Lake Superior national parks pushing for net zero carbon emissions

Historic low ice cover, intense fire risk, algae in recent years

Climate change is making its mark on what many consider the Great Lakes’ most pristine lake. In recent years, Lake Superior has seen historic low ice cover, intense fire risk, and nuisance blue-green algae blooms cropping up likely for the first time, tribes and scientists say.

Lake Superior’s five national parks are responding by creating the first comprehensive plan in the nation to achieve net zero carbon emissions.

The five parks are the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin; Grand Portage National Monument in Minnesota; and Isle Royale National Park, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Keweenaw National Historical Park, all in Michigan.

National parks in general do not have large carbon emissions, but these actions are meant to do something bigger: inspire visitors to reduce their own carbon footprints.

About 3 million people visit Lake Superior’s national parks every year, and these actions should be powerful tools to educate the public, said Tom Irvine, executive director of the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation.

Many of the buildings within the parks are roughly the size of a home. Visitors can see proven technology used to reduce carbon emissions, Irvine said.

For instance, the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is transitioning appliances, and heating and cooling systems, powered by fossil fuels to those powered by electricity. The Grand Portage National Monument, which is co-managed by the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the National Park Service, is working to connect the park with renewable grid options.

In Michigan, Isle Royale National Park is piloting a project to use air-source heat pumps in staff housing and administrative buildings. These pumps absorb heat from the air outside and release it inside, reducing energy use by up to 55 percent. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is also using electric trail and ground maintenance equipment, like mowers,

SISTI/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL MIKE DE Ruyuan Yang, left, from Xishuangbanna, China, and her friend, Xudung Chang, a Western Michigan University student from Mongolia, China, are seen through ice formations as the sun begins to set. The Apostle Islands ice caves were accessible in 2015 due to thick ice and consistently cold weather.

Kayakers paddle into a rock formation known as the crevasse or the crack on Lake Superior north of Meyers Beach in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.