Long-term trends in deer abundance provide one measure of assessing their potential as a problem for a park. Documenting long-term patterns in deer numbers allows one to evaluate correlations with changes in vegetation (e.g., through restoration of the cultural landscape). With this information resource managers can more effectively identify and potentially mitigate damage caused to vegetation communities and endangered plant populations by deer. Monitoring data also helps managers assess safety risks from collisions and disease transmission. Long-term monitoring of deer numbers is critical in evaluating any population control measures a park may implement.

Vegetation community monitoring in the HTLN parks is designed to detect and describe changes in prairie, savanna-woodland and forested communities. There are three primary objectives for the monitoring defined in this protocol: 1. Describe the species composition, structure and diversity of prairie, savanna-woodland and forested communities; 2. Determine temporal changes in the species composition, structure and diversity of prairie, savanna-woodland and forested communities; 3. Determine the relationship between temporal and spatial changes and environmental variables including specific management practices.

The authors detail why monitoring the current status and population trends of fish communities and their habitats is an important tool for preserving and conserving aquatic resources in the national parks. The framework for monitoring small streams located in HTLN parks is directed towards maintaining their ecological integrity, which will be assessed through periodic monitoring of fish communities, physical habitat, and water quality. The authors describe the protocol which has been designed to incorporate the spatial relationship of biotic indicators with chemical constituents and physical habitat.

It is against a backdrop of vanishing or altered ecosystems, declining bird populations and the unique role that National Park Service lands can play in conserving threatened bird species that the authors propose monitoring avian communities on National Park Service lands within the HTLN. Long-term trends in the community composition and abundance of breeding bird populations provide one measure for assessing the ecological integrity and sustainability of ecosystems. Long-term patterns in community composition and species abundance in relation to changes in the structural diversity of vegetation will improve our understanding of the effects of various management actions. There are two primary objectives for the monitoring described in this protocol: 1. Identify significant temporal changes in composition and abundance of bird communities in 11 parks within the HTLN during the breeding season. 2. Improve our understanding of breeding bird - habitat relationships and the effects of management actions such as grazing, exotic plant removal and prescribed fire regimes on bird populations, by correlating changes in bird community composition and abundance with changes in habitat variables.