Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has refused Grand Canyon National Park's request to close due to the coronavirus pandemic/Rebecca Latson file
Editor's note: This updates with some services reduced at Grand Canyon National Park, but park remains open.
Hours after Coconino County officials in Arizona, frustrated that Grand Canyon National Park is still open despite the worsening coronavirus pandemic, urged Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on Thursday to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and close the park, the National Park Service announced some operational changes at the park.
However, the South Entrance remained open, entrance fees were not being collected, and visitors were being allowed to enjoy overlooks along the South Rim of the park. Backcountry permits for camping at Bright Angel, Indian Garden, and the Cottonwood campgrounds were suspended, as was access to the Bright Angel, South Kaibab, and North Kaibab trails. Reservations for the Mather Campground also were suspended, as were those for the South Rim Trailer Village.
Meanwhile, the Coconino County Board of Supervisors was hoping that other "local, state and federal officials" would join them in seeking the park's full closure.
Shutting down the park was necessary "for the safety and health of Coconino County healthcare providers, residents and visitors," read a letter sent from the county board of supervisors to Bernhardt on Thursday.
"The Grand Canyon is the crown jewel of parks across the county and country. However, it is important that the park adheres to proven guidance to help slow the spread of COVID-19," read the letter. "Social distancing measures in response to pandemics work. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, closures aimed to reduce the spread of infection have been proven to be extremely effective. Keeping the park open and allowing travelers from all over the world to come here and risk spreading COVID-19 is an unnecessary risk."
Last weekend a similar letter from Colorado officials convinced Bernhardt to close Rocky Mountain National Park. In that situation, Estes Park Mayor Todd A. Jirsa said his town would be overwhelmed if the coronavirus pandemic swept over the bucolic gateway town.
"We have an older, high-risk population with many retirees, and limited critical resources," the mayor wrote. "Some of our businesses are closing and others are on restrictions to comply with public health orders. Medical and emergency servides, as well as basic supplies like groceries, must be available to meet the needs of our community at this time.
"Estes Park is not in a position to support the potential needs of extra guests at this time."
Earlier Thursday, the Interior secretary was strongly criticized by the head of the National Parks Conservation Association, who called Bernhardt "beyond reckless" for failing to act.
“Many of our most iconic national parks remain open during this public health crisis, and this could come at great risk. National parks are home to some of our country’s greatest natural wonders, and the parks are designed to direct visitors to them. While visitors expect to encounter crowds on popular trails and overlooks under normal circumstances, during this global pandemic it could put them in harm’s way," said NPCA President and CEO Theresa Pierno.
“Warnings on the National Park Service website and closed park facilities are not enough to deter people. In fact, the visitors are still coming in droves. Parking lots are full and attractions are too crowded as people try to seek respite in this incredibly stressful time," she added. "On a popular trail in the Grand Canyon, a ranger had 600 contacts with visitors in just one day, proving that social distancing just isn’t possible, despite people’s best intentions. If an outbreak were to occur in one of these parks, the rural community hospitals and staff would be overrun.
“Secretary Bernhardt’s refusal to close iconic parks like the Grand Canyon and Zion, despite pleas from national park staff and local communities, is beyond reckless. He is needlessly putting lives at risk by operating as if this is business as usual."
Pierno added that the Interior secretary's stance was "giving people a false sense of security by inviting them to national parks, despite the risk."
Mary Risser, the national park's acting superintendent, had met earlier this week with area officials to get their input on whether the park should close in the face of the pandemic, and indicated her position was to close the park.
"Our board weighed in and supported the park superintendent’s recommendation. The Interior secretary denied that, and then so the board followed up with a letter directly to the Interior secretary asking them to reconsider," Matt Rudig, the public information officer for Coconino County, told the Traveler on Thursday.
There were reports that the acting director of the National Park Service's Intermountain Region office had supported the decision to close. National Park Service officials in Grand Canyon National Park did not respond to a request for comment.
Alexandra Picavet, the acting chief spokesperson in the agency's Washington, D.C., headquarters, said Thursday evening that Park Service officials were evaluating "the conditions and operation" at the park and that the Park Service had not made a decision about closing Grand Canyon.
"We have not sent a request to the secretary of the Interior specific to Grand Canyon National Park," she said.
Across the country more than three dozen parks have closed, including such iconic ones as Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, and even Valley Forge. Why Grand Canyon and Zion national parks have remained open has drawn criticism from some circles.
Last week Zion National Park staff in Utah posted a photo of a crowd of hikers passing each other as they were either on their way up or down the popular Angels Landing Trail and used it as an example of park visitors not practicing social distancing. Days later the park closed the trail, and on Wednesday it also closed its two sprawling campgrounds in Zion Canyon.
At the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, Phil Francis said he had been told that Shenandoah National Park's superintendent also was denied permission to close that park. While the coalition has not yet called for all national parks to close because of the pandemic, Francis said they were close to making that call.
At the Southwest Utah Health Department, spokesperson David Heaton said Thursday that the department doesn't see a sizable risk in keeping Zion open. According to the department, there have been seven confirmed COVID-19 cases in its five-county jurisdiction. Six of those are in Washington County, which part of Zion touches.
For now, the health board is urging residents and visitors to practice social distancing, and schools, universities, churches, nursing homes, and other facilities in the counties have already been temporarily closed.
Heaton said a health department employee who lives in Springdale, the main gateway to Zion, told him Thursday morning that visitor traffic was way down from usual levels.
