How Can Human Impacts on Yosemite Improve?

Since humans have caused most of the ecosystem damage that has occurred in Yosemite, there are plenty of things humans can do to improve their impact.

Signs, advertisements, and brochures are found all over the park that encourage little things humans can do to make a big difference.  Being aware is very important- people can avoid transporting unwanted invasive plants and animals, avoid feeding animals human foods, and report sightings of specific animal and plant species to park rangers.

Some Yosemite campgrounds have many campsites with campfires.  Emissions from simultaneous campfires can degrade air quality on a local scale, which is harmful for people and animals.  People should bring lanterns and try to limit the campfires that they start in the late night and early morning hours, when inversions trap and concentrate fine particles from the campfires near the ground, creating local conditions harmful for inhabitants.  

Soundscape is also a very important human impact that should be reduced.  Yosemite National Park takes pride in its quiet nights and early mornings, with an absence of cars, motorcycles, construction noises, and airplanes.  A soundscape is a valuable resource like water or wildlife that can be easily degraded by innapropriate sounds or sound levels by humans.  Animals can get scared away, can get upset and irritated, and often in the past have attacked humans because of the way that visitors threaten wildlife habitat.  People need to lower their voices and reduce the amount of sounds they create while visiting the park for this reason.

A major cause of animal death is due to unsafe driving and roadkill.  Humans need to drive slowly and safely while in the park.  


Source of Image:  http://www.nps.gov/yose/naturescience/soundscape.htm