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90-766: The Missouri National Recreational River is managed by the National Park Service , with headquarters located in Yankton, South Dakota . Visitor centers are located at Ponca State Park , Niobrara State Park and the Lewis and Clark Visitor Center at Gavins Point Dam, overlooking Lewis and Clark Lake . It lies in parts of Boyd , Cedar , Dixon , and Knox counties in Nebraska, and Bon Homme , Charles Mix , Clay , Union , and Yankton counties in South Dakota. People have lived along

180-499: A " broken wing display ", drawing attention to themselves and away from the chicks when a predator may be threatening the chicks' safety. The broken wing display is also used during the nesting period to distract predators from the nest. A major defense mechanism of the chicks is their ability to blend in with the sand. It takes about 30 days before chicks achieve flight capability. They must be able to fly at least 50 yd (46 m) before they can be considered fledglings. To protect

270-442: A black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a black stripe running along the breast line. This chest band is usually thicker in males during the breeding season , and it is the only reliable way to tell the sexes apart. The bird is difficult to see when it is standing still, as it blends well with open, sandy beach habitats . It typically runs in short, quick spurts and then stops. There are two subspecies of piping plovers:

360-561: A female named Searocket, who had been released at the beach as a captive-reared chick the previous summer; Imani and Searocket produced their first egg in late May. As shorebirds, piping plovers may be highly impacted by climate change , as it affects their aquatic and their terrestrial habitats. At the same time, the disturbance-dependent nature of their habitat makes their relationship to climate change more complex than of most other bird species . Higher sand temperatures directly and negatively affect piping plovers. Piping plovers nest on

450-417: A historical baseline that read, "The goal of managing the national parks and monuments should be to preserve, or where necessary to recreate, the ecologic scene as viewed by the first European visitors." This baseline would guide ecological restoration in national parks until a climate change adaptation policy, "Resist-Adapt-Direct", was established in 2021. National Parks director Jonathan Jarvis charged

540-461: A magnificent park   ... A nation's Park, containing man and beast, in all the wild[ness] and freshness of their nature's beauty!" Yellowstone National Park was created as the first national park in the United States. In 1872, there was no state government to manage it (Wyoming was a U.S. territory at that time), so the federal government managed it directly through the army, including

630-556: A national network of lands and rivers dedicated to the safety of its native wildlife and specifically the piping plover. Protecting the Piper with full beach closures, the Refuge now "has the second largest plover population on the [Massachusetts] North Shore ". In eastern Canada, the piping plover is found only on coastal beaches. In 1985, it was declared an endangered species by the Committee on

720-521: A person or event, though unlike a National Historical Site, may or may not be placed at a specific historical location. Several national memorials are on the National Mall , such as the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial . National seashores and national lakeshores offer preservation of the national coast line, while supporting water–based recreation. Cape Hatteras National Seashore

810-614: A scrape is seen as sufficient, the female will allow the male to copulate with her. The male begins a mating ritual of standing upright and "marching" towards the female, puffing himself up and quickly stomping his legs. If the female had seen the scrape as adequate, she will allow the male to stand on her back and copulation occurs within a few minutes. Most first-time nest attempts in each breeding season are four-egg nests which appear as early as mid-to-late April. Females lay one egg every other day. Second, third and sometimes fourth nesting attempts may have only three or two eggs. Incubation of

900-528: A special resource study of a site to determine its national significance and suitability to be part of the National Park System. The NPS uses over 20 different titles for the park units it manages, including national park and national monument . National parks preserve nationally and globally significant scenic areas and nature reserves. National monuments preserve a single unique cultural or natural feature. Devils Tower National Monument

990-443: A variation of floodplain vegetation and succession throughout the park. New deposits such as sandbars and accretions adjacent to the riverbanks are covered with the pioneer species : annual weeds, short-lived grasses, sedges, and seedling willow and cottonwood. On higher above the water table, larger willow and cottonwood trees dominate. The floodplain forest includes larger cottonwoods on the highest banks and islands. The understory in

