Advocacy group urges action to minimize climate change
Two happy Glacier National Park visitors fill out postcards to their senators urging action on climate change at Logan Pass on Friday.
One nonprofit is hoping to spread concern over climate change one postcard at a time.
Environment Montana, a citizen-based environmental advocacy organization and a project of Environment America, kicked off its Trailhead Tour Friday outside the Logan Pass visitor center in Glacier National Park.
Skye Borden, director of Environment Montana, encouraged passersby to sign and fill out postcards to send to their senators urging support for action to minimize the effects of climate change on public lands.
“We feel as though climate change is one of the greatest threats to Montana’s public lands so we’re taking a trip to trailheads to highlight what is at risk,” Borden said. “Climate change reduces snow pack and stream flows, it causes habitat loss and it also worsens the wildfire season. We feel like the time action on the climate is now.”
The tour will continue with stops in Bozeman, Livingston and Billings before concluding in Yellowstone National Park.
Lynn Edmiston, visiting the park from Colorado, said while she’s happy with how public lands are being handled, more needs to be done on climate change.
“Right at this moment, I like how our lands are being taken care of,” she said. “Climate change we’re not addressing at all, and we really should be. I’m really concerned about that.”
“I don’t think we should go backwards at all, and allow any type of drilling or mining or turning over more concessions to private industry,” she added.
Two visitors from Maine, Justin Funk and Sarah Marchand, said as users of public lands, they feel a responsibility to fight back for the parks they love.
“It’s important, if we’re going to use these lands and enjoy them, to at least stick up for them as well,” Marchand said. “We need to respect the land, it’s not disposable.”
“To me, I think we can always do more,” Funk said. “It’s a complicated problem that everyone is trying to sway with their own interests, but I think if you just look at it from the lands point of view you can always give it 100 percent.”