Two rare alpine insects – native to the northern Rocky Mountains and dependent on cold waters of glacier and snowmelt-fed alpine streams – are imperiled due to climate warming induced glacier and snow loss according to a study by the U.S. Geological Survey and its partners.

Whitebark pines, a keystone species that can impact spring runoff, nourish grizzly bears when they most need protein, and provide feasts for other wildlife, face a variety of threats, from climate change to a fungal disease. So important are these trees that researchers with Parks Canada are working to raise a veritable disease-resilient forest of whitebark pines.

What now might be considered a "bad snow year" in Yellowstone National Park, one that limits snowmobile and snowcoach access, will in the not-too-distant future become the average snow year, according to a new study.

A study from the U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service shows that thinning forests with prescribed fire can reduce the effects of drought. Climate change is expected to amplify drought conditions in California so using science to better understand the impacts of drought is of great importance to resource managers such as the National Park Service.