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1080-658: Is New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve at 1,164,025 acres (4711 km ). The smallest is Benjamin Franklin National Memorial at less than 0.01 acres (40 m ). While there are laws generally covering all units of the National Park System, they are subject to management policies of individual pieces of authorizing legislation or, in the case of national monuments created under the Antiquities Act , Executive Order . For example, because of provisions within their enabling legislation, Congaree National Park

1170-518: Is Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve , Alaska. At 13,200,000 acres (53,000 km ), it is over 16 percent of the entire system. The smallest unit in the system is Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial , Pennsylvania , at 0.02 acres (80 m ). In addition to administering its units and other properties, the NPS also provides technical and financial assistance to several affiliated areas authorized by Congress. The largest affiliated area

1260-455: Is a soft, whistled peep peep given by standing and flying birds. Its frequently heard alarm call is a soft pee-werp , which the second syllable lower pitched. The piping plover lives the majority of its life on open sandy beaches or rocky shores , often in high, dry sections away from water. They can be found on the Atlantic Coast of the U.S. and Canada on the ocean or bay beaches and on

1350-482: Is almost entirely a wilderness area devoid of development, yet Yosemite allows unique developments such as the Badger Pass Ski Area and the O'Shaughnessy Dam within its boundaries. Such irregularities would not be found in other parks unless specifically provided for with exceptions by the legislation that created them. Most NPS units have been established by an act of Congress, with the president confirming

1440-518: Is charged with preserving the ecological and historical integrity of the places entrusted to its management and with making them available for public use and enjoyment. Artist George Catlin , during an 1832 trip to the Dakotas, was perhaps the first to suggest the concept of a national park. Indian civilization, wildlife, and wilderness were all in danger, wrote Catlin, unless they could be preserved "by some great protecting policy of government   ... in

1530-414: Is darker overall with more contrastingly dark cheeks and lores. Breeding circumcinctus males show more extensive black on forehead and bill-base and more often shows complete breast-bands. Some overlap exists. The piping plover is a stout bird with a large rounded head, a short thick neck, and a stubby bill. It is a sand-colored, dull gray/khaki, sparrow -sized shorebird. The adult has yellow-orange legs,

1620-432: Is essential to a National Park Service that is science-informed at all organizational levels and able to respond with contemporary strategies for resource management and ultimately park stewardship." The "Revisiting Leopold" report mentioned climate change three times and "climate refugia" once, but it did not prescribe or offer any management tactics that could help parks managers with the problems of climate change. Hence,

1710-623: Is forced to artificially clear shoals on the Platte and Missouri River to maintain some of the plovers' remaining habitat in the Great Plains . However, while these efforts are important, they remain inferior to natural periodically flooded habitats. Alongside least terns , piping plovers also have an unusual relationship with mining. Whereas most species predictably suffer habitat loss from mining activities in their area, these birds are known to nest in waste sand piles generated by nearby mines, as

1800-404: Is increasingly untenable, presenting practical and philosophical challenges for managers. As formerly familiar ecological conditions continue to change, bringing novelty, surprise, and uncertainty, natural resource managers require a new, shared approach to make conservation decisions.... The RAD (Resist-Accept-Direct) decision framework has emerged over the past decade as a simple tool that captures

1890-489: Is not a complicated site. National historical parks are larger areas with more complex subjects. Historic sites may also be protected in other unit types. National military parks , battlefield parks , battlefield sites , and battlefields preserve areas associated with military history. The different designations reflect the complexity of the event and the site. Many of the sites preserve important Revolutionary War battles and Civil War battlefields. Military parks are

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1980-880: The Great Lakes shores. It builds its nests higher on the shore near beach grass and other objects. It is very rare to see a piping plover anywhere outside of sand or rocky beaches/shores while not migrating. Notably, they are considered a disturbance-dependent species due to their habitat's relationship with severe flooding. They need their nesting sites to be far away from the water to be dry for their entire nesting period – yet, they also need to nest in open sand. Often, this combination only occurs in sites which are thoroughly flooded once every few years, which brings in fresh sand and clears away vegetation. As human coastal management strategies worked to minimize unpredictable flooding, their old habitats often became overgrown, and their populations declined. Nowadays, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

