Collecting data on specific natural resource parameters is the first step toward improving our understanding of National Parks ecosystems. We use these data in tandem with sound data management practices to analyze, synthesize, and model aspects of ecosystems. We use analysis results and interpretations to make decisions about the Park's vital natural resources and how to manage them in accordance with the National Park Service (NPS) mission. Thus, data collected and maintained through sound data management practices become information through analyses, syntheses, and modeling. This can only be achieved through the development of a modern information management infrastructure (e.g., staffing, hardware, software) and procedures to ensure that relevant natural resource data collected by NPS staff, cooperators, researchers, and others are entered, quality-checked, analyzed, reported, archived, documented, cataloged, and made available to others for management decision-making, research, and education.