ALBUM Images of struggle, persistence and the fight for civil rights at five national park sites.
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SUMMER 2022
$2.95
ALABAMA
ALBUM
Images of struggle, persistence
and the fight for civil rights
at five national park sites.
TROUT TRIALS
AN UNBURYING
IN TEXAS
TRAILING
JUSTICE IN
SHENANDOAH
SUMMER 2022 / Vol. 96 No. 3
FEATURES
26
Trailing Justice
34
An Alabama Album
44
Troubled Waters
A double murder in Images of struggle and For decades, biologists and
Shenandoah and writer persistence at five national anglers stocked national
Kathryn Miles’ search park sites. parks with nonnative trout.
for the truth. Photos by Rory Doyle What will it take to undo the
ecological damage?
By Ben Goldfarb
44
COVER:
THE FOUR SPIRITS memorial in
Birmingham’s Kelly Ingram Park
preserves the memory of the four young
girls killed in the 1963 bombing at the
nearby 16th Street Baptist Church: Addie
Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole
Robertson and Cynthia Wesley.
A FLY FISHERMAN casts a
©RORY DOYLE
line into Oregon’s Crater Lake,
which was fishless until 1888.
Over the next five decades,
the lake was stocked with
seven species of fish.
©JUSTIN BAILIE
CONTENTS
National Parks (ISSN0276-8186) is published quarterly (December, March, June & September) by the National Parks Conservation Association, 777 6th Street NW, Suite
700, Washington, DC 20001-3723. Single copies are $2.95. National Parks® is a registered trademark of NPCA, ©2022 by NPCA. Printed in the United States. Periodicals
postage paid at Washington, DC, and additional mailing offices. Articles are published for educational purposes and do not necessarily reflect the views of this association.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes and circulation inquiries to: National Parks, Member Services, 777 6th Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001-3723.
President’s Outlook
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
CHAIR
*Elizabeth Waddill, Fort Worth, TX
VICE CHAIRS
*Sändra J. Washington, First Vice Chair, Lincoln, NE
*Nikki Buffa, Laguna Niguel, CA
*Bill Huyett, Concord, MA
SECRETARY
© JENNIFER YOUNT PHOTOGRAPHY
*Roberta Katz, Palo Alto, CA
TREASURER
*David Aldrich, Vienna, VA
Donald B. Ayer, McLean, VA
Wendy Bennett, Golden Valley, MN
Jennifer L. Costley, Olivebridge, NY
Stewart C. Cushman, Hermosa Beach, CA
Dalia Dorta, Denver, CO
Shannon Dosemagen, New Orleans, LA
James R. Floyd, Tulsa, OK
Mortimer B. Fuller, III, Waverly, PA
Deny Galvin, McLean, VA
*Fernando Gracia, Arlington, VA
Helen Hernandez, Pasadena, CA
*Vincent E. Hoenigman, San Francisco, CA
Climate and Our Parks
Robert B. Keiter, Salt Lake City, UT
I had the great pleasure of visiting Chaco Culture National Historical Park in
Eaddo Hayes Kiernan, Greenwich, CT
Katharine Overlock, Greenwich, CT New Mexico last fall with NPCA’s Board of Trustees, and it had a profound impact
*Susan Pohl, Seattle, WA
on me. Chaco preserves a hub of Puebloan civilization that flourished 1,000 years
Elizabeth Setsuko Raffin, San Francisco, CA
Bruce V. Rauner, Key Largo, FL ago and was unparalleled in scale and level of sophistication. Roads from Chaco
Kurt M. Riley, Pueblo of Acoma, NM
once stretched out in every direction, and numerous massive buildings — among
Robert D. Rosenbaum, Bethesda, MD
Jeff Sagansky, Palm Beach, FL the largest in North America up until the 19th century — served as a center for
Lauret Savoy, Ph.D., Leverett, MA
trade, religious events and political activity. Today the site remains a sacred place
William Taggart, Jr., Madison, NJ
Greg A. Vital, Georgetown, TN for Tribal communities.
TRUSTEES EMERITUS But this important landscape faces constant threats. The sacred area that extends
William R. Berkley, Miami, FL well beyond park boundaries has been targeted for oil and gas drilling, an activity
Diana J. Blank, Bozeman, MT
Sally Jewell, Seattle, WA NPCA and area Tribes have been working for over a decade to stop. And Chaco is
Gretchen Long, Wilson, WY experiencing the very real effects of climate change.
Glenn Padnick, Beverly Hills, CA
Thomas F. Secunda, Croton-on-Hudson, NY National parks are warming twice as fast as the rest of the country, and that
Gene T. Sykes, Los Angeles, CA shift is harming them in ways we may not even realize. Chaco is dealing with more
Fran Ulmer, Anchorage, AK
H. William Walter, Minneapolis, MN frequent and intense storms, which have exacerbated erosion and deterioration of
*Executive Committee the site’s structures. At nearby Mesa Verde National Park, a massive slab of an over-
EXECUTIVE STAFF hanging cliff at Spruce Tree House is on the verge of breaking off due to accelerated
Theresa Pierno, President & CEO erosion, forcing park staff to close the popular cliff dwelling to visitors. And fires
Robin Martin McKenna, Executive Vice President
Tim Moyer, Chief Financial Officer have burned more than half of the park in the last 20 years due in part to climate
Adam Siegel, General Counsel
Kristen Brengel, Senior Vice President for change and associated drought.
