Yellowstone National Park focuses on greener efforts

Yellowstone National Park’s more than 60 mammal species depend upon fellow plants and animals for survival — but many of the park’s flora and fauna may be disrupted by climate change. Research indicates that the country’s first national park has warmed faster than the worldwide rate, compared to last century’s average, according to the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization. Perhaps the biggest canary in the cage is the whitebark pine, a high-elevation-loving conifer that is declining in high-elevation places like Yellowstone, partly because the ancient tree needs a significant number of below-freezing days each winter. The trees live on mountaintops that used to be too cold for tree-killing pine beetles. Several entities that manage park treasures have taken steps to reduce human impact and perhaps save this pine and other plant species — and in turn, save animals that rely on the whitebark pine nuts, such as grizzly bears that enjoy its high calories. One such effort is a significant goal to reduce electricity consumption in Yellowstone by 16 percent by 2016. It’s called the Yellowstone Environmental Stewardship Initiative, headed by the Yellowstone Park Foundation, the official fundraising partner for the 2.2-million-acre park. Park visitors may notice some of the efforts to lighten human impact. For example, the historic Lamar Buffalo Ranch in the Lamar Valley uses low-impact infrastructure while enabling hundreds of students and other visitors to stay at the remote location and learn about the environment. Solar panels power basic needs at the four historic buildings and 16 guest cabins that house Yellowstone Association Institute classes and students. Additionally, the NPS added low-flow water fixtures, micro hydropower, on-demand hot water, zero-waste and recycling programs, and energy-efficient windows. Across the park the NPS is replacing energy-sucking devices with efficient ones, such as switching out old computer monitors to new LCD displays or laptops. Outdated appliances also are replaced, from office equipment to ice and vending machines and washing machines. “Thirty percent of the park’s total energy consumption occurs at Mammoth Hot Springs headquarters because of its year-round operation,” says the Yellowstone Park Foundation’s Stewardship Initiative documents. “A 2008 pilot program used a meter in Mammoth (Wyo.) to track the effects of employee behavior changes on actual, daily electricity consumption and proved a successful tool in conserving energy. With support from the Yellowstone Park Foundation, the park plans to install 20 additional power monitors in the Mammoth area.” The $27 million Old Faithful Visitor Education Center, which opened in August 2010, was awarded gold-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED Certification, and was constructed to meet the needs of some 3.3 million annual park visitors, of which about 80 percent visit Old Faithful. Twenty six percent of the building materials came from recycled materials such as the roof shingles, which are recycled rubber that looks like wood. At the apex of the 60-foot ceiling window open to allow hot air to flow out, as fresh air flows in through ducts at floor level, a ventilation system reduces the need for air conditioning. Other park buildings receive retrofits and new technologies to improve energy conservation. For example the 1,500 buildings and outdoor areas in the park that use artificial light have been updated with efficient lighting fixtures and old incandescent light bulbs have been replaced. Other projects include a donated a three-quarter ton Dodge pickup to test 100 percent biodiesel fuel. Results after being driven more than 170,000 miles include the pickup averaging 17 miles per gallon with less smoke, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxides emitted in the exhaust. Additionally, all diesel-powered vehicles used by park employees plus many used by concessioner companies use a 20 percent blend of industrial-grade vegetable oil and diesel. “In 2016, the National Park Service will begin its second century preserving the nation’s natural and cultural heritage, a stewardship that now includes more than 84 million acres within the National Park System,” noted NPS director Jonathan Jarvis in a 2010 document, Climate Change Response. “The NPS Climate Change Response Strategy provides direction to our agency and employees to address the impacts of climate change.” What park visitors might encounter most, aside from bison and elk, are the environmentally sensitive changes that have occurred in the park’s lodges, which are managed by Xanterra Parks and Resorts. For example, all in-park lodges have bulk soap dispensers in public restrooms and in showers in the hotels and camp services. Guests will find recycling receptacles in guest rooms and guest areas to encourage recycling. Campers will find an award-winning program that Xanterra helped fund in which propane canisters are recycled via trailer that converts canisters into scrap metal. In Yellowstone, more than 25,000 canisters were processed and diverted from the landfill in 2010. Through Xanterra’s Solid Waste Managment and Recycling program, employees diverted 73 percent of the waste from disposal in landfill by composting, reuse, and recycling programs according to Xanterra’s Director of Environmental Affairs Dylan Hoffman. “Sometimes the environmental challenges in a one-of-a-kind place like Yellowstone can be daunting, but our employees are utterly committed to continually finding ways to improve the environmental aspects of the way we do business,” said Rick Hoeninghausen, director of sales and marketing for Xanterra Parks and Resorts in Yellowstone. “We often find ourselves coming up with new ideas and sometimes even developing our own machines and systems to meet these challenges.” Employees sort refuse for processing at the West Yellowstone Compost Facility, where park waste is processed into a marketable soil amendment. Approximately 2.2 million pounds of waste was turned into compost last year at the facility, which in turn was sold to local gardeners for $15 per cubic yard. Xanterra also recycles all used automotive batteries, tires, Freon, antifreeze and paint solvents used in vehicle and building maintenance operations. The company recycles all electronic waste, and for example, in 2011 nearly 10,000 pounds of electronic waste was recycled. “Stewardship takes on a special significance within the National Park Service,” summarizes Jarvis. “Preserving and enhancing natural and cultural resources and maintaining and improving park facilities involves caring for a legacy—an inheritance that inspires people today and will stir the imaginations of future generations.”