USGS Science in Point Reyes National Seashore (California)
Detailed Description
Interviews with staff at Point Reyes National Seashore tell how this National Park Service unit uses USGS science to educate visitors, and manage the park.
Details
Date Taken:
Length: 00:03:01
Location Taken: Point Reyes National Seashore, CA, US
Transcript
[John] USGS scientific research,
here at Point Reyes National Seashore
has been going on for many, many years
That information is the basis
for the education programs
that we offer to the public.
[Narrator] The seashore
is a 71,000 acre unit
of the National Park Service,
located on the California
coast less than an hour's drive
North of San Francisco.
People visited the park
2.4 million times last year.
[John] We have a very, very popular
self-guided trail here in the seashore,
called the Earthquake Trail.
Probably thirty, forty
thousand people a year
walk on this trail and,
again, all of that information
is data that we've gathered
and refined over the years
from USGS.
[Narrator] The park
also uses USGS science
to manage this iconic but complex setting.
For example, local
ranchers lease 28,000 acres
of National Park land for
dairy and beef cattle.
To monitor ranch lands, the
park uses maps, air photos
and other databases from USGS.
In 2015, we helped the
park with another problem.
[Ben] We have quite a few cliffs.
We have a lot of unstable areas.
We have a lot of sea caves.
We have a lot of promontories,
and California coastline, of course,
is always eroding.
Unfortunately, about a year
ago, we had some visitors
that were out on one of these promontories
and there was a collapse,
it was basically a landslide
and one of the people lost their lives.
After this happened,
USGS, we spoke with them
actually just a couple
days after it happened,
and it was great they
sent out someone to assess
this particular rock fall,
and take a look at it and
give us some advice on
what some safety measures would be.
[John] Every single day I
pull that topo map out.
If I'm planning a route
for a search or if I know
last known location of a person,
being able to look at the
actual topography of a place
and where is not going to be
a likely route for that person
is a huge assistance.
[Dave] USGS has been a real
partner in helping us better
understand the population
dynamics of tule elk,
where several really long-term
studies conducted by the USGS
have helped us better understand
when the population grows
and what the limitations are.
[Narrator] A few USGS
researchers have been stationed
at the park for decades.
[Dave] And having USGS scientists
based here at Point Reyes
has really benefited the
Park Service's research
and monitoring efforts.
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