It probably won’t surprise you to learn that at the 63 national parks scattered throughout the United States, environmental consciousness is the name of the game.
“Sustainability is inherent in the NPS mission,” National Park Service (NPS) spokesperson Kathy Kupper tells SUCCESS®, including the preservation of natural and cultural resources “for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and future generations.”
Established in 1916, the NPS prides itself in having long been a world leader in protecting those resources. But there’s a bit of a catch-22 inherent in the mission: the parks are there for people to come visit, explore and enjoy. And people? Well, we’re the ones responsible for the bulk of carbon emissions in the parks, thanks in large part to the vehicles we drive around while visiting them.
Recognizing the need to address sustainability issues head-on, the NPS released the first edition of its Green Parks Plan in 2012. The GPP was first updated in 2016, and the third edition of the plan, released in 2023, presents a “bold vision” for the future of our parks.
“Since 2012, the NPS has made considerable progress towards its sustainability goals,” Kupper explains. “The updated GPP recognizes this progress as well as improvements in science and technology and updates to legislation and executive orders.”
The latest update also streamlines and consolidates GPP goal areas from 10 goals to five:
- Be Climate Friendly and Climate Ready: Combat the climate crisis by achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions
- Be Energy Smart and Water Wise: Achieve net-zero water use and net zero energy for facilities and operations
- Buy Green and Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Achieve net-zero waste and sustainable procurement
- Green Our Rides: Adopt and support zero-emissions transportation methods
- Foster a Sustainability Ethic: Engage the NPS workforce, partners, visitors, stakeholders and communities to support and participate in sustainability, climate resilience and environmental justice
All these goals are intended to reduce environmental impact while simultaneously adapting to climate change. And, yes, you read that right: The NPS’ latest plan commits to adopting zero-emissions transportation methods in the parks.
“The world is in a climate crisis, and the NPS is front and center in viewing climate impacts,” said Charles Sams, National Park Service director, in the plan’s third edition. “As such, the NPS is renewing its operational sustainability goals with a bold vision to attain net-zero status in its parks.”
Specific sustainability initiatives differ slightly depending on the park. At Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which the NPS reports is consistently the most-visited national park in the country, human-caused pollution from the surrounding area has led to smoggy views, reducing the park’s visibility from 93 to 25 miles. The solution? A partnership with seven local shuttle companies to reduce congestion and fossil fuel emissions, according to National Geographic.
At Zion National Park, which more than 4 million people visited in 2023, Kupper points to the recent introduction of an all-electric shuttle fleet. And while Zion is the first park in the National Park system to make this transition, Kupper says similar shifts are underway at Grand Canyon, Acadia, Yosemite, Bryce Canyon and Harpers Ferry national parks.
The list of recent and ongoing sustainability projects doesn’t stop there. Grand Canyon National Park lets visiting cyclists skip the long lines and ride their bikes into the park. In Colorado, national parks, including Great Sand Dunes, use the slogan “half the park is after dark” to encourage guests to visit at night; they’re certified as an International Dark Sky Park by Dark Sky International, which means they meet strict standards for sky darkness, limiting outdoor lighting and reducing light pollution.
Kupper notes that the NPS also works to reduce its environmental impact using sustainable material management in NPS operations, which includes locally sourcing environmentally friendly construction materials and diverting solid waste from landfills. The service has a goal of diverting 50% of municipal solid waste by 2025 (and 75% by 2030), all while reducing per-visitor waste generation annually.
When it comes to adapting to climate change, some national parks are more at risk to climate-related disasters than others. At Denali National Park in Alaska, a landslide caused by thawing permafrost cut the park’s only road in half. In Everglades National Park in Florida, rising sea levels and intensifying hurricane seasons have stressed coral reefs and shuttered visitor centers. In 2022, Yellowstone National Park and surrounding communities experienced historic flooding and mudslides that destroyed several bridges, roads and trails, even sweeping entire buildings away.
But the impacts of climate change aren’t limited to just a few national parks. A 2021 National Park Vulnerability Assessment from the Natural Resource Stewardship and Science directorate found that nearly 75% of parks are at risk, either from the ongoing, cumulative effects of climate change or a more specific climate event like a forest fire, summer drought, sea level rise or forest pests.
“Rising temperatures risk destabilizing the balance between wildlife and their ecosystem,” according to an NPS report on wildlife and climate change, which means some animals and plant life will no longer be supported by the habitats they’ve long called home. It’s likely that a warming planet will even impact visitor patterns.
In 2024, the NPS announced it was the recipient of $15 million from the Biden-Harris administration for new projects to “build climate resilience, address climate change impacts, and restore healthy lands and waters at national parks and in surrounding communities across the country.”
“As our climate continues to change, it’s imperative that the National Park Service works to ensure our most treasured landscapes can adapt,” Sams adds. “I’m thrilled to see these projects getting additional support, furthering our investment in America’s resilient future.”
Photo courtesy National Parks Service
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