2070-684: The National Park Service Organic Act . Its headquarters is in Washington, D.C. , within the main headquarters of the Department of the Interior. The NPS employs about 20,000 people in 431 units covering over 85 million acres (0.34 million km ) in all 50 states , the District of Columbia, and US territories . In 2019, the service had more than 279,000 volunteers. The agency

2160-691: The National Wilderness Preservation System , which consists of federally managed lands that are of a pristine condition, established by the Wilderness Act (Public Law 88-577) in 1964. The National Wilderness Preservation System originally created hundreds of wilderness zones within already protected federally administered property, consisting of over 9 million acres (36,000 km ). Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) began with Executive Order 13158 in May 2000, when official MPAs were established for

2250-753: The Outer Banks of North Carolina, beach access to pedestrians and off-road vehicles has been limited to protect piping plovers and their chicks at critical times of the breeding season. Many studies have documented piping plovers' successes and struggles with human recreation or other predatory concerns. For example, piping plovers are much less likely to successfully fledge in heavily trafficked, popular recreational areas. Additionally, those that do fledge in active recreational areas tend to take longer to fledge. Most interestingly, chicks will spend less time foraging on weekends, since this tends to be when beaches are most active and disturbance will be at its highest. Despite

2340-591: The Piping plover , Least tern , and Pallid sturgeon . Since the establishments of the dams on the Missouri River these species and their population numbers have decreased. Habitat restoration and resource protection measures have been in place to help rebound these numbers. Often during the summer months sandbars are signed as "Closed" to help protect critical habitat, fines and other penalties can be imposed for violators. Recreational and educational opportunities abound at

2430-616: The 2014-2015 breeding seasons. As sand temperatures increased, piping plover nest attendance decreased and the frequency and duration of daily shading behaviors increased. Rising ground temperatures will likely have significant effects on piping plovers' ground-nesting behavior. A main part of the piping plover's range is in the Prairie Pothole Region of South Dakota, North Dakota, and Canada. The shallow wetlands of this region fluctuate water surface area in response to wet-dry periods. Piping plovers who breed in this region depend on

2520-831: The 2021 report specific to the need for climate adaptation : "Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD): A Framework for the 21st-century Natural Resource Manager." This "Natural Resource Report" has ten authors. Among them are four associated with the National Park Service, three with the US Fish and Wildlife Service , and two with the US Geological Survey — all of which are government agencies within the US Department of Interior. The report's Executive Summary, points to "intensifying global change." "... The convention of using baseline conditions to define goals for today's resource management

2610-637: The Atlantic Coast of the U.S. and Canada. Research has assessed sea level rise's threat to the piping plover habitat on barrier islands in Long Island, New York , finding that sea level rise will reduce piping plover breeding areas. Breeding habitats have the potential to migrate inland, but would still be reduced as a result of human development, which would reduce the migrated habitat 5-12%. This may lead to conflict between piping plover habitat conservation and human recreation because sea level rise will make

2700-487: The Interior bureau or program. The NPS budget is divided into two primary areas, discretionary and mandatory spending. Within each of these areas, there are numerous specific purposes to which Congress directs the services activities. The NPS budget includes discretionary spending which is broken out into two portions: the direct operations of the National Parks and the special initiatives. Listed separately are

2790-481: The Missouri National Recreational River. Fishing and hunting are popular actives. Walleye and catfish are the most popular species. Canoeing and kayaking are growing in popularity, and ranger-guided excursions are scheduled often during the summer. As a "partnership park", the National Park Service (NPS) works closely with local and state agencies to help manage the recreational opportunities for

Missouri National Recreational River - Misplaced Pages Continue

2880-649: The NPS, rather than the War Department , should manage historic American Civil War sites. President Roosevelt agreed and issued two executive orders to implement the reorganization. These two executive orders transferred to the NPS all of the War Department's historic sites as well as national monuments that the Department of Agriculture had managed and parks in and around Washington, D.C. that an independent federal office had previously operated. The popularity of

2970-472: The National Park Service, which have a wide variety of titles or designations. The system as a whole is considered to be a national treasure of the United States, and some of the more famous national parks and monuments are sometimes referred to as " crown jewels ". The system encompasses approximately 85.1 million acres (0.344 million km ), of which 2.6 million acres (0.011 million km ) remain in private ownership. The largest unit

