Response to Reynolds et al. (2024), Accurately characterizing climate change scenario planning in the U.S. National Park Service

Abstract

We greatly appreciate Reynolds et al. (2024), Accurately Characterizing Climate Change Scenario Planning in the U.S. National Park Service, a comment on Murphy et al. (2025) Understanding Perceptions of Climate Change Scenario Planning in United States Public Land Management Agencies. In this comment, Reynolds et al. (2024) outline the incredible resources that the National Park Service (NPS) and United States Geologic Survey (USGC) have developed for agency staff and other land managers interested in utilizing scenario planning to better adapt to climate change. We agree that these agencies have provided much-needed leadership and foresight in this arena, which has greatly benefited public land managers. The NPS was an early adopter of scenario planning (see Cole and Yung 2010 for a case study of early NPS scenario planning in Joshua Tree National Park). In Murphy et al. (2025), we recognize that “the National Park Service Climate Change Response Program has created tools and guidance as well as built capacity to support park-specific scenario planning processes.”

Citation

Yung, Laurie; Murphy, Daniel J.; Williams, Daniel R.; Wyborn, Carina; Schultz, Courtney. 2025. Response to Reynolds et al. (2024), Accurately characterizing climate change scenario planning in the U.S. National Park Service. Society and Natural Resources. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2025.2515937.