{"id":723,"date":"2026-01-15T19:06:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T19:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.uvm.edu\/parc\/?page_id=723"},"modified":"2026-01-15T19:06:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T19:06:27","slug":"723-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/site.uvm.edu\/parc\/723-2\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"
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The PARC Listening Lab was established in 2023 in collaboration with the Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division<\/a> of the National Park Service<\/a> (NPS). Modeled after the long-standing Sound and Light Ecology Team Listening Lab at Colorado State University, our lab is part of a nationwide effort to preserve and understand natural soundscapes\u2014the collective sounds of nature that are increasingly threatened by human-made noise.
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The PARC Listening Lab builds on a long tradition of acoustic monitoring and research within the NPS. The preservation of natural soundscapes has been recognized as a critical component of the visitor experience and ecological integrity of parks for decades.
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The legal foundation for soundscape preservation originates with the Organic Act of 1916, which mandates the NPS to conserve park resources and values “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” This broad mandate has since been interpreted to include the protection of natural acoustic environments. Additional guidance came with the National Parks Overflights Act of 1987, which directed the NPS and the Federal Aviation Administration to address the impacts of aircraft noise over national parks.
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In the 2000s, NPS codified these responsibilities more explicitly. Director\u2019s Order #47: Soundscape Preservation and Noise Management (2000) established that natural soundscapes are park resources and values worthy of protection in their own right. This was reinforced in the 2006 NPS Management Policies, which specified that the Service will “restore degraded soundscapes to the natural condition wherever possible and protect natural soundscapes from unacceptable impacts.”
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The NPS NSNSD, established in the early 2000s, has since led efforts to measure, model, and manage acoustic environments across the park system. Their work has included the development of standardized monitoring protocols, innovative tools such as the System for Recording Ambient Noise (SRAN) and later SPLAT (Sound Pressure Level Annotation Tool), and nationwide inventories of baseline sound conditions.
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Key studies have documented both the ecological role of sound (e.g., how noise affects wildlife communication, behavior, and distribution) and the visitor experience dimension (e.g., the extent to which noise intrusions diminish visitor enjoyment, sense of naturalness, or opportunities for solitude). Research in places like Grand Canyon National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Denali National Park and Preserve have been especially influential in demonstrating the impacts of aircraft, road traffic, and other anthropogenic sounds.
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Today, acoustic monitoring and analysis support both resource stewardship and visitor use management decisions. From assessing the impacts of construction or transportation projects, to supporting park planning documents and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), to informing interpretive programs that educate visitors about the value of natural quiet, soundscape science is now firmly embedded in the NPS mission. The PARC Listening Lab contributes to this legacy by training the next generation of researchers and resource managers in methods of acoustic monitoring, analysis, and communication.
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National park units across the U.S. record thousands of hours of acoustic data each year. These recordings are analyzed in the PARC Listening Lab to document natural and human-caused sounds. Work from the lab provides essential data that guides soundscape management decisions, ensuring visitors can enjoy natural quiet and wildlife can thrive.
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The PARC Listening Lab was established in 2023 in collaboration with the Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division of the National Park Service (NPS). Modeled after the long-standing Sound and Light Ecology Team Listening Lab at Colorado State University, our lab is part of a nationwide effort to preserve and understand natural soundscapes\u2014the collective sounds … <\/p>\n

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