During the past few months of watching the coronavirus pandemic roil the National Park System and those who love to visit it, a couple things have bubbled to the surface that the National Park Service should act on: Extend annual passes that are to run out in 2020 for two or three months, and make park reservations a norm where obviously necessary.
The first, extending annual passes, makes sense and would buy the Park Service some good will, and the second would solve a range of problems that are impacting parks and park staff.
While it's absolutely true that the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass gets one onto public lands beyond the National Park System, is there anything preventing the National Park Service from accepting passes that expire in 2020 for an additional two months to make up for parks being closed due to the coronavirus pandemic? The Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other federal lands management agencies can choose whether to extend passes on their own.
What's the harm of extending a pass for the parks? It doesn't impact the other public lands where the pass is accepted. And some parks already are extending their park-specific annual passes for two months (Everglades National Park, for example). And really, the good will wouldn't hurt.
As far as reservations to enter parks, have you seen what's going on at Zion National Park in Utah, where the shuttle system hasn't been running and so park staff have allowed only as many vehicles into Zion Canyon as the parking lots can hold? This from the park's Twitter feed:
- Visitors near the front of the line have been arriving at or around 4 a.m....
- Sunday 6/7 at 6:06 a.m.: Parking is full in the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. The scenic drive is closed until parking becomes available.
- Saturday 6/6 at 6:15 a.m. - Parking is full on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. The Scenic Drive is closed until space becomes available. Parking and information is available at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center.
- Friday 6/5 at 6:36 a.m. - Parking is full on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. The Scenic Drive is closed until space becomes available. Parking and information is available at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center.
- Thursday 6/4 at 6:53 a.m. - Parking is full on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. The Scenic Drive is closed until space becomes available. Parking and information is available at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center.
- Wednesday 6/3 at 7:35 a.m. - Parking is full on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. The Scenic Drive is closed until space becomes available. Parking and information is available at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center.
- Tuesday 6/2 at 7:05 a.m. - Parking is full on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. The Scenic Drive is closed until space becomes available. Parking and information is available at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center.
- The Scenic Drive will reopen each day only if space is available. There is no schedule or place to wait. We recommend having a backup plan. Check in at the visitor center for more info.
See the trend? Not only do lots of folks want to visit Zion Canyon, but they're willing to arrive as early as 4 a.m. to ensure they get in these days. And the odds look pretty good that if you arrive after 6:30 a.m. or 7 a.m., you'll have to wait until some folks leave the canyon.
Instituting a reservation system for parks where crowding is a problem (and not only in these coronavirus pandemic days) would alleviate this mad rush to get into a park, and likely alleviate some bad temper/frustrations expressed by late arrivers.
Rocky Mountain National Park officials implemented a reservation system for this summer to try to avoid crowding in the park, which attracted more than 4.6 million visitors last year. They say it will only last for this summer, but the results might convince them to rethink a longer term use of that approach. Yosemite National Park officials are expected to adopt a similar system when they open.
Acadia National Park last year adopted a reservation system that will be instituted incrementally for some parts of the park during the peak summer months.
More than likely reservations wouldn't be required year-round in parks (though Zion's 'crowd season' seems to be getting longer and longer), but focused rather on the busy summer months.
What are the benefits of a reservation system? Here are a few:
- Park managers could better manage visitation levels to protect park resources.
- Visitors would know that they'd be able to get into the park of their choice when they arrive at the entrance gate with a reservation in hand.
- Park staffing levels could be geared against a known visitation level.
What are the negatives? There are a few, as well:
- Some traveling spontaneity would fall by the wayside.
- Could the Park Service come up with a reservation system that wouldn't fall prey to bots and scalpers?
- How would reservations that are canceled due to weather or other factors (wildfires) that close parks be handled?
- Would locals who consider a national park their "backyard" rebel?
Are these insurmountable problems? Probably not. Unappealing to some? No doubt.
But reservations already are an ingrained part for travelers. You usually need a motel reservation, a dining reservation, and a campground reservation. Elsewhere in American life some movie theaters allow you to reserve a ticket ahead of your arrival, and doctors and dentists expect you to schedule your visit. Airline reservations are good to have, too, along with rental car reservations.
In fact, many parks already utilize a reservation system for camping, both front-country and backcountry. Why? To protect park resources. And don't forget your lodge reservation.
Instituting a park-wide reservation system for parks that routinely have to grapple with crowds only makes sense in these times of higher and higher visitation and fewer dollars for resource protection and staffing. Crowding, and overcrowding, in some parks in recent years has impacted natural resources, park staffing, and the visitor experience.
Would improving the quality of a park visit, and the health of a park's resources, by requiring a reservation be such a bad thing?
Comments
Arches N.P. tried to implement a reservation system and the businesses in Moab raised such a stink that it was squashed like a bug.
Greg, regarding your point about the relationship between NPS and local business - absolutely, that's what the law says, and the Supreme Court has agreed with the prioritization of preservation considerations over economic concerns (which I completely agree with). The reality is more complicated and political. Introducing a reservation system at the scale of an entire park is going to require support from adjacent communities (the level of support necessary will vary based on the political temperature of the day). Acadia engaged extensively with state and local officials, community members, and other parties on the way to launching its current transportation plan, which includes the introduction of reservations for accessing three areas of the park. Arches, as Marie notes, in recent memory released a plan for a reservation system that was very quickly scuttled due to community and political opposition, sending NPS back to the drawing board. Rocky worked closely with Estes Park for the current system. The issue doesn't have to be framed as being just about the profitability of local businesses. It seems more constructive to consider environmental, social, and economic concerns both continuously (through a park's ongoing relationships with community leaders and organizations) and through civic engagement when going through planning. Better and more sustainable conservation and visitor experience results are reached when communities are park advocates, not adversaries. Regardless of what the Antiquities Act says, it's helpful to make the business case for tools like a reservation system in order to get the community and political support they need. Doing so will actually help NPS not "bow to the demands of mass tourism but...shape that demand," in the paraphrased words of Joseph Sax.
I bought the pass in February 2020 for 2020... would love to see THAT extended.