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Urge Congress to Safeguard our National Parks from Climate Change
This week the House of Representatives will be voting on H.R. 2454, The American Clean Energy and Security Act, a bill that addresses one of the most important issues of our generation—climate change. In order to safeguard our national parks—their wildlife and vital natural resources—it is imperative that the American Clean Energy and Security Act successfully moves out of the House and on to the Senate. Contact your Representative today and tell them to vote "Yes" on The American Clean Energy and Security Act.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Protect America's National Parks: Vote "Yes" on the American Clean Energy and Security Act
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I'm writing to urge you to vote "Yes" on H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act. As the House moves toward a vote this week on what amounts to the most important legislation of our lifetime to address climate change, I hope you will make passage of the bill--and the protections it provides for national parks--a priority.
National parks and their wildlife are already being impacted by climate change. Park fish and wildlife are struggling to survive in the face of ever increasing drought, wildfire, violent storms, rising tides, and heat stress. Forests, grasslands, deserts, and high mountain meadows are being overrun by invasive species and destructive pests, depriving wildlife of essential habitat.
As the "anchor tenants" of some of America's most ecologically rich wildlife habitat, national parks stand to lose much in the face of climate change. Extinctions and displacements of wildlife may occur in the decades ahead if we fail to act.
Congress can help safeguard America's fish and wildlife from on-going climate impacts if we reduce global warming pollution to safe levels, manage national parks to lessen their vulnerability to climate change, and invest in protecting and restoring the ecosystems that are critical for healthy fish and wildlife populations.
I hope that you will vote in favor of the American Clean Energy and Security Act and urge your colleagues to do the same to help safeguard the fish, wildlife, and other natural resources of our national parks and all treasured American landscapes. The investments we make today in these life-giving resources will also help thousands of communities around the country maintain healthy air, clean drinking water, and economically vital outdoor recreation activities.
Please consider my concerns and urge your colleagues to protect our national parks.
Best Regards,
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Campaign Launched:
June 24, 2009
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This week the House of Representatives will be voting on H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, a bill that addresses global climate change. This bill could be the most important legislation of our lifetime. It is imperative to guarantee the long-term sustainability of national parks as we know them today, that Congress passes this important legislation.
Climate Change is already impacting our national parks. Around the United States parks are feeling the heat of global climate change. Some examples include:
- Wildfires in Western national parks have increased fourfold over the past two decades as invasive species have spread and drought periods increased.
- Devastating floods are destroying roads and buildings in national parks of the Pacific Northwest.
- Early snowmelt in the Sierra Nevada is disrupting national park wildlife and depriving California farms of much needed water in the summer.
- Pest outbreaks in Yellowstone National Park are killing thousands of trees and depriving grizzly bears of important food stocks.
- Wolf and moose populations at Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior are in rapid decline.
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park is losing Fraser fir trees while native brook trout are threatened in both the Smokies and Shenandoah National Park.
- In Alaska’s national parks, warming arctic temperatures are altering vital habitat for caribou, polar bears, and many species of birds.
- National parks along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts could lose irreplaceable historic forts and settlements due to rising waters.
- Rocky Mountain National Park could lose high meadows and wildlife that depends on them.
The effort currently under way in Washington, D.C. presents an opportunity to preserve and protect our national parks for future generations. Congress can safeguard our national parks, their wildlife and vital natural resources, from climate change, in a way that benefits local communities and create jobs. To do this, and to protect our national parks from the most devastating effects of climate change, we must act now.
What Congress Can Do to Protect National Parks
- Reduce greenhouse gas pollution to avoid even greater climate damage in the future.
- Create a national strategy to safeguard natural resources, including wildlife, from climate change impacts already underway.
- Dedicate a meaningful share of the revenue from the sale of greenhouse gas emissions permits to industry to safeguard natural resources in our parks and other vital public lands.
Build Local Economies and Protect Wildlife
In addition to protecting our nation's most cherished places, investing in natural resources will build local economies.
- Funds are needed to create wildlife migration corridors, restore wetlands, protect coastal areas, reduce wildfire impacts, and build scientific understanding of how climate change affects natural systems and wildlife.
- Safeguarding natural resources in parks and other public lands helps protect surrounding communities from drought, wildfire, and floods.
- Natural resources provide valuable economic services to communities, from safe drinking water to agriculture products; One in 20 U.S. jobs is linked to wildlife-related activities, goods, and services.
For More Information, Check Our Website:
http://www.npca.org/climatechange/
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