National Park Officials Scrubbed Climate Change From Key Report

National Park Officials Scrubbed Climate Change From Key Report
They were told it was “sensitive.”
Elizabeth Shogren
Sep. 11, 2018 6:00 AM
This story was originally published by Reveal. It appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.


Park officials scrubbed all mentions of climate change from a key planning document for a New England national park after they were warned to avoid “sensitive language that may raise eyebrows” with the Trump administration.

The superintendent of the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park in Massachusetts had signed off a year ago on a 50-page document that outlines the park’s importance to American history and its future challenges. But then the National Park Service’s regional office sent an email in January suggesting edits: References to climate change and its increasing role in threats to the famous whaling port, such as flooding, were noted in the draft, then omitted from the final report, signed in June.

The draft and the emails were obtained by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

The documents provide a rare peek behind the usually closed curtains of the Trump administration. They illustrate how President Donald Trump’s approach to climate change impacts the way that park managers research and plan for future threats to the nation’s historic and natural treasures.

The editing of the report reflects a pattern of the Trump administration sidelining research and censoring Interior Department documents that contain references to climate science.

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https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/09/national-park-officials-scrubbed-climate-change-from-key-report/