Senators tour US park, hear about global warming
ESTES PARK, Colo. — Global warming is threatening America’s national parks. But there is no consensus about how to prevent the harm.
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado toured Rocky Mountain National Park Monday then heard testimony from parks officials and scientists about how global warming is harming the park system.
Glacier National Park, for example, is losing its glaciers, while low-lying coastal parkland is in danger of going underwater.
On Monday’s tour, the senators were shown dying pine trees infected by beetles spreading as temperatures warm in the Rocky Mountains.
Herbert Frost, associate director for natural resource stewardship and science for the National Park Service, said climate change could be the most “far-reaching and consequential challenge in our history.”
Both senators said confronting climate change is paramount.
“A common misperception is that this is a crisis that is down the road,” McCain said. “Climate change is real. It’s happening now.”
However, there was no discussion at the hearing on what should be done to address climate change.
When the Senate resumes work next month, members will consider a bill that would set limits for the first time on greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. The bill narrowly passed the House in June.
McCain said the climate change bill would take a back seat to an even more heated debate on health care overhauls.
“First we’ll deal with health care,” he said.
Udall didn’t say whether he supports the bill, either, making only an oblique reference to the climate debate in Congress.
“It’s encouraging that we finally have an administration in Washington, D.C., that is taking this issue seriously,” he said.
Last week the two senators toured the Grand Canyon to see the effects of climate change.
On the Net:
Senate subcommittee on National Parks: energy.senate.gov/public
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August 24th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
MEDIA ADVISORY
August 24, 2009
Wolves Provide a Buffer Against Climate Change
As Senators Udall & McCain talk-up the need to address climate change at Rocky Mountain National Park, the absence of wolves in the park exacerbates climate change woes
DENVER – As Senators Mark Udall and John McCain held a formal hearing in Estes Park today concerning global climate change and its impact on national parks, conservationists called on the senators to acknowledge the roll that gray wolves necessarily play in buffering against the effects of climate change.
“Climate change has widespread impacts, including to the plants and animals of the American West,” said Rob Edward of WildEarth Guardians. “One thing that Senators Udall and McCain could do right now to help combat the impact of climate change on Rocky Mountain National Park is to call for the restoration of wolves to the region,” said Edward.
Edward indicated that wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park dramatically improved the health and abundance of wetland vegetation—by keeping elk on the move. In less than a decade after the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service restored wolves to Yellowstone, aspen and willow had rebounded in many streamside areas.
“It’s time for places like Rocky Mountain National Park to be given some relief from scores of sedentary elk,” said Edward, referring to the fact that wolves keep elk and deer vigilant, thus relieving young trees and plants from excessive browsing. “It’s time for the government to learn the lessons of Yellowstone.”
Studies of the ecological effects of wolves in Yellowstone and elsewhere have shown that many species—including beaver, songbirds and young fish—likely benefit from the manner in which wolves protect the plant communities. In a climate-altered world, such protection is doubly important.
“We urge Senators Udall and McCain to take immediate action to restore wolves to Rocky Mountain National Park, as part of their climate change initiative,” said Edward. “The National Park Service has already acknowledged the need for wolves to be restored here, all they need is the political will.”
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August 25th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Global warming is affecting every country in some way or another. It’s high time that we take some steps or else it would get too late.
The real need to act is right now, otherwise we will lose not only our parks but also our earth.