DataStore Data Trail: September 2025

Welcome to the DataStore Data Trail!

—The official newsletter of the National Park Service DataStore science repository. Our goal is to deliver science and information - with a side of scenery - directly to your inbox. Our audience is anyone that uses DataStore, and our focus is on upcoming changes to DataStore, report and dataset highlights, and tips and tricks for navigating DataStore. If you’d like to get involved as a beta tester, submit a photo or content for inclusion in the Data Trail, or have feedback, questions, or suggestions, please reach out to the DataStore Team.

Iceberg Lake Trail lined with Bear grass, Glacier National Park. NPS Photo/David Restivo

From the Ridge Line

Hello DataStore friends! As we reach the end of summer, I find myself reflecting on all the miles traveled—on real trails, as well as those covered by the dedicated DataStore team. Last fall the NPS Public Access Plan named DataStore as the designated repository for scientific information products, including data, from NPS studies. It’s an important role to play for the agency, and we have lots of enhancements on our wish list to ensure we meet that responsibility. In December 2024 we improved the way that we track usage and we’ve logged millions of page views and downloads in just nine months. That was way above my expectation, and it’s very exciting to know that NPS reports, scripts, data, and other documents are constantly (every few seconds) being used by our digital visitors! 2026 will be another year of active development within NPS DataStore. The team is hard at work on a completely revised look and feel (DataStore 4.0) that will build off the NPS.gov theme. The IRMA Portal has already been rebranded if you want a sneak peek at what's coming! We are also working to improve our overall transparency and ensure any sensitive data is appropriately matched to a CUI category or other legal authority. The new release will also include overhauled help documentation and other refinements to ensure we maintain a high-quality science repository. Thanks to all of you for populating DataStore with amazing content, and for Wendy Thorsdatter (current DataStore Product Owner) and the entire DataStore development team for their dedication to making this a premier federal application.

• Judd Patterson, IMD National Data Scientist

National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst

Where this belongs

• Everglades National Park
• Glacier National Park
• Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
• Mount Rainier National Park
• North Cascades National Park
• Olympic National Park

Where this page came from

This page was imported from National Park Service. Produced by the U.S. National Park Service and, as a work of the United States government, in the public domain.

Nobody has written it yet — it is the source material at a new address, which is why search engines are asked to skip it and why no one earns from it. It is up for grabs: take it on, and it is yours to rewrite and to earn from.