Losing Ground: Western National Parks Endangered by Climate Disruption
Saunders S, Easley T, Logan JA, Spencer T. 2007. Losing Ground: Western National Parks Endangered by Climate Disruption. The George Wright Forum. 24(1):41-81
THE NATIONAL PARKS IN THE AMERICAN WEST include some of the country’s most treasured places: the geysers of Yellowstone, the nation’s first national park; the gorges of Grand Canyon; Yosemite’s dramatic rock domes; and Mesa Verde’s cliff dwellings. To preserve these national treasures for all time, Congress directed the National Park Service (NPS) to manage them “in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” Congress believed that NPS could preserve the national parks unimpaired by managing properly the resources and uses within the parks. Now, however, the continued ability of the national parks to bring enjoyment to the American people is at risk because of an unprecedented, external threat: climate change. A climate disrupted by human activities poses such sweeping threats to the scenery, natural and cultural resources, and wildlife of the national parks and to our enjoyment of the parks that it dwarfs all previous risks to these American treasures.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Saunders, Stephen; Easley, Tom; Logan, Jesse; Spencer, Theo
- Keywords
- climate change national parks west western disruption
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Air and Climate | Weather and Climate | Weather and Climate