Our Collections at Risk: Climate Change Threats to NPS Museum Property

Summary

Over the past 15 years NPS Collections from Texas to Maine have faced devastating impacts from hurricanes and other climate related events. During this time, Hurricanes such as Isabel, Ivan, Katrina and Sandy have wrought havoc on NPS museum collections. Although not subjected to direct impacts from these recent hurricanes, National Capital Region (NCR) parks have been heavily damaged by their collateral impacts, typically in the form of flooding along the Potomac Valley. It is simply a matter of time before a major hurricane strikes right at the heart of the Nation’s Capital. Our recent brush with Hurricanes Joaquin and Hermine highlight the risks we face in NCR from a devastating Hurricane event and its related impacts.

Over the past two years the NCR Museum Management Program has been gathering data and developing an assessment of park collection vulnerabilities due to climate change in NCR. This brief presentation will discuss those threats and highlight how some NCR parks are addressing those threats.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• When Disaster Strikes: Environmental Impacts on Collections Preservation

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15461