Concern centers on Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan near Chicago; Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Isle Royale National Park, all in Michigan; and Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin.
The Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and Natural Resources Defense Council earlier this month released a report, "Great Lakes National Parks in Peril: The Threats of Climate Disruption." The report documents several problems the parks face now, including a decline in numbers of wildlife and birds.
The work, which is a summary of new and previous research, predicts more trouble in the future as warming continues. By late this century, hotter temperatures could make summers in Indiana Dunes as simmering as summers were in Gainesville, Fla., from 1970-2000. Summers in Sleeping Bear Dunes could be as hot as recent summers in Lexington, Ky., the study said.
"Climate change is the greatest threat our parks have ever faced," said Thom Cmar, staff attorney in the Chicago office of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "These national parks are special places we have loved all our lives. But these national parks are now being put in harm's way. ...We need to head off climate change quickly to protect our Great Lakes parks, the iconic landscapes and wildlife that live in them, and our own communities." Read the full report here.
Source: by Scott Richardson, Pantagraph.com, Chicago.