Government Affairs A national climate poll commissioned by NPCA earlier this year found that nearly
Amy Hagovsky, Senior Vice President for
Communications nine out of 10 Americans say climate change is negatively affecting U.S. national
Mary O’Connor, Senior Vice President for Development
Laura M. Connors, Vice President for Membership parks. And most Americans, regardless of political affiliation, would be more likely to
Carolyn Curry-Wheat, Vice President for support a representative who backed a bill designed to reduce the impact of climate
Human Resources
David Lamfrom, Vice President for Regional Programs change on national parks. The message is clear: National parks are suffering from
Priya Nanjappa, Vice President of Conservation
Programs
climate change, but they are also uniquely positioned to be part of the solution.
For our parks to endure, we must each do our part to ensure they are climate resilient
REGIONAL OFFICES and on track for a clean energy future. I invite you to learn more at npca.org/climate.
Melissa E. Abdo, Ph.D, Regional Director, Sun Coast
Jim Adams, Senior Director, Alaska And to plan your own visit to Chaco or Mesa Verde, visit npca.org/parkguides. I know
Ernie Atencio, Regional Director, Southwest
Joy Blackwood, Senior Director, Northeast
you will be equally moved by these parks and our need to protect them.
Betsy Buffington, Regional Director, Northern Rockies
Cary Dupuy, Regional Director, Texas
Emily Jones, Regional Director, Southeast
With gratitude,
Lynn McClure, Senior Director, Midwest
Rob Smith, Regional Director, Northwest
Edward Stierli, Senior Director, Mid-Atlantic
Theresa Pierno
Ron Sundergill, Senior Director, Pacific SUMMER 2022 3
Editor’s Note
EDITOR IN CHIEF: Rona Marech
SENIOR EDITOR: Nicolas Brulliard
ART DIRECTOR AND PHOTO EDITOR: Nicole Yin
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Katherine DeGroff
FEATURES DESIGN: Jessie Despard
DESIGN CONSULTANT: Selena Robleto
©RORY DOYLE
NATIONAL PARKS
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When the magazine staff asked Rory Doyle, a photogra-
pher we admire, to shoot pictures of Alabama’s civil rights-
related national park sites, we knew he would take great care
with the project. We were certainly right about that.
Doyle drove 670 miles through the state, visiting parks,
memorials, museums and other notable spots, including
Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, Birmingham
Civil Rights National Monument (above) and Freedom Riders
National Monument. In search of the right light and feeling, he
photographed some of these places at sunrise, sundown and
WHO WE ARE MAKE A DIFFERENCE
after nightfall. He won the trust of people with ties to the sites Established in 1919, the National Members can help defend Ameri-
and convinced several to sit for portraits. And he approached Parks Conservation Association is ca’s natural and cultural heritage.
America’s only private, nonprofit Activists alert Congress and the
the endeavor with curiosity, openness and respect. advocacy organization dedicated administration to park threats,
“I did feel a strong sense of responsibility to do justice to solely to protecting, preserving comment on park planning and
and enhancing the U.S. National adjacent land-use decisions, assist
these stories,” he told me. “It was quite daunting, when the Park System. NPCA in developing partnerships,
history of civil rights in Alabama is so significant.” and educate the public and the me-
dia. Sign up to receive Park Notes,
When I asked Rory what especially moved him on his WHAT WE DO
our monthly email newsletter at
NPCA protects and enhances
journey, he had a lot to say. He spoke of being riveted by the America’s national parks for pres-
npca.org/join.
stories and wisdom of people who witnessed the violence, ent and future generations by iden-
tifying problems and generating HOW TO DONATE
turmoil and hard-won victories of the civil rights era. He also support to resolve them. To donate, please visit npca.org or
described visiting a rural campsite where marchers on the call 800.628.7275. For information
about bequests, planned gifts and
way to Montgomery spent the night and meeting the children EDITORIAL MISSION
matching gifts, call our Develop-
National Parks magazine fosters an
of a Black farmer who risked so much for the cause of voting appreciation for the natural and his-
ment Department, extension 145
or 146.
rights. And Rory talked about how poignant it was to enter toric treasures found in the parks,
educates readers about the need
Birmingham’s famous 16th Street Baptist Church and wander to preserve those resources, and QUESTIONS?
through Kelly Ingram Park and the other Birmingham sites. illustrates how member contribu- If you have any questions about
tions drive our organization’s park- your membership, call Member
“You’re walking on such hallowed ground,” he said. protection efforts. The magazine Services at 800.628.7275. On a
It was impossible to ignore the fact that elements of these uses the power of imagery and selective basis, NPCA makes its
language to forge a lasting bond membership list available to organi-
stories seem scarily pertinent today, Doyle said, and some between NPCA and its members, zations that our members may find
people told him they felt history was repeating itself. But still, while inspiring new readers to join of interest. If you would like your
the cause. National Parks magazine name removed from this list, please
he returned home to Mississippi with a sense of hope. “This is among a member’s chief benefits. call us at the number listed above.
assignment really reminded me of how important it is to Of the $25 membership dues, $6
covers a one-year subscription to
take time to understand equality, justice and civil rights,” he the magazine.
HOW TO REACH US
National Parks Conservation
said. “If we all put a little more effort into doing that, I think Association, 777 6th Street NW,
progress is possible.” Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001-
3723; by phone: 1.800.NAT.PARK
(628.7275); by email: npca@npca.
Rona Marech org; and npca.org.
npmag@npca.org
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Letters
HAILING DIVERSITY
SPRING 2022
FULL The Spring 2022 issue of National Parks was absolutely
CIRCLE
CARING FOR THE CLIFF wonderful and truly reflective of a very positive effort by
DWELLINGS THEIR ANCESTORS
BUILT 800 YEARS AGO.
