Date: February 17, 2009
Contact: Barb Maynes - Olympic, 360-565-3005
Contact: Jack Oelfke - North Cascades, 360-854-7310
Contact: Patti Wold - Mount Rainier, (360) 569-2211 ext. 3327
17Washington’s three national parks, Mount Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic National Parks will host diverse groups of community leaders, scientists and business people at three Climate Friendly Park workshops to be held this month.
Two-day workshops will be held in each park, and are designed to involve community members in helping parks become more climate friendly. Together with the community, park staff will develop specific strategies for tracking and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
“From the mountains to the coast, the parks of the Pacific West have committed to being carbon neutral by 2016, the centennial of the National Park Service,” said NPS Pacific West Regional Director Jon Jarvis. “We can only achieve that goal by working closely with our neighbors, visitors and local communities.”
Each workshop will begin with presentations about local impacts of climate change, as well as talks by community leaders about ongoing climate friendly programs in each park area. Workshop participants will then develop strategies for the parks to track their greenhouse gas emissions, educate park staff and the public about climate change and plan ways to adapt to a changing climate.
The Climate Friendly Parks (CFP) Program is a collaboration of the National Park Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that provides national parks with management tools and resources to address climate change. The program is made possible in part by funding from the National Parks Conservation Association.
Since 2003, the CFP program has assisted more than 60 national parks to develop emission inventories, create park-specific action plans, and reduce their carbon footprints. More information about Climate Friendly Parks is available online.
