A professional bike race that will feature a "ceremonial ride" through Zion National Park, necessitating a temporary closure of the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, has drawn controversy/Kurt Repanshek file photo

A professional bike race in Zion National Park with 100 or so riders draws protests, a "citizen ride" with perhaps 2,000 pedaling through Rocky Mountain National Park doesn't. Mushroom collecting at Mammoth Cave National Park is allowed, at Crater Lake National Park it'll garner you a citation. A commercial filmed at Shenandoah National Park is condemned by some onlookers, yet television shows made in other parks are filmed without issue.

National parks can be confusing, contradictory places when it comes to what is allowed and what isn't, what is vocally supported and what is condemned as creeping commercialism. 

Part of the rationale for those seemingly conflicting uses is the decentralization of the agency that manages more than 400 units in the National Park System, part is the training, or perhaps lack of training, of park managers, and some, of course, is political pressure.

“It is hard sometimes to reconcile the disparites. Sometimes there’s a good reason for disparity, maybe all the facts aren’t the same," Maureen Finnerty, chair of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, said during a recent call she and Phil Francis had with me about the divergent uses of parks that spring up from time to time. “But sometimes it seems like it’s almost an identical event and it gets approved in one place and disapproved in another. That’s happened. This is not new to the Park Service. I think it’s been going on for years.

"But it seems to be there's less training and oversight," she added. "With the decentralized organization I think you’re always going to have that issue. But, we sure would like to see more training."

Each park superintendent should have within arm's reach in their office guidelines for when activities or events are proposed in their parks. Running more than 160 pages, the National Park Service Management Policies provides park managers with quick reference to how they are to manage their units, what uses are appropriate, and even how to usher visitors out of the park when Congress fails to fund the National Park Service.

There are sections on fishing (allowed unless specifically prohibited by federal law), river use (including how to handle human wastes), parachuting (generally prohibited unless deemed an appropriate use; think Bridge Day at New River Gorge National River), and even "helium-filled balloons" (not allowed unless part of research or planning, as the balloons "pose a danger to the health and safety of marine wildlife (such as sea turtles and sperm whales) and create a litter problem").

Interestingly, the National Park Service currently is mulling some changes to the section pertaining to special uses. One area under review could give superintendents greater authority to say no to some requests, such as the one at Zion. Under guidelines that led to the Park Service's approval of the Tour of Utah ride through Zion, the route will be closed to the public; spectators will not be allowed.

For special events that will result in significant restrictions or closures of areas normally open to the public, the superintendent must obtain the regional director’s written concurrence (or, if delegated, the deputy regional director’s concurrence) before issuing the permit. For the purposes of this Memorandum, a restriction or closure is significant when it negatively affects the visitor experience by limiting visitor access to important park resources for an unreasonable period of time, without allowing access to comparable park resources. The situation is compounded when visitors do not have the opportunity to participate in or observe the special event requiring the restriction or closure. Significant restrictions and closures also include those that substantially impact NPS or concessioner operations. Concurrence by the regional director is required only for the granting of special event requests that involve significant restrictions or closures; it is not required for denials, unless requested by the superintendent or required by the regional office. (Emphasis added)

Of course, in the case of the Tour of Utah ride, the OK came from the director's office.

The Management Policies do not, however, contain written guidance on how to deal with politicians who want to exert their will on how the Park Service manages parks. And it happens, either somewhat discreetly through back channels or out-of-sight conversations, such as to allow the Tour of Utah to open this year's race on August 1 with a "ceremonial ride" through Zion, or more visibily through the introduction of legislation to force the Park Service's hand, as was done at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina over off-road vehicle rules and regulations and which is being pursued in Florida against the decision by Biscayne National Park managers to create a 10,000-acre marine reserve that would be off-limits to fishing.

"Zion, from what we understand, there’s a lot of politicial pressures brought to do this," Ms. Finnerty said. "I think the superintendent (Jeff Bradybaugh) tried to work out as many restrictions on it as he could. And he was successful.

“From what I understand, and I didn’t talk directly to him, he wasn’t going to be allowed to say no. So he cut the best deal he could cut, and put as many restrictions in the permit as he could. You’re always going to have that. It’s just the world we live in," she said.

