Glacier National Park Loses Two More Glaciers

Global warming continues to wipe out Glacier National Park’s namesake:

Warmer temperatures have reduced the number of named glaciers in the northwestern Montana park to 25, said Dan Fagre, an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. He warned the rest of the glaciers may be gone by the end of the decade.

And it’s not just an environmental risk — it could be an economic disaster:

Smaller glaciers and warmer temperatures could lower stream flows, which in turn prompt fishing restrictions and hobble whitewater rafting businesses, said Denny Gignoux, who runs an outfitting business in West Glacier. Tourism is a $1 billion a year industry in the area.

“What happens when all these threats increase?” Gignoux asked. “We’re losing a draw to Glacier.”

Learn more in a new report from the Rocky Mountain Conservation Organization & Natural Resources Defense Council, Glacier National Park in Peril: The Threats of Climate Disruption.

Photo via Flickr’s Don Pugh