[at-l] Smokies on 'Most Endangered Parks' list

[janl2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Jan Leitschuh)]

Knoxville News-Sentinel

    Smokies on 'Most Endangered Parks' list fifth year in a row

    By Staff and wire
    January 15, 2003

    WASHINGTON - Air pollution, motorized vehicles and nearby
development plans threaten some of the nation's treasured
    national parks, adding to pressures from money woes and Bush
administration policies, a park advocacy group says.

    The National Parks Conservation Association on Tuesday released
its annual list of "America's Ten Most Endangered National Parks,"
which includes some reprised from previous years because of what the
group calls persistent problems.

    "Designation as a national park alone doesn't protect our parks,"
NPCA senior vice president Ronald J. Tipton said.
    "Parks also need strong support from the president and Congress."

    The Great Smoky Mountains National Park made the list because of
its status as the most air-polluted park in the nation.

    Don Barger, executive director of the Southeast regional office of
the National Parks Conservation Association, said the Smokies'
inclusion on the list for the fifth year in a row might have a silver
lining.

    "People are now aware that the park has a serious air pollution
problem," Barger said. "Air pollution in the park also affects
communities. It's not just an eco-system problem, it's also our
lungs."

    The list includes Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas, where
nearby private land sales could encroach on wildlife habitat; Denali
National Park and Preserve in Alaska, where wilderness could be opened
to motorized access and a new route approved into the park.

    It also includes Joshua Tree National Park in California, where an
adjacent new city may sprout; Shenandoah National
    Park in Virginia, facing air pollution and invasive species; and
Virgin Islands National Park, troubled by fragile coral reefs
    and declining fish populations.

    Parks that made the list this year and last are Everglades
National Park in Florida, with questions about management
    and funding; Glacier National Park in Montana, because of
development, infrastructure problems and global warming;
    Ocmulgee National Monument in Georgia, threatened by a decaying
archaeological collection and a proposed highway;
    and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, with
air pollution and noise from snowmobiles.

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