The Greening of Yellowstone

New Old Faithful Visitor Center opens next week in Yellowstone

2010-08-23T02:09:24Z

The new Old Faithful Visitor Education Center in Yellowstone National Park Photo: Beth PrattAbove the park ranger information desk, where construction workers were still putting the finishing touches on the rockwork, an exhibit sign announces the significance of Yellowstone’s geothermal features: “The largest collection of geysers and hot springs on Earth is preserved at Yellowstone National Park for the benefit and inspiration of people around the world.”

Linda Young, Yellowstone’s Chief of Interpretation, hopes this and other state-of-the-art interactive exhibits at the new Old Faithful Visitor Education Center will be inspiring to visitors and “help people understand attractions like Old Faithful. This visitor center isn’t meant to replace the park experience, but to get people more excited about exploring the park.”

The spacious exhibit area includes a “Young Scientist” room with a simulated geyser. Young commented, “the room is intended for kids, but we know we’ll get a lot of adults having fun there as well.” Other interactive displays—including a beautiful diorama—help visitors understand the mud pots, geysers, hot springs and other geothermal features fueled by Yellowstone’s unique volcanic underworld.

Next week the doors will open to the new center, a $27 million building that has been under construction for the last two and a half years. The Yellowstone Park Foundation—Yellowstone’s official non-profit fundraising partner—raised $15 million of the total budget with major gifts from ConocoPhillips, Shalin Liu, Unilever, Cheng Wu, The Coca-Cola Foundation, Toyota, and the National Science Foundation. Karen Kress, President of the Yellowstone Park Foundation, is pleased with the results, “The park asked us to get involved to make this a special place instead of just a typical visitor center. And we were able to do that in two ways—with the incredible educational experience that the center offers and the attention to sustainability in the building’s construction.”

The new facility has been awarded Gold Level LEED designation, the first building in Yellowstone National Park to do so and one of the few to achieve that distinction in the entire National Park System. Over 99% of the construction waste was diverted from the landfill, many building materials contain a high percentage of recycled material, and the building itself will use about a third less energy than a similar traditional structure.

Project manager Theodore Conover with the design firm CTA Architects highlighted the care the designers took in being sustainable and in protecting the surrounding hydrothermal system, “We raised the foundation up on a crawl space because concrete can absorb heat. We didn’t want another Old Faithful in the middle of the visitor center.” Josh Mullaney with general contractor Swank Enterprises, talked about the benefits of working on a LEED project, “My enlightenment was learning how much we could divert with minimal effort—which both helped the environment and saved money.”

The National Park Service is holding a public opening ceremony for the center next Wednesday at 11:00 am.

Vice President Biden showcases stimulus projects in national parks, meets Yellowstone employees

2010-08-04T02:19:34Z

Vice President Biden in Yellowstone with park ranger (Photo by Beth Pratt)As the crowd of park employees awaited the Vice President’s arrival in Yellowstone, the excitement shifted temporality to a bull moose foraging along the banks of the Madison River. Moose sightings are rare in this area and park staff quickly began snapping photographs.

Yet when the Vice President appeared he had the full attention of the group as he spoke about his love for Yellowstone amidst a backdrop of the spectacular Madison River Canyon and National Park Mountain. Biden called Yellowstone a “majestic place,” and told of how the park had helped him and his sons heal after the death of his wife and daughters. “I want my granddaughter to come back with her granddaughters and to have nothing changed.”

Watch a video of Vice President Biden talking about his love for Yellowstone:

Biden, accompanied by Director of the National Park Service Jonathan Jarvis, Yellowstone Superintendent Suzanne Lewis, and Vice President of Dick Anderson Construction, Ed Bennet, detailed the stimulus projects underway in Yellowstone and other national parks as part of the ‘Summer of Recovery.’ Yellowstone received over $12 million in stimulus funds. “We are investing today in something that has long lasting consequences that will benefit future generations,” Biden told the audience.

The investment in parks—budgeted at almost a billion dollars—also benefits the economy. Yellowstone alone contributes $340 million to the local economy and employs over 5,000 workers in the region.

