They Support Science, Not Silence - Part 2

Rocky Mountain National Park

                                                                                        (Photos by Mark)  

In my last blog, in Part 1, I drafted a post highlighting four national park areas: Rocky Mountain National Park, Vicksburg National Military Park, New River Gorge National Park, and Dry Tortugas National Park.  

Have a look back if you missed it. But that wasn’t the end of the story, for all is not well with these four examples into our National Park System.

At Vicksburg, the USS Cairo experiences environmental decay, particularly fungal and insect damage, and requires preservation of its wood and metal components. Its supporting structure needs regular inspection and maintenance to address signs of deterioration. 

At Rocky, the park has experienced a 3.4 ºF increase in average annual temperature over the last century leading to decreased winter snowpack and earlier snowmelt. Atmospheric wet nitrogen deposition and ground-level ozone are major air quality challenges. 
Invasive species like cheatgrass have become new competitors.

Restoring beaver populations is necessary to restore wetlands and a critical balance for park ecosystems. How do we know? Because of Agency science and the men and women behind it. 

Civil War-era collections require specific museum protocols of monitoring, environmental storage, and periodic conservation.The irreplaceable gravestones and monuments crack and crumble without yearly condition monitoring and conservation work. 

How do we know? Because of Agency science and the men and women behind it. 

 
At New River Gorge, historical and ongoing mining activities on neighboring lands release metals and other toxins into the river. Outdated wastewater treatment systems in upstream communities lead to contamination from human waste and stormwater runoff. 

Invasive plants compete for resources, disrupting forest habitatswhile pests like the gypsy moth defoliate and kill native trees, affecting forest structure. 

How do we know? Because of Agency science and the men and women behind it. 
 
At Dry Tortugas, at a foot above sea level, even minor changes in tides and waves, summer storm intensity and warming of Gulf temperatures impact the masonry structure, congregating bird populations, and underwater ecosystems. Record high water temperatures are causing severe bleaching and die-offs of coral reefs.

Already, staghorn and elkhorn corals have mortality rates of 98%. 
How do we know? Because of Agency science and the men and women behind it.

These are just four examples of national park areas and the importance of science in National Park Service (NPS) conservation law.
 
So how are the current Administration, the Heritage Foundation, and Project 2025 coming to the aid of America’s most popular Federal Agency? 
 
Federal hydrologists are purged. NOAA meteorologists are fired. Inventory and Monitoring field crews are cut. Thirty-nine of the 69 researchers and monitors at the Ft. Collins Science Center are proposed to be eliminated. Pest and disease monitoring are cancelled. Sixteen of 22 Land Conservation Cooperative research centers have been paused or dissolved. 
 
Hiring freezes, and the termination of seasonal positions have 
resulted in the loss of science support staff. Decades of continuous environmental data on climate and species have stopped. Wildfires are becoming larger and hotter, and occur outside of their historic fire season. Historic Preservation Centers are shuttered. The NPS Mather and Albright Employee Training Centers are axed. 

Twenty-four percent of the National Park Service staff has been fired or took early buy-outs including archaeologists, museum curators, hydrologists, and climate specialists along with their institutional knowledge. 

Maintenance on historic structures is deferred. Mining and industrial contaminates seep into national park area land and water 
ecosystems. On and on and on ...
 
What happens to the “... to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein  ... ” mandate of the NPS Organic Act when all of the scientists, preservationists, conservators, and cooperative agreements are incrementally demolished over this and the coming year? 
 
All that will be left might be empty structures and empty land to sell off to the highest bidder for development and exploitation; not for your upcoming trip.
 
But isn’t that the end means of the current Administration?

Vicksburg National Military Park

New River Gorge National Park

Dry Tortugas National Park