A Disastrous Time for National Parks:

Miles of roadways and bridges collapsed closing two primary entrances from adjacent communities amid the busy summer travel season, leaving these communities struggling and without access to the park. The tourism economy the park supports was decimated, forcing many businesses to close or operate at a fraction of their normal capacity.

"We want to do this right. What we don’t want to do is just patch the road back together in the canyon, for instance, and then have another major failure in a year."   

Cam Sholly, Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park  (source) 

Yellowstone’s northern entrance road, linking the heavily visited Mammoth area of the park to the town of Gardiner, will have to be rerouted and completely rebuilt, though temporary roads have bought some time. The reconstruction project will be massive in scope and designed to reduce impacts of any future natural disasters. The U.S. Senate proposed more than a billion dollars for these repairs alone.

Torrential rains in early 2020 caused a landslide that decimated Vicksburg National Cemetery and compromised roads, forcing a third of the park to close to visitors.

The cemetery contains the largest collection of Civil War burials in the country, including U.S. Colored Troops and unknown burials within its hallowed ground. Mudslide damage exposed several graves, threatening the historic and cultural significance this park holds.

"More than two years after violent storms closed one-third of the park to the public Vicksburg is still awaiting permanent solutions to its chronic erosion problems and the funding to pay for them. We need to ensure the park gets the resources it needs to reopen fully to the public.”

Alan Spears, Senior Director of Cultural Resources for the National Parks Conservation Association

The park continues to conduct archaeological and geologic studies to inform its restoration plans, including stabilization and transportation options and securing the remains of disinterred people. Repair and stabilization of the park’s roads, hillsides and cemeteries is a massive project that, combined with deferred maintenance on its roads and other infrastructure, will take years to complete.

We saw severe monsoonal flooding shut down several national parks in the California Desert multiple times this summer.

At Death Valley National Park, one of the hottest, driest places on Earth, we saw flooding destroy hundreds of miles of roads and a campground. Undocumented archeological sites were likely lost forever.

“The heavy rain that caused the devastating flooding at Death Valley was an extremely rare, 1000-year event”

 _{Daniel Berc, Meteorologist for the National Weather Service  (source)}  

This summer, Lake Mead contained only 27% of its water capacity – the lowest water levels since the reservoir was filled 85 years ago – putting millions of people who depend on it for their drinking water at risk.

Drastically low water levels are revealing historic artifacts within the park, forcing the relocation of recreational infrastructure like boat ramps and marinas, challenging an already overburdened and understaffed Park Service. 

Lake Powell dropped to only 26% of its water capacity, impacting hydropower, historic and natural resources and boating infrastructure. Historic objects, human remains, and trash revealed by reduced water levels will demand extensive cleanup and efforts to protect historic resources.