WASHINGTON, D.C.-Cocke County Mayor Iliff McMahan, Jr. of Cocke County delivered testimony Wednesday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources National Parks Subcommittee.

At the invitation of the Chairman, McMahan joined the director of the National Park Service, Jonathan B. Jarvis, and others to examine the impacts of climate change on the National Park System.

Below is McMahan testimony before during Wednesday's hearing:

"Chairman Udall and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to testify on the current and expected impacts of climate change on units of the National Park System. I am Iliff McMahan, Jr. and since 2002 I have served as the County Mayor of Cocke County, Tennessee. Before becoming mayor I served as the first Tourism Director for Cocke County, as the first Tourism Director for the Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce, later as General Manager of the Chamber, and as Manager of Marketing and Public Relations for Newport, Tennessee Utilities.

"In 2004, I was elected to a position on the national board of directors for the County Executives of America representing rural counties across the nation, and was appointed by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen to a statewide position on the Tennessee Workforce Development Board, an advisory council to the Governor. In addition, I serve on the boards for several organizations: the East Tennessee Development District, East Tennessee Human Resources Agency, currently serve as Chairman for the East Tennessee Regional Agribusiness Marketing Authority, a member of the National Parks Conservation Association Southeast Regional Council, Smoky Mountains Workforce Development Board, East TN Quality Growth Council, Great Smoky Mountains Regional Greenways Council, and Boys & Girls Club of Newport/Cocke County.

"My appearance here today, however is not on behalf of any organization, but rather to highlight the interconnectedness between the ecological stability of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Appalachian National Scenic Trail and the economy of Cocke County, Tennessee. I would also like to highlight how across the United States rural economies are dependent on the ecological stability of national parks. National parks face many threats, but none as far-reaching as climate change. If not addressed climate change threatens the economic well-being of Cocke County and similar national park gateway communities around the United States.

"My testimony addresses the following topics: (1) the Cocke County economy and our dependence on our national park units, (2) the projected impact of climate change on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and by extension to our gateway community economy, (3) the need for a coordinated local, state, and federal collaborative plan to address climate change in national parks to protect both our natural and cultural heritage and the economies of surrounding communities, and (4) the opportunity for economic growth that setting aside funds for scientific research and natural resource adaptation provides for national park gateway communities.

The Cocke County, Tennessee Economy and Our National Parks

"Cocke County is a small rural county in East Tennessee with a population of thirty-five thousand citizens and a land-base of four-hundred and thirty-four square miles. Of the ninety-five counties in Tennessee Cocke County is the only county which contains a portion of two units of the National Park Service (The Appalachian National Scenic Trail and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park), a national forest (the Cherokee National Forest), and a state forest (Martha Sundquist State Forest). We are also home to the Nolichucky, Upper French Broad, and Pigeon River Watersheds; three of the largest watersheds in the State of Tennessee.

"Approximately, thirty-five percent of the land in our county is publicly owned and does not produce tax income. However, in addition to payments in lieu of taxes, we receive significant economic and community benefit from our public lands. In particular, Cocke County serves as the northern gateway to our nation's most visited national park, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Our county's proximity to so many notable state and federal lands places upon us an awesome responsibility to work with state and federal government to protect these special places.

"As a small rural county with a large percentage of lands in public holding, Cocke County has had to look beyond traditional economic development opportunities to our natural resources to diversify our economy. Most relevant to today's hearing topic, since 1995 Cocke County has seen a significant increase in the size and capacity of our county's ecological-tourism based industry. Horseback riding, camping, hiking, backpacking, whitewater rafting, hunting, fishing, and a myriad of additional outdoor activities have increased and continue to grow in Cocke County. Despite the national economic downturn of the past year we have seen a significant increase in tax income from these and associated activities. Our work to expand and grow Cocke County's thriving eco-tourism industry has insulated our county from the worst impacts of the economic downturn.

"Around the United States between 1970 and 2003 rural counties like Cocke County that neighbor national parks outperformed non-park rural counties by forty-three percent in job growth, thirty-seven percent in personal income growth, and an impressive eighty-six percent in population growth. National parks generate four dollars in value for every tax dollar invested, support over thirteen billion dollars in private sector activity, and over four billion dollars in wages in gateway communities like mine. Outdoor recreation nationally supports nearly six and a half million jobs and creates eighty-eight billion dollars in state and federal tax revenue nationally. My county depends on the health and vitality of our State and Federal lands for our continued and future prosperity. National park lands where air, water, and wildlife are protected means tourists will continue to come to Cocke County to see, hear, and hike in our spectacular park lands. If these resources are diminished in favor of development or by allowing climate change to continue unaddressed our county's existing and future financial health could be impacted.  

The Impact of Climate Change on Cocke County and Our National Park Units

"This year Tennesseans and the nation celebrated the seventy-fifth anniversary of the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and in 2016 we will all celebrate the centennial of the creation of the national park service. There are many threats that face parks around the country. In the Smokies and Cocke County bad air quality frequently results in violations of the Environmental Protection Agency's air quality standards in the summer months.

"Significant concentrations of airborne mercury are deposited in the region, poisoning species from native trout to the iconic black bear. Decreased visibility results from haze pollution and degrades the scenic vistas that are an important attraction for visitors. Acid deposition weakens fragile ecosystems and poisons our streams. Invasive species are decimating forest and the wildlife that depend on their health. And the human footprint around the Smokies, Cocke County included, is large and increasingly threatening traditional wildlife corridors. These are all long-standing issues I have in my time worked with county, state, and national counterparts to address, but there is one issue we are failing in the policy realm to address at this time: climate change in our national parks. Congress needs to provide more funding and better policies to address climate change and all of the issues that face our national park units cumulatively rather than address one impact at a time.