NPCA to broaden the scope of storytelling about our national
parks, the people who visit them, and those who have helped
shape them by featuring a diversity of voices and images. I
especially enjoyed the articles “Full Circle” by Karuna Eberl
AN OUTSIDER
AT GRAND
TETON
HEALING IN
OBED
TURTLES IN
TROUBLE
and “Lofty Heights” by Ernie Atencio, which showcased
the views and experiences of the participants (in Eberl’s article) and the unique
perspective of someone struggling not to be seen as an “outsider” in the outdoor
world (Atencio’s article). Please continue to find stories like these, which provide
insight for your readers that is as rich and meaningful as the parks themselves.
WENDY LAPHAM
Concord, NH
A READER RELATES in “Full Circle.” It was a hot and sunny BIG SMILE
What an excellent story! Ernie Atencio is day, so I was sitting in some shade I’ve contributed to NPCA for a little
a neighbor of sorts. I grew up in north- reading when I heard the unmistakable while now, and I always enjoy National
ern New Mexico and currently live in sound of someone in the nearby canyon. Parks magazine. The Winter 2022 issue
Española. I have a nephew who is an avid The person was chanting the kinds of put a big smile on my face as soon as I
climber. But mostly, I wanted to share chants I’d come to know when stationed turned the page and saw John Foster
that I can relate to Atencio’s observations at El Morro National Monument. It liter- and his daughter, Autumn [“Creative
about being the only person of color in ally made the hair stand up on the back Access”]. It means so much to showcase
his surroundings. I, too, experienced that of my neck. Was I really hearing what diversity in the outdoors, and National
while working with world-renowned sci- I thought I was hearing or had the heat Parks has regularly done that. As a Black
entists in Los Alamos. and silence of the place gotten to me? I woman who is a little heavier than the
UBALDO F. GALLEGOS asked later at the visitor center and was hikers usually seen in magazines, it
Española, NM told that the maintenance technician was means a lot to see Native Americans,
a Puebloan and that he often stopped to Latinx people and people with disabili-
MUSICAL MEMORIES chant a prayer before entering ancient ties, as well as people who look like me.
Several years ago, I was the only person sites and going to work. CYNTHIA JOHNSON
camped in a Bears Ears’ campground LEE DALTON Atlanta, GA
near the stabilization project described Ogden, UT
Send letters to National Parks Magazine, 777 6th Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001-3723.
Or email npmag@npca.org. Include your name, city and state. Published letters may be edited for
length and clarity.
6 NATIONALPARKS
FOR STAMPS’ SAKE national park/memorial bringing a TIPPING THE SCALES
The article “Park Ink’’ [Winter 2022] fairer, broader perspective to the inter- Nothing has ever given me a sense of the
brought to mind an incident I experi- pretation of the Black Panthers. difference in scale that exists between
enced while volunteering at Manzanar CAROL BLACKWOOD minuscule humans and giant sequoia
National Historic Site. One morning, a Chester, VT trees as the illustrations by Evan Turk in
gentleman came into the visitor center the Winter 2022 issue of National Parks.
and asked where the passport stamp I read with interest “Revolution Revis- Photographs cannot capture that differ-
was. I showed him, then started to tell ited,” concerning the effort by NPCA ence or the trees’ majestic stature. Thank
him about specific attractions at the and others to commemorate the Black you for illuminating this for me through
site, but he was ignoring me and solely Panther Party and Huey Newton. We your wonderful magazine.
concentrating on making multiple are told that the party was ahead of RUTH ANN INGRAHAM
practice stamps before making the final its time, that it was “based on love,” Indianapolis, IN
entry in his book. I decided to shift the and that they just wanted Black and
topic and asked where he was coming poor people to be included, and have APPLE ADMIRATION
from. He said he had driven from Las better jobs, decent housing “and so I enjoyed very much your article about
Vegas (a four-hour drive), had stopped much more.” These are all laudable national park orchards [“Fruitful Mis-
at Death Valley National Park, had goals. Then, I turn the page and see a sion,” Winter 2022]. I am a retired
gotten that stamp and had to get back picture of Newton looking like a defi- orchardist and clergyman from Char-
to Las Vegas to catch his flight back ant militant who would not take “no” lottesville, Virginia. We live near the
to Nashville, Tennessee. With that, he for an answer. We’re told that some in northern end of the Blueridge Parkway,
left after less than three minutes. He the party’s leadership were willing to and I have a painting that shows the
accomplished his goal, but unfortu- resort to violence to achieve social and/ orchard that sits along Route 56 where it
nately missed the true experience of or political objectives. Alan Spears cor- crosses the scenic byway. My father, years
Manzanar. rectly stated that the Black Panthers back, was good at grafting, but I found
FRANK E. WEINGART “bucked” what many understand as it challenging. I admire those who do it.
Auburn, CA “the acceptable model of nonviolent I discovered the general public doesn’t
civil rights engagement.” Whenever know that all commercial apple trees start
BLACK PANTHERS, TAKE TWO any movement resorts to violence, it as grafts. Nor do most know that the tree
I was fascinated to read the article loses credibility. I would not deny that grown from an apple seed produces a
“Revolution Revisited” [Winter 2022]. there were biased and illicit efforts by different variety of apple than the parent.
