Select Land Management Link Idaho NERP Vegetation Surveys Flora of the INL Wildfire on the INL Wildlife Surveys Rabbit Surveys Species Lists Breeding Bird Surveys Raptor Counts Threatened Species

Idaho National Environmental Research Park (Idaho NERP)

National Environmental Research Parks (NERPs) are outdoor laboratories that provide opportunities for environmental studies on protected lands that act as buffers around Department of Energy (DOE) facilities.

The objective of the NERP system is to provide protected lands for research and education, particularly to demonstrate the compatibility of energy technology development and a quality environment. 

Idaho National Laboratory's NERP designation has allowed the INL to serve as an outdoor laboratory for environmental scientists to study Idaho's native plants and wildlife in an intact and relatively undisturbed ecosystem. 

The Idaho NERP provides exceptional opportunities for research because of its established facilities, a security buffer that protects research, long-term records of environmental conditions, and partnerships with universities and industry.

Research activities and opportunities at the Idaho NERP include:

• Plant succession and biomass production.
• Long-term observations of climate, animal and plant populations, and physical changes.
• Environmental behavior of radionuclides.
• Ecosystem dynamics, contaminant transport, bioremediation, model development, collection of long-term data sets.
• Development and evaluation of mitigation methods.
• Cost and effectiveness of restoration of disturbed lands.

The Idaho NERP also provides a rich environments for training researchers and introducing the public to ecological sciences:

• Education of grade-school and high-school students and the general public about ecosystem interactions at DOE sites.
• Training of graduate and undergraduate students in research related to site-specific, regional, national, and global issues.
• Collaboration and coordination among local, regional, and national public organizations, schools, universities, and federal and state agencies.

A considerable amount of information exists from past and present long-term studies.  These baseline archives of ecological data may be used to establish comparative reference points for continued research.  Existing ecological databases include:

• Plant and animal life of desert ecosystems
• Radioecology
• Climate
• Soils and Geology
• Surface water and aquatic biota

The goal of the Idaho NERP is to provide a coordinating structure for ecological research and information exchange on the INL.  

The Idaho NERP facilitates access to the Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

• Attracts new researchers and external funding.

• Provides background data to support new projects.

• Provides logistical support for access to INL.

  • Badging

  • Training

  • Permitting (NEPA, SWPPP, etc.)

  • Field Worker Notification

• Provides infrastructure support.

  • Experimental Field Station

  • Museum reference collections

  • Reprint collections

Protective Cap/Biobarrier Experiment at the  Experimental Field Station

The Idaho NERP fosters cooperation and research integration.

• Encourages researchers using the INL to collaborate.

• Coordinates:

  • Interdisciplinary teaming.

  • Data sharing.

  • Leverage funding.

The Idaho NERP manages a central archival database for ecological data on the INL.

• Facilitates data retrieval to support land management.
• Supports new research project proposals.

The Idaho NERP synthesizes research results sitewide.

• Integrates results from many projects and disciplines.
• Provides analysis of ecosystem level responses.

The Idaho NERP provides interpretation of results to INL land/facility managers to aid decisions concerning:

• NEPA processes.
• Natural resources management.
• Radionuclide pathway analysis.
• Ecological risk assessment.
  

Past and Current NERP Research Topics

2006 Research:

• Monitoring Amphibian and Reptile Populations on the INL
• Annotated Checklist of the Ants on the Idaho National Laboratory
• Ecology, Conservation of Rattlesnakes in Sagebrush Steppe Ecosystems:  Landscape Disturbance, Small Mammal Communities, and Great Basin Rattlesnake Reproduction
• The Protective Cap/Biobarrier Experiment
• Developing a Conservation Management Plan for the Idaho National Laboratory
• Cesium in Soils and Plants in the Sagebrush Steppe Ecosystem
• Minimizing Risk of Cheatgrass Invasion and Dominance at the Idaho National Laboratory
• Sagebrush Demography on the Idaho National Laboratory
• Long-Term Vegetation Trends on the Idaho National Laboratory

Past Research:

• Natural and Assisted Recovery of Sagebrush in Idaho's Big Desert
• Ecological Impacts of Irrigating Native Vegetation with Treated Sewage Wastewater
• Factors that Influence the Road Mortality of Snakes on the Eastern Snake River Plain
• Phylogenetic Analysis of the Abronia ammophila Green (Nyctaginaceae) Species Complex
• The Effect of Landscape Change on the Life History of Western Rattlesnakes
• Fine-scale Movement Patterns of Coyotes (Canis latrans) on the INEEL in Idaho.
• Monitoring Amphibian and Reptile Populations on the INL
• Alternative Container Design for Large Acreage Revegetation
• Use of Genetic Markers as a Screening Tool for Ecological Risk Assessment at the INL: Microsatellite Mutation Rate of Burrowing Mammals
• Crested Wheatgrass Rates of Spread into Native Sagebrush Steppe in Eastern Idaho
• Experimental Remote Sensing of Vegetation on the INL
• Development of an Integrated Watershed Information Management Tool for Long-term Facilities Stewardship at the INL
• Assessing the Effects of Soil-forming Processes on Surface Caps
• Coupled Effects of Biointrusion and Precipitation on Soil Caps

Contact:  Roger Blew, PhD, Coordinator
Idaho National Environmental Research Park
rblew@stoller.com