Saving Our National Parks

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A recently released report, Climate Change and National Park Wildlife A Survival Guide for a Warming World, by Washington-based advocacy group National Parks Conservation Association highlights concerns relating to climate change –  from the bleaching of coral reefs in Florida to the disappearance of high-altitude ponds that nurture yellow-legged frogs in California –  in the nation’s national parks.

The report singles out air and water pollution, pesticides, logging, mining, and other processes detrimental to the park”˜s landscape and wildlife and calls on decisive action by the federal government to avoid “a potentially catastrophic loss of animal and plant life”  in our national parks.

Suggestions on how to do this include the creation of wildlife corridors from one park to another so that animals can move into cooler areas as needed without being stressed or inhibited, training national park managers to plan for climate change, funding adaptation work, and developing and expanding programs within national parks to engage park visitors in becoming part of the climate change solution.

Read the full report online to find out more about the five steps that NPCA recommends we all take to safeguard America’s wildlife and ourselves from climate change.

Image: Savannah Grandfather