Appalachian Trail Vital Signs - American Trails

96 Pages·2005·2.28 MB·English

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Northeast Region
Boston, Massachusetts
Appalachian Trail Vital Signs
Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2005/026
ON THE COVER
Androscoggin River, ME
Blood Mountain Sunset, GA
Laurel Falls, TN
Mt Katahdin, ME
© Photos by Joe Cook
Appalachian Trail Vital Signs
Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2005/026
Greg Shriver1, Tonnie Maniero2, Kent Schwarzkopf3, Dan Lambert4, Fred Dieffenbach1, Don Owen3, Y. Q. Wang5, Joy Nugranad-
Marzilli5, Geri Tierney6, Casey Reese3, Theresa T. Moore1
1National Park Service
Inventory and Monitoring Program
54 Elm Street
Woodstock, Vermont 05091
2National Park Service
Northeast Region
15 State Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02109
3National Park Service
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
Harpers Ferry Center
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia 25425
4Vermont Institute of Natural Science
Conservation Biology Department
2723 Church Hill Road
Woodstock, Vermont 05091
5University of Rhode Island
Department of Natural Resource Science
Kingston, Rhode Island 02881
6State University of New York
College of Environmental Science and Forestry
1 Forestry Drive
Syracuse, New York 13210
November 2005
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Northeast Region
Boston, Massachusetts
The Northeast Region of the National Park Service (NPS) comprises national parks and related areas in 13 New England and Mid-
Atlantic states. The diversity of parks and their resources are reflected in their designations as national parks, seashores, historic
sites, recreation areas, military parks, memorials, and rivers and trails. Biological, physical, and social science research results,
natural resource inventory and monitoring data, scientific literature reviews, bibliographies, and proceedings of technical workshops
and conferences related to these park units are disseminated through the NPS/NER Technical Report (NRTR) and Natural Resources
Report (NRR) series. The reports are a continuation of series with previous acronyms of NPS/PHSO, NPS/MAR, NPS/BSO-RNR and
NPS/NERBOST. Individual parks may also disseminate information through their own report series.
Natural Resources Reports are the designated medium for information on technologies and resource management methods; “how
to” resource management papers; proceedings of resource management workshops or conferences; and natural resource program
descriptions and resource action plans.
Technical Reports are the designated medium for initially disseminating data and results of biological, physical, and social science
research that addresses natural resource management issues; natural resource inventories and monitoring activities; scientific literature
reviews; bibliographies; and peer-reviewed proceedings of technical workshops, conferences, or symposia.
Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the National Park
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Print copies of reports in these series, produced in limited quantity and only available as long as the supply lasts, or preferably, file
copies on CD, may be obtained by sending a request to the address on the back cover. Print copies also may be requested from the
NPS Technical Information Center (TIC), Denver Service Center, PO Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225-0287. A copy charge may be
involved. To order from TIC, refer to document D-122.
This report may also be available as a downloadable portable document format file from the Internet at http://www.nps.gov/nero/
science/ or http://www1.nature.nps.gov/im/units/netn/index.cfm
Please cite this publication as:
Shriver, G., T. Maniero, K. Schwarzkopf, D. Lambert, F. Dieffenbach, D. Owen, Y. Q. Wang, J. Nugranad-Marzilli, G. Tierney, C.
Reese, T. Moore. November 2005. Appalachian Trail Vital Signs. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2005/026. National
Park Service. Boston, MA.
NPS D-122 November 2005
Opposite Page Photos:
Backpacker on Max Patch, NC
Culvers Gap, NJ
Moon at Springer Mountain, GA
Blood Mountain Shelter, GA
©Photos by Joe Cook
Appalachian
Trail
Vital Signs
“The Appalachian Trail is not
merely a footpath through the
wilderness, but a footpath of
the wilderness.”
--Benton MacKaye
Background:
The Appalachian Trail began as a vision of forester Benton MacKaye and was developed by volunteers and
opened as a continuous trail in 1937. It was designated as the first National Scenic Trail by the National Trails
System Act of 1968.
Appalachian National Scenic Trail (AT):
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is administered primarily as a footpath by the National Park Service in
cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy
and the 14 States encompassing the Trail, providing for maximum outdoor recreation potential as an extended
trail and for the conservation and enjoyment of the nationally significant scenic, historic, natural, and cultural
resources of the areas through which the Trail passes. It is the mission of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail
to foster the Cooperative Management System of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in order to preserve and
provide for the enjoyment of the varied scenic, historic, natural and cultural qualities of the areas between the
states of Maine and Georgia through which the Trail passes.
The Appalachian Trail is a way, continuous from Maine to Georgia, for travel on foot through the wild, scenic,
wooded, pastoral, and culturally significant lands of the Appalachian Mountains. It is a means of sojourning
among these lands, such that visitors may experience them by their own unaided efforts. The body of the Trail
is provided by the lands it traverses, and its soul is in the living stewardship of the volunteers and partners of the
Appalachian Trail Cooperative Management System.
Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC):
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is a volunteer-based, private non-profit organization dedicated to the
conservation of the 2,175-mile Appalachian National Scenic Trail, a 280,000-acre greenway extending from
Maine to Georgia. The mission of the ATC is to ensure that future generations will enjoy the clean air and water,
scenic vistas, wildlife and opportunities for simple recreation and renewal along the entire Trail corridor.
Formerly known as the Appalachian Trail Conference, the ATC is an 80-year-old organization whose roots are
traced to the vision of Benton MacKaye, who convened and organized the first Appalachian Trail “conference”
– a gathering of hikers, foresters and public officials – in Washington, D.C., in 1925. Today, the ATC works with
30 maintaining clubs and multiple partners to engage the public in conserving this essential American resource.
ATC coordinates the Appalachian Trail’s management and protection in conjunction with a wide range of partners,
including the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (NPS), USDA Forest Service, 14 states, and 30 Trail-maintaining
clubs.

Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................. 1
Greg Shriver
Chapter One: Ozone .................................................................................... 7
Tonnie Maniero
Chapter Two: Visibility ............................................................................. 13
Tonnie Maniero
Chapter Three: Atmospheric Deposition ................................................... 17
Tonnie Maniero
Chapter Four: Migratory Breeding Birds .................................................. 21
Greg Shriver
Chapter Five: Mountain Birds ................................................................... 29
Dan Lambert
Chapter Six: Forest Vegetation .................................................................. 35
Greg Shriver
Chapter Seven: Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species ..................... 41
Kent Schwarzkopf and Geri Tierney
Chapter Eight: Invasive Species ................................................................ 45
Fred Dieffenbach
Chapter Nine: Visitor Usage ...................................................................... 55
Don Owen
Chapter Ten: Alpine and High Elevation Vegetation ................................. 61
Kent Schwarzkopf and Casey Reese
Chapter Eleven: Landscape Dynamics ...................................................... 67
Y.Q. Wang, Joy Nugranad-Marzilli and Greg Shriver
Bibliography ............................................................................................... 79
Appalachian Trail Vital Signs