A new study recently released shows that some of our national parks are at a particularly high risk of ecological damage brought about by climate change. In October, the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (RMCO) published a report detailing the 25 national parks most susceptible to future climate change. Of the parks listed, one of those can be found in North Carolina. According to the RMCO’s report, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is at risk of heavier rainfall and flooding, loss of plant life, and overcrowding of area wildlife.
However, what the RMCO’s report does not take into account are the hundreds of local and state parks found all across the country. The mountains of North Carolina alone are home to fourteen state parks. Certainly, these parks are at the very same risk as the national parks, but what, specifically, can be expected in the years to come?
Matt Mutel, a ranger at Mount Mitchell State Park, says that while the condition of the area’s forests has greatly improved in the past fifty years, there are still issues in need of constant monitoring. Regarding the RMCO’s report, he says “The thing that’s going to affect us is loss of plant communities, specifically the firs.” Dead husks of fir trees still blanket large portions of Mount Mitchell and the surrounding area, however younger firs have been thriving here in recent decades, as well as on other area mountains such as Clingman’s Dome and Grandfather Mountain.
(View from the top of Mt. Mitchell)
In order to predict what might become of the mountain’s fir population, scientists are running a number of computer simulations and test models which take into account potential increases in temperature. According to Matt Mutel, even the average models predict that in just a few short decades, the fraser firs at Mount Mitchell will need to be at an altitude of approximately 10,000 feet in order to survive. This is particularly distressing, as Mount Mitchell is only 6,684 feet tall. Fraser firs will either need to find a way to climb 3,300 feet in fifty years, or disappear from the mountain all together.
In a particularly curious contrast, Mutel says that the local red spruces are beginning to migrate down the mountain, a phenomenon which is still a mystery to the rangers and scientists in the area. He states that an increase in temperature is also likely to blame for this occurrence, but further research is still needed. Such a disparate reaction to rising temperatures could prove to be a unique difference in such otherwise similar tree species.
Marshall Ellis, a resident biologist for the North Carolina State Parks, agrees that changes in temperature are a threat to the fir population, as well as the wildlife that call the forests home. Mount Mitchell, as well as the surrounding Black Mountains and Smoky Mountains, is home to a number of endangered plant and animal species, such as spreading avens, rock gnome lichen, spruce-fir moss spiders, and the Northern Saw Whet Owl. “Once that ecosystem fails,” says Ellis, “then it’s not long before these species fail as well.” He also notes that the Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel makes its home in the ecotone, the transition zone between the fraser firs and spruce pines, surrounding Mount Mitchell. If this ecotone migrates up with the firs, it may be difficult for the squirrels to adapt to the higher, colder elevation.
Of course, one byproduct of fraser firs and red spruce pines migrating up and down the mountain (respectively) is that this ecotone will very likely expand. Whether this larger habitation zone will prove to be a boon or a burden for the flying squirrels is yet to be seen. In years to come, such an area could attract larger predators, which could also threaten the flying squirrels’ habitat. Alternatively, the squirrels may be forced to choose a side of the ecotone upon which to make their habitats. “These ecotones can be quite narrow,” says Ellis, “and the elevation tolerances of these species can likewise be pretty narrow.”
Similarly, the spruce-fir moss spiders are also at risk of losing their only habitat. These spiders, a rare species of tiny spiders of the same family as the much larger tarantula, make their homes on mossy rocks found under spruce and fir trees. Currently an endangered species, they are only found in the Great Smoky region, at Clingman’s Dome, Grandfather Mountain, and Mount Collins. With the destruction of the fir population came the drying out of the many of the moss mats that these spiders called home. It has not yet been confirmed, but scientists speculate that these spiders have already completely disappeared from Mount Mitchell.
Along with Matt Mutel, Marshall Ellis also considers Mount Mitchell as a sort of litmus test for the surrounding ecosystems. According to him, there are approximately one hundred threatened or endangered species living in and around the Mount Mitchell area. Combined with existing threats, such as the woolly adelgid and acid rain, rising temperatures could potentially result in dire consequences for these species as well as their habitats.
