Parks aim to reduce emissions

Karen Lasch and her family recently pulled over their car near a glacier-fed creek in Mount Rainier National Park, piling out for a glimpse of the snowcapped peak in the distance.

But she hadn’t given much thought to the impact that she, millions of other tourists and the national parks themselves have on the wilderness. Each year, vehicles and parks operations spew thousands of tons of emissions that contribute to climate change.

Officials at parks across the country are trying to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by cleaning up their own operations, with the help of federal stimulus dollars.

“We know we have to green our own house,” said Sonya Capek, the Pacific West region’s environmental program coordinator. “It’s part of our mission to protect and preserve the resources.”

The National Park Service and the Environmental Protection Agency have started the Climate Friendly Parks network program to help parks address climate change. Parks must measure their amounts of emissions, come up with plans to curb them and educate the public on what they can do to help.

Seventeen parks have already created plans. Sixty parks are developing their own plans.

National parks, like other federal agencies, have already been under orders to reduce energy and gasoline use.

Parks are turning down thermostats and sealing windows, providing loaner bikes to employees and installing food composting and recycling bins.

One recent morning at Mount Rainier, workers climbed atop the park’s emergency operations center and installed 48 solar panels to provide energy to the building. They have also added dual-flush toilets that reduce water use and use electric vehicles to pick up trash at campgrounds.

Each year, Mount Rainier creates greenhouse gas emissions equal to about 1,100 households. Visitors to Mount Rainier account for two-thirds of the 12,170 metric tons the park emits each year, mostly in driving to the park and inside it.

Rainier acting superintendent Randy King said the park doesn’t want to discourage visitors. “It’s very important that people enjoy the parks and make a personal connection.” So the park is looking in-house first to conserve where it can.

“We need to set a good example and do what we can,” he said.