3060-487: The National Parks" was prepared by a five-member advisory board on Wildlife Management, appointed by United States Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall . This report came to be referred to in later years by its chairman and principal author, A. Starker Leopold . The Leopold Report was just fourteen pages in length, but it set forth ecosystem management recommendations that would guide parks policy until it

3150-608: The Park Service. New parks were added to preserve unique resources and existing park facilities were upgraded and expanded. In 1966, as the Park Service turned 50 years old, emphasis began to turn from just saving great and wonderful scenery and unique natural features to making parks accessible to the public. Director George Hartzog began the process with the creation of the National Lakeshores and then National Recreation Areas . A 1963 report titled "Wildlife Management in

3240-626: The Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada . A large population in Ontario has disappeared entirely. In 2008, however, piping plover nests were found at Wasaga Beach and near Sauble Beach, Ontario , along the Ontario Great Lakes shores. There is also some evidence of nesting at other sites in Ontario, including Port Elgin, Ontario in 2014. In the 19th century and early 20th century, the piping plover

3330-607: The Town of Plymouth in 2010 and 2015 to restrict offroad vehicle access to breeding habitat. In 2019, the first documented pair of piping plovers in Chicago nested at Montrose Beach . The pair, named Monty and Rose by locals, hatched three chicks in July, becoming the first within Cook County in 60 years. Threats to the nest and chicks included a planned music festival that was canceled to ensure

3420-451: The United States as " endangered " in the Great Lakes region and " threatened " in the remainder of its range. While it is federally threatened, the piping plover has been listed as state endangered in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The Parker River Refuge on Plum Island, Massachusetts is

3510-401: The action by signing the act into law. The exception, under the Antiquities Act , allows the president to designate and protect areas as national monuments by executive order. Regardless of the method used, all parks are to be of national importance. A potential park should meet all four of the following standards: Before creation of a new unit, Congress typically directs the NPS to conduct

3600-419: The area would continue to suppress high-flow events and negate this benefit to piping plover populations, while also making them more vulnerable to a potential, unprecedented catastrophic flooding event which could overwhelm those efforts and also submerge piping plover subpopulations across the entire area. Climate change is also causing sea level rise , which may affect the piping plover's other main habitat,

3690-435: The beaches in short bursts. Generally, piping plovers will forage for food around the high tide wrack zone and along the water's edge. They eat mainly insects, marine worms , and crustaceans . American naturalist George Ord described the piping plover in 1824. Two subspecies are recognized, including nominate C. m. melodus of the Atlantic Coast and C. m. circumcinctus of the Great Plains . On average, circumcinctus

Missouri National Recreational River - Misplaced Pages Continue

3780-521: The birds were protected. Monty and Rose returned to the area in 2020 and 2021, again laying eggs and hatching chicks, although some eggs and chicks were lost to natural predators. In May 2022, the male shorebird, Monty, died after returning to Montrose Beach. Rose did not return in 2022. In late April 2023, Monty and Rose's offspring Imani was spotted at Montrose Beach along with an unbanded male and an unbanded female. In 2024, Imani returned to Montrose Beach again, this time joined by another banded male and

3870-524: The concession-run campgrounds (1.42 million). In 2019, the NPS had an annual budget of $ 4.085 billion and an estimated $ 12 billion maintenance backlog. On August 4, 2020, the Great American Outdoors Act was signed into law reducing the $ 12 billion maintenance backlog by $ 9.5 billion over a 5-year period beginning in FY 2021. As of 2022, the NPS had the largest budget allocation of any Department of

3960-462: The cottonwood forest is primarily dogwood, sumac, wild grape, and poison ivy. The sparse vegetation under the mature cottonwoods consists mostly of scouring rush, Kentucky bluegrass, smooth brome, and other invasive grasses and weeds. Above the floodplain, there is a mixed forest and agricultural fields. The forests on the adjoining bluffs are primarily hardwoods with the slopes covered by a dense growth of oak, ash, mulberry, and walnut, with burr oak as