As a white, middle-class child growing the federal government to control the That’s why there are so many varieties.
up in Southern California in the 1960s, Black Panther movement; however, DAVID F. WAYLAND
my impression of the Black Panthers violence results in laws being broken, Charlottesville, VA
was entirely shaped by the news media and breaking the law necessitates a
and my mother’s experiences return- law enforcement response, something A NOTE TO OUR READERS
ing to a college campus as an adult that can spill out of control. The names We are pleased to announce that
learner. My memories of the Black Huey Newton and Fred Hampton are, National Parks magazine won two
Panthers were of beret-wearing men for better or worse, indelibly linked to awards in the 30th annual North
carrying weapons. I had no idea about a violent and tumultuous period in our American Travel Journalists Asso-
their community-building projects. As nation’s history. The city of Oakland ciation Awards. Julia Busiek’s story
I have aged, I have had to reevaluate can commemorate the Black Panther about Golden Gate National Recre-
many of the historic events and ideas I movement, and those associated with ation Area, “Heading for the Hills”
was taught in school from the Monroe it, in any manner it wishes, but to cre- (Summer 2021), took bronze in the
Doctrine to Reconstruction. Now, I ate a national park — with the prestige “Destination Travel” category, while
must add the Black Panthers to this list associated with that designation — Michael Branch’s reflection on a
of subjects that were not sufficiently dedicated to the Black Panther Party is decades-old ritual at Mount Tamal-
taught in school or fairly represented completely inappropriate. pais, “Circling the Mountain” (Winter
in the media. I support the idea of a PAUL F. HARNDEN 2021), won bronze in the “Health
Taylors, SC and Wellness” category.
SUMMER 2022 7
Echoes “In a year where many wolves have been killed near national parks, today’s decision provides tremendous hope for the future of these animals.” Bart Melton, NPCA’s wildlife program director, as quoted in National Parks Traveler regarding the recent — and already contested — court decision returning Endangered Species Act protections to wolves in the contigu- ous 48 states, with the exception of the Northern Rockies population. Since the species’ delisting in 2020, the hunting and trapping of wolves in the lower 48 have stirred up concern among conservationists about the long-term health of the species. “The plan does absolutely nothing to clean up air pollution for Wyomingites and visitors that come to enjoy the wonderful outdoor spaces that the state has to offer.” NPCA’s Stephanie Kodish speaking about Wyoming’s plan to address air quality, as quoted in the Casper Star-Tribune. In April, NPCA and other conservation groups sued the EPA for failing to enforce the Regional Haze Rule as required by the Clean Air Act. This rule stipulates that states submit plans to reduce sources of haze pollution that affect 156 national parks and wilderness areas. More than two dozen states have yet to comply. “From the thundering waterfalls at New River Gorge to the breathtaking panoramic views at Harpers Ferry, our West Virginia national parks are worth fighting for. … West Virginians of all political stripes want their elected officials to do just that.” Samantha Nygaard, NPCA’s West Virginia program manager, sharing with The Parkersburg News and Sentinel an NPCA poll that indicates 85% of West Virginians believe national parks boost the economy. 8 NATIONALPARKS
PHOTO: A WOLF PACK COMES ACROSS GRIZZLY TRACKS NEAR PELICAN VALLEY IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING.
©RONAN DONOVAN
SUMMER 2022 9
Trail Mix
A Retirement for the Ages years and moved through so many of
the traditional roles that women play —
mother, daughter, granddaughter and
Ranger Betty Reid Soskin clocks out at 100 years old. great-granddaughter (to a woman who
was enslaved and with whom Betty had
a personal relationship), wife, grand-
mother, stay-at-home mom, political
activist, musician, businesswoman,
writer and so much more.”
The fact that Soskin first stepped
into a Park Service uniform at retire-
ment age and “excelled in a role that was
entirely new to her when she was in her
80s and 90s is a legacy that is so very
©CHANELL STONE/THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX
powerful,” Lee said. “She will always be
an inspiration to me.”
Retiring doesn’t mean Soskin is
quitting work: She is continuing to
share her insights at regular virtual talks
the park is offering. As Kelli English,
Soskin’s most recent supervisor, said
at the end of the ceremony: “Once a
ranger, always a ranger!”
MICHELLE FITZHUGH-CRAIG is an award-win-
ning journalist based in Oakland, California.
Betty Reid Soskin sat quietly during director, and Department of the Interior
the hourlong program, a look of amaze- Secretary Deb Haaland were among
ment on her face. When she finally the parade of dignitaries, officials and
spoke, it was brief — just a heartfelt friends at the retirement event who paid
thank-you — but that was enough to tribute (in person and over video) to a
trigger the crowd. Hundreds of guests woman who has touched thousands of
who had gathered for her public retire- people and even had a nearby middle
ment celebration gave a standing ova- school named after her. “Through most
tion to the 100-year-old woman whom of our lives, she has inspired us, has
the country came to know as the oldest challenged us; she has showed us that
active National Park Service ranger. representation matters,” said Martha
The April gathering followed Lee, Soskin’s longtime friend and col-
Soskin’s announcement that she was league. “She has helped to ensure that
retiring after more than 15 years at the the National Park Service continues
Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front on the path of preserving the sites in
National Historical Park in Richmond, history that represent all of our nation’s
California. Dedicated to educating the citizens and all of our nation’s stories —
public about Black women and people of the heroic and inspiring, as well as the
color who contributed to the homefront painful and sometimes shameful.”
effort during the war, Ranger Betty, as Lee, who worked in national
she is known, had been a star attraction parks for 40 years, made a few more
at the park, where people flocked to hear comments after the ceremony in an
her riveting talks, which she sprinkled email. “I hope that Betty’s legacy is
with personal insights and contempo- a broader acceptance of the fact that
rary commentary. everyone’s story matters,” she said.
Charles F. Sams III, the Park Service “She has lived a rich life in her 100-plus
10 NATIONALPARKSFinal Issue
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SUMMER 2022 11Trail Mix
Glass Half
Full
A prominent climate
scientist offers the gift of
science-backed hope.