"She said it's markedly light in Springdale as far as people coming through into the park," the spokesman said.
Comments
Trump is awful but there is no reason the grand canyon should close. The area is so vast that it is easy to avoid other humans. I have been there during slow times and along the 23 mile stretch I barely saw any cars. However, they should definitely shut down all services and only allow folks to drive along the 64. There is plenty to see from your car with relatively low risk of ever seeing, much less coming in contact with another human. The views along route 64 can easily be seen from your vehicle so there is no need to even get out of your car, which I am a fan of. Finally, the 64 connects the reservation and those traveling along on 89 to the 40 and 180.
Yes, Trump is awful; but, there most certainly is a reason, a good reason, for the Coconino County Board of Supervisors and other leaders in northern Arizona to want the Grand Canyon closed, despite the hit to the local econemy, and it has nothing to do with whether it is or is not easy for visitors to avoid other humans from their cars.
Let's try to get this information across one more time and see if we can get it to stick. Many people, a significant percentage, who are infected with COVID-19 and actually fully contagious are asymptomatic, which means they are carriers of the disease and can spread it to others; but, they either do not yet have, no longer have, may not have had, or may never have noticeable symptoms. The infamous unintentional serial killer known as "Typhoid Mary" never had any noticeable symptoms of typhoid fever, yet her many victims did.
The reasons that local leaders in communities around national parks want the parks completely closed is that these communities are usually smaller towns or villages with smaller, less developed, medical facilities that have less capability and less surge capacity to treat any significant number of seriously ill patients. When these national parks are, in any way, shape, or form, open, they attract visitors from long distances. These visitors often come from areas that have known COVID-19 outbreaks and some are infected carriers of the virus. They then come through airports, often smaller nearby regional airports, where they interact with airline and airport personnel and other travelers; they stop at rental car counters and interact with people there; they stop at gas stations; they go to the local grocery store to get snacks and water; and they shed the virus as they exchange money or use credit card terminals and come into contact with handrails, doors, door handles, and restroom fixtures. And, although they may have left home feeling fine, they can also become seriously ill during their visit. These are all activities that can spread the infection among the local population, as well as leave local leaders, local medical staff, and local park staff facing the challenge of using small town capabilities to deal with what should be big city problems.
These are not hypothetical concerns. There are already several examples of where seemingly innocent gatherings resulted in serious local outbreaks. The small local communities in central Colorado are now dealing with a COVID-19 "hotspot" that formed after a party of wealthy visitors, some foreign and some domestic, a group that included at least one asymptomatic carrier, decided to defy the pandemic and hit the ski slopes around Aspen and Vail. Although the local business community is trying to keep things quiet, the local medical infrastructure is now dealing with the result.
When someone thoughtlessly posts directions to a national park, including suggestions for long distance highway routes, and does so in defiance of the urgings of local authorities to please stay away and despite national pleas for self-quarantining until the pandemic starts to subside, they make themselves directly culpable for the outcome. Let me reiterate my personal plea that we all commit to listening carefully to the advice of properly educated and qualified experts and continuing to ignore any and all guidance offered by those lacking such education and qualifications.
Rump --- don't bother. In over a decade that I've personally observed, his behavior has not changed, nor his rhetorical style, and never ---NEVER --- in that ten years or more has he ever conceded a point on any matter under discussion. There are names for that sort of behavior, names no one would willingly wear.
Rick, provide some evidence to prove me wrong and I will be happy to concede, as I have indeed done in the past. Problem is, your style is to make baseless accusations and then run when confronted Since Rump has failed to do so, perhaps you would like to explain how acting park superintendents are going to invoke the 25th amendment for the removal of the President.
Well, I certainly can't "explain how acting park superintendents are going to invoke the 25th amendment for the removal of the President" because park superintendents, whether acting or not, are actually not, in any way other than perhaps as witnesses, part of the 25th amendment process, which you should know if you're going to be opining on it. But, I have to give you credit for a comment with a level of passive-aggressive spin that would have made Joseph Goebbels proud. And, although your punctuation still needs work, you seem to have spelled it all correctly.
"Since Rump has failed to do so, perhaps you would like to explain how acting park Iuperintendents are going to invoke the 25th amendment for the removal of the President. "
Since neither of us has any idea what you're talking about, I have to ask if you're running a fever? It's one of the first signs of COVID19.
"Well, I certainly can't "explain"
Then why did you say it. Someone noted the high number of "acting" superintendents in the article. You replied it was purposeful. Your point three was it would weaken the ability to do a 25th amendement removal. "Third, it's very hard to invoke the 25th Amendment when almost all of the "the principal officers of the executive departments" are just lower level party flunkies who have been "snookered" into positions as "acting" department secretaries." Why would that be a reason for acting park superintendents and why would you make the statement when in fact only one of the current Department heads is "acting"? I don't doubt you knew the 25th amendment was limited to the Department Heads, that there is only one acting Department head currently and as such he is a fully qualified as a acting Director to vote for 25th Amendment removal. But you inserted the comment as an explaination for acting park superintendents, I suppose because you assumed nobody else new the difference and it was a chance to excercise your TDS.
Rump, did you mention the 25th amendment? I don't recall ever doing so, or even what it would have to do with the Park Service or any particular park, for that matter. Did you know, btw, that the best definition for TDS "those so delusional as to follow him, even as people are dying as a result".