Changes are Coming to the National Parks

https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/index.htm

By Lydia Wandmacher

The national parks have had unprecedented visitation since the pandemic began. While outdoor recreation has become more in vogue over the past decade, the pandemic led to a steady increase in visitation. This visitation is not evenly distributed across all of the parks in the National Park System, however. In 2021, just twenty-five parks (out of 423 total) received over half of all national park visits. Of those twenty-five, eight parks accounted for 25% of visits. Additionally, forty-four parks set records for annual visitation in 2021, and six of those forty-four broke records that were set in 2020.

While an increase in love and enjoyment of the national parks means more people experiencing these wonders, there are also downsides. Rocky Mountain National Park (“RMNP”), which ranked fourteenth in attendance in 2021, is currently contemplating some major shifts to operations due to incidental harms caused by increases in visitation.

More people visiting has led to both trails becoming wider (trampling native vegetation) and the introduction of non-native vegetation to the park. There also has been an increase in “social trails,” or visitor-created trails, which mislead other visitors and trample vegetation. Park staff has also noticed an increase in litter and human waste along trails, which is unsightly and highly unsanitary, and an increase in illegal campfires, which has been linked to the rise in destructive wildfires in Colorado.

 Increased visitation also brings increased vehicle traffic to the park, which creates another realm of problems. RMNP has cited concerns about worsening air quality, impacts on wildlife migration and life patterns, and increasing illegal parking and road congestion (resulting in long delays and slower emergency response times).

Finally, RMNP has noted that increased visitation is increasing wear and tear on facilities, leading to higher water usage (which is especially important in drought-ridden Colorado), and higher amounts of frustration and hostility for everyone involved.

To deal with these issues, RMNP is contemplating various management systems. Under one such management system, RMNP is considering creating different zones for the park that will have different expectations for visitors about recreation opportunities, seclusion in nature, and facilities. The current proposed solution splits RMNP into three zones, with zone one being the most secluded and pristine experience, zone three covering areas like campgrounds and visitor centers, and zone two being in-between. RMNP is also considering modifications to the timed-entry system and parking management solutions.

 A national park cannot simply implement changes like this by itself. As the National Park Service is housed within the broader Department of the Interior, an executive agency, parks have to follow preset administrative policies. When creating rules, agencies have to provide notice and a commentary period open to anyone and everyone who may be affected by the rules, make a record of submitted comments, and conduct other formal rule-making procedures. In addition, parks have to comply with NEPA, which defines the process that all federal agencies must comply with when proposing actions that would impact the environment.

On May 6th of 2021, RMNP started this rule-making process. This press release notifying the public and requesting comments kicked off phase one, which was civic engagement. RMNP’s estimated timeline for this rule-making process can be found here.

RMNP had two public meetings, one on May 20, 2021 and the second on May 25, 2021, both of which were recorded and have been publicly posted for anyone to watch. 271 people attended the meetings, in total. These meetings were a chance for the public to talk to RMNP representatives about why new rules are needed and the substance of the proposed rules. There was also an opportunity for the public to ask questions and share their thoughts.

The comment submission period was originally set to end on July 19, 2021, but it was extended until July 26, 2021. At the end of the comment period, RMNP moved into phase two, which entailed reviewing all submitted comments and working on reports for phase three.

On January 31, 2022, RMNP entered phase three with a press release detailing the timeline of this rule-making process so far. The release also provides links to civic engagement summary documents: a scrubbed record of all submitted comments, an executive summary of the pre-NEPA report, and a pre-NEPA public comment summary.

RMNP received 3,853 comments from 571 different correspondences. About 78% of these correspondences originated from Colorado, with a smattering of comments from other states. Some outdoor recreation organizations also sent in correspondences. Writers had conflicting feelings about how to best deal with these growing problems.

Some commenters wanted to limit the number of visitors by limiting out-of-state or out-of-county visitors. Others specifically noted worries about unfairly limiting access and had additional concerns about impacts on people with technology barriers or limited mobility. The most common suggestion was for a timed-entry system, but there were also many commenters who listed that a timed-entry reservation system would hinder their ability to enjoy the park because timed-entry would cause limited trip flexibility, may disproportionately impact regular local visitors, and could discriminate against those without technology or who are economically disadvantaged. Separately, some suggested a modified entry system that would distinguish between groups who wished to drive through the park opposed to those using facilities or recreating.

While some wanted more infrastructure throughout the park, others were concerned about too much infrastructure impacting the pristine and wild nature of the landscape. Popular infrastructure suggestions included an additional visitor center, more parking areas, new restrooms, and additional roads and trails. Another suggestion was to use technology to show available space in parking areas. There were suggestions to increase entry points for different areas of the park to prevent bottlenecks, especially for those wishing to recreate in more secluded areas, or for an improved and expanded shuttle system. Matching these suggestions were concerns about construction, funding, and impacts to nature.

Some commenters found fee increases distressing, whereas others wanted increased fees to enable RMNP to have funds to change. As an alternative, some suggested a menu of fees based off socioeconomic status or desired uses of the park.

Other suggested solutions included increased education such as more signage, more ranger programs, or online quizzes or courses, as well as increased rule enforcement, increased staffing, and increased volunteer opportunities.

This upcoming summer, in 2022, RMNP will move into phase four, where it will use those public comments to refine and further develop the proposed rules. If you are concerned, interested, or just want to be involved in the rule-making process for some potentially drastic changes to RMNP, you still can be involved. In 2023, RMNP will again be taking public commentary when the formal NEPA-mandated process begins.

This article details only one example of how you can get involved with the rule-making process for national parks. Further, this piece describes only one of many proposed changes that national parks are looking at making. The pandemic drastically increased the already growing stream of visitors, bringing more problems to the parks. Instead of just being upset about timed entry or permit lottery systems, this author urges you to try getting involved, or at least try understanding the extensive processes that go into making changes. [1]