The North Cascades National Forest At Risk!

The North Cascades is a special part of Washington State, and should always remain in its natural form. However, much of the forest surrounding the North Cascades National Park is not protected from destructive land alterations such as forest clear-cuts (National Parks of North America,1986). Currently, the huge issue is that about 200,000 acres of this surrounding forest, which includes critical wildlife habitat, is at risk of being destroyed and having the land be used for other purpose, such as mining (Environment Washington, 2014). 

Deforestation: removing all trees from an area and using the land for other purposes
Photo Credit

Deforestation Results In a Loss of Biodiversity

                                            Photo Credit

The National Forest & Park Services is required under the National Parks and Wildlife Act of 1974, to ensure that designated National Parks maintain their preservation purposes and are protected against any habitat disturbances such as clear cuts 

However, the federally owned National Forests surrounding the North Cascades National Park is not protected by preservation purposes or as a wildlife wilderness habitat. This than allows The Bureau of Land Management the authority to lease or sell the land to be clear cut and used for other purposes such as for mining
and timber ( Environment Washington, 2014).                                                              

Habitat loss from clear cutting presents new conservation issues and ecosystem threats, which even the protected park of the North Cascades will face. It is critical that we conserve the surrounding 200,000 acres of forest from deforestation, because habitat destruction will put many of the populations that inhibit the North Cascade at a risk and severely threatened the areas ecosystem and biodiversity (Environment Washington, 2014). The figure posted below demonstrates several of the large threats of deforesting 200,000 acres of North Cascades.

(Groom, Martha J., 2006, Environment Washington 2014;Quinn, T. P. 2002; Sound Science Contributors; 2007)