Parks under climate risk
A new study finds 77% of U.S. national parks are now highly vulnerable to climate change impacts, a worrying signal for conservation and long‑term outdoor access. The finding raises urgent questions about resilience planning and funding. (nationalparkstraveler.org)
Julia L. Michalak is lead author of the paper published in Conservation Letters, which lists coauthors Caitlin E. Littlefield, John E. Gross, Tina G. Mozelewski and Joshua J. Lawler and shows the manuscript was accepted on December 27, 2025. (nationalparkstraveler.org) The analysis covered 259 National Park Service units in the contiguous United States and used 45 spatial data layers representing 21 distinct vulnerability factors. (phys.org) Researchers evaluated three components—exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity—and computed a cumulative vulnerability score by adding exposure and sensitivity and subtracting adaptive capacity, then flagged priority parks at or above the 75th percentile. (greenmatters.com) The study identified 174 parks (67%) as most exposed to one or more potentially transformational impacts such as wildfire, prolonged drought, sea‑level rise, or forest pests and diseases. (nationalparkstraveler.org) Geographic patterns showed the highest cumulative vulnerability concentrated in the Midwest and eastern U.S.—attributed to high physical exposures plus heavy surrounding land use—while western parks were more frequently exposed to multiple distinct transformative threats. (nationalparkstraveler.org) The paper and accompanying coverage note the analysis was supported by the National Park Service and underline existing assessment gaps: a 2022 review found only about 10% of parks had park‑specific vulnerability assessments and roughly 37% had none. (nationalparkstraveler.org)
