In the face of climate change, the Cascade Mountains, home to the largest amount of glaciers in the lower 48, are at high risk of becoming completely eradicated. Timberline RL&K is a ski resort and National Historic Landmark on Mount Hood, and the Palmer Glacier (managed by Timberline) is one glacier that is at high risk of melting much faster because of rising temperatures, excessive erosion, and salts.
In the summer, Timberline allows access to the glacier for skiers and snowboarders, and in order to make it safe, uses large amounts of salts that accelerate the rate at which the glacier melts. On top of that, these salts and excessive erosion send materials into bodies of water which changes the ability for plants and animals to survive in their natural environments.
At such a critical time in human history, we should be doing everything we can to preserve our natural resources and not sell off what remains of them so that one company can profit for what could be only a few more years.
By closing the glacier for the summer, Timberline would be sending the message that we should be doing our best to protect our mountains and alpine ecosystems. If Timberline were to close the glacier for skiing and snowboarding, it would still profit off the large tourist industry that comes to the mountain for the hiking, climbing, and beauty of Mt Hood. As a National Historic Landmark, closing would be continuing a legacy of being an icon of ideals that shape our Nation.