To say that Patrick Gonzalez knows
a lot about climate change is quite the
understatement. A forest ecologist
and an associate adjunct professor at
University of California, Berkeley, he
is the assistant director for climate
and biodiversity in the White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy
and has served as lead author on four
©AL GOLUB/GOLUB PHOTOGRAPHY
reports of the U.N. Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, the science
body awarded a share of the 2007 Nobel
Peace Prize. He has also witnessed
climate change firsthand through field
work in 25 countries, including Senegal,
Burkina Faso, Peru and Brazil.
Gonzalez also knows perhaps more
PATRICK GONZALEZ measures the height of a ponderosa pine in Yosemite National Park.
than anyone about the devastation
climate change has inflicted on parks:
He spent over a decade as a climate crunching data, he is a walking ency- worst of climate change. “Of course, the
change scientist for the National Park clopedia of climate statistics. You might challenge is substantial,” Gonzalez said.
Service, where he led a gargantuan expect someone with his front-row seat “But the data provide me with optimism
effort to assess the effects of climate to the ravages of climate change to be — a science-based optimism.”
change and helped develop mitigation dour, but he is, in fact, hopeful. Why? Writer Kate Siber caught up with
and adaptation measures in every park. “IPCC analyses show that we can Gonzalez this spring after the release of
With experience in 269 U.S. national limit the temperature increase to 1.5 to the 2022 IPCC report on climate change
parks and a computerlike mind for 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial impacts, risks and adaptations, which
levels with concerted global action using underscored the need for immediate
existing technologies and practices,” he action in starker terms than ever. Here,
said. Translation: We as human beings Gonzalez helps us break down the bad,
have everything we need to avert the the good and what we can do, one sta-
tistic at a time.
©ARDEA-STUDIO/SHUTTERSTOCK
12 NATIONALPARKSThe To understand where we must go, we must understand where we are. Since preindustrial times, the global
Bad temperature has risen at least 1.1 degrees Celsius. If humanity keeps emitting greenhouse gases at similar
rates, global temperatures could increase on average 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by
News about 2032. And according to Gonzalez’s own research, climate change has heated up the landscapes that
the parks encompass twice as fast as the rest of the U.S. since 1895 because a large part of the National
Park System is located in Alaska, at high elevations or in arid zones in the Southwest. Here are some of the
effects and projected impacts of human-caused climate change documented in the IPCC report and key published
research, all straight from Gonzalez:
Between 1984 and 2015, worldwide as a result of human- The maximum distance 20
2x the area burned by caused climate change, based on that biomes — major km
wildfire in the Western a survey of 976 species. In Mojave vegetation zones — have
U.S. has doubled compared Desert national parks, including shifted toward the poles
with what would be expected under Death Valley, the number of bird or the equator because of changes
natural climate conditions. Under species has plummeted more than in temperature or aridity or both. In
more dire emissions scenarios, 40% since 1908. key areas studied, species have also
climate change could increase fire moved upslope in tropical, temperate
frequency 300% to 1,000% in Yel- The proportion of trees and boreal ecosystems by about 300
lowstone National Park by 2100. up to across three regions in meters. About one-fifth of U.S national
Across the Sierra Nevada, including 20 %
Africa and North Amer- park land is at high risk of biome
Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon ica that have died since shifts. In Noatak National Preserve in
national parks, climate change could 1945 because of severe Alaska, boreal forests are moving onto
triple fire frequency by the end of the drought related to climate change. formerly treeless tundra. In Yosemite,
century. In Western North America, includ- subalpine forests are moving upslope
ing in national parks such as Mount into meadows. These changes can lead
The number of plant 400 + Rainier, severe drought, increased to extinctions when species can’t adapt
and animal species that wildfire and bark beetle infestations fast enough or, in the case of high-
have been extirpated have doubled tree mortality from elevation areas, when there is nowhere
from areas of their natural range 1955 to 2007. else to move to.
The
The world is making some progress adding solar, wind and other renew- other measures, Good
in the battle against climate change,
and it’s still possible to avoid the
able energy equivalent to 3,200 coal
plants. The U.S. actually cut carbon
Yosemite installed
enough solar
News
most devastating outcomes. “If all emissions between 2005 and 2019. panels, including a
countries enacted and implemented solar array on the
their Paris Agreement pledges, the Meanwhile, since the maintenance building at El
analyses indicate the world could Park Service enacted Portal, to reduce its emis-
30 % 10 %
limit heating to 1.9 degrees above the Green Parks Plan in sions per visitor by 10%
preindustrial levels,” said Gonza- 2012, national parks have from 2008 to 2011.
lez. (Under the agreement, nations taken a leadership role in
agreed to take measures to limit minimizing carbon emissions. Gon- Parks have also done significant work
warming to well below 2 degrees and zalez points to several encouraging to adapt to climate change. In Joshua
ideally below 1.5 degrees, the thresh- developments that reflect progress Tree National Park, for instance,
old beyond which scientists say across the whole park system: Gold- researchers identified areas that may
more severe effects will proliferate.) en Gate National Recreation Area, be more resilient to climate change
There are measures to for example, used enough renewable because of factors such as lower tem-
celebrate: Between energy and undertook enough energy peratures or higher precipitation. Staff
2009 and 2018, efficiency measures that the park members are now prioritizing wildfire
3,200 the world doubled reduced its emissions by 30%. With management in these climate refugia
renewable energy the help of carbon offsets, it became to safeguard the species within park
capacity globally, climate neutral in 2018. Along with borders.
