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Dear Friends and Colleagues,
During the last leg of August recess, I traveled to Big Sky Country with the Western Caucus Foundation, which included a visit to the iconic Yellowstone National Park. On the trip, we found the northern portion of the park—usually bustling with tourism in the summertime—to be eerily quiet.
Record rainfall this summer on top of melting snow caused historic flooding throughout the park and surrounding communities, destroying roads, houses and other infrastructure, and abruptly halting tourism—which typically generates $630 million in annual spending and supports 8,700 jobs in nearby, “gateway” towns like Gardiner, Montana.
Experts are pointing to a warmer atmosphere, which can hold more moisture, as a reason for the flooding. They warn as the globe continues to warm, more floods—like the one that crippled Yellowstone—should be anticipated.
Some two months after the flood, there is still a lot of talk about its damage—to the local economy and infrastructure. And, there is a lot of concern among residents as to how to mitigate the impact of future extreme weather events.
But while the weather may be increasingly extreme, solutions to combat our changing climate and build more resilient don’t have to be. In fact, most Americans overwhelmingly support “common-sense” ideas to expand our commitment to clean energy—ranging from reducing regulatory red tape to holding foreign countries accountable.
Legislation such as the American Critical Mineral Independence Act and the Enhancing Geothermal Production on Federal Lands Act are solutions that celebrate our natural resources while simultaneously lowering emissions and encouraging energy independence. Likewise, promoting renewable energy
sources like hydropower—which produced 9,744 million kilowatt hours in Montana in 2021—through bills such as the Hydropower Clean Future Act will pave the way to a cleaner energy future.
But it’s as much about combating the sources of our changing climate as it is about creating more resilient infrastructure to stand up to extreme weather. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), passed last fall, has resources available now to help mitigate the worst impacts from future events in Yellowstone and around the country. Beyond IIJA, the National Park Service and the Federal Highway Administration funding, for example, will help ensure the
Park’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure are safe, secure and built to better withstand whatever Mother Nature throws its way.
As Yellowstone continues to rebuild, we urge congressional leaders back in Washington to join their Western Caucus colleagues to enact commonsense clean energy, climate and resiliency solutions to preserve the picturesque landscapes of America’s National Parks for generations to come.
All my best,
Heather Reams
CRES President
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