Inflation Reduction Act: Restoration and Resilience

Climate change has the potential to profoundly alter national parks, affecting plants, animals, and cultural resources. During this time of unusually rapid change, proactive management—planning ahead—has a better chance of success than reacting to crises after they arise. This article compares historical climate patterns at Rocky Mountain National Park with future projected conditions to help park managers proactively plan for climate change.

In California’s Yosemite National Park, a waste disposal area at the world-famous El Capitan rock formation is getting some much-needed attention. The National Park Service (NPS) has begun cleaning up the El Capitan waste disposal area, thanks to funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The goal of this effort is to restore this part of Yosemite National Park to its original condition.

The National Park Service is implementing the restoration of native amphibians in over 20 sensitive wetlands across eight southwestern national parks. However, there's a particular threat (that croaks) that requires the NPS and partners to collaborate and innovate to find solutions.

In 2024, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) provided funding for prescribed fire and mechanical thinning at Cold Harbor Battlefield. These initiatives reduced hazardous fuels on 32 acres while preserving the historic battlefield's appearance and protecting Civil War-era earthworks, wetlands and their buffers.

In the mountains of Alaska’s national parks, melting ice and snow patches are revealing artifacts that contain valuable cultural and historical information. With funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, archeologists are performing high-elevation surveys to find and inventory the artifacts before they degrade from exposure to the elements.

The National Park Service (NPS) is endeavoring to understand the growing impacts of climate change on cultural and natural resources at northeastern parks. An Inflation Reduction Act-funded project, spearheaded by an interdisciplinary team including the Northeast Archeological Resources Program and Regional Archeologist James Nyman, seeks to create a comprehensive tool to support holistic resource management and climate adaptation across NPS parks.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Canyon National Park, and Dinosaur National Monument are iconic American Southwest landscapes, attracting millions of visitors annually. However, these park ecosystems within the Colorado River watershed are under threat. Invasive fish species are disrupting ecological balance and invasive plants have taken hold.

Two IRA-funded projects are evaluating the impacts of climate change and other stressors on NPS water supplies and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. One project focuses on the implications for people, and another focuses on the implications for ecosystems.

The Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law bolster climate resilience at nine East Coast parks through funding of salt marsh restoration.

The National Park Service is surveying remote lakes in Alaska to detect invasive elodea early and prevent the aquatic plant from spreading, altering fragile ecosystems and iconic landscapes, and changing the nature of the parks.