How climate change is changing recreation in Washington-area national parks

Recreation in the national parks around Washington, D.C. is changing with the climate. A National Park Service article lists the effects a visitor may meet, looks at three places in detail and ends with how to prepare.

What visitors may notice

• High heat. Days over 95°F are becoming more frequent as temperatures rise, raising the risk of heat exhaustion while hiking or biking. Visitors should check heat indices and drink plenty of water.
• More visitors. Visitation rises in warm weather and falls in cold and rain, so if winter is shorter the article expects even more winter visitors.
• Severe storms. Downed trees and flooding can close paths or even whole parks.
• Ticks. Ticks thrive in DC as temperatures and humidity rise and winters get shorter and less cold, which no longer kills them off as widely. They spread diseases such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, so campers should use insect repellent.
• Poison ivy. Studies indicate that more atmospheric carbon dioxide gives larger leaves and stems, longer growing seasons and more urushiol, the chemical that causes the skin reaction. Do not burn the vines: the urushiol can get into the lungs.
• More pollen. Higher average temperatures start pollen allergies earlier, lengthen them and make them worse. Ragweed and other allergenic plants and trees produce more pollen as carbon dioxide and temperatures rise.

Three places

Prince William Forest Park. Besides biking, camping and hiking, the park offers fishing in numerous streams that support a number of fish species. The park is experiencing wetter seasons, and climate change is likely to bring more intense rainfall, eroding stream banks and increasing runoff of harmful chemicals. Faster overland flow carries pollutants from road surfaces into streams, stressing fish and other aquatic species, and warming streams change the abundance and types of fish. The park monitors stream and lake quality among its vital signs.

George Washington Memorial Parkway. Higher temperatures and more precipitation chemically and physically weather the roadway. Longer, more intense heat waves will likely worsen potholes and buckling pavement, and sea level rise threatens low parts of the parkway, which are more exposed to Potomac River flooding. Drivers should expect more frequent road closures for maintenance and repairs.

The Cherry Blossom Festival. The blossoms are an iconic feature of the Tidal Basin and a huge draw during the annual festival. They traditionally bloom in April, which the article links to Thomas Jefferson’s birth month and the month of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, so bloom dates remind visitors of history. Climate change is moving the bloom earlier: recent projections say that by the year 2100 the blossoms will bloom a week to a month earlier, which could change visitation and sever those historical connections.

Cherry blossoms at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. NPS photo.

Staying safe

• Check heat indices and pollen counts when planning, and go when levels are low.
• Use bug spray with DEET against mosquitoes and ticks, and wear long pants or long socks.
• Learn what poison ivy looks like and stay on well-trodden paths.
• After severe storms, check park alerts for trail closures from flooding, washouts or downed trees.

The article closes by saying that although changes are happening now, there is still time to act so future park-goers can enjoy the same experiences, and that the National Park Service is taking serious action to reduce climate change.

Sources

• National Park Service, National Capital Area, “Park Recreation and Climate Change”; the “4C” illustrations are left out; “assassintation” in the source is spelled assassination; rewritten in hubnx's own words.