Ron Hiebert
Over the last 4 years, the authors have developed an automated Restoration Rapid Assessment Tool (RRAT) to help parks in prioritizing or categorizing disturbed sites for management. The tool has been developed in an iterative process based upon lessons learned from testing, input from end users, and input from restoration experts. The tool has been tested in parks in the National Capitol Region, the Northern Great Lakes and Northern Great Plains areas of the Midwest Region, the Colorado Plateau in the Intermountain Region, and the California coast and Hawaii in the Pacific West Region. RRAT scores sites based upon departure of selected visible indicators from desired condition, logistical considerations, and the potential ecological and social value of the site. The tool will be available on the NPS-Nature web site. We will demonstrate the tool with data from many of the parks where the system has been applied. Conference participants will also have the opportunity to enter sites from there own parks and generate output.
Keywords: RESTORATION, ASSESSMENTS