Some 2,000 cyclists pedaled through Rocky Mountain National Park via Trail Ridge Road as part of the Ride the Rockies citizen ride/Kurt Repanshek file photo

Promotion, not politics, was said to be behind the decision at Shenandoah to allow Subaru to film a commercial during the peak of leaf-peeping season last year. The production required the temporary closure of a portion of Skyline Drive through the park, and involved the use of a drone, which Park Service regulations generally prohibit. Shenandoah Superintendent Jim Northup did not respond to Traveler inquiries about the propriety of the filming, but in the Park Service's Washington headquarters spokesman Jeremy Barnum said the filming did not create an inconvenience to park visitors.

At Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Executive Director Jeff Ruch said the matter was unnecessary exploitation of the national parks by a company. He tied the incident to Director Jon Jarvis's proposed revisions to the agency's partnership and donor regulations, which, as drafted, would allow some Park Service officials to play a larger role in soliciting donations.

“This episode illustrates how corporate donations can affect the way parks operate and for whose benefit,” Mr. Ruch said in June. “This is not philanthropy; it is merchandising. These corporate tie-ins give new meaning to panhandling in the park.”

But it's not that black-and-white, said Mr. Francis, who spent four decades working for the Park Service, retiring in 2013 after eight years as superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

"I’d have to know the circumstances involved," he said when asked whether commercials should be filmed in parks. "I’d have to go through the questions to answer that question you’ve asked. There’s a nice set of (NPS) guidelines on issuing permits. If they’re followed well, you’ll get to the right decision.”

Bill Wade, who had a 30-year Park Service career that garnered him honors including the Department of the Interior Meritorious Service Award and the Distinguished Service Award, as well as the NPS Director’s Award for Natural Resources Stewardship, said that while decisions on what to permit are not always easily made, he agreed with Ms. Finnerty and Mr. Francis that training for park managers on what's appropriate is not as rigorous as it once was.

"I am worried that many park managers these days are not nearly as knowledgable about the NPS Management Policies as they should be, and that was the case a decade or two ago when there was more emphasis on educating them about law and policy, and the result is some bad decisions that are becoming precedent in other instances – further blurring the policies," he said. "Actually, I think the policies are pretty clear if they are read and interpreted correctly by park managers. The differentiator in all this is the 'purpose' of the activity. An activity, whatever it is, that is 'commercial' in nature is different from one that isn’t."

Mr. Wade also was of the opinion that the Subaru commercial at Shenandoah was different from a segment of the Ride With Norman Reedus show on AMC that was filmed in Death Valley National Park earlier this year. In that episode, "Balthazar Getty and Norman Reedus spend a night in Las Vegas and then ride out to Death Valley, enjoying the epic scenery."

They ride to the Furnace Creek Inn to crash before riding into the heart of the desert in the morning. Nina Kaplan, Anya Violet and Ashmore Ellis from Babes Ride Out, an all-female bike collective, come along for the ride on Harley Sportsters and a Triumph Bonneville T100.

The group plans to take Artist's Drive until they reach their destination: Dante's View. While riding through the vast landscape of peaks and dunes, Norman exclaims, "It's so wild west out here!" When the group stops to admire their surroundings, Norman says he finally understands why people love the desert.

At Death Valley, spokeswoman Abby Wines said the producers paid a $200 permit fee for the filming, which involved a cast and crew of 32, and $50 per hour for park staff to monitor.

A television show was filmed in Death Valley National Park under a commercial use permit/NPS

"There is a big difference between the filming in Death Valley, which presumably was covered under an authorized commercial filming permit with an appropriate fee, and the filming in Shenandoah, which, although covered by a permit, had a completely different purpose – at least to begin with – which was to support the (NPS) centennial," Mr. Wade said. "My understanding is that this activity was justified not as a commercial activity, but one that was to benefit the NPS (via the National Park Foundation). The fact that the Suburu 'commercial' was used differently than might have been fully disclosed at the beginning was, maybe, an unforeseeable outcome.

"So the difference is, or is supposed to be, who gets the benefit."

Across the park system, every day events and activities exert impacts to the parks: road work, trail improvements, even traffic. Some, of course, might be more egregious than others.

