NPS National Capital Region Enduring Features

The National Capital Region (NCR) represents some of the richest features of America’s cultural and natural history. Within and around these national park units is a diverse array of forests, mountains, and estuaries that provide resilience to environmental change. However, as global temperatures rise and precipitation patterns
become more extreme (IPCC, 2013), our national treasures become increasingly vulnerable. To understand how climate change will impact the NCR, the National Park Service (NPS) has partnered with experts at NatureServe to conduct climate change vulnerability assessments. The results from these vulnerability assessments are provided here in the form of GIS data and interactive maps that park managers and other interested parties can explore.

Our goal is to park managers an understanding of how the climate is changing in the NCR, and which areas and ecosystems are most and least vulnerable. This information can support the development of meaningful natural resource management strategies and facilitate better communication of climate change vulnerability to park visitors.

Data provided here includes (1) information on observed (1980-2014) and near future (through 2040) climate change EXPOSURE, (2) maps of terrestrial RESILIENCE (aka adaptive capacity) based on landscape diversity and connectivity (TNC 2016), (3) an integrated index of overall LANDSCAPE VULNERABILITY for the observed and the near future periods, and (4) HABITAT CLIMATE CHANGE VULNERABILITY INDEX (HCCVI) assessments for three ecological systems common in the parks. We also provide data on CONNECTIVITY PRIORITY AREAS identified for each park based on their potential for enhancing adaptive capacity.