The News from Zion

EPA's Pollution Plan Slammed

City officials and business leaders here Wednesday warned that a federal proposal to relax air quality standards for the nation's national parks will ultimately be bad for business.

Simply put, they said during a news conference at the entrance to Zion National Park, lower air standards being proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hurt this gateway city economically if fewer tourists visit the park.

"Air pollution could damage the stars, vistas and clean air we enjoy," Springdale Mayor Pat Cluff said. "Some places deserve to be preserved and it is my responsibility to preserve [the park] for those who come here."

Zion, Other National Parks Ask Visitors to Reduce 'Carbon Footprint'

Visitors to Zion National Park can soon take home more than just breathtaking photos and memories of epic hikes.

The park is one of 15 in the country participating in a a program urging visitors to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions at home and thereby reduce the risk of adverse effects from global warming at national parks.

The "Do Your Part for Climate Friendly Parks" program launched Monday.

Each of the participating parks has set a target for reducing emissions and drawn up a plan including steps such as recycling, energy efficiency and using biofuels in park vehicles.

Zion National Park Leads the Way in 'Green' Life

Mukuntuweap National Monument has been in the “green” business since its establishment in 1909. This role was further strengthened by the Organic Act of 1916. Signed by President Woodrow Wilson Aug. 25, 1916, the Organic Act of 1916 created the National Parks Service, according to the NPS Web site, www.nps.gov.

It charged the NPS “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects, and the wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

National Parks land grab

Without more Congressional funding, the National Park Service may not be able to compete with developers as private properties within National Park lands go on the market. A report released by the National Parks Conservation Association, “America’s Heritage: For Sale” shows how “critical land inside 55 National Parks could be lost for lack of funding.”

One such example is a timber company that owns land inside Mount Rainier National Park that is willing to sell it to the Park Service—if only the Park Service could afford it. “We don’t know how long the timber company will wait,” said Sean Smith, NPCA Northwest regional director, in a statement.

The report points to other circumstances where the landowners did not wait: A retreat center built inside Utah’s Zion National Park, for example. And a hotel-museum complex currently is being proposed on land inside Valley Forge National Historic Park in Pennsylvania.

Why national parks, coal-fired power plants may be neighbors

Nature photographer Hullihen Moore specializes in vistas of Virginia's Shenandoah National Park, but worries he'll soon be unable to see his beloved ridgelines through a yellowish haze of industrial emissions.

On some days, thick air already obscures mountains just a few miles distant, he says. So adding six new coal-fired power plants nearby, as is proposed, might make view-gazing impossible.

Shenandoah isn't the only national treasure whose scenic values are up in the air, however. From Virginia to Utah, the air quality of at least 10 national parks, including many with crystalline views, is threatened by plans to build at least two dozen new coal-fired power plants, parks advocates and air-quality experts say.

The little-known reason places with names like Badlands, Wind Cave, and Great Basin could soon see sullied air is a federal proposal that would lower the bar for developers seeking permits to build upwind of the parks, these critics say.