NPCA recommends urgent action to save our National Parks
Article
Throughout the world many people make America's lovely and worthy national parks their vacation destinations. Sometimes, however, it seems American's don't love their national parks enough to keep them from falling to pieces, a study by the National Park Conservation Association (NPCA) implicates.
Using data gathered by the NPCA's Center for Park Research over a ten year period, the latest study released by the NPCA, titled The State of America's National Parks, claims that the parks are in a state of disarray that could lead to serious and permanent damage of park resources. The study says that America's national parks are under attack from many sources, including threats from activities outside the parks, insufficient attention paid to cultural resources, threats to native plants and animals from non-native, introduced species and a lack of sufficient funding by Congress for staff and upkeep of the parks.
“These parks are in jeopardy,” states Ron Tipton, NPCA senior vice president. “We are concerned about the condition of park resources, but we also believe there are solutions to all these challenges. We believe there is hope and opportunity.”
The study included 80 of the 394 national park service units between 2001 and 2010, including a diverse cross section of America's National Park system, such as historical landmarks, national sea shores, recreational areas and traditional national parks such as Joshua Tree National Park and the Grand Canyon. The study cites that in 95% of the parks assessed for natural resource conditions, at least one animal or plant species has disappeared entirely, including top predator species such as the gray wolf, grizzly bears or mountain lions.
The NPCA has asked President Obama to sign an executive order that would ensure that the federal government live up to its original commitment to the conservation of national parks, using the studies results and recommendations as a guide to where money might be spent best. They are also calling on Congress to provide $600 million to restore threatened ecosystems and wildlife habitats.
Among the many threats outlined by the Center's report are degraded wildlife habitat, decreased diversity of species, declining air quality and polluted waterways. The study also cites many outside pressures to the National Parks such as pollution from nearby cities, which it claims are covering scenic landscapes with a smoky haze, polluting the air in such places as Joshua Tree National Park and Grand Canyon with sulfur and nitrogen oxides and causing acid rain. Among the many recommendations in the report, one of the NPCA's suggestions is that the Department of the Interior use the authority given it by the Clean Air Act to force federal and state regulators to take positive steps to amend these burgeoning menaces to park environmental conditions.
Other suggestions included reintroducing key species that have already disappeared from some of our degraded wildlife habitats, programs to control invasive species detrimental to native populations, controlling water pollution from such sources as agriculture, logging, mining and acid rain and more funding to employ park personnel to combat a serious decline in the preservation of cultural resources such as the Cliff Palace ruins in Mesa Verde National Park.
The study makes clear that many challenges face America's National Park System in the years to come. With over 281 million visitors in 2010 alone, the sheer traffic to National Parks represents a challenge to the system as well. The Center's study suggests that money be allocated to preserving these National Treasures for future generations of visitors, and if no action is taken, America faces the possibility of losing precious national resources permanently.
Sources
The entire report filed by the National Park Conservation Association can be found at http://www.npca.org/cpr/sanp/
