Alert system fights nitrate pollution in Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park. (Credit: Daniel Mayer (Mav)/CC BY-SA 3.0)

The National Park Service and other federal agencies have launched an alert system to help farmers reduce nitrate pollution in Rocky Mountain National Park, according to National Public Radio. The system lets farmers know when winds have shifted to a direction that could carry ammonium nitrates, linked to waste from their cattle, toward the park.

Each alert tells the Front Range farmers how long each weather front associated with the winds is likely to last. With that information, the farmers can then move their practices, like fertilizer applications or moving manure, to another day.

About 50 farmers signed up for the alerts voluntarily, which is about 60 percent of those briefed about the program. Their efforts have helped to stem the rise of nitrate levels in the park, with officials noting concentrations have leveled off, instead of increasing, since the alert system launched.

Top image: Rocky Mountain National Park. (Credit: Daniel Mayer (Mav)/CC BY-SA 3.0)