Back in November the Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke wasn’t stoked when he saw a series of tweets concerning climate change pop up on the Joshua Tree National Park twitter page.
Related:Â Department Of Interior Proposes Tripling National Park Entrance Fees
In fact, he was so peeved by the social media posts that he summoned the superintendent of Joshua National Park to his office in Foggy Bottom for a in-depth scolding reports The Hill.
Although he was spared any tangible punishment and the posts were allowed to remain on the twitter page, David Smith was allegedly told by Zinke that NPS officials would no longer discuss climate change on any of its social media channels. A source close to incident described the meeting between Zinke and the Joshua Tree Superintendent as a “trip to the woodshed.”
The desert southwest is expected to see dramatic effects from climate change (increased heat, drought, insect outbreaks, and wildfire among other impacts). Joshua Tree National Park is a hot spot of biodiversity with influence from several ecological regions. pic.twitter.com/GlGOS9QXaZ
— Joshua Tree NPS (@JoshuaTreeNPS) November 8, 2017
Another source indicated that Zinke told Smith, “no more climate tweets.” One of Zinke’s spokespeople denied such a description telling The Hill, “you have been given really bad information.”
The subject matter for the tweets was the potential effects climate change could have on delicate ecosystems like Joshua Tree National Park. Conservationists hoping to fight such effects say the NPS is the perfect platform for talking Climate Change and believe that the Secretary of the Interior is providing unnecessary roadblocks towards opening such dialogue. According to NASA, more than 97% of regularly published climate scientists agree: human activity is in large part to blame for our changing climate.
As the climate rapidly changes, habitable ranges will shift. Species not able to keep pace will perish. Current models predict the suitable habitat for Joshua trees may be reduced by 90% in the future with a 3°C (5.4°F) increase in average temperature over the next 100 years. pic.twitter.com/Ys6bpcxq6g
— Joshua Tree NPS (@JoshuaTreeNPS) November 8, 2017
Find the entire Hill article here:Â Zinke reprimanded park head after climate tweets