SUMMER 2022 13Trail Mix
Gonzalez’s
Plan To limit warming to below 2 degrees
Celsius, Gonzalez said, we need two 2˚C
important global transformations:
cutting greenhouse emissions to net zero by
2050, which will require the near elimination of burning coal,
oil, gas and fossil fuels, and stopping deforestation. “Halting
tropical deforestation could cut carbon emissions 15% and
protect globally unique biodiversity, including in national
parks in tropical areas,” he said. to our generous
sponsors for making our
Making changes on a wide scale as well as in our own lives
2022 Salute to the Parks
necessitates a shift in mindset, but it can be done, Gonzalez
said. Each person in the U.S. is responsible for emitting an
a success!
average of 4.2 tons of carbon annually, which is over three
times the planet-wide average of 1.2 tons. By comparison, the
average person in France is responsible for 1.3 tons of carbon
PRESENTING SPONSORS
annually. “So, it’s entirely possible to reduce our carbon
Steven A. and
pollution,” said Gonzalez.
Roberta B. Denning
He himself has embraced and recommends two
Diana and Bruce Rauner
Tom and Cindy Secunda
17 % Earth-saving actions on a personal level: He eats
a plant-based diet and does not own a car. You Gene T. Sykes
can reduce your transportation carbon emissions The Kendeda Fund
up to 99% by leaning into walking, biking and taking
public transit, he said. From his home in the Bay Area,
Gonzalez sometimes walks 10 miles a day and takes public PARK BENEFACTORS
transportation to Yosemite to bound up trails and gaze at Anonymous
waterfalls. According to global data, emissions could fall by Lauren and Bill Huyett
17% if all of humanity switched to a plant-based diet.
Alan J. and Caron A. Lacy
You don’t necessarily have to make big lifestyle Lyda Hill Philanthropies
changes to begin to make a difference. “What is
the effect of each household turning off a 100-
100
MILLION PARK ADVOCATES
watt lightbulb?” asked Gonzalez. “That’s 100
Arnold & Porter Kaye
million households approximately, 100 watts per Scholer LLP
household, that’s about 10 gigawatts. That’s about
Dorothy Canter
10 nuclear power plants. And more to the point, that’s about
27 coal-fired power plants. So, go to your light switch, turn it Howard Morse and
Laura Loeb
off. If everybody does that, we just did away with 27 coal-fired
plants. That is the power of combining many small actions.” Julie and Jay Nogueira
Trina and Mike Overlock
—KATE SIBER Susan and John Pohl
Elizabeth Setsuko Raffin
Elizabeth and Russ Waddill
14 NATIONALPARKSONLY
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SUMMER 2022 15Trail Mix
A CROWD GATHERS at the 1922
Lincoln Memorial dedication in
Washington, D.C., where Robert
Russa Moton (pictured below)
gave a redacted version of his
planned speech.
©LIBRARY OF CONGRESS BELOW: ©SCURLOCK STUDIO RECORDS, ARCHIVES CENTER, NMAH, SMITHSONIAN
Censored No More
On May 30 of 1922, a year marred words from a draft of his speech and to To mark the memorial’s centennial,
by more than 60 lynchings, roughly refrain from some of the more inflam- here’s a snippet of what guests at the
50,000 people gathered to dedicate the matory rhetoric. Moton obliged, but the dedication never heard. The words
Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., original speech lived on, filed away in resonate, still:
to the memory of the Great Emancipa- the annals of the Library of Congress. “No more can the nation endure
tor, Abraham Lincoln, who had been half privileged and half repressed; half
assassinated decades earlier. Despite educated and half uneducated; half
the presence of an African American protected and half unprotected; half
speaker, Robert Russa Moton — Booker prosperous and half in discontent; yes,
T. Washington’s successor as president half free and half yet in bondage.
of the Tuskegee Institute — the event My fellow citizens, in the great
was a segregated one, with Black and name which we honor here today, I say
white audiences deliberately divided. unto you that this memorial which we
Moton found his plans for a fiery call erect in token of our veneration is but a
to accountability waylaid by William hollow mockery, a symbol of hypocrisy,
H. Taft, former U.S. president and unless we together can make real in our
then-president of the Lincoln Memorial national life, in every state and in every
Commission, who — days before — had section, the things for which he died.”
advised Moton to cut several hundred —KD
16 NATIONALPARKS78%
EXCLUSIVE 150 ANNIVERSARY OF th reg
u lar off t
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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK $2 BILL
BRADFORD
EXCHANGE
Bill shown smaller than actual size of 2.61 inches wide x 6.14 inches long.
★ This genuine $2 Bill’s front bears President Thomas Jefferson’s portrait ★ Back displays the historic depiction of the presentation of the Declaration of
Independence to Congress
★ Privately-enhanced by The Bradford Exchange Mint with vivid imagery and
gleaming golden accents to honor America’s Yellowstone National Park ★ Preserved within a crystal-clear holder to protect its beauty and value
F ew ideas have ever united all Americans as our devotion
to our National Parks. Once, their pristine beauty and
rare splendor seemed destined to become just a memory. Yet,
This official $2 bill features third President Thomas
Jefferson’s image on the front. Then, to honor Yellowstone's
150TH anniversary, it has been privately enhanced by The
thanks to forward-thinking leaders, Yellowstone National Bradford Exchange Mint. Golden embellishments and vivid
Park was established 150 years ago in 1872 as the FIRST color bring the park's timeless beauty and breathtaking
National Park in the whole world. In 1916, President grandeur to life. The back bears the famous presentation of
Theodore Roosevelt and others helped establish the National the Declaration of Independence to Congress.
