Editing Olympic National Park (section)

==Ecology==
[[File:Odocoileus hemionus 5444.JPG|thumb|[[Black-tailed deer]]]]

According to the [[A. W. Kuchler]] U.S. [[Potential natural vegetation]] Types, the park encompasses five classifications: Alpine Meadows & Barren, aka [[Alpine tundra]] (''52'') potential vegetation type with an Alpine Meadow (''11'') potential vegetation form; a Fir/Hemlock (''4'') vegetation type with a Pacific Northwest [[conifer]] forest (''1'') vegetation form; a cedar/hemlock/Douglas fir vegetation type with a Pacific Northwest conifer forest (''1'') vegetation form; Western spruce/fir vegetation type (''15'') with a Rocky Mountain conifer forest (''3'') vegetation form; and a spruce/cedar/hemlock (''1'') vegetation type with a Pacific Northwest conifer forest (''1'') vegetation form.<ref name="Conservation Biology Institute">{{cite web |last=Kuchler |first=A. W. |author-link=A. W. Kuchler |others=Uploaded by Conservation Biology Institute |title=U.S. Potential Natural Vegetation, Original Kuchler Types, v2.0 (Spatially Adjusted to Correct Geometric Distortions) |url=https://databasin.org/datasets/1c7a301c8e6843f2b4fe63fdb3a9fe39 |access-date=July 15, 2019 |publisher= |via=Data Basin}}</ref>

Because the park sits on an isolated [[peninsula]], with a high mountain range dividing it from the land to the south, it developed many [[endemism|endemic]] plant and animal species (like the [[Olympic Marmot]], [[Campanula piperi|Piper's bellflower]] and [[Viola flettii|Flett's violet]]). The southwestern coastline of the Olympic Peninsula is also the northernmost non-glaciated region on the Pacific coast of North America, with the result that – aided by the distance from peaks to the coast at the [[Last Glacial Maximum]] being about twice what it is today – it served as a refuge from which plants colonized glaciated regions to the north.

The park also provides habitat for many species (like the [[Roosevelt elk]]) that are native only to the Pacific Northwest coast. As a result, scientists have declared it a [[biological reserve]] and studied its unique species to better understand how plants and animals evolve. The park is home to sizable [[population]]s of [[American black bear|black bear]]s and [[black-tailed deer]]. The park also has a noteworthy [[North American cougar|cougar]] population, numbering about 150.<ref name="Cougar warning">{{cite news |last=Blair |first=Seabury Jr. |date=May 17, 1992 |title=Cougar warning issued for Olympics |page=3 |url=https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1992/05-17/247578_cougar_warning.html |work=[[Kitsap Sun]] |access-date=January 8, 2014}}</ref> [[Mountain goat]]s were accidentally introduced into the park in the 1920s and have caused much damage on the native flora. The NPS has activated management plans to control the goats.<ref name="Mountain Goats in Olympic National Park">{{cite web |title=Mountain Goats in Olympic National Park: Biology and Management of an Introduced Species |url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/science/25/chap4.htm |access-date=January 8, 2014 |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>

The park contains an estimated {{convert|366000|acre|mi2 km2}} of old-growth forests.<ref name="1993OldGrowthEstimates">{{cite book |last1=Bolsinger |first1=Charles L. |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007422967 |title=Area of Old-growth Forests in California, Oregon, and Washington |last2=Waddell |first2=Karen L. |date=December 1993 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station |series=Resource Bulletin |volume=PNW-RB-197 |location=Portland |hdl=2027/umn.31951d02996301m |oclc=31933118}}</ref>

Forest fires are infrequent in the rainforests of the park's western side; however, a severe drought after the driest spring in 100&nbsp;years, coupled with an extremely low snowpack from the preceding winter, resulted in a rare rainforest fire in the summer of 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2015 |title=Paradise Fire |url=https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4305/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022142316/https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4305/ |archive-date=October 22, 2017 |website=InciWeb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Olympic National Park |author-link=Olympic National Park |title=Current Fire Status |url=https://www.nps.gov/olym/learn/management/current-fire-status.htm |access-date=January 12, 2023 |publisher=National Park Service |at=Paradise Fire (2015) |language=en}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|title=Ecological zones - glaciated mountains, subalpine forests and meadows, temperate rainforests, and coastline
|mode=packed
|noborder = yes
|state=collapsed
|height=140
|width=140
|File:westpeak.jpg|The summit of [[Mount Olympus (Washington)|Mount Olympus]] from the [[Blue Glacier]]
|File:HurricaneRidge 7392t.jpg|Subalpine fir in a meadow on [[Hurricane Ridge]]
|File:MossesHohRainForest 7306.jpg|[[Acer macrophyllum|Bigleaf maple]]s, [[Hoh Rainforest]]
|File:A059, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA, sea stacks, 2002.jpg|Foggy [[Stack (geology)|sea stacks]]
}}