Climate Change isn’t just Global Warming (part 2 of 4)

In May I set off on another backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail. This time I was hiking thru the Great Smokey Mountains National Park (GSMNP) & I had looked forward to getting there for years!

I hike solo which gave me plenty of time to think as I walked each day. It allowed me to rationalize what I was experiencing & realize that many issues in the park are either caused by human-induced climate change.

Here are some cool facts about GSMNP:

·?????? It covers 522,400 acres along the border of TN & NC

·?????? Its mountains are 200-300 million years old, some of the oldest in North America

·?????? It’s known as the “salamander capital of the world” with 30+ species

·?????? There are 1,500+ black bears living in the park

·?????? GSMNP is the most visited national park in the US

Now some discouraging facts about GSMNP:

·?????? It has the worst air quality of any US national park. Pollution comes from power plants & industry outside the park. Fossil fuels produce sulfate particles, which degrade visibility & cause wheezing & shortness of breath for visitors.

·?????? Visibility has decreased by 40% in winter & 80% in summer since 1948. The average visibility in GSMNP is 25 miles compared to natural conditions of 93 miles

·?????? GSMNP is the most visited national park in the US (yep, its good & bad). The foot traffic damage & pollution is everywhere.

·?????? Black bears have become food conditioned due to sloppy hiking & camping habits of visitors. Once bears equate humans with easy food & become unafraid of us, the old adage comes true… “A fed bear is a dead bear.”

·?????? Wild hogs, a European invasive species introduced by humans after they escaped from a NC game preserve, are destroying many parts of the park. They disrupt native plant habitats, affect other wildlife by rooting & wallowing. They’ll eat almost anything, including red-cheeked salamanders found only in GSMNP.

As I trekked thru the Smokeys I experienced these very issues myself:

·?????? It took me a few days to realize why my voice was scratchy & my throat sore. When I noticed myself wheezing on long climbs I knew something was wrong because I don’t wheeze while hiking. It was the air quality not my fitness.

·?????? I passed large patches of ground torn apart by the hogs. Their tusks rip up everything destroying tree roots & uprooting seedlings. I’m more intimidated by aggressive hogs than I am bears. Hikers told stories of packs driving them out of campsites & trashing the camp looking for food

·?????? Hikers this spring were particularly sloppy with food & garbage in campsites. I found hiker’s garbage bags jammed up into the rafters of the shelters, tossed on the ground, & left in the shelters. Bears find this & equate people with food. They entered shelters at night to steal backpacks looking for an easy meal. Hikers weren’t storing food on the bear cables to keep it safe.

·?????? Black bears are timid, they will usually run away from people long before you get close to them. I never had a run-in with one until this trip. One day, I was bluff charged, & had two others block my way showing no fear of me. The bluff charge was defensive & it backed off when I stood my ground. The issue is the bears are curious & don’t run away because humans=food. I didn’t see it & unknowingly got too close since it didn’t run away & earned myself a bluff charge.

We sometimes forget that these wild places are sites we visit, but is the only home wildlife has. We’re invading their home & disturbing their families. We need to be more respectful. We wouldn’t leave our garbage on our friend’s dining room table when leaving after a visit, we need to leave these areas in better shape than when we arrived too!

When we pollute pristine places with garbage, introduce invasive species without considering the impact, and we tear habitats down for development, we are creating climate change for the wildlife impacted. Climate change is much more than a warming earth… it’s the sum of our collective impact on the world around us and right now our impact isn’t a positive one.

In my 4th & final post I’ll talk about how we can make our impact to positive… even as 1 person!