ARE WE LOVING OUR NATIONAL MONUMENT TO DEATH? | BY: TORI HOLVEY
May 11, 2020
Between 2009-2018 the average number of recreational visitors to Mount Rushmore National Memorial was above two million each year with the highest number of visitors being 2.44 million in 2017 (statista.com). The number of recreational visitors to America's National Parks has been steadily increasing as more foreign and American tourists get outdoors. In 1950, the parks had 33 million visitors and by 1995 the National Parks were welcoming nearly 270 million recreational visits per year (heinonline.org). National Parks have truly become one of America's best and most popular tourist destinations. In 2016, the parks had a record year with 305 million people visiting the national parks which is a higher attendance than every single Disney park, NFL, NBA and MLB game and NASCAR race combined (npr.org/2016). In 2013, FamilyFun magazine ranked Mount Rushmore as a top tourist attraction and it ranked number five in the top ten overall favorite family destinations (nps.gov/top-tourist-attraction). Becoming a popular family destination has made the monument even more popular. While more people getting out into nature and enjoying the beauty of America's National Parks is a good thing, it is leading to numerous environmental issues in the parks which is ironic because the goal of National Parks is to preserve the natural beauty of the country. Mount Rushmore National Memorial is experiencing numerous environmental issues due to human involvement in the park such as perchlorate in the ground water, a pine beetle invasion, and a high risk for wildfires as the parks service struggles to preserve the old growth forest.
Mount Rushmore is a classic American site just as iconic as fireworks on Independence Day. However, the Independence Day firework displays that occurred in Mount Rushmore Memorial from 1998-2009 caused elevated concentrations of perchlorate which is a compound used as an oxidizing agent in the groundwater and service water within the memorial (usgs.gov). A study conducted by the United States Geological Service found that perchlorate’s physical and chemical properties allow it to survive in the environment for many decades causing a risk to aquatic ecosystems (pubs.er.usgs.gov). This chemical has the ability to stay in the drinking water supply and the natural environment for a long period of time affecting all organisms that drink the water. Perchlorate can interfere with the function of the human thyroid gland and it affects bone marrow and muscle at high concentrations (pubs.er.usgs.gov). The high levels of this chemical in the water in the memorial can lead to adverse health effects for the tourists and workers who consume the water. The drinking water is consumed by three million visitors and park personnel every year (usgs.gov). The United States Geological Service study from 2011-2015 tested various water and soil samples and found the cause of the perchlorate. The study showed that, “the deposition of firework debris within Lafferty Gulch drainage basin coupled with the lack of alternative perchlorate sources indicates that past firework displays are the most probable source of perchlorate contamination” (pubs.er.usgs.gov). Human involvement in the park along with careless cleanup of the fireworks has led to the contamination of the water in the memorial.
The presence of this chemical in the park was caused by human involvement and is our responsibility, yet announced in April 2020, the park service and government are working to bring the firework display back to the park. Even though numerous scientific agencies have found direct ties between the firework displays and groundwater pollution, the government and American people believe that celebrating the nation’s founding with fireworks is more important than protecting the environment. The Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt, said, "President Trump and I believe that our nation's founding should be celebrated with the same pomp and parade that John Adams described in 1776, and having a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore once again will be an incredible spectacle for the American people to enjoy" (kotatv.com). In American culture, there is an unwritten rule that there has to be fireworks on the fourth of July. It is a hegemonic idea that is not challenged, yet the park service challenged that idea back in 2009 when it stopped the firework displays. Bringing back the firework display puts the enjoyment of the American people as a higher priority than preserving the beauty and environment of the memorial. The park service is dealing with numerous issues in the park, not just the contamination of the water due to the firework displays, but also the rise of an invasive beetle species.
