Climate change is leaving National Park Service managers with stark choices: Stand by as the world warms to a point where ancient trees might no longer survive, or intervene so those trees may no longer be considered wild and national parks become something along the lines of national gardens.
Across the National Park System, some 2 million acres have been invaded by non-native vegetation. At Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah, crews physically cut down Russian olive trees and use Roundup to prevent regrowth of this invader.
National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek backpacked in with the crew from Grand Staircase Escalante Partners to learn more about this project and watch them at work.
They were ornamentals, showy vegetation once viewed as being beautiful and helpful landscape additions, but today many have turned into invaders that are adversely impacting national park landscapes.
"The Escalante River traverses some of the finest canyon country of the Colorado Plateau and offers river-floating enthusiasts the opportunity to enjoy magnificent, wild, redrock canyon scenery. Because it is rugged and remote and sustains only limited flows, the Escalante River also provides unique challenges to the river runner."
Dialogues about offensive climbing route names have ramped up in the last year as protests and ongoing dialogues about race and equity have happened across many sectors.
The Wahweap Auxiliary Ramp in south Lake Powell at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is expected to be open Thursday for the launch and retrieval of some motorized vessels.
A California family's vacation at Lake Powell ended in tragedy when the father was able to save his children from drowning but then couldn't save himself.
As drought, high temperatures, and wildfires take a toll on Southwest landscapes, they increasingly are being accompanied by financial calamity for economies built around national parks.
It's expected that within two weeks the main Wahweap boat ramp at Lake Powell in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area will close due to falling lake levels, an event that could make it hard or impossible to pull boats out of the lake.