Southeast Region (SER) Climate

Change Actions

Presentation to SENRLG Climate Change Meeting

Charleston, SC, May 27-29, 2008

Overview

• NPS Background

• Knowledge Acquisition

• Mitigation and Adaptation

• Areas of Potential

Collaboration

Mission

The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National

Park System for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service

cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource

conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.

• Monitoring– NPS’s inventory and monitoring

program builds a stronger scientific basis for stew-ardship and management of natural resources throughout the NPS

– A long-term effort to• inventory park natural resources • create scientific strategies to monitor

these natural resources• apply the information to planning

Knowledge Acquisition

Virgin Islands National Park, VI

• Monitoring cont’d– Vital signs developed for each network

-• are measurable environmental features or

biological and physical processes that provide information about the condition of or changes in an ecosystem

• can tell scientists and managers what are normal variations and what might be symptoms of an unhealthy ecosystem

• might provide early warnings of situa- tions that require intervention and help scientists frame research questions to determine cause and effect

Buck Island Reef Nat’l Monument, VI

– Vital signs cont’d• SER networks are/will be monitoring

vital signs directly linked to climate change (CC).– Cumberland Piedmont Network vital signs

should show measurable effects of CC (water quality, forest pests, vegetation communities, cave meteorology, invasives, foliar injury, cave crickets)

– Gulf Coast Network vital signs are directly linked to rising sea levels and changes in storm frequency including shoreline and island-interior changesCape Lookout NS, NC

• Research– SER Parks are increasingly serving as

research sites for CC. Some research examples include:• past and present patterns of sea level rise

• changes in species ranges over time

• carbon sequestration within a park

• climate induced carbon loss from soils

• amplification of CC effects by high ozone levels

• effect of CC on the competitive advantage of non-native plants with native grasses and forbs

• Climate Friendly Parks (CFP) Program– NPS & EPA partnership to make parks

models of climate stewardship and education• educate park employees and roles they can play• develop plan to reduce park greenhouse gas (GHG)

emissions• communicate to the public how: CC affects park

resources; the park is mitigating/adapting to CC effects; and they can reduce their GHG emissions

– Everglades and Great Smoky Mountains NPs are SER park participants

Mitigation and Adaptation

• Individual Park Actions to Reduce GHGs– Building Energy Efficient/Sustainable

Facilities • Several Parks have built energy efficient visitor

centers• Other Parks have built sustainable housing units

and used recycled building materials in pavilions

– Purchasing Green Energy• Two NPs purchase "green power" • One park has purchased wind energy equivalent

to 2 years usage at its new science center

– Generating of Renewable Energy• Several parks have replaced fossil fuel powered

generation systems with solar systemsDry Tortugas National Park, FL

Blue Ridge Parkway, VA-NC

• Individual Park Actions to… cont’d– Use of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

• SER parks operate 10 gas/electric hybrids and many operate electric vehicles

– Conversion to Renewable Energy • Many Parks use biodiesel in all diesel vehicles

and work equipment• One Park has partnered with local

governments to establish bio-diesel shuttles between towns and park destinations

Congaree National Park, SC

Great Smoky Mountain NP, NC-TN

• Individual Park Actions to… cont’d– Use of Bio-based and Recycled Materials

• Most SER parks use earth-friendly cleaning products from “green” suppliers

• Some Parks use recycled motor oil

• Other mandate green procurement training

– Establishment of Recycling Programs• Many Parks have instituted recycling programs• One Park has recycles 15 categories of materials

and is developing a program for offices, shops, households

Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, KY-TN

• Individual Park Actions to… cont’d– Education of Visitors thru Park

Interpretation• Developed “Climate Change: Impacts on

Southeastern Parks” bulletin for park visitors

• Modified a national NPS display on climate change for SER use

• Everglades NP created “Climate Change and South Florida’s Parks” handout

Everglades National Park, FL

• Training and Conferences– A number of SER Parks received

training on Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager - an energy and water management tool used to track and assess consumption across a set of buildings

– The Regional Office hosted a CC presentation by a Georgia Tech professor

to raise SER awareness

• Enhanced Ecological Monitoring• Forecasting Climate Changes at Relevant

Scales• Integrated Assessment of Impacts• Communication and Education• Guidelines for Implementing Adaptive

Management Principles

Areas of NPS Need/Potential Collaboration

Thank you