Climate Change in American National Parks: Impacts, Management, Communication, and Public Perception

Abstract

As climate change threatens human and natural systems worldwide, the US government–once a leader of international collaboration on the topic under Presidents of both parties–has withdrawn from its obligation to respond, and the issue has become politically divisive despite near scientific consensus on its existence and attribution to human activity. American National Parks are widely cherished spaces protected from extensive human development and the National Park Service (NPS) is well-equipped and highly trained to protect and study them, making the parks ideal laboratories in which to study physical impacts of climate change in the US. The NPS has committed to a strong, service-wide response to these impacts, comprising an illuminating case study on large-scale climate change management. I hypothesize that, for these reasons, the parks can be effective classrooms in which park visitors can learn about climate change and NPS rangers can effectively educate the public on this critical issue.

In order to better understand the physical impacts of climate change on the parks and the US, examine the NPS management response, and evaluate this hypothesis, I analyzed literature produced by the NPS and external researchers on climate change. I also visited 13 National Parks during June, July, and August 2017, seeking information on climate change from a visitor’s perspective. At four National Parks–Joshua Tree (CA), Zion (UT), Glacier (MT), and Acadia (ME)¬–I conducted formal, in-depth interviews with 12 NPS employees about their experiences with climate change research, management, and communication. At Zion, Glacier, and Acadia, I interviewed 61 visitors, surveying their beliefs toward climate change, perception of its impacts on the parks, and knowledge of NPS policy on the topic.

I found incontrovertible evidence that climate change attributable to human activity has already affected park resources and is predicted to impact National Parks in critical ways in the future. The NPS published a wide-ranging series of climate change policies from 2009-2016 under its Climate Change Response Program, mandated in part by directives and orders from the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and President Obama and championed by former NPS Director Jonathan Jarvis. These policies have shifted park operations and have fostered initiatives to research, respond to, and communicate climate science on the ground. Despite the Trump administration’s resistance and hostility to climate change research and policy, NPS employees at the park level and individual parks still have the capacity and resources to mitigate park emissions and plan strategically to manage park resources in an era of rapid change. Furthermore, the NPS is uniquely positioned to communicate climate science to the public, given that the majority of park visitors value the park system, visit it frequently, are receptive to information on climate change, and are concerned about its effects.

By revising some of its foundational policies on climate change like the Climate Change Action Plan with more specific instructions for implementers on the ground to achieve stated goals; collaborating with academia and other external sources to support climate change research in the parks; and equipping park managers and interpreters with training, tools, and guidance on adaptation and communication strategies, the NPS can bolster its climate change response.