Michael J Yochim - Requiem for Americas Best Idea: National Parks in the Era of Climate Change

Michael J. Yochim FOREWORD BY WILLIAM R. LOWRY

REQUIEM FOR AMERICAS BEST IDEA

National Parks in the Era of Climate Change

High Road Books Albuquerque

HIGH ROAD BOOKS is an imprint of the Unversity of New Mexico Press

2022 by the Estate of Michael J. Yochim

All rights reserved. Published 2022

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Yochim, Michael J., author. | Lowry, William R. (William Robert), 1953 writer of foreword.

Title: Requiem for Americas best idea: national parks in the era of climate change / Michael J. Yochim; foreword by William R. Lowry.

Description: Albuquerque: High Road Books, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021039330 (print) | LCCN 2021039331 (e-book) | ISBN 9780826363435 (cloth) | ISBN 9780826363442 (e-book)

Subjects: LCSH: National parks and reservesEnvironmental aspectsUnited States. | Forests and forestryClimatic factorsUnited States.

Classification: LCC SB482.A4 Y63 2022 (print) | LCC SB482.A4 (e-book) | DDC 333.78/30973dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021039330

LC e-book record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021039331

Founded in 1889, the University of New Mexico sits on the traditional homelands of the Pueblo of Sandia. The original peoples of New MexicoPueblo, Navajo, and Apachesince time immemorial have deep connections to the land and have made significant contributions to the broader community statewide. We honor the land itself and those who remain stewards of this land throughout the generations and also acknowledge our committed relationship to Indigenous peoples. We gratefully recognize our history.

COVER ILLUSTRATION View of mountains and lake at Glacier National Park in Montana Stella Levi | istockphoto.com

DESIGNED BY Mindy Basinger Hill

COMPOSED IN 11/15pt Adobe Calson Pro

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF Michael J. Yochim,

BELOVED SON, BROTHER, UNCLE, FRIEND, AND INSPIRATION TO MANY

William R. Lowry

William R. Lowry

I first got to know Mike Yochim back in the 1990s, when I was doing research on national parks and he was working for the National Park Service (NPS) in Yellowstone. When we met, he was helpful and friendly, encouraging of my project. I also learned that his family lived just outside of St. Louis, so our communications and interactions increased over time. Whenever he was back in St. Louis, we would get together, usually for lunch, although he also occasionally stayed with me and my wife, Lynn. Whenever I was in Yellowstone, or later in Yosemite when he worked there, I would visit and sometimes stay with him or catch a meal at some local place like K-Bar Pizza in Gardiner, Montana. We had several things in common in addition to our midwestern roots, the most important being our love of natural places, especially the national parks.

By saying that, I dont mean to suggest that I knew the parks nearly as well as Mike did. Yes, I worked in them, visit them when I can, and have enjoyed some of the experiences Mike discusses in this book, such as rafting the Grand Canyon. But Mike, he lived them. He worked in Yellowstone for twenty-two years, Yosemite for another five, Sequoia for two seasons, and Grand Canyon for one off-season. He was a planner for the NPS, and quite good at it, to the point where he served as the deputy project manager for completion of the Merced Wild and Scenic River Management Plan and the project manager for the Tuolumne River Management Plan in Yosemite in the early 2010s. But the parks were more than a vocation for Mikethey were an avocation. He was the epitome of what the famous author Edward Abbey said all wilderness advocates should be: He did what he could for these wonderful places, but he also savored any chance to enjoy them. He was a legendary hiker, an avid backpacker, and a world-class cross-country skier. His wilderness companions also swear that Mike was a gourmet backcountry cook.

So you can only imagine our shock when he flew into St. Louis in 2013 and told Lynn and me that he had ALS. At the time, we knew little about the disease and reacted slowly to his disclosure. But he knew enough about it to start sobbing as he said something I will never forget. I wish I had cancer, he told us. If I had cancer, they would at least know what to do. I, we, have all since learned a lot about ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), more than we ever wanted. In short, as Mike told us, few victims of ALS survive even five years. And survival is nearly all that most ALS patients can hope for, as it destroys the ability to control ones entire body.

The disease intensified. I saw Mike half a year after his 2013 visit to St. Louis at his home in Gardiner. Before he was diagnosed, he and I had agreed to cowrite a paper for a conference in Bozeman. Mikes health had already started to decline by then, so I stopped by his house to see if he could come with me, and met his folks, Jim and Jeanne, for the first time. Mike was in no shape to go to the conference, so I delivered the paper without him and we subsequently worked on it until we got it published. Mike moved back to the house near St. Louis, where he grew up, so his parents could take care of him. Lynn and I started to visit on a regular basis and do what we could to help. We went on a few hikes with them and took Mike on a few with just us. But much as Mike loved getting out into the natural areas of Missouri, it got harder and harder to do so. Within a couple of years, Mike, the man who led so many others on hikes into the most remote parts of the country, couldnt even stand on his own. He then used a wheelchair to go on hikes, but even those adventures reminded us of how challenging life can be for disabled people, especially those with ALS.

Ultimately, Mike could barely move at all on his own. He lost the ability to swallow or drink. His parents had to perform all self-care activities for him. I got a sense of their sacrifice one spring when Jeanne had surgery and I assisted by going over to their house early in the mornings to help get Mike up and dressed. He always wanted to look presentable for any visitors, asked to keep having a shower every other day, and, using his eyes, picked out his clothes for the day. Thats just one example of how he never gave in to the disease. Neither did his parents. And they never complained or made him feel bad about their sacrifice. Not once.