Oregon State University-Cascades in Bend has been awarded a $2 million grant to analyze ecological data collected from national parks across the country.

The $2 million grant will go towards assessing the ecological health and resilience of national parks to better understand management practices that can help parks adapt to changing conditions.

More than 280 national parks are part of the project. Scientists will track a set of resources considered “vital signs” for a given region. Vital signs in the Upper Columbia Basin network, for example, may include water quality, sage grouse health and populations, and the persistence of rare or endangered flora and fauna.

OSU-Cascades researchers will analyze data from networks that track terrestrial, freshwater and marine specimens and conditions. The project, led by Matt Schinderman, will operate out of the university’s Human Ecosystem and Sustainability Lab.

The project is expected to offer educational opportunities at OSU-Cascades in ecological and data science for post-doctoral researchers, faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students.