PERC Donates Equipment To Yellowstone
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WASHINGTON – Yellowstone National Park is reducing waste and greenhouse gas emissions through a donation from the Propane Education & Research Council. PERC’s donation includes a propane-powered Exmark zero-turn mower, 11 mower cylinders, three Generac portable propane generators, one Generac standby generator, and a 12-cylinder capacity storage cage. PERC is also donating refillable Manchester Tanks and a cylinder refill unit to the park, which will enable Yellowstone to reduce small cylinder waste from campers through a first-of-its-kind program.
“Yellowstone is committed to improving the environment and patrons’ park experiences through environmentally friendly initiatives,” said Roy Willis, PERC president and CEO. “Propane-powered equipment allows Yellowstone to efficiently and economically reduce greenhouse gas and carbon emissions compared with conventional fuels. And propane is an obvious choice due to its versatility and ease of refueling.”
PERC’s donation enhances Yellowstone’s existing sustainability practices, which have been in place for many years. The 2.2-million-acre national park includes 1,500 buildings and 310 miles of paved roads, making maintenance logistically difficult. Propane’s portability makes it ideal for dealing with varied terrain and weather conditions. Yellowstone already operates several portable propane-powered generators and forklifts, and propane is used for heating and backup power in some areas of the park during winter months since electricity is often unreliable.
The donation of refillable Manchester Tanks and a refillable cylinder unit will now allow park visitors to refill small 1-, 5-, and 10-pound Manchester propane cylinders. When the refillable cylinders are empty, campers can return them for a refund on their deposit or get the cylinders filled again for reuse. In the past, cylinders could only be recycled, which didn’t solve the problem of needing to reduce waste.
Yellowstone National Park is the third national park to receive propane-powered equipment donations from PERC this year. Blue Ridge Parkway and Mammoth Cave National Park also deployed new propane equipment over the summer, totaling more than $138,000 in combined donations. PERC’s donations not only foster sustainable practices in each park, but they also further the National Park Service’s overall Green Parks Plan< https://t.e2ma.net/click/v14wh/f5c1vb/vtejvb > aimed at reducing energy consumption and limiting waste generation.
“The entire National Park Service has made a commitment to becoming greener in the way that we do business and in the way that we serve visitors,” said Al Nash, Yellowstone’s chief of public affairs. “We're looking for ways to make sure our visitors understand that it’s important to us to be environmentally responsible. There are so many things that we can do to be a greener agency, and by doing so, help encourage our visitors to find ways in their own lives to be more ecologically responsible.”
For more information on PERC, or to watch a video about how PERC’s donations are impacting National Parks, visit propane.com< https://t.e2ma.net/click/v14wh/f5c1vb/bmfjvb >. More information on Yellowstone National Park is available at nps.gov/yell< https://t.e2ma.net/click/v14wh/f5c1vb/regjvb >.