"Vanishing Glacier" National Park

U.S. national parks are famous for their range of natural beauty and varied wildlife. They are an oasis for fragile ecosystems that can only be preserved for future generations through ongoing protection and conservation efforts. But scientists are now noticing big changes—attributed to climate change or global warming—that are changing the face of our parks.

Since the early 20th century, Montana's Glacier National Park has attracted visitors to the majestic beauty of its vast glaciers peaks and valleys. Today's visitor is witnessing a completely different site—a rapidly changing landscape of shrinking glaciers.

Dan Fagre is an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, the government's earth and biological science organization.

"The namesake glaciers for Glacier National Park are disappearing rapidly," he said. "Especially in the last several decades. These glaciers that numbered 150 when the park was first formed are now less than 27."

More than 7,000 years ago, glaciers 900 to 1,500 meters thick covered this landscape. The constant ice flow carved out these jagged peaks and deep valleys.

Now, Dan Fagre says the remaining glaciers are melting at an alarming rate. He has no doubt the cause is global warming. "One glacier by itself can not invoke climate change. But, when you have all the glaciers in almost all of the mountain ranges of the entire globe responding the same way, then you know you have global phenomena. And in this case, the glaciers are responding to warming."

Fagre says if the current melting trend continues all of the glaciers will be gone within 20 years.

"Just below the clouds is Salamander Glacier," he said. "It is a long thin dirty glacier with a waterfall pouring off it. And that use to be joined to Grinnell Glacier, which is much larger. And it came all the way down to the top of the double waterfalls. It was a thousand feet high when it was discovered in 1887."

Fagre says melting glaciers isn’t just hard on the landscape—wildlife will have to adapt or die. This particular park is grizzly bear habitat, as well as home to many other species of wildlife. For now, Glacier National Park is still a stunningly rich ecosystem with a myriad of unique plants and animals, but Fagre warns that could change if the glaciers and dense winter snow pack disappears.

"Climate change affects a lot more than just glaciers," said Fagre. "It also affects our forests. And in the back here you can see a large swath where snow avalanches have carved out large gaps in the forest. And what grows in those gaps all the forbs [flowering plants] and everything are what bears eat, and what other organisms eat, birds and a whole host of organisms that would not be able to forage in the dense forest."

The water supply itself that feeds this mountain ecosystem is drying up. Some high altitude lakes in the park are rich with bull trout, a hearty species that can nonetheless only survive in the cold glacial waters. Their habitat, as well as others’, is in danger.

But scientists are also quick to point out that change has always been a part of life on Earth and many species have died or survived these type of dramatic changes over periods of thousands of years. Even so, Dan Fagre feels that this time will be different.

"What is different now is that we have these national parks that are these protected areas that are changing rapidly in many cases. But, the organisms don't have anywhere else to go," he said. "The landscapes outside these parks have been converted to other uses by humans."

In the long run, the earth will eventually adapt to climate change, but there will be casualties. As for the U.S. national parks, Fagre believes they will somehow survive but their landscapes and wildlife will be irreparably altered.

Posted by Rebecca Sato