A local company, Dick Anderson Construction of Montana, began construction on one of the largest of Yellowstone’s Recovery Act projects, the replacement of the Madison Wastewater Treatment Plant. Another upcoming project involves the installation of a new Micro Hydroelectric Generation Facility in Mammoth Hot Springs (replacing an old facility run by the U.S. Amy over a century ago) that will reduce greenhouse gas emission by 695 tons a year.

Biden remained after his presentation and spent time talking with the park staff and their families, willingly posing for photographs and signing autographs for those in attendance. He and his granddaughter left after the event to tour the Old Faithful Area, where President Obama and his family visited last year. Biden will visit the Grand Canyon on Tuesday.

Yellowstone concessioner honored for environmental efforts with AH&LA Good Earthkeeping Award

2010-06-24T16:58:49Z

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) honored Yellowstone National Park concessioner Xanterra Parks & Resorts with its Good Earthkeeping award for the company’s new “For Future Generations” educational campaign and retail store.

The AH&LA Stars of the Industry awards program was created more than 40 years ago to recognize outstanding accomplishments in the lodging industry. The Good Earthkeeping Award recognizes lodging properties that have developed a culture toward integrating superior environmental management practices and that show the organization's commitment to achieving superior environmental success.

Last year, Xanterra launched an innovative "For Future Generations" gift store accompanied by a campaign aimed at raising the awareness of park guests and employees about climate change. The store is dedicated to interpreting climate change in parks featuring educational displays and product sustainability scorecards, which provides information on the impact each item has on the environment.

The campaign also includes an innovative educational display in guest rooms with a plush animal toy, an educational brochure, and website on being a green guest in national parks. An extensive training program also was developed and required for all 2,800 employees. Xanterra is now expanding the store and campaign to its other locations, including its operations at Grand Canyon and Crater Lake.

Xanterra’s environmental program, called Ecologix, is extensive. Last year in Yellowstone the company diverted 73 percent of its solid waste from landfills into other areas such as recycling, reusing and composting. Over the past nine years the company has reduced its overall energy use by 14 percent and its water usage by 25 percent. The Yellowstone operation also recently completed a project that uses recycled vegetable oil to power boilers to heat the park’s historic hotels. Xanterra also uses amenities such as cruelty-free shampoo and conditioner bottles made of corn starch that are compostable. This single initiative will divert more than 280,000 plastic bottles – or nine tons – annually from the waste stream.

For more information on Xanterra’s environmental initiatives in Yellowstone, visit the For Future Generations website.

Life in Yellowstone inspires Georgia Tech Professor and students to design technological solutions

2010-05-14T03:33:15Z

Yellowstone's boreal chorus frog inspires research on vaccine transport (Photo courtesy Georgia Tech)What do frogs and vaccine transportation have in common? Or bighorn sheep and automobile safety?

Professor Jeannette Yen, Director of the Center for Biologically Inspired Design at Georgia Tech, described the relationships between these seemingly unrelated things during a presentation today in Yellowstone National Park.

“Imagine what Yellowstone can inspire,” Yen told the audience. She teaches a course on biologically inspired design and this spring tasked her freshman class in developing innovative products and techniques based on Yellowstone’s unique living world—one of the largest intact wild ecosystems on earth.

“Yellowstone has such a richness of organisms and a range of challenges—like extreme cold or thermal activity—that all animals and plants address successfully. The diversity of this place has blown me away,” said Yen.

Life in the first national park has already been the impetus for a number of research and design projects. For example, the intrepid Boreal chorus frog survives Yellowstone’s harsh winters in a frozen hibernation. To accomplish this, the animal raises its blood sugar levels to prevent tissue damage—the water outside the tissues freeze, the water inside the tissues is protected by the blood sugar “antifreeze.” Scientists are studying this amazing process to improve techniques for transporting and preserving vaccines.

During their annual rut, bighorn sheep engage in horn-to-horn combat as they establish dominance. Some of these contests can last up to 24 hours and the animals can collide at speeds of over 40 mph. The honeycomb structure of its horn base and its perfectly aligned spine create a highly effective shock system that helps it resist injury. This natural system is helping researchers design better collision resistant material for automobiles.

Professor Yen hopes designs inspired from life in Yellowstone will not only provide practical technological solutions, but will also help motivate the protection of its ecosystem. “I hope the designs will remind us of the organisms that inspired it and as a result help us promote the conservation of biodiversity in the world.”

