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.

During surveys in 2006, the authors documented 35 invasive, exotic plant species on Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. Their findings are detailed in this report.

Homestead National Monument of America (HOME) is located in the southeast corner of Nebraska (Figure 1). The Monument was established in 1936 to commemorate the Homestead Act of 1862, a law intended to stimulate the agricultural economy through free land deeds. HOME includes the 160 acres once owned by Daniel Freeman, who is credited with filing the first homestead claim in the United States (Hutchinson, 1992). For the settlers of the Great Plains, the prairie initially provided food for livestock and housing by way of sod. A great deal of original prairie has since been converted for agricultural purposes. In 1939 a hundred acres of land at HOME was restored to tallgrass prairie, making it the second oldest prairie restoration in the country. The restored prairie can provide a comprehensive historical view of what the landscape looked like at the time of the early settlers.

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.

During surveys in 2006, the authors documented 13 invasive, exotic plant species and the native Eastern red cedar on Pea Ridge National Military Park. The survey focused on the relatively mature forests at the park to the exclusion of old fields and successional forests.

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.

Prevention and early detection are the principal strategies for successful invasive exotic plant management. During surveys in 2006, the authors documented 16 invasive, exotic plant species on Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. their findings and recommendations are detailed.

Two broad objectives are addressed by this protocol: 1) Determine the annual status and trends of invertebrate species diversity, abundance and community metrics, and 2) Relate the invertebrate community to overall water quality through quantification of metrics related to species richness, abundance and diversity and region specific multi-metric indices as indicators of water quality and habitat condition