It is no surprise that our National Parks have a steady flow of visitors each year, but are there too many to manage? Overcrowding has become the most recent issue a handful of the Parks are facing, and along with this predicament have come new regulations. What does this look like for the Park Service and what does it mean for us as visitors?
Park Rangers have reported back to NPS officials about the footprint the influx of visitors has left on the Parks. Diapers in the rivers, overfilled port-a-potties, and trails crowded from start to end are becoming the new normal. The long-term effects of treating the Parks this way will defeat the purpose of their creation- to protect and preserve beautiful lands for generations to come. The number of people traveling the grounds is higher than the NPS has ever seen. According to National Park Service data, in 2018 alone, a total of 331 million visited the Parks. In an article written by the New York Times, park rangers reported that monthly meetings began to feel like group therapy sessions due to the stress from managing so many visitors.
In response to their employee complaints and damage already done to the lands, Park officials proposed the implementation of a reservation system for visitors. All visitors will have to reserve a parking space or seat on a transportation shuttle ahead of time in order to enter the Park. So far, the Parks that have implemented this system include Arches, Zion, Grand Canyon, and Haleakala. Certain Parks also require permits for backpacking and canyoneering trips. Thankfully, the cost for reservations and permits is affordable for majority of the population ranging from $3-$8.
As visitors, this means people will not have the luxury of spontaneity as they once did. Last minute trips are still entirely possible, but reservations may not be available. While this may be inconvenient to some people, it will enhance the experience of those that are in the Park. In an interview with the NPS Chief of Public Affairs, David Barna, he reaffirmed the priorities of the Service- “When we have to make a choice between recreation and preservation, we will always choose preservation.” Barna followed up with, “Our decision will be based on our mandate, policies, and good science.”
This policy has received both positive and negative feedback from the public. A group that opposed the new orders, specifically in Zion National Park, created the website, “stopzionreservations.org”, to raise support against the regulations. The opposers claim that limiting the number of people that enter the Parks goes against the principals upon which the NPS was founded. Individuals that are for the implementation of the regulations say that the limits are in the best interest of the Parks and will help prevent further damage caused from the overcrowding, and thus, continue to protect the lands for the enjoyment of future generations.
It is unclear as of now if all National Parks will be adopting similar policies. For now, majority of the Parks still have unrestricted access, minus the entry fee. The decision is not up to the Department of the Interior, but each individual Park. If the less-popular Parks have a large increase in the number of visitations each year, they will then have to consider implementing a system of their own.
The National Park Nerd 