However, there are several critical issues concerning the future of our national parks that GYC recommends be added to Senator Thomas' proposal. There needs to be a revitalization of science in our national parks. Science provides us with an understanding of the resource values in each national park and their condition and trend. This information should be at the heart of national park decision-making. In the absence of good scientific knowledge park managers make decisions about the future in the dark.
Opinion replaces fact and public controversy increases.
Unfortunately, a lack of Park Service commitment to good, independent science and insufficient support by Congress of funding for science has left most of our parks in serious trouble. In Yellowstone, for example, monitoring and research has been discontinued or curtailed on post-1987 fire research and on geothermal trends. In other areas, adequate research still has not been done, published and peer reviewed. This is particularly a problem with woody vegetation on the northern range, bison distribution and movements, and the impact of weeds within the park. An especially good example of the need to understand and monitor park resources is the recent interest in Yellowstone's thermophiles.