In some parks, the melting of glaciers and thawing of permafrost are visible. Along the coast, many parks grapple with sea level rise. And in many Western parks, tree mortality and wildfire activity are on the rise. Science helps document the many ways climate change manifests across the National Park System.
Every year brings new publications that improve our understanding of parks in a warming world. But science does more than just document change. It can also provide important insights on potential solutions for the future.
Dig deeper:
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Park-specific Climate ScienceView articles, studies, and briefs organized by park about climate impacts to across the National Park System.
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Recent Climate TrendsExplore how parks are warming disproportionately to the rest of the country, including 289 park-specific briefs on recent trends
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Projected Effects on BirdsClimate change will affect the composition of bird species in national parks. View 274 park-specific briefs to learn more
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Visitation and Climate ChangeHow might warming temperatures alter park visitation? 340 park-specific briefs are available
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Eastern Forest VulnerabilityClimate change is projected to substantially impact eastern forests. 121 park-specific briefs are available to download
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Advancing Spring OnsetSpring is arriving earlier in our national parks
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Sea Level ChangeExplore how changing sea levels will impact the cultural and natural resources of coastal national parks
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Wildland FireClimate change has increased the length of fire seasons and doubled the land area burned by wildfire
More Climate Change Effects
Below you'll find a listing of articles on climate change effects sourced from national park websites from around the country.Showing results 1-10 of 96
- Offices: Arctic Inventory & Monitoring Network, Central Alaska Inventory & Monitoring Network
Read the abstract and get the link to an article published in Environmental Research Letters that connects vegetation shift to warming Arctic and Boreal soils under vegetation. Kropp, H., M. M. Loranty, S. M. Natali, A. L. Kholodov, A. V. Rocha, … J. A. O’Donnell … et al. 2020. Shallow soils are warmer under trees and tall shrubs across Arctic and Boreal ecosystems. Environmental Research Letters.
- Locations: Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Point Reyes National Seashore
- Offices: San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network
Limantour Beach is wide. Bookended by ocean on one side and grassy dunes on the other, its sandy expanse provides a habitat for many organisms that rely on the rich ecosystem between land and sea. The western snowy plover, a small brown and white shorebird, is one species that finds refuge in the sand. Over time, human activity and development have degraded many beaches like Limantour, and biologists have seen those impacts through the eyes of the snowy plovers.
- Locations: Denali National Park & Preserve
- Offices: Central Alaska Inventory & Monitoring Network
Read a summary and get a link to a published paper on how caribou and wolves respond to severe winter storms and how diverse landscape features provided some protection: Prugh, L. R., J. D. Lundquist, B. K. Sullender, C. X. Cunningham, J. Dechow, B. L. Borg, P. J. Sousanes, S. Stehn, and M. T. Furand. 2024. Landscape heterogeneity buffers the impact of an extreme weather event on wildlife. Communications Biology 7(1515).
Historical and Future Climate Patterns at Rocky Mountain National Park: Some Biological Implications
- Locations: Rocky Mountain National Park
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, Rocky Mountain Inventory & Monitoring Network
Climate change has the potential to profoundly alter national parks, affecting plants, animals, and cultural resources. During this time of unusually rapid change, proactive management—planning ahead—has a better chance of success than reacting to crises after they arise. This article compares historical climate patterns at Rocky Mountain National Park with future projected conditions to help park managers proactively plan for climate change.
- Locations: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, Isle Royale National Park, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
- Offices: Midwest Archeological Center, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate
The Midwest United States, with its windy, rolling plains, doesn't often come to mind when we think about the effects of climate change on our world - but it should.
- Locations: Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Denali National Park & Preserve, Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve, more »
- Offices: Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate
The rugged beauty of Alaska has been the homelands of Alaska Native people for thousands of generations. Today the relentless march of climate change threatens a range of cultural resources from archeological sites to historic cemeteries. Now the National Park Service is in a race to document heritage across the parklands in Alaska.
- Locations: Acadia National Park, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, Amistad National Recreation Area, Antietam National Battlefield, more »
- Offices: Appalachian Highlands Inventory & Monitoring Network, Chihuahuan Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network, Cumberland Piedmont Inventory & Monitoring Network, Eastern Rivers and Mountains Inventory & Monitoring Network, Great Lakes Inventory & Monitoring Network, more »
Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad scale. But not all areas experience the same climate in the same way, even within the boundaries of a single national park. A new dataset gives park managers a valuable tool for understanding why vegetation has changed and how it might change in the future under different climate-change scenarios.
- Locations: American Memorial Park, Haleakalā National Park, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Kalaupapa National Historical Park, Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park, more »
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Pacific Island Inventory & Monitoring Network
As climate changes, significant changes in weather conditions impact the natural environment by shifting patterns of precipitation, promoting extremes in storm behavior, and influencing bird migration, invasive species spread, coral reef decline, and much more. The Pacific Island Network (PACN) undertakes systematic long-term monitoring of a wide variety of natural resources to accurately determine if change is occurring and why.
- Locations: Haleakalā National Park, Kalaupapa National Historical Park, National Park of American Samoa, War In The Pacific National Historical Park
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Pacific Island Inventory & Monitoring Network
Changes in weather patterns affect the quantity and quality of the water, which has profound effects on our native stream animals. In the Hawaiian Islands, the total amount of rain is expected to decrease as the impacts of climate change manifest.
- Locations: Arches National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, more »
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
Birds of the desert southwest, a climate-change hotspot, are among the most vulnerable groups in the US. To help park managers plan for those changes, scientists evaluated the influence of water deficit on landbird communities at 11 national parks in Utah and Colorado. The results will help land managers to focus conservation efforts on places where certain species are most vulnerable to projected climate changes.
Tags:
climate change effects
Last updated: January 8, 2025