4050-489: The decades following World War II . The Great Lakes populations eventually shrank to only around two dozen. On the Missouri River sandbars, the number of breeding individuals varied, with the population increasing from 2012 to 2017 following a major habitat creation event. Critical nesting habitats are now being protected to help the population during its breeding season. Populations have seen significant increases since

4140-453: The decreased water levels to reveal shorelines that they use for nesting. Climate change, along with consolidation drainage, drainage of smaller wetlands into another wetland to create fewer, larger wetlands, has begun to create fuller wetlands, reducing shoreline nesting habitat. Research of 32 piping plover wetland habitats in this region found that wetlands with risen water levels had lower chances of piping plover presence. This suggests that

4230-409: The dominant species. Wildlife is plentiful. Since the days of Lewis and Clark the larger mammals have disappeared, including the grizzly bear, bison, and elk. Small mammals, including mice, voles, bats, rats, and ground squirrels make up the bulk of the species within the park. Deer are often seen on private property along the banks. The American bald eagle has been gradually increasing throughout

4320-583: The eastern population is known as Charadrius melodus melodus and the mid-west population is known as C. m. circumcinctus . The bird's name is derived from its plaintive bell-like whistles which are often heard before the bird is visible. In 1986, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service listed the Great Lakes population as endangered and the Northern Great Plains and Atlantic populations as threatened. Intensive conservation efforts have yielded slow population growth, but only some populations have met

4410-505: The enjoyment of future generations". Mather became the first director of the newly formed NPS. On March 3, 1933, President Herbert Hoover signed the Reorganization Act of 1933. The act gave the president the authority to transfer national monuments from one governmental department to another. Later that summer, new president Franklin D. Roosevelt made use of this power after NPS Deputy Director Horace M. Albright suggested that

4500-647: The entire decision space for responding to ecosystems facing the potential for rapid, irreversible ecological change." Here, the iconic species of Joshua Tree National Park is a leading example. The three RAD options are: The "Resist-Accept-Direct" Framework is first described in a July 2020 paper published in Fisheries Eighteen researchers from federal and state agencies and universities collaborated in this effort, which included short case studies of where and how this framework has already been applied. The National Park System includes all properties managed by

4590-405: The famed African American Buffalo Soldier units. The movement for an independent agency to oversee these federal lands was spearheaded by business magnate and conservationist Stephen Mather . With the help of journalist Robert Sterling Yard , Mather ran a publicity campaign for the Department of the Interior . They wrote numerous articles that praised the scenic and historic qualities of

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4680-404: The first time. The initial listing of U.S. areas was presented in 2010, consisting of areas already set aside under other legislation. The NPS has 19 park units designated as MPAs. The National Park System received over 325 million recreation visits in 2023. Park visitation grew 64 percent between 1979 and 2015. The 10 most-visited units of the National Park System handle around 30 percent of

4770-484: The ground in open areas, which regularly subjects them to high temperatures. Because of these high temperatures, piping plovers (along with other ground-nesting bird species) have specific strategies and behaviors for thermal regulation of their nests and themselves. Research has been conducted to evaluate how sand temperature affects piping plover nesting behaviors in a population of piping plovers in North Dakota during

4860-487: The habitat's sensitivity to sea level rise caused by climate change. Florida coastline species are at particular risk to climate change because of not just sea level rise, but also increased tropical storms . The piping plover depends on this habitat because it migrates south from its breeding habitats to winter in Florida for about three months. It is predicted that there will be a 16% loss of coastal landforms from inundation by

4950-416: The habitats take up a larger proportion of the islands. Research also shows that a large hurricane with the risen sea levels could flood up to 95% of piping plover habitat, so increased coastal storms induced by climate change, combined with rising sea level, could be very damaging. Similar research has been conducted on the Florida coastline, part of the piping plovers's Atlantic coast habitat, to evaluate

5040-438: The high shore near the beach-grass line. The males also perform elaborate courtship ceremonies, including stone tossing and courtship flights featuring repeated dives. Scrapes, small depressions in the sand dug by kicking the sand, are often in the same area that least terns choose to colonize. Females will sit and evaluate the scrapes, then choose a good scrape and decorate the nest with shells and debris to camouflage it. Once

