Page 13 - i1052-5173-26-11

2017 Birdsall-Dreiss Distinguished Lecturer
Ed Harvey
is the supervisory hydrologist and
chief of the U.S National Park Service to provide local accommodations.
(NPS) Water Resources Division
(WRD) located in Fort Collins,
Colorado. He received his B.S. in
geology/geophysics from Olivet
Nazarene University (1986), his M.S.
in hydrogeochemistry from Purdue
University (1990), and his Ph.D. from
the University of Waterloo in
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada (1996).
Immediately after graduation, Harvey took a joint position at the
University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), where he was a research
hydrogeologist with the Conservation and Survey Division (the
state’s geologic and water survey) and a professor of hydrologic
sciences with the School of Natural Resources (SNR). At UNL,
Harvey’s research focused on groundwater-dependent ecosystems,
groundwater–surface water interaction, and using geochemical
and isotope applications methods to characterize regional
groundwater flow systems.
More about Harvey and a list of his publications can be found at
https:/www.nps.gov/orgs/1439/forrest-ed-harvey.htm.
In January 2013, Harvey left his academic position to assume
his current role as NPS WRD chief. WRD provides Park Service
–wide leadership for the preservation, protection, and manage-
ment of water and aquatic resources; offers technical assistance to
all 400+ national park units; leads and supports development of
NPS water resource initiatives, guidelines, and policies; and
provides disciplinary and policy support to the Washington, D.C.,
offices and Park Service leadership staff. More information about
WRD can be found at https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1439/index.htm.
Harvey has served the broader geological and hydrogeological
community in various capacities. He is a Fellow of the Geological
Society of America (GSA), is presently a GSA Councilor, and
served as a GSA books science editor from 2011 to 2014. Harvey
chaired the GSA Hydrogeology Division from 2010 to 2011,
having previously served as vice chair, newsletter editor, website
administrator, and technical program chair for the 2009 meeting
in Portland. In 2008, Harvey received the GSA Hydrogeology
Division’s George Burke Maxey Distinguished Service Award.
Harvey has also been an associate editor for Ground Water and
Hydrogeology.
Interested institutions can schedule a visit by contacting
Ed Harvey at forrest_harvey@nps.gov, or by completing a request
form at the GSA Hydrogeology Division Birdsall-Dreiss website
(community.geosociety.org/hydrodivision/aboutus/birdsall
-lectures). If emailing, please provide your institution name, a
contact person’s email and phone, and potential dates for when
you would like to host the lecture. Harvey will present one lecture
on the topic of National Park water resources described below.
GSA’s Hydrogeology Division is particularly interested in GSA TODAY | www.geosociety.org/gsatoday
including liberal arts colleges in the itinerary. The Division pays
transportation expenses, and the host institution is expected
Water Resource Management in the U.S. National
Park Service
On 25 August 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act
creating the National Park Service, a new bureau in the
Department of the Interior. This “Organic Act” directed the Park
Service “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic
objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment
of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave
them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” This
conservation, enjoyment, and protection mandate also applies to
water resources within parks.
Unlike most park resources that are located largely within park
boundaries or are completely under the management control of
the National Park Service, park water resource issues and manage-
ment often involve greater challenges. These challenges arise from
the fact that surface water and aquifer boundaries often extend
beyond park boundaries and because the legal authority to allo-
cate and manage water resources typically resides with the states.
Thus, parks often need to consider resource issues at a larger land-
scape, or seascape, scale and manage collaboratively with neigh-
bors and partners to protect, manage, and restore water resources.
In addition, water resource expertise is not always available within
a park, resulting in the need to partner with other agencies,
universities, “friends” groups, or regional and national offices.
Lastly, many park water resource issues have broader legal, polit-
ical, socioeconomic, and cultural implications requiring park
managers to consider more than just the science alone when
making a water resource management decision.
The lecture, using a series of examples from various parks
across the United States, will explore the process of how parks
identify water resource needs, issues, and concerns, and how they
develop and apply the necessary scientific information needed to
make water resource management decisions. Specific challenges to
decision making and park water resource management will be
presented and explored (e.g., trans-boundary issues, partnership
building, scientific uncertainty, funding and personnel/expertise,
and making science-based decisions that also appropriately
consider the legal, political, socioeconomic, and cultural impacts
of the decision). As part of the visit, Harvey also will present
future water resource research and management needs in parks
and across the nation, present information about engaging in
water resources research within parks and advise students on
programs for seasonal and permanent employment as a water
resource professional within the National Park Service.
13