ANP least invaded park in study December 21, 2020 on News BAR HARBOR — Maintaining national park infrastructure and built environments, such as roads, information kiosks and visitor centers, is a known and persistent challenge. But a new study led by Kathryn Miller, University of Maine alumna and quantitative ecologist for the National Park Services’ Northeast Temperate Network, suggests that undeveloped areas within national parks also require capital investments to protect their natural flora. Since 2006, the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program (NPS I&M) has been gathering forest health data from randomly located plots in more than 50 Eastern national parks. The data collected in these plots is used to inform park management decisions. Miller, who earned her graduate degrees at UMaine, and Brian McGill, UMaine professor of ecological modeling, partnered with colleagues from the NPS in Maine, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, D.C., to characterize long-term invasive plant trends in 39 Eastern national parks. The team analyzed data gathered over 12 years from 1,479 permanent NPS I&M sites to document the spread of invasive herbs, shrubs, vines and trees. Data from Maine’s only national park, Acadia National Park (ANP), was included in this study.