Along the High Peaks Trail, Pinnacles National Park, photo courtesy NPS
Overview
In 2007, after visiting Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, Charlie and I drove to about 25 miles east of what was later to become Pinnacles National Park. On our 2013 trip to California, we were still not aware that Pinnacles National Park even existed. Pinnacles had been designated a national park in January of that year. So even though we’ve been relatively near, Charlie and I have not seen this park, obviously our bad luck or my incomplete plans. In this area, the term “pinnacles” refers to erosional remnants on the western portion of an extinct volcano that has moved 200 miles from its original location due to movement on the nearby San Andreas Fault. These erosional remnants are now embedded in a portion of the California Pacific Coast Ranges. Pinnacles National Park is located in Central California. Most of the park is protected as wilderness.
From the National Park Service (NPS) website: “Geologic forces have created the landscape of Pinnacles, but a climate of hot dry summers and winter rains has also shaped the terrain. The vegetation of the park transforms each year as the rain stops and temperatures climb; hillsides go from vibrant green to golden brown within days. Many of the chaparral plants thrive when fires burn through to make room for new growth. Streams that are dry throughout the summer can flood during the winter and spring rains… Although the park is only 40 miles from the Pacific Ocean, the Santa Lucia Mountains to the west modify the ocean influence before it reaches Pinnacles. While on the coast summer temperatures might be a fairly steady 60 degrees Fahrenheit, at Pinnacles the temperature can swing from 50 degrees at night to 100 degrees during the day. Similarly, without the ocean’s warming effect, winter temperatures at Pinnacles often drop below freezing while coastal temperatures remain moderate.”
Environmental Concerns
Global Climate Change The 4th National Climate Assessment, Chapter 25, summarizes climate change effects in the southwestern part of the United States saying that the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico will continue to experience higher temperatures, lower precipitation, more severe droughts and more floods due to global climate change. (https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/25/) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has also projected higher temperatures and lower precipitation in the future. Based on these projections Pinnacles National Park should expect to experience all of the above-mentioned effects.
Visitor Issues and Effects Pinnacles National Park receives only about 250,000 visitors annually, whereas approximately 150 miles due east of Pinnacles, Sequoia National Park receives over a million visitors each year. Why so relatively few visitors? Pinnacles National Park is one of the newest of National Parks, so designated in 2013, and it is thought that many people outside California have not yet discovered it.
Air Quality From the NPS website: “Air quality in Pinnacles National Park is sometimes affected by pollution from mobile sources, road dust, agricultural activities, and burning. Air pollutants blown into the park from the San Francisco Bay Area to the north and beyond can harm natural and scenic resources such as soils, surface waters, plants, wildlife, and visibility…Park vistas are sometimes obscured by haze, reducing how well and how far people can see…(H)aze is caused by tiny particles in the air, and these particles can also affect human health. Many of the same pollutants that ultimately fall out as nitrogen and sulfur deposition contribute to this haze…(as do organic compounds, soot, dust, and wood smoke…from regional wildfires…(S)ignificant improvements in park visibility have been documented since the late 1980’s. Overall, visibility in the park still needs improvement to reach the Clean Air Act goal of no human caused impairment…
Reduced visibility has led to reduction of the average natural visual range from about 140 miles (without pollution) to about 80 miles because of pollution at the park; reduction of the visual range to below 50 miles on high pollution days.”
Ground-level ozone occasionally exceeds air quality standards set by the EPA. When that happens, park staff post health advisories.
Water Quality From the NPS website: “Water quality in a national park may reflect activities taking place upstream of the park’s surface waters as well as within the park itself. Road construction, recreational activities, livestock and agriculture, sewage leaks, deposition from atmospheric pollutants, and many other factors can impact water quality. Parks in the San Francisco Bay Area are particularly susceptible to these impacts because of their close proximity to a major urban center.”
Invasive Species From the NPS website: “At Pinnacles National Park, out of approximately 625 plant species, about 100 are nonnative. Those nonnative plant species with the potential for creating serious ecological damage by displacing the park’s native plant community are called “invasive.” Pinnacles National Park Weed Control Program is focused primarily on yellow star thistle, Italian thistle, horehound, and mustard. Weed control efforts focus on these four species because of their potential for native habitat destruction.”
Wildlife Issues From an article from the National Park Conservation Association: “California condors once ranged throughout the skies of western North America, but by 1982, fewer than 22 remained. A variety of human activities led to the population decline, including the use of lead ammunition, which poisons the animals the condors feed on. Now the birds are making a comeback thanks to reintroduction efforts the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initiated in 1985 at what is now Pinnacles National Park. These efforts have boosted the bird’s numbers to about 210 in the wild and 180 in captivity.” https://www.npca.org/articles/880-9-wildlife-success-stories
Adjacent Activities Drilling for oil and/or gas in the vicinity of the park has not yielded positive result, nor has mining for economic mineral deposits.
To the Reader Most of my sources were web sites which I indicate by their address at the end of the quoted material or my summary thereof. All references which state only “NPS” with no web address refer to the web address for this park: https://www.nps.gov/pinn/index.htm. This is where 90% of all material for this report was found, and this is where you should first look for additional material. Warning: This web site is very complex and difficult to find additional material.
Environmental Concerns and Actions 