Park Service to help preserve our irreplaceable wild heritage
for generations to come. Now, by acting fast, you can be Reply Now!
among the first to celebrate Yellowstone's 150TH anniversary How can we offer you this exclusive commemorative currency
with The 150TH Anniversary of Yellowstone National Park at 78% off? We know that once you see just one of these
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enhanced, legal tender currency can now be yours at a treasures you’ll want to purchase more of them, backed by
special price of just $9.99. That’s a 78% savings versus the our unconditional, 365-day guarantee. Your genuine, crisp
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1% of all U.S. currency produced today.
The Bradford Exchange Mint is not affiliated with the U.S. Government or U.S. Department of the
National Parks included in this collection comprise a complete list as of January 2022. Treasury. Bills are privately enhanced with vivid color and golden embellishments.
ORDER TODAY AT BRADFORDEXCHANGE.COM/YNP150 ©2022 BGE 01-37103-065-BI9
SEND NO MONEY NOW PLEASE RESPOND PROMPTLY Mrs. Mr. Ms.
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YES. Please reserve The 150th Anniversary of Yellowstone National Park City
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State Zip
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availability and order acceptance. Please allow 4-8 weeks for delivery. By accepting this reservation you will be enrolled in The
Complete U.S. National Park $2 Bill Collection with the opportunity — never the obligation — to acquire the complete collection.
You’ll also receive a deluxe wooden display with your third shipment —FREE. Issues will arrive about once a month. You may cancel
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SUMMER 2022 17GOOD
INFOGRAPHIC BY DANA KRISSOFF/NPCA
The 2020 passage of the Great American Outdoors Act
established the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy
WORKS
Restoration Fund, setting aside up to $6.65 BILLION
to address critical repair needs in national parks. Here’s a
snapshot of the number of plans in the pipeline, the parks and
states benefiting, and the funds allocated for specific projects
AHEAD
during the first two years of the five-year investment.
—KD
160+
NATIONAL PARK
PROJECTS
49 STATES &
TERRITORIES
99 PARK
SITES
$10.1M $275M $9.1M
Mammoth Cave National Park Yellowstone National Park Lyndon B. Johnson National
Cave trail work Repairs to roads, bridges, housing
& wastewater systems
Historical Park
Texas White House rehabilitation
$213M $3.8M $26.2M
Blue Ridge Parkway Thomas Jefferson Memorial Shenandoah National Park
Road repairs Marble restoration Pavement repair along Skyline Drive
18 NATIONALPARKSOFFLINE AND
OFF-ROAD
IS THE BEST
WAY TO GO.
GO EXPLORE
SUMMER 2022 19Trail Mix
WHILE VISITING AMACHE in 2015, Bob
Fuchigami pored over a map, searching for
the location of the barracks where he and
his family were detained during World War
II. Below: Story hour at Amache in 1942.
©BENJAMIN RASMUSSEN/THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX
Recognition for Amache
In March, more than 76 years after the closure of the World War II-era Japanese
American incarceration camp known as Amache, Congress authorized the cre-
ation of a national historic site to preserve this dark chapter of American history
and the stories of more than 10,000 people who were forced through the camp’s
gates. The Amache Preservation Society — which advocated for the park site along
with Amache survivors and their descendants, NPCA and other allies — will retain
management of the southeastern Colorado site until the National Park Service
acquires the property from the nearby town of Granada.
1-800-327-5774
www.explorefairbanks.com
©NATIONAL ARCHIVES, WAR RELOCATION AUTHORITY COLLECTION
20 NATIONALPARKSGive a gift that
pays you back
With a charitable gift annuity through NPCA,
you will receive fixed, unchanging payments
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outlive—no matter what happens to the
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Age: 65 75 85 90
Rate: 4.2% 5.4% 7.6% 8.6%
Call us at 1-877-468-5775 or visit www.
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about your personal rate.
SUMMER 2022
FREE INFO FOR YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE!
Learn more about the advertisers featured in National Parks. Simply fill out the attached
card and return to us. We’ll handle the rest! For faster service, visit http://www.npca.org/
advertisers or fax toll-free to 888.847.6035
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100. Resorts & Hotels 5. Explore Fairbanks................................................20 600. All Home
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SSUMMER 2022
U M M ER 2 02 2 21
21Denizens BY TODD CHRISTOPHER
traded goods and exchanged gifts, and
Cook introduced goats and the seeds
GOATS, introduced to the Hawaiian of melons, pumpkins and onions to the
Islands in the late 1700s by explorer
James Cook, devastated the native islands. The third time, however, was
vegetation of Hawai’i Volcanoes not a charm. Tensions escalated into
National Park.
all-out violence, and Cook perished in the
fighting that ensued. Goats, for better or
worse, have been around ever since.
The Hawaiian Islands were home to
a unique culture and delicate ecosystem
that had long developed in near isola-
tion. Cook and his crew were the first
Europeans ever to come ashore there,
and their visit took a heavy toll on the
islanders and, ultimately, the environ-
ment. While the introduction of goats
may have been well intended, its impact
still can be felt nearly two and a half
centuries later.
The island flora was no match for the
goats, creatures whose fecundity is nearly
as remarkable as their appetite — and
NPS
that had no natural predators to keep
The Enemy Within
them in check. By the mid-1800s, an
expanding goat population was ravaging
lowland areas before wreaking havoc
on the understory of higher-elevation
For two centuries, feral goats plagued what is
forests, stripping the bark from the trees,
now Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. In the end, which killed them and thinned out the
controlling them required hunting, fencing and a canopy. Native plant species struggled to
survive, nonnative grasses took hold, and
bit of ungulate espionage. bird and insect populations suffered as a
I
result. It was a vicious cycle.
