Power to the People
Denali, we want to hear from you
By Erica Watson
The month of December arrived in Denali with rapidly warming temperatures, rising overnight almost forty degrees, then settling for a week in the 30s and low 40s. As in most of Alaska, the persistent thaw lingered, our sparse snow giving way to bare ground and dangerous ice conditions. Rather than the sparkling pinks and purples that can bring magic to the brief hours of solstice season daylight, warmer temperatures bring shades of gray and white, clouds that seem to come from another season.
The end of the year always invites reflection on changes and the passage of time, and this record-setting warmth has, for some of us, brought certain events and shifting patterns into focus as we close out 2024. We might reflect on other extreme weather events of the past year: the Riley Fire, which burned several hundred acres in the park entrance in July, ignited almost 100 years to the day after the last fire that swept through the area in 1924. Many of us spent years speaking about the historical fire as something of an abstraction, and though this year’s fire did far less damage – thanks to the combination of rapid and multi-pronged expert firefighting response and a well-timed shift in weather – the timing was uncanny.
As someone whose skills are not particularly sought during a crisis, I spent a lot of time those smoky July days wandering the McKinley Village neighborhood trails noting anew how the charred spruce trunks and upturned roots from a century ago still characterize the forest on the park’s eastern boundary, accompanied now by beetle-killed trees from the recent outbreak. That description might elicit an image of a spruce tree cemetery, but despite my hyper-awareness of dead trees from both cycles, the boreal forest in July is still a vibrant, alive place. Later, a botanist who surveyed the fire damage for the NPS expressed awe at the small ways that life persevered in the burned areas: threads of green remaining under burned moss.
Later in the summer, the park celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Denali Weather Station. After his mid-summer firefighting endeavor, then superintendent Harry Karstens began collecting official weather data at McKinley Station, and soon after moved the weather station to its current location at the park kennels. Denali’s is one of only three Alaska sites with such a long record, and part of its value is in the fact that people, not (exclusively) automated technology, make the observations, allowing for more specific information about snow, for example. Fairbanks-based climatologist Rick Thoman delivered the keynote address at the August centennial celebration, and when asked what his one message about climate observations at Denali and beyond, promptly replied, “Power to the people.”
The data collected by kennels staff supports what those with long relationships to the place have experienced: Denali is warmer, with more extreme weather events, and more years with average temperatures above freezing. Permafrost researcher Ken Hill noted that this temperature trend is “not suitable for permafrost,” evidenced in dramatic ways by the collapse of the park road in 2021, and more subtly, in places where released nitrogen from thawing permafrost changes plant communities (for example, a field of cottongrass where before only a few tufts grew).
The reelection of a climate denier to the US presidency will not make the coming years easier. The first Trump term cast a long shadow over Alaska and national conservation and climate efforts. While national parks are unlikely to be specific targets of the administration’s policies, we know the toll that institutionalized antagonism towards agency staff can have on communities of federal employees – even those who are not facing additional attacks on their access to healthcare or their family’s safety. We know how intertwined we are with the Bureau of Land Management and State of Alaska – look no further than the inter-agency response to the Riley Fire – and how their destabilization puts lands we love, our safety, and our climate future at risk.
Amidst the post-election floods of “we couldn’t do this without you” and “it’s time to build community” emails and articles, one stood out to me when I think about the Denali community: “Underrated ways to change the world,” by Adam Mastroianni. The author highlights examples of ways people with normal jobs and average social capital can tip the balance of power, and how their actions ripple outward. I particularly like the example of “making a scene:” “With a couple of buddies, you can toil pretty much forever, because it doesn’t feel like toil.” Another: “Go to a nondescript government building and do a good job.” Our local government buildings might have an unusual amount of character, but there are people in them who are holding lines we may not see from the outside. Sometimes it might look like a century of temperature data, sometimes like a public comment section, sometimes like a party. What does it look like to you?
As Denali Citizens Council wraps up its 50th anniversary year, we’d love to hear from you, the Denali community, about what’s important to you.
As we look ahead to what the next 50 could look like, we hope to hear more about your values and concerns. What priorities should a local conservation organization consider going into a second Trump term? What of climate action would you like to see local governments and agencies undertake? Could DCC support those efforts? Do you have a vision for Denali’s future but you’re not sure how to implement it?
Reach out. We’re going to need each other, and your perspective matters.
