Planning is beginning to reopen parks, but there's no timeline on how those openings will be handled/Rebecca Latson file

While more than 52,000 Americans have died from coronavirus, and the global death toll has passed 200,000, political and economic pressures are mounting for a return to pre-coronavirus economic activity. While the National Park Service is beginning the planning to reopen parks that have been closed by the pandemic, there's no firm timeline yet for when those openings will occur.

For park managers, they'll have to weigh the risk of spreading the virus against economic pressures from their gateway towns.

"Whereas four weeks ago there was near unanimity on the temporary park closure, that is starting to shift substantially, and I expect it will continue to shift even more in the upcoming weeks," Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly told the Traveler on Friday in an email. "Over $1 billion spent by visitors in local economies within 60 miles of Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Many of our partners in gateways are stressed; they want to be safe and cautious, but also are feeling major economic strains. This will get worse as time progresses."

Businesses in those gateway towns typically are starting to ramp up operations for the summer, but right now "you’ve got people without paychecks, furloughed, their livelihoods are dependent on these parks being open," said Sholly. "That doesn’t mean we open unsafely, but people are having very real challenges and those need to be considered."

In an email Saturday to regional directors and park superintendents, acting National Park Service Director David Vela said he and his deputies were working with Interior Department officials "on the framework for a gradual resumption of operations."

"The safety and health of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners continues to be paramount to our operational approach," Vela continued. "Decisions on a phased recovery of operations will be made in each park or support office based on what is occurring in the respective state and local community. White House guidance requires certain conditions be met to understand the status of the pandemic in a particular area of the country before phased recovery may begin."

"I expect the visiting public, when we do open, to take responsibility for adhering to local, state, and national health guidance. The NPS is not going to be the social distancing police." -- Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly.

At Grand Teton National Park, "our operational approach will be to examine each facility function and service provided to ensure those operations comply with current public health guidance," said Denise German, the park's spokesperson. "Decisions on a phased resumption of operations are being made on a park-by-park basis and regularly monitored. 

"One of the most critical issues we are working on is the significant impact the COVID 19 pandemic has on our ability to onboard seasonal employees," she continued. "A key consideration with the onboarding of seasonals is protecting them from the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in shared housing. At this time, about 55 seasonal employees will be onboarded prior to May 24 that work mission-essential duties (e.g. first responders, maintenance, etc.)."

Back at Yellowstone, the superintendent predicted a conservative approach to reopening, but one that can be ramped up "quickly if conditions are favorable, or contract if they are not."

"Safety of our teams is paramount. We are developing a wide range of mitigation actions to put into place for team members who may be in direct contact with the public," said Sholly. "We haven't finalized the plan, but what you will likely see is a phased approach, with limited facilities initially, then more facilities coming on line as we progress through time, if it's safe to do so."