Excerpt from An Index Bibliography of Wildlife Research in the U. S. National Parks

Throughout their history, national parks have played an extremely im portant role in protecting and managing wild animals. Between one third and one-half of the rare and endangered species in the United States occur within units of the National Park System. Animal life is protected in parks, and animals are not pursued by hunters and are less likely to be harassed by environmental alterations. They are easier to see in parks than on other lands. The result is that national parks have become renowned for the opportunities they offer to view animals in a natural setting and observing animal life is a major reason people visit parks.

Because of these factors, national parks have also been an important place to study animal life. Throughout the history of parks, much of this study has been conducted independently of the National Park Service (nps), primarily by academic researchers. However, because of growing needs to better understand park resources the agency developed its own research program. As a program of scientific study evolved in the National Park Service, it was inexorably linked with the history of animal study in the parks. In fact, more study has been devoted to animal life in parks than to any other single resource.

Through the years, animal studies have greatly increased in number and have become more sophisticated in scope and methodology. Because of this, a tendency exists among contemporary researchers to neglect earlier studies. This is particularly true with respect to the current emphasis to develop inventory and monitoring programs. It is a mistake to neglect earlier studies. Although many of the early works cited in this manuscript sometimes consisted of little more than cursory surveys and personal observations, they were often conducted by discerning naturalists whose insights are invaluable and provide important insights into past conditions in the national parks.

The purpose of this publication is in part to alert the current generation of park wildlife researchers to the tremendous legacy of knowledge that already exists, often in obscure and, unfortunately, difficult to locate papers. The simple premise underlying this concept is that understanding the past will help provide the foundation for current long-term monitoring programs and synthesis efforts and will help identify potential information gaps. This manuscript, therefore, catalogs, organizes, and lists in a logical manner most wildlife studies that have taken place in national parks.

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