For decades, the core mission of the Park Service was absolute conservation. Now ecologists are being forced to do triage, deciding what to safeguard — and what to let slip away.
What to Save? Climate Change Forces Brutal Choices at National Parks.
Have you ever visited any of our national parks?
In the past year, have visited 4-5. We were at Yellowstone last year when a big fire was going. Their philosophy was to let it burn except to protect facilities.
I couldn’t read the article without paying, so can’t comment on the content.
Sorry about that! I believe that if you register you get so many free articles a month.
I haven’t visited many, only some protected sites in North Dakota and Minnesota. Anyhow, the general problems parks are facing are the same around the world, at least outside tropics.
There is nothing such as a static balance in nature. Protected places are changing, some faster, other slower. The causes of change are partly external, partly internal. Internal causes are mainly connected to natural succession, erosion and natural disasters or other disturbances, external causes mainly to human activity. Climate change and the spread of invasive species have changed the rate or trajectory of change, highlighting the problems related to change.
When things change, there is a need to decide what we are protecting. In these discussions, opinions often differ. The outcome is usually a compromise, rather than a theoretically ideal solution.
So, the question remains: what should we protect in natural parks?
That’s what the article is about.
The article is behind a paywall so all cannot read it. For example, I could not - “You’ve reached your limit of free articles”. I hoped to summarize the problems for those who cannot get the article without paying. As I did not read the article, my summary is probably a bit different than the content of the article.
Anyhow, it is not selfevident what the answer should be. It may also vary from park to park. I guess most of us have some kind of idea what we would like to have in the parks we visit.
Perhaps you could post a couple [mote] of the key quotes and/or summarise the main points for us? 
You guys should be able to register for free with the NYTimes and they will give you so many free articles per month.
Has anybody tried to register to read the article for free?
This topic was automatically closed 6 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” -Colossians 4:6
This is a place for gracious dialogue about science and faith. Please read our FAQ/Guidelines before posting.