The Northern Saw Whet Owl may also play a role in the coming years as the canary in the coal mine, so to speak. These owls make their homes not only in the Smoky Mountains, but also in evergreen forests all across North America. If smaller creatures begin to die off or migrate out of these areas due to loss of habitat, the Whet Owls will likely follow suit. These owls can be found from Mount Mitchell to Mount Rainier in Washington. While their habitat in this area is at risk, they are in little danger of going extinct, and can migrate elsewhere if need be. Unfortunately, this is a luxury not afforded to animal species such as the spruce-fir moss spider.
“There are not many options for refugia in these ecosystems,” he says, “since they are already so limited on the landscape.” It is clear that from the perspective of a ranger or a scientist, the opportunity to make a difference is minimal. Aside from observing the trends, recording and interpreting the data, there is little that can be done to prevent nature from running its course. Many threatened or endangered species are at the whim of climate change’s ugly march, and as Marshall Ellis puts it,“Once they’re gone, they’re gone.”
Understandably, climate change is a particularly distressing issue for scientists and rangers, but perhaps the people most directly affected in the years to come might be the general public. Hundreds of people hike the Appalachian Trail every year, and that number will likely only increase in the coming decades. Deforestation and loss of plant communities is of particular concern to hikers such as Evan Watson, who hikes a portion of the Appalachian Trail twice a year.
As a hiker, he’s seen the effects of deforestation firsthand. Droughts can frequently lead to dry vegetation that, when burned, can lead to massive forest fires. “A particularly hot summer can dry out a lot of the underbrush in these parks,” Watson says. Dead underbrush acts as kindling, rapidly spreading fires across the bottom of a forest. Rising temperatures, even just by one or two degrees, could potentially mean larger forest fires, and might almost certainly raise their frequency as well.
Naturally, forest fires mean smaller habitats for the local wildlife, which in turn means more wild animals fighting for food in a smaller area. Watson has seen this firsthand in places like New Mexico, and he believes this phenomenon could spread if climate change gets too out of control. Forcing these animals into a smaller habitat, he says, creates competition for food and living space. “[It] makes the animals more aggressive and more dangerous for both the people and the animals.”
Coyotes and bears are already beginning to find their way into more heavily populated areas of North Carolina. “Smaller habitats due to acid rain, human expansion, and global warming,” Watson says, “will probably force other animals into contact with humans, which is dangerous for animal and human alike.” Just like the Whet Owls, other creatures such as bobcats, which have even been found in the coastal regions of North Carolina, could likely be forced out of the mountainous areas and into human communities.
In addition to deforestation and possible overcrowding of animals, further rules and regulations put added stress on the public. While the perennial hikers and campers will undoubtedly abide by the additional rules, Watson considers them cause for confusion. “These rules are usually part of larger environmental sustainability projects,” he says, “but it just means a number of new things to stay aware of when going out there.”
Watson goes on to explain that with more and more regulations on what the public can and can’t do at the parks, there is clearly a renewed emphasis on preservation. President Woodrow Wilson established the National Park Service in 1916 “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein.” While these parks should remain open to the public, it is clear that the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization’s report is signaling a new emphasis on conservation.
What, then, are Matt Mutel and his fellow rangers and scientists doing to prepare for the coming climate change? Mutel says that they are indeed looking into certain methods, but that there is no real way to predict how things might turn out. “All we’re doing is monitoring,” he says. While the national parks will likely receive extra funding to help them prepare, the state parks will likely not be able to afford such projects. “Part of that is that it’s very expensive and time-consuming,” he says. “What’s going to happen is what’s going to happen.”
What spells trouble for the National Park System will be equally troublesome for the state and local parks. Just like with any environmental issue, raising awareness is key, and just like in decades past, Mount Mitchell seems like a perfect place to start. Educating visitors to the park is a necessary method of raising awareness. Incorporating Mount Mitchell’s checkered history with the park’s current situation might be a useful way of illustrating further possible damage.
Climate change might potentially destroy Mount Mitchell’s ecosystems in more ways than one, and more quickly than many imagine. While there is no real solution for the climate change crisis, a strategy for how to cope is the next best thing, and Mount Mitchell seems as good a starting point as any.