5130-412: The long term. Climate change would only be harmful to these populations overall if it either makes high-flow events occur more often than once every four years, or if it ends making the basin drier and ultimately reduces their frequency even further, and both are considered unlikely. However, it is more plausible that in at least the near term, climate change adaptation efforts to protect human property in

5220-472: The male has a prominent black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a black ring around the neck during the breeding season. The band on the female's brow is much fainter. During nonbreeding season, the black bands become less pronounced. Its bill is orange with a black tip. It ranges from 15–19 cm (5.9–7.5 in) in length, with a wingspan of 35–41 cm (14–16 in) and a mass of 42–64 g (1.5–2.3 oz). The piping plover's light call

5310-485: The most popular areas do charge entrance fees. Fees vary site to site and are charged either on a per-vehicle or per-person basis, with most passes valid for 7 days. The America the Beautiful Pass series waives the per-vehicle fee or per-person fee for the holder and up to 3 other adults (children age 15 and younger are admitted for free at most sites). Annual passes for single areas are also available for those who visit

5400-628: The multitude of anthropogenic conservation concerns regarding the piping plover, a study on plovers on Long Island, New York found that the most significant cause of nest failure in the species was not humans, but depredation by the Red fox . Birds either lost their nests due to depredation of the nest, or significant predator presence and subsequent abandonment of the nest by adults. Birds rarely abandoned nests due to human presence. Various environmental organizations are involved in aiding restoration efforts. The Goldenrod Foundation unsuccessfully filed suit against

5490-447: The nest is shared by both the male and the female. Incubation is generally 27 days and eggs usually all hatch on the same day. After chicks hatch, they are able to walk within hours, and must have access to feeding areas to feed on marine macro invertebrates. The adults' role is to protect them from the elements by brooding them. They also alert them to any danger. Like many other species of plovers, adult piping plovers will often feign

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5580-438: The nest than would occur without the exclosure. Natural hazards to eggs or chicks include storms, high winds, and abnormal high tides; human disturbances can cause the abandonment of nests and chicks as well. It is best to stay away from any bird that appears distressed to prevent any unintended consequences . The piping plover is globally threatened and endangered; it is uncommon and local within its range, and has been listed by

5670-494: The nests from predators during incubation, many conservationists use exclosures , such as round turkey-wire cages with screened tops. These allow the adults to move in and out but stop predators from getting to the eggs. After the chicks hatch, many areas will put up snow fencing to restrict driving and pets for the safety of the chicks. Threats to nests include crows , cats, raccoons , and foxes, among others. Exclosures are not always used, as they occasionally draw more attention to

5760-453: The northern parts of South Carolina. Migration south begins in August for some adults and fledglings, and by mid-September most piping plovers have headed south for winter. The piping plover usually arrives at sandy beaches to breed in mid-March. Males will begin claiming territories and pairing up in late March. When pairs are formed, the male begins digging out several scrapes ( nests ) along

5850-400: The overall visits. The top 10 percent of parks (43) handle over 64 percent of all visits, leaving the remaining more than 380 units to accommodate around 36 percent of visits. (Note that only 380 sites recorded visitors during 2021 due to COVID-19-related closures). Most areas of the National Park System do not charge entrance fees and are completely supported by tax dollars, although some of

5940-442: The park. Two other birds, the piping plover (northern Great Plains population) and the least tern (interior population), are still listed as threatened and endangered respectively. There are over 250 bird species identified within the riverway. The National Park Service works alongside the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help manage habitat for threatened and endangered species, especially

6030-475: The parks after the end of the World War II left them overburdened with demands that the NPS could not meet. In 1951, Conrad Wirth became director of the NPS and began to bring park facilities up to the standards that the public was expecting. In 1952, with the support of President Dwight D. Eisenhower , Wirth began Mission 66 , a ten-year effort to upgrade and expand park facilities for the 50th anniversary of

6120-461: The parks and their possibilities for educational, inspirational, and recreational benefits. This campaign resulted in the creation of the NPS. On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act that mandated the agency "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for