The Institute at the Golden Gate hosts a signature gathering of eco-innovators

2010-04-13T04:19:03Z

Courtesy Institute at the Golden GateLeaders in sustainability from across the globe will gather this week on April 14-16 at the second annual Turning the Tide Conference to forge solutions to today’s most pressing environmental issues—from climate change and the health of the oceans to water conservation, waste management and wildlife preservation.

The conference unites eco-innovators from a wide variety of backgrounds and disciplines to create an unparalleled atmosphere of creative energy, channeled into action for environmental change. Speakers at the event include national health guru Dr. Andrew Weil, sustainable food leader Alice Waters; Nobel Laureate and climate scientist Stephen Schneider; Activist and actor Peter Coyote; Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Kennedy; Ocean Voyages Institute president Mary Crowley, and many others.

In an effort to reach a broad global audience, the Institute will webcast several conference keynotes and breakout sessions during Turning the Tide, and will engage the public in real-time discussions via Twitter and Facebook feeds. All interactive components can be accessed through the Institute’s home page at www.instituteatgoldengate.org.

Turning the Tide will again be held at Cavallo Point–the Lodge at the Golden Gate, at Fort Baker in Sausalito. Over the past year, the partnership behind the transformation of Fort Baker from a former U.S. military base into the nation’s newest and most stunning national park lodge has been recognized with a bevy of sustainability awards, including the Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation; the 2009 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA) from the State of California; and, most recently, LEED® Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

For those not participating in the full conference, the Institute is featuring two community events open to the public. A screening of Garbage Dreams, preceded by a discussion with the filmmaker Mai Iskander and Goldman Environmental Prize recipient Laila Iskandar, will be held on Wednesday, April 14. On Friday, April 16 tickets are available for a special advance showing of the new Disneynature film Oceans, opening on Earth Day.

The Institute at the Golden Gate is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting dialogue, collaboration, and action for a sustainable world. The Institute is a program of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, in partnership with the National Park Service.

Visit the Institute at the Golden Gate’s website or call (415) 561-3560 for more information or to register for Turning the Tide.

Yellowstone’s frogs journey to Denver, Chicago, St. Louis and Detroit

2010-03-14T05:32:04Z

Yellowstone's frogs in new airport PSA (image courtesy Save the Frogs)Next time you frequent the airports in Denver, Chicago, St. Louis or Detroit, you might see a Yellowstone Columbia spotted frog peering at you from a colorful poster. Save the Frogs, a non-profit dedicated to amphibian conservation, has launched a new public service campaign about the plight of the first national park’s amphibians.

Frog populations have been declining worldwide at unprecedented rates, and nearly one-third of the world’s over 6,000 amphibian species are threatened with extinction. Up to 200 species have completely disappeared since 1980, while amphibians naturally go extinct at a rate of only about one species every 250 years.

In Yellowstone, a recent study found that three of the four species of the park’s amphibians had decreased as a result of climate change. Researchers surveyed kettle ponds (ponds originally formed when glaciers retreated and fed by snowmelt and groundwater) between 2006 and 2008 in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley. They discovered that dry ponds have increased 4-fold in the past sixteen years, and as a result eliminated a large segment of ideal amphibian habitat in the park.

Dr. Kerry Kriger, founder and Executive Director of Save the Frogs, visited Yellowstone last year and gave a talk to park visitors about amphibian decline. He got the idea for the PSAs and approached ClearChannel about placement in airports; the company agreed to help.

Kriger hopes the public will take notice and take action. “The goal of the ad is to raise awareness of amphibian declines, and to ensure that people know that climate change is a problem now, not something that needs to be dealt with in the future. I've always thought that Yellowstone embodied the issue, as it's the world's oldest protected area: if we can't save Yellowstone's wildlife, how much chance do we have to save wildlife anywhere else?”

Save the Frogs is also holding its second annual Save the Frogs Day on April 30, 2010. Events are being planned throughout the United States, South Africa, India, Australia, Croatia, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Colombia. For more information, or to participate in the event, visit the Save the Frogs website.

