Mike Quigley: “Last week, I spent our congressional recess in the Rocky Mountain National Park, home to some of America's most unique…”

“Last week, I spent our congressional recess in the Rocky Mountain National Park, home to some of America's most unique and breathtaking natural wonders, in an attempt to better understand the mounting impacts climate change has on our national parks and all of our public lands across the country. More than 4.5 million people from across America and the world visit the Rockies every year to take in the snowcapped peaks, the winding rivers, and the endless evergreen forests. They see herds of elk and bighorn sheep, and hear the screeching call of the mountain pika, a small furry creature that I can personally attest makes one of the most distinctive sounds in the mountains. Visitors to the park, like me, can experience all four seasons in an hour as they drive up Trail Ridge Road from the sunny, low-elevation valleys, to the top of 12,000-foot peaks covered in 20-foot snowdrifts. It is impossible not to appreciate the intricate balance of nature while standing in that environment, the way that each species is finely tuned to survive in its surroundings and the way that each depends on the other. Unfortunately, this careful balance is being shaken to its very core by manmade climate change as well as the denial of its existence by a very small group of post-science, post-research skeptics. For centuries, bark beetles and lodgepole pines maintained a special relationship.…”