Month: February 2018

Mondays already stink to begin with. All you want is another weekend, because the one you just had went by too fast. You don’t want to get out of bed, you don’t want to go to classes, you just don’t want to do anything. Morale is low… And then you see this article, stating that the Trump administration is majorly cutting budgets to the National Parks.

Lovely. Just when you thought morale couldn’t get any lower.

So let’s investigate this and figure out exactly what happened on this hazy Monday when budget cuts were released.

Trump’s administration is proposing to hit the Department of the Interior with a sixteen percent cut. Within the Department of Interior is the National Park Service, which will be feeling a seven percent cut in budgeting alone.

 

So what does this mean? Basically it means that the cuts will result in fewer facilities for the public to use, fewer services (like maybe shuttle systems will have to be cut back), which in turn, means that the staff that is remaining will have even more taxing and demanding jobs. This cut in budgets will result in a cut in staff as it is simply not feasible to give out paychecks to an ample amount of employees with a limited budget. Trump is proposing to cut two-thousand park rangers employed through the National Park Service.

It is very bizarre that this budget cut is happening, because visitation rates are at an all time high. Just in 2016 alone, 331 million visitors were present in the parks. That is just mind blowing! How awesome is it that so many people wanted to see the beauty and natural state of the parks! But with the desire to cut budgets, 331 million visitors are not going to be able to visit the parks in a year.

Chair of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, Phil Francis, states, “Our national parks face real and significant challenges that threaten the integrity of the national park system.” The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks works to spread information surrounding the struggles that the parks are facing in hopes of bringing the issues to the public attention. From there, the goal is to garner support in order to enact change. The Coalition gets their word out through “issue papers, comments, editorials, and face-to-face meetings.” It is really important that these types of organizations rooted in preservation continue to act, because they are the ones that have enough passion to move forward with change.

I think anyone can agree upon the fact that having National Parks is a privilege. We are so fortunate here in America to have a system that is dedicated to keeping the parks alive–shoutout to you National Park Service! Keep doing you! With that privilege though, comes the need to give money to the parks. As we can see, Trump is clearly not allocating the funding for the parks–so how does he propose they get the financial support that they need? Through increasing the entrance fee, of course! How logical!

The entrance fee for cars will increase by $45–the once $25 tickets will now be $70! Although the parks are surely in need of funding, this takes away from the fact that they’re supposed to be accessible for everyone. $25 is much more doable than $70…and may not be feasible for some families to pay!

This new plan does not have overwhelming support–but rather, has employees involved with the National Park Service feeling very unhappy. They are taking note of the fact that the parks may no longer be an affordable place for families to spend their time–which is so sad, because from the point of their conception forward (hey Teddy Roosevelt–thank you yet again!), they were designed so people could all have the opportunity to revel in the beauty that America has to offer.

The new prices are record breaking–a historical occasion to say the least. However, things just aren’t adding up here. With the visitation records at an all time high, it would make sense that prices wouldn’t need to increase. If anything, money should not be an issue. But it is, thanks to the new budgeting done by Trump and his administration.

Ugh. This is such a bummer. Not only are the parks receiving budgeting cuts, but people are going to lose their jobs–jobs that they probably love dearly. Jobs where they get to interact with people everyday, talking about something that they truly love–nature and all it has to offer.

I’m just going to close with this thought. Why did it take President Trump to challenge the importance of the environment, the importance of National Parks, and the importance of preserving and honoring history? Everything that the Parks stand for is patriotic and American in nature, and Trump is undermining that! Things are not looking good here, we need change.

I don’t know about you, but one of my goals that I’ve had for a long time now is to visit the Grand Canyon. I love hiking so much, and I want to backpack there and see it, because I bet the pictures just can’t even do it justice.

As I’ve done for other parks, I’m going to give a little history lesson on the Grand Canyon. It officially became a National Park in 1919, just a few years following the creation of the National Park Service. Yearly, the park receives millions of visitors, as it has become one of the most iconic places in America.

That being said, it is facing many environmental challenges. According to the National Park Service, the Grand Canyon has experienced lasting effects from mining and other pollutants in the surrounding areas. Coal power plants, combined with industrial power plants have emitted pollutants that have made their way to the Grand Canyon. Clean air and clear skies are few and far between nowadays. The National Park Service is trying its best to fight this battle, through monitoring chemical emissions and meeting with agencies to discuss ways that the reduction of air pollution can occur. Interestingly enough, the Grand Canyon staff uses shuttle systems and alternative fuel vehicles when roaming the parks, so that is a really great, simple, and efficient start on combating pollution issues.

Taking all of those issues into account, part of me is worried that I’ll never get to see the Grand Canyon in its prime state. And thanks to all of the pollution brought about by corporate businesses trying to make money, along recent political decisions and proposals brought about by President Trump, it is looking like the state of the Grand Canyon is in need of dire improvement.

Interestingly enough, there are sites that would yield uranium surrounding the Grand Canyon. Apparently uranium is a hot commodity; it is a radioactive metal used to fuel nuclear power plants and submarines. How lovely. Nevertheless, a government report that was released sometime in the recent past is saying that Trump, along with his Cabinet, are exploring the potential outcomes surrounding lifting the ban on uranium mining on the land that surrounds the Grand Canyon. So they’re not suggesting that mining on the actual land of the Grand Canyon should happen, but rather, the surrounding area. What is worrying is the affects that will come as a result of mining happening in the surrounding area.

Will people be less inclined to visit the Grand Canyon knowing that the land is going to be exposed to radioactive chemicals?

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say yes. Personally, I don’t want to be spending time in a park that is home to so much pollution and is basically being exploited at the hands of business and mining dangerous chemicals.

Another problem with deciding to lift this ban is the fact that many people drink the water in the Colorado River Basin, and chances are, it’s going to be contaminated as a result of mining for uranium. The ban also has allowed for researchers to go to the land and try and figure out the effects and dangers of mining for uranium, so chances are that this research has yielded some results. Whether these results are public or not is beyond the point; the ban has a clear purpose–to ensure preservation of a National Park that has almost officially existed for an entire century, to allow for research, and to keep drinking water safe.

This is a very bizarre situation, as the Department of Interior’s decision from 2012 to ban uranium mining on “about a million acres of land around the Grand Canyon for 20 years” was upheld in December–that’s pretty recent. This clearly hasn’t stopped Trump, as he is still working to try and reverse this decision.

I find it wildly unfortunate that places that are supposed to be havens and sanctuaries for natural beauty are now facing the threat of being subject to chemical exposure.

Nevertheless, I really hope that Trump can realize that these parks are really important. Teddy Roosevelt established the National Park Service as president for a reason. If anything, Trump owes it to Roosevelt to uphold a historical decision that has impacted so many people. And of all places, the Grand Canyon has so many wonderful things for people to take in. So all I have to say is I really hope that the National Park Service continues to do all it can to improve pollution and that Trump can take historical decisions into account–because I know that me, along with millions of other people, want to see the Skywalk, and Snoopy Rock, and ride in a Pink Jeep before time ticks away and the Grand Canyon evolves into a chemical minefield.