The world unites in celebrating life on earth: Earth Hour 2010

2010-03-13T20:27:44Z

Earth Hour 2009 supporters in Thailand (Photo courtesy WWF)The news about climate change is often bad, filled with disheartening updates and sobering predictions on current and future impacts to our planet.

But on March 27, 2010 at 8:30 pm the world will celebrate life on earth and unite in the battle against climate change as the lights go dark globally as part of Earth Hour. Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour has been an annual event since 2007. Last year, 4,159 cities participated including New York, Hong Kong, Paris, London, Sydney, and Los Angeles. Over a thousand iconic landmarks also went dark such as the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, Rome’s Coliseum, and the Las Vegas Strip.

In December of 2009 at the historic UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen, over 192 nations unanimously agreed that global warming is the greatest threat to our planet today and that the world must act together to limit warming to a 2-degree threshold. The consequences of our reliance on fossil fuels and overwhelming consumption of energy is reverberating across the globe—disrupting natural processes and placing people and animals at risk.

Climate change is impacting the life on earth that we cherish—today. It is not an abstract, future threat, but a real force that already has repercussions in the present. In Yellowstone National Park, a small beetle that thrives in warmer temperatures is destroying a vital food source for the park’s grizzly bears. Over a third of the world amphibians are on the verge of extinction, including the yellow-legged frog in Yosemite National Park. Desert bighorn sheep and American pika, already living in two different worlds of extremes, are disappearing from their historical ranges as increasing temperatures render their respective habitats unsuitable.

Pledge your support for the grizzly bear, for the yellow-legged frog, the pika, for the survival of our national parks, and for all life by taking part in Earth Hour on March 27, 2010.

Climate change not for the birds; poses a threat to US species

2010-03-13T03:57:02Z

Cover of report courtesy State of the BirdsGilded Flicker. Masked Booby. Western Grebe. Sharp-tailed Grouse. Bicknell’s Thrush.

These bird species usually appear on the life lists of dedicated birders, but a new report adds these—and numerous other avian species—to a list of wildlife highly vulnerable to climate change.

In Austin, Texas yesterday, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar released the new findings, "The State of the Birds: 2010 Report on Climate Change," a collaboration of research from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and representatives from the nation’s leading conservation organizations.

“For well over a century, migratory birds have faced stresses such as commercial hunting, loss of forests, the use of DDT and other pesticides, a loss of wetlands and other key habitat, the introduction of invasive species, and other impacts of human development,” Salazar said. “Now they are facing a new threat--climate change--that could dramatically alter their habitat and food supply and push many species towards extinction.”

The report underscores the significant threat climate change presents to birds: “Maintaining healthy bird populations in the United States in the face of accelerated climate change is an unprecedented challenge.” The researchers surveyed 800 species in the United States and ranked them as being low, medium or high in terms of vulnerability to climate change. Overall, coastal and oceanic birds were found to be the most vulnerable, with birds in coastal, arctic/alpine, and grassland habitats displaying intermediate threat levels.

The news isn't all bad--the report also provides solutions by outlining current conservation measures and key next steps that will help ensure the ongoing health of our bird populations. “While there is much to be concerned about in this report, we can reduce the impact of climate change by taking immediate action to reduce carbon emissions and find creative conservation solutions to help birds adapt to the changes that are already in process,” said David Pashley, vice president of the American Bird Conservancy.

The report is the product of a collaborative effort as part of the U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative, between federal and state wildlife agencies, and scientific and conservation organizations including partners from the American Bird Conservancy, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Klamath Bird Observatory, National Audubon Society, The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Live from APPL: an interview with National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis

2010-02-10T07:31:50Z

Jonathan Jarvis speaking at the APPL conference in San Diego (Photo by Beth Pratt)Jonathan Jarvis was confirmed as the Director of the National Park Service in September of 2009. A 30-year veteran of the National Park Service (NPS), he has served as regional director of the agency’s Pacific West Region, and as superintendent of Mount Rainier National Park in Ashford, Washington, Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve in Alaska.

During the Association of Partners for Public Lands conference yesterday, Jarvis updated a standing-room only audience about the latest issues facing the NPS, from climate change to firearms in parks. In our interview, he elaborated on some of his priorities for the agency.

