Stargazers trample over ‘fragile’ wildflower meadows in Mount Rainier. ‘Heartbreaking’
“Delicate” wildflower meadows were trampled on after stargazers flocked to Mount Rainier National Park to watch meteor showers, officials in Washington said.
Now park officials are assessing reports of the damage, the national park said in an Aug. 15 Facebook post.
The reports came after visitors traveled to the Sunrise and Paradise areas within the national park to watch the Perseid meteor shower.
It’s the best meteor shower of the year with “swift and bright meteors,” according to NASA. It peaked from Aug. 12 to Aug. 13.
After the park saw a large number of visitors, there were reports of damage to subalpine wildflower meadows in the Sunrise area. The meadows were described as “beautiful yet fragile,” in the Facebook post.
Park officials shared a photo online of some of the damage.
“A patch of delicate subalpine meadow that has been trampled at Sunrise,” park officials said on Facebook.
These wildflowers only have a few weeks to grow, so they can be damaged when people go off-trail. Some may never regrow once they’ve been trampled on, park officials said.
“Scars on the landscape can take decades to regrow due to the short growing season and harsh alpine climate,” officials said.
Social media users shared their frustrations on Facebook.
“Truly heartbreaking. Next year if you need volunteers to help monitor, just put the word out and my family would be there,” one person wrote.
“It’s so sad people can’t follow simple rules!!! It is awesome though to see so many people enjoying the outdoors and bringing families too,” another person commented.
How to stargaze without damaging the meadows
But there are ways to stargaze in the national park without damaging the plants.
Park officials said visitors should stay on trails and in parking lots, and to not wander into the meadows.
Visitors should also never park on vegetation or leave trash behind. If a trash can is full, a person should pack their trash out with them, officials said.
Camping is also not allowed in Sunrise.
Sunrise is the second most visited area in the national park, and it’s the highest point a traveler can visit in a vehicle, officials said.
Mount Rainier is about 90 miles southeast of Seattle.
