“What Can We Do?”
Planning travel while avoiding crowds and heat?
Planning national parks? Natural/cultural treat!
Asking ourselves: “What Can We Do?”
To help protect parks? Select a few!
Protect at-risk species, in the parks and at home.
Track carbon footprint. Reduce your roam.
Leave no trace. Leave cleaner than found.
Leave souvenirs where they were in the ground.
Choose less crowded parks. And the best time of year.
Attend Park Ranger programs. Understanding you’ll hear.
Spectacular scenery and greenery, wildlife on the go,
Ageless . . . wilderness . . . nature/culture . . . helps us grow.
© Forrest W. Heaton July 2023
A long-time friend having spent thirty-one years in the National Park Service (NPS) prepares a daily list-serve program for former Park Service employees to highlight matters important to the parks. The following was in one of the recent articles: “Our beloved national parks are at risk. Our national parks need more than visitors - they need protectors, too.” We felt you might enjoy a look at what the National Park Service is doing to defend our national parks, and what you might do to help.
First, a brief caution. A colleague looked at this post when in draft form and felt it was “preachy.” My National Park Service friend advised: “. . . that may be, but when you say no fires, you mean no fires! It may be preachy, but it is also common sense. In my opinion, it is OK to be preachy on this. We need to do everything we can to protect the parks.” And, regarding the quotes you’re about to read, almost all quotes in this post are CNN, National Park Service (NPS), National Parks Conservation Assn. (NPCA) or my NPS friend’s quotes, italicized and in quote marks.
So, dear ones, off to the post:
Most of us curtailed our travel during two or three years of Covid. We still are cautious. Most also have heard/seen/experienced horror stories involving travel on the airlines. But the itch is returning to many to resume travel. The question is to where, and how, and for how long?
This blog post offers an option: national parks and their affiliates! For the U.S., it is a domestic option that may or may not involve airlines. Most can drive to our NPS locations. We currently have 63 national parks, and, if you include national historic sites, national seashores, national monuments, national recreation areas, and others, you currently have 423 designated locations under the management of the National Park Service!
This paragraph is for our international readers: We LOVE having you here! We hope you can find time to fit in a National Park Service location or two.
Up to this point, this post has been encouraging you to think about traveling to one or more of these NPS locations. We hope you have said “yes” or “maybe.” The rest of the post deals with some of the things you might want to think about before your travel.
Crowds. The first item we encourage you to consider is crowds. You can avoid crowds by location selection and time of year selection. Less-frequently visited locations offer smaller or no crowds.
Climate. The second item is climate. Global warming/climate change is manifesting itself across most all NPS locations. CNN recently reported: “The consequences of the climate crisis are more wildfires, devastating drought, sea level rise, flooding, ecological disease.” We’re tempted to say: Go now. Plan well.
Exploring Nature. The NPS advises: “National parks contain many of our nation’s most treasured landscapes, from the majestic mountain ranges of Alaska to the vast prairies of the Everglades. Learn about the natural resources in parks, from the rocks under our feet to the sky overhead and everything in between. Discover the issues that affect our parks and how we join with neighbors and partners to address them. Meet the people who protect our parks and learn how you can help preserve these treasures for generations to come.”
Your Voice. When you are not visiting parks, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) encourages you to: “Use your voice to advocate on their behalf.” Write your congress person and two senators. Tell them the NPS needs adequate funding. These treasures should not be taken for granted. Without support, they could be gone.
What Can (Does) The Park Service Do?
Species & Plants. “Provides habitat protection for 421 species of threatened or endangered animals and plants.”
Archeological Sites. “Ensures the preservation of more than 1.5 million archeological sites.”
Historic & Prehistoric Structures. “Ensures the preservation of more than 27,000 historic and prehistoric structures.”
Natural & Cultural Resources. “Preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.”
What Can We Do?
Visit. Visit a national park, a national historic site, a national seashore, a national monument, a national recreation area. Just keep in mind the less-frequently visited recommendation.
Plans. “Let people at home know where you are going and when you plan to return.”
Waste. “Plan ahead to minimize waste.”
Plants and Animals. “Take care not to disturb plants and animals.”
Bears. “In parks where there are bears, always use bear-proof garbage cans, store food in bear-proof containers at your site and always carry bear spray when hiking. Learn to tell the difference between a black bear and a grizzly. It could save your life and the lives of those with you.”
Hiking and Camping. Hike and camp in appropriate areas. “If you choose hiking, choose one that is within your capabilities.”
Leave No Trace. “Encourage kids to practice Leave No Trace.”
Natural Spaces. “Encourage kids to minimize their impact on natural spaces.”
Ranger. “Don’t be hesitant to ask a ranger. He/she would rather answer than have to search for you.”
Fires. Put ‘em out. Keep ‘em out. The forests are a tinderbox. Don’t set ‘em aflame.
Be Entertained. “Be entertained by the display of nature and our nation’s history contained within our parks. Some 140 nations have national park systems. It all started with Yellowstone, the world’s first national park.”
Carbon Footprint. “Calculate your Carbon Footprint.”
NPCA. Join the NPCA. They know some stuff.
Spread Word. Tell family/friends what you’re doing and what they can do.
Vote. Vote advocates for the parks into local, state and federal offices.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.”
Donate. Donations go to the park(s) of your choice. If the park’s website does not have donation information on the website, phone and inquire.
Educate. Read up on John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, Theodore Roosevelt, and others.
Support. Support one, a few, or all of: Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, the National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Nature Conservancy, the Wilderness Society.
Volunteer. The NPS protects over 85 million acres. The many projects need many volunteers. Opportunities abound. To explore these: “visit volunteer.gov or Find a Park to look for opportunities at a specific park” or simply google to find the URL of a park and call.
Thanks for reading, dear readers. We and the National Park Service appreciate you! The photo below was taken June 2022 to celebrate my wife, Mary’s, 80th birthday, gathering family to enjoy Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks! Wonderful!
