 84720, 435-865-8054, eves@suu.edu
NPS Key Official: Kari Yanskey, Botanist, Grand Canyon-Parashant NM, 345 E. Riverside Dr,
St. George, UT 84790, 435-688-3298, kari_yanskey@nps.gov
NPS Advisors: Dr. Angie Evenden, Research Coordinator, Great Basin CESU, c/o UNR, 1000
Valley Road, Reno, NV 89512, 775-784-4616, angela_evenden@nps.gov
Dr. Alice Chung-MacCoubrey, I&M Coordinator, Mojave Network, 601 Nevada Hwy, Boulder
City, NV 89005, 702-293-8911, alice_chung-maccoubrey@nps.gov
Start Date: September 15, 2009
End Date: June 1, 2011
Abstract:
The Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument (PARA) has a long history of botanical
exploration and significant progress has been made in documenting the flora of the area.
Unfortunately, the published and unpublished literature on the monument’s flora has not been
synthesized into a single database or report, and vascular plant specimens from the area are
dispersed among at least seven major regional herbaria. The purpose of this project is to develop
a Microsoft Excel database listing all vascular plant species confirmed or reported as occurring
in PARA (based on herbarium specimens and literature), as well as those that might potentially
occur or are confirmed as falsely reported. This database will be annotated with additional
information on synonyms, taxonomic notes, park abundance, geographic range, nativity,
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flowering period, growth form, distribution by habitat type, and other relevant data. These data
will be in a form that can be easily accessed and queried by PARA resource management staff
and the public. Ultimately, the data will be used to generate the monument’s NPSpecies
database (the standardized MS Access database used by all National Park Service units) and as
the baseline for a report in the National Park Service’s Technical Report Series on the vascular
flora of the monument. The report will include a summary of the monument’s vegetation,
geology, rare flora, invasive weeds, and botanical research history and will be made available to
the public on line as a downloadable pdf file. Information gathered in this effort will help
monument resource managers better understand the flora of PARA and make more informed
management decisions.
Keywords:
Please click keywords to see list.
Surveys/ Inventory and Monitoring
Biodiversity
Species Richness
Endemic Species
Threatened/ Endangered Species
Exotic Vegetation
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