"Any of these are certain to have 'visitor' impacts. But so does NPS road and trail work, staffing limitations at visitor centers, and a bunch of other things, depending on what visitors are 'impacted' and in what ways," explained Mr. Wade. "Is a group of bicyclists any different than a family reunion in terms of their rights to visit a park? So could it not be said that a 'citizens ride' such as occurred on the Trail Ridge Road (assuming there was no commercial aspect to it) is a legitimate visitor activity, even though they are visiting on bicycles rather than automobiles (and maybe are getting a more intimate experience with the park resources than those who have it zip by their auto windows)?

"The challenge of managing competing, but legitimate visitor interests is different than managing commercial vs. non-commercial uses of the park. Neither is easy, but I think there are more specific answers to the challenge of managing commercial uses in the policies than the other challenge. They just need to be read and followed."

Skyline Drive was temporarily closed in October 2015 to allow Subaru to film a commercial promoting the NPS Centennial/Kurt Repanshek file photo

Difficult at times to understand is why the Tour of Utah event at Zion gets attention yet the Ride the Rockies event at Rocky Mountain, with 20 times the number of cyclists, doesn't. Too, proponents of commercial events at times will point to these "citizen rides" when arguing for their event to be permitted.

At Rocky Mountain, park officials realize the interest in cycling across Trail Ridge Road, which rises above 12,000 feet, and work with large groups to ensure both their safety and manage the impact on other visitors. Not only were the organizers of this year's Ride the Rockies charged a permit fee of $300 to include one stage through the park for the tour held back in June, but each cyclist was charged a $10 entrance fee, and if they had a support vehicle, that driver also was assessed an entrance fee, said spokeswoman Kyle Patterson.

"We charged the event coordinators our un-programmed and overtime costs related to this event, which was approximately $4,600. Additional staff time was absorbed through base operations," she said. 

Vehicular traffic across Trail Ridge Road was not closed for the event, either, she said, unlike at Zion, where the road that runs from Springdale, Utah, at the south entrance to the east entrance at Mount Carmel will be temporarily closed for the Tour of Utah.

"There was two-way traffic at all times. Cyclists must ride single-file in Rocky Mountain National Park, so this was no exception," Ms. Patterson explained. "As part of their permit, we required the cyclists to be through the Grand Lake Entrance by 8 a.m. and exit via the Fall River Entrance by 2:30 p.m."

No sponsor advertising was allowed along Trail Ridge Road, either, although some of the support vehicles might have had sponsorship "wraps," she said.

During his tenure at Blue Ridge Parkway, Mr. Francis was approached countless times for permits for special events.

"We said 'no' a lot. But we did finally find a way, if there was a time of day, and a day of the week, and a time of the year, when visitors wouldn’t be impacted, and if the duration was short, and if sufficient care was taken not to interfere with visitor activity or damage any kind of resources, and if they were willing to pay for any additional costs, we would permit it," he said. 

“You know, the very nature of the organization (NPS), there are going to be inconsistencies, it’s very decentralized," Ms. Finnerty interjected. "While we hope all these (park managers) apply law, regulation, and policy, some things are more grey. Some things are clearly black and white. The Subaru thing at Shenandoah was a tricky one because Subaru is one of the partners of the centennial, and this was supposedly a benefit for Find Your Park, but clearly it also benefitted Subaru.

“That could have gone either way.”

At the end of the day, the Management Policies state that special events "may be permitted by the superintendent when (1) there is a meaningful association between the park area and the event, and (2) the event will contribute to visitor understanding of the significance of the park area."

Critics of the Tour of Utah ride through Zion wonder what "meaningful association" the ride has with the park, and how the event "will contribute to visitor understanding of the significance of the park area."

Additionally, in general the Management Policies say, "The Park Service will not permit the staging of an event in an area that is open to the public, or the closure of an area that is open to the public, when the event is conducted primarily for the material or financial benefit of a for-profit entity," a section that apparently was waived to allow the Tour of Utah ride through Zion and possibly the Subaru commercial.

Beyond the political realities of the times, those at the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks maintain today's park superintendents need more training when it comes to what the Management Policies cover and how they should be interpreted.

"Absolutely they’re sufficient," Ms. Finnerty said of the guidelines. "They’re there. They (park managers) have to read them, they have to apply them. If you listen to one of our distinguished members, Deny Galvin (a former deputy director of the Park Service), he says, 'They’re in the damn policy book, when was the last time anybody read the policy book?'"