The central part of The Black Hills is covered in acres of pine trees which are being killed by mountain pine beetles. The pine beetle is a highly invasive species. In order to preserve the forest, the pine trees need to be cut down. Bruce Weisman, the National Park ranger leading the fight against the insects believes that to save the forest from destruction, the smaller overgrown pine trees on 500 acres of the park must come down (npr.org). Without the removal of the trees, he believes that, “fuel loads would be so tremendous that [a] catastrophic firestorm would sweep right over the top of the memorial and it would be a catastrophic loss of all facilities" (npr.org). The cause of the drastic increase in pine beetles and the treatment of the issue is controversial. Many believe that the increase and presence of pine beetles is linked to climate change because beetle populations are normally decreased by very cold winters, and it is believed warmer winters have allowed them to expand (npr.org). With the rise of warmer temperatures, the pine beetle infestations have become even worse. The beetles have killed more trees than logging, weather, disease, fire, and other pressures combined despite major bark beetle control efforts, including burning, harvesting, peeling, and spraying infested trees with insecticides (fs.usda.gov). Pine beetles have killed hundreds of trees, a fact increasingly dangerous due to dead trees' potential to start major wildfires.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is surrounded by the dense old growth forest of The Black Hills. An old growth forest is a forest that has gone a long time without significant disturbance and creates ideal conditions for the regeneration of important plant species (jstor.org). The Memorial is a conservation and protected area allowing for the forest to be undisturbed. This extensive ponderosa pine forest has not burned in over a century (esajournals). It is common for controlled burns to occur in order to prevent a larger wildfire from occurring. However, the last landscape fire was in 1893 in which it is estimated that only 3.3 percent of the landscape burned (esajournals). This leads to a high risk for a wildfire to occur during severe weather or due to accidental human error. The risk of wildfire is also increased because the surrounding forest outside the memorial has not been protected from logging or the over grazing of cattle (jstor.org). These factors have led to a substantial change in the forest's structure and canopy type. The current forest contains more small trees with lower canopy base height and greater canopy bulk density than it has historically(esajournals). This change in structure makes the forest more at risk for wildfire because the greater canopy density adds more fuel for the fire. The conservation of the old growth pine is a high priority, but the park service struggles to do controlled burns as it affects tourists’ views and enjoyment of the natural area. The American people’s enjoyment of the National Parks is often put ahead of conservation and preservation efforts, but Mount Rushmore and surrounding areas are now at a high risk for fire. There is an increased likelihood of crown fire which justifies the need for forest restoration before a catastrophic wildfire occurs (esajournals). A large-scale wildfire will negatively impact the ecological environment of Mount Rushmore and also the tourism industry.
Mount Rushmore is the second largest old growth forest area in the Black Hills and is a dedicated ecological conservation area, but that does not mean it is immune to human effects. The environment of Mount Rushmore is suffering because of its popularity as a tourist destination. The Black Hills are sacred to the Lakota Sioux, who were the original occupants of the area when white settlers arrived. Native American groups since the land was taken from them have protested the monument due to the negative environmental impact it is having on their sacred land. In 1971, a group of Native Americans protested on the monument after issuing statements that they would not leave until the Federal Government agreed to demands that the 1868 Sioux land treaty be honored (nytimes.com/1971). The Native Americans have been against the memorial since the land was taken from them. Ironically, the National Park Service declares the purpose of the monument is to “communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt” (nps.gov/moru). Mount Rushmore’s role was to commemorate the story of the nation on the landscape and bring together the country, but its popularity is negatively impacting the landscape and has done very little if anything to unify the country. In recent years, the park has suffered from contaminated ground and service water due to firework displays in the area. The rise of an invasion of pine beetles has caused a large number of trees to die and is due to the warmer than usual weather. There is also a high threat of wildfires in the area due to the dead trees, logging and cattle grazing surrounding the park, and the lack of controlled burns in the area. National Parks are supposed to provide a pristine environment which is relatively unaffected by humans, but the rise of tourism and human made affects in the parks is adversely affecting the ecosystems.