A Colorado national park makes the top 10 most polluted list

National parks are supposed to be places where people can enjoy the beauty and diversity of nature. However, many of these parks are suffering from air pollution that affects the environment and the visitors. According to a recent report by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), 97% of the national parks in the U.S. have significant air pollution problems. Some of the main sources of this pollution are coal-fired power plants, oil and gas development, vehicle emissions, and wildfires.

But we have one of the most polluted parks right here in Colorado, as reported by the Denver Gazette which followed a recently released story by USA Today outlining pollution in our National Parks.

The NPCA report ranked the national parks based on four criteria: ozone, haze, climate change, and mercury. The report found that the most polluted parks are located in California, where eight of the top 10 parks are found. The other two are in Colorado and Texas. The top 10 most polluted national parks are: 

• Sequoia National Park, California 
• Kings Canyon National Park, California 
• Joshua Tree National Park, California 
• Mojave National Preserve, California 
• Big Bend National Park, Texas 
• Death Valley National Park, California 
• Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado 
• San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, California 
• Pinnacles National Park, California 
• Lassen Volcanic National Park, California