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Wildlife Threats

  From habitat fragmentation to car fatalities, invasive species to development, wildlife in and around our national parks face a number of serious threats to their survival. As difficult as many of these issues are to address, there are important steps you can take to make a difference for wildlife. The first step is to understand the cause of the problems. Only then can we work together to solve them.

Cause and Effect

So what’s really threatening the wildlife living in our national parks? 

• Invasive Species: Also called aliens, non-natives, or exotics, invasive species are plants and animals not native to a region. Invasive plants or animals are introduced to parks or nearby areas by unsuspecting gardeners, pet owners who release exotic pets into the wild, or by increasingly international travel and trade, as stowe-aways on planes, boats, and even in luggage. These invasives can be lethal to native plants and wildlife, by destroying or out-competing for food sources and habitat. Invasives are present in nearly 200 of our national parks and wildlife refuges, from Great Smoky Mountains to Hawaii's Volcanoes and Haleakala National Parks.
  
• Air Pollution and Climate Change: Power plants near several of our national parks are polluting the air and damaging plant life. The burning of these fossil fuels—coal and oil, for example—results in an accelerated rate of global warming, a trend that scientists say will wreak havoc on temperatures, storm systems, and precipitation, which in turn will gravely affect habitat and migration patterns.
  
• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation: National parks provide some of the best remaining habitat for many wildlife species, but for some, the parks aren't large enough to support a healthy population. The grizzlies in Yellowstone, for example, represent a small population that could be impacted by a disease or the loss of a food source, such as white pine bark. Grizzlies require a large territory—between 50 and 500 square miles—to survive. Grizzlies simply do not survive in populated areas, and with development growing around Yellowstone, the park is rapidly becoming an island of survival for the grizzly bear.

     Bison too, have been impacted by the borders of Yellowstone. The park's boundaries do not include areas that bison forage in during harsh winter months. When bison inevitably exit the park to find food, they are shot by the Montana Department of Natural Resources, for fear that they may transmit a disease called brucellosis to domestic cattle. Brucellosis is a disease that causes spontaneous abortion in cattle, but there has never been a known case of a wild bison transmitting the disease to domestic cattle.

• Recreational Machines: Snowmobiles and Jet Skis can stress park wildlife, pollute both air and water, and alter wildlife behavior. Their chainsaw-like sounds and disturb can interfere with nesting and denning. Off-road vehicles destroy fragile vegetation and cause erosion. These recreational activities can have long-lasting impacts on park wildlife.