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Glacier National Park is
experiencing impacts due to a warming climate. The most obvious changes
are taking place in the park’s mountain glaciers. In fact, the glaciers
in Glacier National Park are shrinking and disappearing. Today, the
park’s largest glaciers are only about a third of the size they were in
1850, and many small mountain glaciers have disappeared completely.
Glaciers are a vital part of the park’s ecosystems, providing water to
mountain and downstream environments, and their loss threatens many
natural communities. If the current rate of warming persists, scientists
predict the glaciers in Glacier National Park will be completely gone by
the year 2030!
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Melting glaciers are symbolic
of other changes to Glacier Park’s ecosystems. Forest fires could become
more intense and more frequent, as could avalanches and spring flooding. A
warming climate will affect streams, wetlands and lakes, and their aquatic
species, land dwelling animals and their habitats, and plants, with the
possibility of extinctions. It will also affect insects, migration patterns,
landscapes, historic natural areas and artifacts, and of course, the ability
of visitors to truly enjoy the park as they have in the past. Outside of the
park, sea levels could rise to where coastal cities would be flooded. The
question now is, “What can we do?”
While the Earth’s climate is known to have changed in the past due to
natural causes, there is strong evidence that the warming trend over the
last 50 years is primarily the result of human activities. Fossil fuels
burned to run cars, trucks, trains and planes, heat homes and businesses,
and power factories, are responsible for the largest portion of greenhouse
gas emissions. Increased agriculture, deforestation, landfills, industrial
production, and mining also contribute a significant share. And although
most air pollution that impacts park resources is emitted from outside the
park, it is also emitted directly inside the park as a result of various
in-park activities, such as visitor automobiles, concessioner operations,
and wildfires. We, at Glacier Park, Inc. (GPI), realize there are changes we
can make to help lessen the impact of climate change and global warming in
order to conserve the park’s natural and historic wonders.
Glacier Park, Inc. is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by
becoming more energy efficient, revitalizing our recycling program,
expanding our energy efficient transportation fleet, increasing our “green”
procurement, reducing our waste stream, and by educating our employees and
the public on climate change and how they can take action. With this
Environmental Management System, GPI has a plan in place to guide us in our
efforts toward environmental stewardship, to “lighten our footprint” and
that of our employees and visitors, and to help “protect, preserve and
conserve the integrity of the natural and human environments at
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park for this and future generations.”
Cindy Ognjanov
President/General Manager
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