"The Smokies provide an island of wilderness in one of the most populated parts of the country. Temperatures in Appalachia have been on the rise since the 1970's and already these changes have taken a toll. Climate models have predicted increased drought, increased flooding, and temperature increases in the southern Appalachian region. Iconic species, such as the Frasier fir, already under pressure from air pollution and invasive species, could disappear without proactive effort on our part. Without a change of course conditions in the park could become unsuitable for flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world.

"Many tourists come to the Smokies to fish our cool streams, but an increase of just two degrees Celsius or an extended drought could alter or weaken native fish populations forever. This would be a major loss to regional bio-diversity, but this would also be a major loss to local economies. Cocke County depends on fisherman to eat at our restaurants, buy fuel and groceries in our stores, stay in our lodging, and to contribute to the tax base that keeps Cocke County running. In Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee alone fishing created two-billion dollars in related expenditures in 2006. Counties like mine around the United States have a lot to lose if we fail to address the most significant impacts of climate change. A United States Travel Association poll taken in 2009 showed that sixty-four percent of travelers are concerned about climate change. Travelers are the bread and butter of my gateway county economy, and if visitors are concerned, leaders in every national park gateway community should be too.

The Need for a Collaborative Adaptation Plan

Every year over ten million visitors come to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, to hike the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, and to visit our other state and federal lands. In fact, this year despite the economic downturn the Great Smoky Mountains and other units of the national park system have seen a five percent increase in visitation. Global climate change threatens our unique resource. The Great Smoky Mountains is the most diverse biosphere in the northern hemisphere, and given our dependence on the park for our economic well-being and our personal connection and history around this unique place, it is our job to make sure that we protect and create the opportunity for all our national parks to adapt to the most sever impacts of climate change.

"We must work nationally to develop an effective strategy to lower overall global concentrations of greenhouse gases to protect our parks, but there is much to be done on the ground to deal with the impacts that are at this point beyond our control. Coordinating and planning to mitigate impacts to natural and cultural resources as well as develop tools to adapt to the changing environment will help to assure that the Smokies remain intact so future generations of Cocke County residents and visitors will have an opportunity to connect to our beautiful and unique parks.

"It is widely accepted that our national parks can play an important role in understanding climate change and responding to it. First, the national parks provide a classroom for understanding and studying how climate change is impacting our entire environment. Second, the national parks offer a refuge for species that are-or might be-displaced by a changing climate. Third, as part of the mix of state and federal lands, the national parks will play an important role sustaining ecosystems and ecological processes that see no park boundary.  The national parks, simply put, give us the ability to better understand, mitigate, and adapt to a changing climate.

"The natural resource adaptation provisions passed in the House of Representatives, "Clean Energy and American Security Act" set up a structure for resource adaptation that should be strongly considered by members of the Senate. It is my understanding that the Kerry-Boxer, "Clean Energy, Jobs, and American Power Act" and a climate change adaptation bill sponsored by Senator Jeff Bingaman also mirror the language regarding the establishment of a coordinated local, state, and federal effort to fund the required scientific research and on the ground projects that need to happen to protect our national parks from the worst impacts of climate change. I would like to applaud and thank all of you for your efforts. However, I would also like to urge you to consider fully funding these efforts to make sure that across the board natural resource adaptation projects adequately protect the parks in our backyard. 

Economic Growth from Natural Resource Adaptation

I'm no expert on climate policy, but what I do know is that our parks are changing and we have a unique opportunity to protect these special places and simultaneously boost local economies. In Cocke County we are lucky in these tough economic times to have outstanding pubic lands as a reliable source of economic prosperity. However, the national park lands that sustain our strong eco-tourism based economic growth prevent growth in traditional economic sectors such as manufacturing. For all of the added benefits our park units provide to our community we still have to deal with the challenge of being a rural community working to grow sustainably. Fully funding natural resource adaptation programs around national park units and other federal and state lands will create much needed jobs around the United States and Cocke County is no exception.

"By safeguarding wildlife populations, rivers, forests, and deserts in national parks around the United States a strong well-funded natural resource adaptation program will protect national park units that maintain seven-hundred and thirty billion dollars in economic activity and sustain nearly six and a half million jobs nationwide. It will also create new jobs in gateway communities around the country. A fully funded program would create jobs around the United States for scientists, engineers, construction crews, equipment operators, firefighters, educators, students, youth workers, and the host of support service providers in manufacturing and local business. The important work that needs to be done to restore wetlands, forests, and maintaining habitat for wildlife migration and corridors will create opportunity around the country and hopefully at my home in Cocke County. By protecting our natural resources in national parks and other state and federal lands we can sustain a critical economic engine for our communities that might otherwise sputter out in the face of growing impacts from climate change. 

"It is my job as County Mayor, and my personal responsibility as a member of a family that gave up our land for the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, to work with you in partnership to make sure that we are proactive park stewards. I am not an expert on climate policy, but as the owner of a working cattle farm, it is clear to me that if you do not maintain and manage your herd properly you are going to have a heck of a time keeping the farm open and an even more difficult time turning a profit. Like a working farm, we need to maintain our national parks with progressive stewardship and adjust to changes in the weather or else we might lose the farm. Fully funding a coordinated effort between local, state, and federal agencies to conduct the appropriate scientific research, natural resource adaptation and management projects makes good business sense for the future of our national parks.

"Every day that I see the sun rise over Mount Cammerer in the Smokies is another day to help Cocke County realize our full potential as a viable and sustainable rural community. Cocke County is a community where we value our mountain traditions and natural resources and we work daily to showcase them to the world. Global climate change is a major threat to our precious heritage, but through thoughtful, progressive policy initiatives and a little American ingenuity we can protect our valuable national park resources and assure that our future generations will be able to enjoy the Smokies and hike the Appalachian Trail as we can today.