A new report from Colorado State University confirms that air quality in our most-visited national park is measurably better, thanks to the Clean Air Act. While more work still needs to be done to improve air quality around the country, the new emissions and visibility measurements published last week by the university’s Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) confirm that the skies at Great Smoky Mountains National Park and surrounding areas are significantly cleaner than they were two decades ago.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the East Coast suffered from particularly bad air pollution and acid rain, which damaged forests and aquatic life and contributed to haze and smog. Researchers identified the emissions from burning fossil fuels as the main cause of this pollution, especially particulates from coal-fired power plants. Not only does this unsightly pollution continue to reduce visibility at national parks, it also poses serious health problems to communities around the country, including asthma, bronchitis, and other serious respiratory ailments.

Since Congress passed the Clean Air Act and subsequent amendments in 1977 and 1990 that specifically address national park protection and acid rain, the skies are literally brighter. According to CIRA, between 1990 and 2010, sulfur dioxide emissions in the United States dropped from 23 million tons to 8 million tons and nitrogen oxide emissions were cut in than half, based on EPA emissions data.

These are significant public health and environmental benefits, though we still have a long way to go to meet the air quality goals set by Congress as part of the Clean Air Act in 1977. The acid rain regulations that contributed to these dramatic improvements primarily benefitted the eastern part of the country. There are still many antiquated, highly polluting coal plants in the West that obscure visibility in iconic national parks like Zion, Mesa Verde, and the Grand Canyon. According to a 2011 report by NPCA (PDF), the impact of power plant emissions on visibility in parks and wilderness areas costs the economy an estimated $5.62 billion a year—not including costs to public health.

Though our work is still cut out for us, this new data from CIRA confirms that the Clean Air Act is remarkably effective when officials comply with the landmark law. For decades, lawmakers have repeatedly tried to weaken these regulations, and NPCA and others have filed multiple lawsuits to assure compliance with various Clean Air Act mandates. Now we see what it looks like when we enforce these important protections—clearly, and for miles.

Most of these new discoveries belong to the part of the animal kingdom that I refer to as “crawly things.” Park tourists may perk up when a photogenic deer or raccoon wanders by, but a wealth of ecologically significant spiders, moths, bacteria, and slime-molds have flitted and squirmed through the region year after year in relative obscurity—until now. Even as visitors thrill at the sight of black bears in Catalooche Valley and wild turkeys at Cade’s Cove, these researchers have been hard at work categorizing the smaller, more populous lifeforms teeming in leaf piles and puddles, just out of view.

Perhaps one of the most interesting new creatures found at Great Smoky Mountains is the arthropod formally known as Cosberella lamar alexanderi, pictured above. Dr. Earnest Bernard discovered this new species of springtail in 2006 and named it after Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander in recognition of the congressman’s history of support for the park. The insect’s colorful markings reminded Bernard of the red plaid shirt Alexander famously wore while campaigning across the state when he ran for governor in the 1970s. Little did the politician know then how his outfit would come to be memorialized in the scientific world. See for yourself if you think there’s a resemblance.

Learn more about Discover Life in America’s work by checking out their upcoming conference next month in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

The expansive views of the Southern Appalachian Mountains from the summit of Hemphill Bald are enough to make anyone want to plop down in the tall grass and spend the day watching the shadows of clouds flow across the landscape. On a sunny Saturday this past summer, however, I found myself joining 30 other volunteers, picks and shovels in hand, to put a little sweat equity back into a landscape that has served my life as both a foundation and a refuge.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park lies like a pearl on the string of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, the thread running down the spine of some of the world’s oldest mountains. The rich biodiversity, scenery, and recreation of the region draw more visitors to the Smokies than to any other National Park—more than 9.6 million in 2012. Hemphill Bald lies directly on the park’s boundary and crowns the shared mountainside between the park and the adjacent Cataloochee Ranch. The ranch is privately managed and its owners have granted conservation easements on much of the area to the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC), our partners in a project to restore and enhance the critical boundary with the park. SAHC is not only a first-rate land trust, they knowledgably take care of the areas they have worked to preserve.

With the generous and thoughtful support of Nature Valley’s Preserve the Parks program, our volunteers divided into two groups to work on separate projects. One group spent the day selectively clearing brush and trimming vegetation to “feather” the edges between the mountain forests and the adjacent open areas. This edge habitat is critically important to numerous migratory birds and will help the park—which maintains few open areas—to serve as a living link in the chain of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

I went with the second group to repair a 50-yard-long section of trail adjacent to the park that was suffering severe erosion. As an avid hiker, I gained a renewed appreciation for the incredible amount of human energy that goes into maintaining such trails in steep terrain. While digging up, re-grading and “out-sloping” (reshaping) the trail was pretty intense, I thoroughly enjoyed exchanging stories with the other volunteers and learning about their connections to the land and the reasons that each of them were there that day.

As we were taking a mid-morning break, an unexpected form of “wildlife” visited us—an emaciated hunting hound that had obviously been lost in the park for some time. The poor animal was so weak that she simply lay down on the side of the trail, unresponsive to our attempts to give water and some of our trail snacks to her—that is, until someone decided to offer her one of the Nature Valley granola bars the company had provided to our crew. She ate two of them right away and then began to take water out of a hard hat—so we nicknamed her “Nola,” short for granola. By the end of the day, Nola was regaining her strength and the folks at Cataloochee Ranch had located her owner in nearby Cherokee, North Carolina, where she made it safely back home. I think it’s safe to say that, to the kind folks at Nature Valley, Nola adds her thanks to ours.

Our full volunteer group gathered on Hemphill Bald for lunch to swap stories, hear from the Ranch folks about their commitment to preserving this magnificent landscape, and absorb the awe-inspiring view. This day’s work renewed my gratitude for all of the visionaries from the past who worked to set aside these invaluable resources, for the many hands and hearts who have labored to build and maintain the trails I have walked, and how much of each has gone into every step I’ve taken.

To help celebrate National Park Week, mobile app developer Chimani has announced that it will give away one million of its ten highly rated park guides for smartphones. If you’re planning a trip to one of the nine destinations featured in Chimani’s apps, it’s the perfect time to take advantage of free detailed maps, auto tour information, hiking guides, bus schedules, and other useful planning tools, which normallly cost between $4.99 and $9.99 each. If you’re considering a trip farther off the beaten path, their general guide for national parks is also free. All are available for iPhone and Android using the links on their website.

Don’t forget, if you use an iPhone, NPCA’s own free National Park Field Guides app is a good complement to the Chimani apps, with additional information on wildlife, native plants, and major sites in 50 national parks (with additional parks and an Android version coming soon).

Safe travels, park lovers!

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

The company also released this interesting video on the development of the project and some of the challenges the team faced creating the panoramic visuals along the 58 trails they hiked.

Full disclosure: Nature Valley is a major donor to the National Parks Conservation Association. The company has obviously caught on to the fact that many granola-eaters care about the environment, and helps to protect and encourage visitation to many of America’s most treasured places.

Looking for something further off the beaten path than these three popular parks? You might enjoy a recent feature by National Geographic on the Top Ten Underappreciated National Parks which highlights some breathtaking destinations around the country with fewer tourists flocking to their gates each season. Wherever you’re headed, if you own a smartphone, don’t forget to load it up with a few good trip-planning apps, including NPCA’s own free park guide. (Yes, we are coming out with an Android version in just a couple of weeks.) Happy trails!

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications