National Parks
Global warming threatens to disrupt the natural habitat of three national parks in Washington State—Olympic, Mount Rainier, and North Cascades. It appears that the natural flow and pathways that water has taken through these parks in the past will be disrupted. Global warming has thrown glacier melting into fast forward, and it appears we could lose many streams as well as glaciers in these parks.
In the North Cascades National Park, experts estimate that some streams get about half of their late-summer flow from glaciers. Since 1959, the glaciers have lost 80% of their ice, and in Thunder Creek specifically, receding glaciers reduced summer streams on a whole by 31%. At Mount Rainier National Park the mountain's glaciers lost 21% of their area between 1913 and 1994, and in Olympic National Park, glacier retreat has been recorded for Blue Glacier as well as others.
Beyond glacial retreat, we may see a shift in the expansive meadows that exist in Paradise Valley. This valley owes its special characteristics (wide-open expanse, brilliant wildflowers, and amazing views) to its heavy snows and short growing season—keeping it clear of trees. Higher temperatures may mean that trees will take over these meadows, also preventing wildflowers from growing. Scientists have already detected loss of mountain meadows on both the wetter and dryer east sides of the Olympic National Park.
Forestlands comprise a significant element of Washington's economy. Out of Washington State’s 43,000,000 acres (170,000 km2), 22,000,000 acres (89,000 km2) are classified as forestland. These forestlands support a great variety and number of economic activities, from timber production to the protection of freshwater supplies and wildlife habitat. In 2002, total employment in lumber, wood products pulp, and paper was 43,700. Timber collected on public land currently represents 16% of the current output from the lumber industry.
Read more about this topic: Climate Change In Washington
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