6210-1066: The protection programs began, but the species remains in serious danger. Some USGS research suggests that in the northern Great Plains , low connectivity between scattered habitats mean that even maintaining the current population sizes will be a great challenge, and there's an 8–37% risk of those subpopulations disappearing near the end of the century. Current conservation strategies include identification and preservation of known nesting sites; public education; limiting or preventing pedestrian and/or off-road vehicle (ORV) traffic near nests and hatched chicks; limiting predation of free-ranging cats, dogs and other pets on breeding pairs, eggs and chicks; and removal of foxes, raccoons, skunks, and other predators. In coastal areas such as Plymouth , Cape Cod , Long Island , Sandy Hook , Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware, North Manitou Island in Lake Michigan, and most recently, Cape Hatteras National Seashore on

6300-537: The public. National Park Service The National Park Service ( NPS ) is an agency of the United States federal government , within the US Department of the Interior . The service manages all national parks ; most national monuments ; and other natural, historical, and recreational properties, with various title designations. The United States Congress created the agency on August 25, 1916, through

6390-590: The recovery goals set for them. The growth trend is expected to reverse if conservation efforts were stopped. Total population was estimated to be between 7600 and 8400 individuals in 2020. Their breeding habitat includes beaches and sand flats on the Atlantic coast, the shores of the Great Lakes, and in the mid-west of Canada and the United States. They nest on sandy or gravel beaches or shoals . These shorebirds forage for food on beaches, usually by sight, moving across

6480-566: The replacement for sand bars. Those sand piles remain topped-up and hostile to vegetation overgrowth as long as the mining activity continues. Often, mining sites end up reclaimed for housing development at the end of their lifespan, which means more construction work, and an extended persistence of waste sand piles. However, modern mining practices typically transport much of this waste sand to more remote areas, often to reuse it commercially, which limits colonization opportunities for these birds. Piping plovers migrate from their northern range in

6570-589: The river between 1819 and 1920. By the mid-20th century, extensive flooding prompted the passage of many flood control measures. The Flood Control Act of 1944 (the Pick–Sloan Plan ) created the Fort Randall and Gavins Point dams, causing major changes to the river's hydrology and habitats. Along the river there are two major plant communities. The floodplain forest includes willow and cottonwood . The bluffs are covered by elm and oak . The annual floods create

6660-483: The river for some 10,000 years. Archeologists have found their tools and weapons, homes, foods, religious, and ceremonial objects. The River is one of three historic east-west corridors, similar to the Oregon and Santa Fe trails. It was a pathway of American Indians, Lewis and Clark, trappers and traders, steamboat captains, and settlers. French and Spanish traders preceded Lewis & Clark's 1804 expedition. The Yellow Stone

6750-429: The same site often. Over 15 million visitors spent a night in one of the national park units during 2015. The largest number (3.68 million) were tent campers. The second largest group (3.38 million) stayed in one of the lodges, followed by miscellaneous stays (on boats, group sites—2.15 million). The last three groups of over-night visitors included RV campers (2.26 million), backcountry campers (2.02 million) and users of

6840-546: The shoals from getting overgrown occur more often than it does now, yet closer to the historical, pre- European colonization of the Americas patterns. The ideal frequency of high-flow events for piping plover population abundance in this river system is once in four years. Shoreline stabilization efforts reduced such high-flow events to once per twenty years, which is not enough to maintain piping plover populations outside of artificially cleared shoals, which become their only refuge in

6930-425: The site. Big Cypress National Preserve and Big Thicket National Preserve were created in 1974 as the first national preserves. National reserves are similar to national preserves, but the operational authority can be placed with a state or local government. New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve was the first to be established in 1978. National historic sites protect a significant cultural resource that

7020-506: The sites of larger actions, such as Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park , Vicksburg National Military Park , Gettysburg National Military Park , and Shiloh National Military Park —the original four from 1890. Examples of battlefield parks , battlefield sites , and national battlefields include Richmond National Battlefield Park , Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site , and Antietam National Battlefield . National memorials are areas that officially memorialize

7110-601: The special initiatives of the service for the year specified in the legislation. During fiscal year 2010, the service was charged with five initiatives. They include: stewardship and education; professional excellence; youth programs; climate change impacts; and budget restructure and realignment. Piping plover The piping plover ( Charadrius melodus ) is a small sand-colored, sparrow -sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs,

