Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks - A Climate-Smart Resource Stewardship Strategy - An Overview

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Connor

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks adopt a Climate-Smart Resource Stewardship Strategy (RSS) to guide stewardship through changing environmental and social conditions. The overview describes how long-standing practices and recent science-supported actions shaped restoration efforts, from removing encroaching facilities to reintroducing fire and repairing wetlands. It emphasizes accelerated global climate change, its localized habitat impacts, and the need to plan for uncertain future ecosystem shifts. The RSS outlines a long-range, science-informed approach to conserve biodiversity, maintain ecosystem functions, protect historical and cultural integrity, and track progress while evaluating potential activities under relevant environmental and historic laws.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Overarching Goal and Principles that Guide Stewardship

The Purpose of a Resource Stewardship Strategy

Priority Resources and Their Stressors

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks A Climate-Smart Resource Stewardship Strategy for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks An Overview September 2017 As superintendent of these parks from 1920-1938 and 1941-1947, Colonel John White encouraged the removal of buildings in the Giant Forest to protect the health of the grove. His goals were achieved in the late 1990s. INTRODUCTION The landscapes of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks have a long history of stewardship. American Indians used traditional burning practices here for thousands of years. Captain Charles Young, superintendent in 1903, worked to stop livestock grazing in the parks. From the 1920s into the 1940s, Superintendent John White resisted over-developing park facilities. In more recent decades, with scientifc studies supporting their actions, park managers have worked to restore nature in some of the areas where past human activity impacted resources. They took out buildings that encroached on giant sequoia trees, reintroduced fre to park ecosystems, repaired eroded wetlands, and removed non-native trout in naturally fshless lakes. People have cared for these special places in many ways for a long time. But there is still much work to be done. Like earlier stewards, today’s managers face many challenges while caring for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The nature of these challenges is different, however. Of particular concern is accelerated global climate change. Its effects already are appearing in and around the parks. This is not surprising, as the huge elevational range in these parks creates an amazing variety of localized conditions and habitats, each of which react to shifts in climate. Based on how rapidly the climate changes, we may soon see even more impacts on plants, animals, waterways, and other park resources. Current and forecasted climactic changes compel us to prepare for an uncertain future. From the foothills to the alpine peaks of the Sierra Nevada, climate change may result in shifting ecosystems and new combinations of species. Social conditions in and around national parks are changing as well. Demographics, economics, social expectations, and customs are shifting. Changing environmental and social conditions create challenges for national parks as they work to steward natural resources and provide unparalleled visitor experiences. Through this and other planning efforts, the National Park Service (NPS) is developing strategies in the face of these challenges. ISAAC CHELL MAN 1 Overarching Goal and Principles that Guide Stewardship The 2012 Revisiting Leopold report by the National Park System Advisory Board acknowledges these environmental and social uncertainties. It suggests that,“The overarching goal of NPS resource management should be to steward NPS resources for continuous change that is not yet fully understood.” At Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, we have embraced this goal and developed six principles to guide us: Conserve regional native biodiversity. Focus on conserving the wide range of native species in the broader ecoregion, knowing that species may shift from their current locations. Conserve key structures and functions of ecosystems even if they do not remain within their historic range of variability. Accommodating change at a slow pace may allow ecosystems to transition to new states without losing their signifcant structures and functions; rapid change can cause catastrophic simplifcation of ecosystems. Preserve the historical and cultural integrity of resources while recognizing that climate change may not only alter their settings but also worsen deterioration of theresources themselves. Move audiences toward increased stewardship by providing information and activities that people fnd transformative. Minimize potential negative impacts on natural and cultural resources from human infrastructure a

FAQs

What is the purpose of the Resource Stewardship Strategy (RSS) for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks?

The RSS guides funding, planning, and stewardship activities, tracks and evaluates progress, and supports new ways of thinking about stewardship that account for climate change realities.

How does the strategy describe the main challenge posed by climate change?

It highlights accelerated global climate change already affecting conditions in and around the parks, with localized impacts driven by the parks’ wide elevational range and changing combinations of species and habitats.

What principles guide resource stewardship under the RSS?

The strategy uses six principles including conserving regional native biodiversity, maintaining key ecosystem structures and functions during change, preserving historical and cultural integrity, promoting public stewardship, minimizing negative infrastructure impacts, and cooperating across boundaries for ecoregional stewardship.

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Connor