N APRIL 1981, rangers at Hawai’i Volcanoes National
Ranchers and foresters alike viewed
Park took the unprecedented measure of releasing the goats as a menace, and large
“Agent Orange” into the backcountry. hunting parties were commonplace
until the establishment of the park in
To be clear, it was not the herbicide once sprayed by U.S. forces during 1916, when the practice was suspended
the Vietnam War. This particular Agent Orange, as the park staff called her, for more than a decade. According to
was a female goat that had been captured, marked with orange paint and “Goats in Hawai’i Volcanoes National
fitted with a radio collar for surveillance by rangers waging a very different Park: A Story to be Remembered,” an
kind of battle: the long struggle to eliminate feral goats — highly effective undated report by park volunteer W.
defoliants in their own right — from the park. Edwin Bonsey, the territorial govern-
The goat problem at Hawai’i Volcanoes traces back to the voyages of ment briefly revived eradication efforts
English explorer James Cook, who visited the Hawaiian Islands three times within the park, mounting a campaign
beginning in January 1778. The first two times he came ashore, Cook and that eliminated more than 17,000 goats
his crew were warmly welcomed by the Native Hawaiians. The two groups between 1927 and 1931.
22 NATIONALPARKSThat progress was undone in the simply reproduced faster than they clusters. Small teams bearing .30-caliber
years that followed, however, as control could be eliminated; hunting them, rifles then tracked and eliminated the
efforts faltered. In its criticism of the on its own, would not be the solution, intruders with the assistance of shooters
situation, a 1949 piece in the Hawaii and in early 1972, the citizen shooting aboard a helicopter.
Tribune-Herald did not mince words. program was dropped. “This animal is really betraying its
“Infestations of feral goats and pigs still But good fences make good neigh- friend,” said Jon Faford, the wildlife
crawl like vermin over both sections bors, as the saying goes, and that same biologist at Hawai’i Volcanoes who
of the park threatening destruction of year park scientists devised a manage- leads the park’s current monitoring and
native forests and plants,” according to ment plan based on the successful removal programs and oversees the
the article. “These must be eliminated recovery of native flora in test plots of occasional deployment of double agents,
from the Islands.” parkland enclosed by new goat-proof as staff call the infiltrators. “Because
Park managers tried to address the barriers. By securing one small goat man- they’re such social animals, it wants
issue, but not without controversy.
Beginning in the mid-1940s, Hawai’i
Volcanoes hired private companies “This animal is really betraying its friend.”
to conduct goat-shooting drives until
the contracts, which flouted National agement area at a time, they reasoned, to find other goats, and so we use the
Park Service policy, were halted in first by fencing and then hunting, they natural behavior of the goats to work in
1955; for the next 15 years, park staff could eventually reclaim all of Hawai’i our favor.”
conducted hunting drives themselves Volcanoes, all while rebuilding the park’s Today, the goat situation is under
instead. And Park Service Director dilapidated boundary fences to prevent control at Hawai’i Volcanoes ― and at
George Hartzog Jr.’s subsequent push to further invasion. “Goats are not part Haleakalā National Park, which used
include shooters from the public in goat of the natural system,” Robert Barbee, the same methods ― but it requires
control efforts blurred the lines between superintendent of Hawai’i Volcanoes, constant vigilance. “We have a total of
managing park resources and permit- told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in 1976. about 177 miles of boundary and interior
ting sport hunting, an activity otherwise “We hope to restore biological integrity fencing,” said Faford, who joined the
expressly prohibited in the park. The to the park.” park staff in 2002, “and that’s basically
strategy frustrated conservationists but That hope was largely realized by the core of restoration here in Hawai’i
was popular with locals who were happy the early 1980s when, after a decade Volcanoes.” A dedicated crew of 10
for the chance to fill their freezers with of steadfast work by its staff, Hawai’i employees patrols and monitors every
goat meat. Perhaps too popular ― on Volcanoes — at more than 500 square last mile of the metal mesh fencing,
its opening day in 1970, the citizen miles, an area comparable with the city repairing the damage caused by trees
goat-control program attracted so many of Los Angeles — was free of all but a felled by storms and high winds.
participants to hunt in a small portion dozen or so bands of goats. And that’s It is those breaches that, from time
of the park that one of them, a recently where Agent Orange came in. to time, allow feral goats on adjacent
returned veteran, said he found it even The remaining goats, having property back into the park, but Faford
more dangerous than Vietnam. survived previous hunting campaigns, and his team know how to handle the
All told, decades of removal efforts were the wiliest of all, expert at hiding odd interloper. “We’ve literally dealt
had little to no long-term effect on the and keenly aware of the presence of with thousands of ungulates over the
park’s goat population. From 1955 to humans. Unable to remove what they years,” he said, “and when you deal with
1970, more than 31,000 goats were could not find, the rangers turned that many animals, you tend to learn
either killed or captured and removed to Agent Orange and a dozen other how to think like an animal.”
from Hawai’i Volcanoes. Yet the number ungulate operatives that followed in
of goats in 1970 — about 14,000 — was her hoof steps. Outfitted with tracking TODD CHRISTOPHER is senior director of digi-
greater than the number present when devices, they roamed the park until tal and editorial strategy at NPCA and author
the park’s organized control efforts they found and joined — and thereby of “The Green Hour: A Daily Dose of Nature for
began back in the late 1920s. The goats revealed the location of — the rogue Happier, Healthier, Smarter Kids.”
SUMMER 2022 23You can also read