7200-581: The summer to the south in the winter months, migrating to the Gulf of Mexico , the southern Atlantic coast of the United States and the Caribbean , including The Bahamas . They have also been recorded across Cuba , with rarer occurrences elsewhere throughout the West Indies , and even Ecuador and Venezuela . They begin migrating north in mid-March. Their breeding grounds extend from southern Newfoundland south to

7290-692: The twelve-member NPS Advisory Board Science Committee to take a fresh look at the ecological issues and make recommendations for updating the original Leopold Report. The committee published their 23-page report in 2012, titled, "Revisiting Leopold: Resource Stewardship in the National Parks". The report recommended that parks leadership "manage for change while confronting uncertainty." "... New and emerging scientific disciplines — including conservation biology, global change science, and genomics — along with new technological tools like high-resolution remote sensing can provide significant information for constructing contemporary tactics for NPS stewardship. This knowledge

7380-482: The warming climate and increased water levels and precipitation will degrade piping plover breeding habitats in the Prairie Pothole Region. On the other hand, research suggests that piping plover's habitat in Nebraska, on the shoals of Platte and Missouri River and around Lewis and Clark Lake would benefit from climate change, as it would make extensive flooding (so called "high-flow events") which keeps

7470-499: The year 2100. Further, the sea level rise may make the coastline more complex, which may produce more habitat fragmentation . Thus, the changing landforms of the Florida coastline will likely affect piping plover ecology. Research also shows that of the shorebird species affected by the Florida coastline transformation, piping plovers are at high risk of decline. In May 2023, the United States Postal Service released

7560-420: Was created in 1937. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore , created in 1966, were the first national lakeshores. National rivers and wild and scenic riverways protect free-flowing streams over their length. The riverways may not be altered with dams, channelization, or other changes. Recreational pursuits are encouraged along the waterways. Ozark National Scenic Riverways

7650-667: Was created in 1968 and consists of two major components: National scenic trails are long-distance trails through some of the most scenic parts of the country. They received official protection in 1968. The Appalachian Trail is the best known. National historic trails commemorate the routes of major historic events. Some of the best known are the Trail of Tears , the Mormon Trail , and the Santa Fe Trail . These trails are administered by several federal agencies. Wilderness areas are part of

7740-504: Was established in 1964. National recreation areas originally were units surrounding reservoirs impounded by dams built by other federal agencies, the first being Lake Mead National Recreation Area . Some national recreation areas are in urban centers, such as Gateway National Recreation Area and Golden Gate National Recreation Area , which encompass significant cultural as well as natural resources. The National Trails System preserves long-distance routes across America. The system

7830-667: Was revisited in 2012. The Leopold Report was the first concrete plan for managing park visitors and ecosystems under unified principles. Park management issues and controversies addressed in this report included the difficulties of managing elk populations in Yellowstone National Park and how "overprotection from natural ground fires" in California's Sequoia National Park , Kings Canyon National Park , and Yosemite National Park had begun to threaten groves of Giant Sequoia with catastrophic wildfires. The report also established

7920-550: Was the first in 1906. While the National Park Service holds the most national monuments, a monument may be managed or co-managed by a different entity such as the Bureau of Land Management or the Forest Service . National preserves are for the protection of certain resources and operate similar to many National Parks, but allow limited resource extraction. Activities like hunting, fishing, and some mining may be allowed depending on

8010-652: Was the first steamboat to sail this stretch of the river in 1832 on the way to Fort Union Trading Post. The 1858 Treaty with the Yankton Sioux opened the southeastern portion of the Dakota Territory to white settlement. The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged immigration into the region. During steamboat era, the Missouri was characterized by shifting channels, numerous braided channels, chutes, sloughs, islands, sandbars, and backwater areas. Well over 300 steamboats sank in

8100-549: Was used for its feathers , as were many other birds at the time, as decorations for women's hats. These decorations, called plumes , became a symbol of high society, especially those from larger rare birds. This practice led to its initial population decline. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 helped the population recover through the 1930s. The second decline in the piping plover's population and range has been attributed to increased development, shoreline stabilization efforts, habitat loss and human activity near nesting sites in

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