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The impacts of climate change are being felt on public lands across the country. From lengthened fire seasons to decreased snowpack, research shows that public lands are changing more rapidly than the country as a whole. A new series of fact sheets from the Center for Western Priorities highlights the ways climate change is impacting everything from hunting and fishing to rivers and trails.
A new study in the journal Science finds that forests around the world are becoming younger and shorter because of the dual impacts of climate change and deforestation. Lead author Nate McDowell told Bloomberg that old-growth forests—with trees older than 140 years—have declined by 30 percent globally since 1900. The study comes as the Trump administration is considering removing protections for Alaska's Tongass National Forest, which is the world's largest temperate old-growth rainforest and holds 8 percent of the carbon stored in U.S. forests.
Reopening parks? It's complicated
Leadership at Rocky Mountain National Park wants to implement a timed reservation system to facilitate a partial reopening while avoiding the crowds that led to Zion National Park closing its gates early over Memorial Day weekend. The catch is that while the reservation plan is supported by the gateway town of Estes Park, it has not been approved by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who has not given park superintendents authority over how to safely re-open parks (or leave them closed) to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19.
The New York Times also takes a look at the challenges of re-opening campgrounds at state and local parks across the West. The bottom line? Campers need to be extra prepared and self-sufficient. “Plan as if you are going to the moon,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife tweeted.
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We have different histories, ceremonies, and worldviews, but there are also universal values across each of these unique cultures with connections to Bears Ears. That’s the beauty of Bears Ears. There is not just one culture, society, or language that can fully emphasize how important this landscape is to all of us as Indigenous peoples, as humans.”