You have called climate change one of the greatest challenges the National Park Service has ever faced. How do you see the service addressing this issue?

The NPS has a unique responsibility with climate change in protecting the special places we have been entrusted to care for. So much of the climate change issue is framed in terms of green energy and carbon sequestration, but we also have to deal with the preservation aspect.

We fulfill many significant roles in the fight against climate change. Our lands straddle large ecological systems—such as the Sierra Nevada and Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem—in some of the most extreme and sensitive environments in the country. These places provide areas for important scientific studies regarding global warming.

Education is also a crucial role for the NPS. Climate change can be a difficult concept to teach—for example most people do not differentiate between climate and weather. The parks have the advantage of being able to reach large numbers of people—most of whom are not only repeat visitors but also multigenerational ones. They are already seeing the changes in the parks they love; we can help promote stewardship by making the connection between climate change and these impacts.

Our most important role in climate change, however, is providing optimism and hope about the future. So much of the news about climate change is very depressing. The NPS manages an incredible diversity of sites in America, some of them representing our history in times of crisis; these sites offer lessons in the positive change that emerges from challenging events. We should provide centers of hope on the climate change issue as well.

President Obama just signed an executive order that sets sustainability goals for federal agencies with greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. How will the NPS approach these goals?

One of the top priorities on my agenda is that the NPS and its all partners—contractors, concessioners, non-profits—infuse sustainable practices throughout their operations in a comprehensive manner. We need to insist that practices like LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building, energy efficient lighting, and extensive recycling programs become standard across all parks. We should be setting the example to our visitors with our sustainable practices, which is another educational tool in the climate change forum.

One specific initiative we’ve been exploring is working with the LEED model and developing a similar criteria that incorporates the special circumstances of historic structures. Historic structures hold a large amount of embedded energy—we believe we can both do good in terms of the environment and maintain the historic integrity of some of our buildings.

What are some other priority areas on your agenda as the new director?

I have too many priorities to count, but I have developed four categories of strategic focus to make better sense of the enormous task we have before us: workforce, education, relevancy, and stewardship.

In the workforce area, we’re looking at the bigger picture of the staff in parks and better incorporating the agency with our concessioners and partners. For stewardship, my goal is to be vigilant about standing up for the resource, even if it means making hard decisions. We are strengthening our educational resources and just hired a new position for the agency, an Associate Director for Education. Critical to all of our efforts is making parks more relevant to the American people—we need to reach new audiences and expand our connections to the broader population to ensure the survival of the parks.

How do partners like APPL and its member organizations fit with your goals for the future?

Our agency at times has made it hard to be a partner. That is going to change. We’re all in this together—working for the common goal of protecting our national parks—and as an agency we should be utilizing all of the tremendous resources our partners provide to us.

New innovative store in Yellowstone educates visitors about climate change in national parks

2010-01-13T02:39:02Z

Cutting the dedication ribbon for the new For Future Generations: Yellowstone Gifts (photo by Shad Stites)At a special celebration yesterday in Yellowstone, Deputy Superintendent Chris Lehnertz andXanterra Parks & Resorts' General Manager Jim McCaleb cut the unique dedication ribbon—created from bison-dung based paper—for the new store “For Future Generations: Yellowstone Gifts.”

The store features an innovative approach to green retail: its sole purpose is to educate and inspire park guests to help protect national parks. Lehnertz commended Xanterra for the depth of the company’s environmental commitment and for helping to support the mission of the National Park Service with the store’s important interpretive displays on climate change.

Xanterra’s Director of Environmental Affairs in Yellowstone, Beth Pratt, spoke about the threats climate change presents to national parks and its wildlife such as the pika and grizzly bears. She also introduced what she believes is the most significant aspect of the store: the new sustainability scorecard Xanterra developed that rates all products offered in the gift shop on social and environmental attributes. “We believe this is the first retail store to extensively utilize a transparent and extensive environmental scorecard.”

The celebration also included a sustainable vendor fair with displays from businesses with products sold in the store and suppliers who assisted with the green remodel of the facility. After a dessert buffet that included locally made chocolate, Larry Schweiger, President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, gave a presentation on climate change.

See below for a photo slideshow of the event: