By: Steve Neff

“As my gaze leaves shore and crosses the Salish Sea (Puget Sound), it strikes me that the ensuing chaos in store for the port city of Seattle is too great to ponder. So I let my eyes travel north to Brackett’s Landing at the Edmonds ferry terminal. In 1956, I caught my first saltwater fish at age six off that landing.’

Story provided by Patricia Notario; Written by Haley Yarborough

“Patricia Notario, MD, now a pediatrician at Billings Clinic and the vice president—and incoming president—of the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Notario views her work not simply as a profession, but as a calling.”

Story provided by Teresa Wicks; Written by Haley Yarborough

“In community health and psychosocial nursing courses, she watched students grow more curious about environmental health. Over time, more began asking how climate change was showing up in clinics, hospitals, and mental health outcomes. “That awareness is building,” she said. “It’s slow, but it’s real.” Becoming a grandmother has only deepened her concern—and her hope.”

By: Lauris Reintjes

Species are going extinct 100, 1,000, some estimate 10,000 times faster than they should. This spike in the background extinction rate is called the Sixth Mass Extinction and is threatening every species on Earth, even those driving it. Lauris Reintjes, a high school student in Missoula, Montana, spends his time making mixed media sculpture of Endangered and underrepresented animals.

Story provided by Jenny Ellis; Written by Melody Irvine

“The smoke was dense, covering the mountains and casting an eerie orange haze at sunset. This orange haze was an unsettling sight I'd never seen before. The adults in my life, who usually encouraged outdoor play, urged us to stay indoors and told us it wasn't healthy outside due to the smoky air. They tried to keep us entertained with art and craft projects. However, this restriction was still unusual and confusing, marking my introduction to what we now call "wildfire smoke seasons."“

Glacier National Park has always been a place of change, and given time, it can adapt. However, the rate of change seen today is fast enough to raise concerns about adaptation, for both ecosystems and societies alike.