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A national parks advocacy group said vehicle pollution, already causing problems in some of the national parks, could get worse if the Trump administration succeeds in its push to drastically cut pollution reduction programs.

A new report from the National Parks Conservation Association showed cars and trucks play a major role in air pollution in parks but their effects have not been documented as much as those from industrial sources.

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Ulla Reeves, clean air program director for the association, said New Mexico's parks are among those affected by a rapidly warming planet.

"We found that 60 percent of our national parks are in counties with high levels of on-road vehicle air pollution," Reeves reported. "That's 261 park units out of a total of 433."

Many states, including New Mexico have adopted clean-car rules related to emission standards and offered tax incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles. But last month, President Donald Trump announced a rollback of the Environmental Protection Agency’s clean-vehicle standards for light-duty, medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles. The public has until Sept. 22 to submit comments to the EPA about the proposed revisions.

The report found vehicles emit 40 percent more pollution than all major U.S. industrial sources combined. In addition to vehicle emissions and the burning of fossil fuels, wildfire smoke also affects air quality in New Mexico's national parks.

Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada and senior clean air program manager for the association, said the group's "Driving Dirty Air" report showed vehicle pollution can travel long distances.

"Pollution from vehicle tailpipes doesn't follow park boundaries," Rose pointed out. "Much of the pollution that we see is coming from these urban areas that can be hundreds of miles away, but is traveling and then impacting air quality in the national park."

National parks in Arizona and Colorado – often vacation destinations for New Mexicans – are among the report's hot spots for vehicle pollution. Overall, the poor air quality in Rocky Mountain National Park cuts down, on average, 26 miles of scenic views.