Climate Change and Alaska's National Parks

The coast of Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. NPS photo by Tahzay Jones.

What the changes mean for the parks

Climate change across the north is bringing immense changes to landscapes, wildlife, habitat and ways of life in all of Alaska's national parks. People who live in and near the parks, on the front lines, show how deep the effects run. It is not only a question of whether a park has more or fewer bears, or whether a hiking trail can be reached. Changing seasons, unreliable ice, thawing permafrost, and shifts in animals and their habitat all affect how people live and use resources, which gives new insight into what climate change means for the parks.

Tahzay Jones, in Anchorage, has put it this way: all the science in the world, and a deep conviction that these places matter, will not go far unless people also hear why they are important, why they should care, and what is changing.

How the parks are responding

Studying and adapting. The Park Service monitors park resources and ecosystems in Alaska to understand what is happening and to respond to climate change. It has adopted planning and facility development policies that account for current and expected climate impacts and natural hazards, works with local and tribal governments to protect communities and infrastructure, and records local and traditional knowledge that documents the changes.

Shrinking its footprint. Parks are adopting climate-friendly practices:

• solar panels on new facilities;
• no sales of single-use plastics by park concessioners;
• electric vehicles for park operations;
• shuttle buses and timed entry to ease congestion at the busiest parks;
• limits on hiking permits, or closure of sensitive areas, to reduce human impact.

Two of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park's electric vehicles. National Park Service.

Teaching. The Park Service also educates the public about climate change: why it matters, how it affects parks and their resources, and what parks are doing to reduce the harm.

Sources

• National Park Service, "Climate Change and Alaska's National Parks," part of the series Observing Change in Alaska's National Parks. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/akprjjukeaknationalparks.htm
• NOAA Arctic Report Card 2022, on consequences of rapid Arctic change for people: https://arctic.noaa.gov/report-card/report-card-2022/consequences-of-rapid-environmental-arctic-change-for-people/
• NPS Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network: https://www.nps.gov/im/arcn/index.htm; Southeast Alaska Inventory and Monitoring Network: https://www.nps.gov/im/sean/index.htm; NPS climate change: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/index.htm