Overcrowding in Utah's 5 National Parks

[accadacca]

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s booming tourism industry is causing both economic growth and costly growing pains at two gateway cities leading to some of the state’s acclaimed Mighty 5 national parks.

“We weren’t ready for them and now we’re trying to play catch up,” Springdale Mayor Stan Smith said of the increase in visitors to Zion National Park. “It’s a two-edged sword.”

Last year, a record 4.3 million people passed through Zion — a sharp uptick from just half a decade ago in 2011 when the park hosted 2.8 million guests.

Over at Arches National Park, it’s a similar situation as park rangers figure out how to deal with traffic jams and sewage from the additional visitors.

“Take it one car at a time, one visitor at a time,” Arches National Park Ranger Jodi Rupp told fellow employees at the entrance station. “We are a bucket list park for a lot of folks wanting to see Delicate Arch.”

Rupp believes the surge in tourists is the new normal and “not going away.” In 2016, 1.6 million visitors entered Arches, compared with just over 1 million in 2011.

Mighty 5 Campaign

Utah’s award-winning Mighty 5 advertising campaign is credited with putting Utah’s red rock country on the map. The highly produced ads showcase the Beehive State as a one-stop destination for accessing five national parks collectively known as the Mighty 5.

“The Mighty 5 was a huge, spectacular breakthrough,” said Vickie Varela, director of the Utah Office of Tourism.

The advertising blitz has been so successful that Smith said some locals want the promotions to stop.

“The biggest problem is not having enough employees,” Smith said of Springdale, which sits directly outside the entrance of Zion.

“We get both credit and blame,” Varela said of the increased visitation since the launch of the campaign in 2013.

“We can all feel proud that our state is beloved around the world,” Varela said. “The challenges are big enough to see and small enough to solve.”

Varela said her office is listening to the management at Utah’s national parks as they work to manage the ever-increasing popularity.

Visitor Management Plans

To deal with overcrowding, officials at Arches and Zion are currently developing Visitor Use Management Plans that could include timed-entry reservation systems and daily visitor caps.

“The goal is that visitors come here, they enjoy their time here and they leave happy,” said Arches National Park Superintendent Kat Cannon. “We’ve got to take these steps now so that we can get ahead of it.”

Congestion at Arches could get worse before it gets better, Cannon said, due to major road construction this summer inside the park that will include an additional entrance lane to keep traffic from backing up on Highway 191.

“This is huge,” Cannon said of the project. “It will be very disruptive.”

Meanwhile, park officials at Zion National Park are studying similar approaches to visitation with the hopes of protecting the visitor experience and the natural resources of the park.

Even this January, as Zion battled flooding and rockslides, visitation set a record of nearly 90,000 people.

“We have to do something,” said Zion National Park public information officer John Marciano. “We want people to come here and still enjoy this beautiful park.”

Key to Zion’s approach will be deciding whether certain hikes, like the crowded Angels Landing, should require a permit and if the rangers should turn people away at the entrance gate if the canyon gets too full.

Local Economies

In the towns just outside Arches and Zion, the exploding visitation is being felt in positive ways for local businesses.

“It’s been great for the local economy; great for small business like ours,” said Nick Oldham with High Point Hummer and ATV. “We’re loving it.”

The company is moving into a new building in order to accommodate more customers.

"We’re growing,” Oldham said, while acknowledging that the only challenge for him is finding respite from the crowds. “I have to go further and further back country to seek solitude.”

“It kind of depends what side of the tourism you are on,” said Mike Sherman, who has lived in Moab for three decades.

Most locals embrace tourism because of the economic benefits, Sherman explained, even if they do wax nostalgic from time to time.

“It’s kind of sad to see the old sleepy, little town disappear,” he said.

Besides direct proceeds from visitor spending, the towns also benefit from the taxes collected from tourists. The Utah Office of Tourism announced this month that travelers spent $8.17 billion in Utah in 2015 and contributed $1.15 billion in state and local taxes.

“Tourism significantly bolsters the economy and strengthens our tax base,” Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said in a press release prepared by the tourism office.

Smith said he is constantly reminding residents of the benefits of tourism and the taxes collected, which subsidize city services like road construction and public safety departments.

“All that wouldn’t be possible if the tourists weren’t here,” he said.

Growing Pains

“We’re probably the motel capital of the state,” Grand County Building Official Jeff Whitney said of Moab. “I got an application for another one yesterday.”

In Moab, the surge of visitors has overwhelmed the city’s aging sewage treatment plant. To maintain water-quality standards, the city has implemented a six-month moratorium on sewage connections for hotels and businesses.

“That’s a huge amount of waste that we are processing,” Whitney said.

The city is in a race against the clock to build a new $12 million wastewater treatment facility. Until it’s completed, the current facility is no longer accepting trucked-in sewage from nearby campgrounds and Arches National Park.

“There’s really only one industry that benefits virtually every county in the state and that’s tourism,” Varela said.

Seeking more funding for the operation Utah’s national parks will be a key priority for her office this year, Varela said, adding that the parks have seen funding cuts in recent years, even as visitation skyrocketed.

The answer to some of the tourism-related problems could actually be more tourism. That is why tourism officials on the state and local level are working to increase tourism in the offseason.

Making Utah’s national parks year-round destinations could possibly ease visitation during the peak summer months. Also, it would allow businesses in tourist towns to offer more than seasonal employment.

“People have mortgage payments, they don’t go away; your food bills don’t go away nor do your utilities,” said Elaine Gizler, director of the Moab Area Travel Council. “So we’d like to keep people employed 12 months a year.”

The effort also seeks to spread tourists out geographically.

Building on the success of the Mighty 5, the Utah’s tourism office has launched the “Road To Mighty” campaign, which encourages road trips on Utah’s 27 scenic byways through smaller towns and to lesser-known attractions, including state parks.

“The research indicates that visitors are having a spectacular experience here,” Varela said.


https://www.ksl.com/?sid=43258317

[Sombeech]

The city is in a race against the clock to build a new $12 million wastewater treatment facility.

Well at least it's not an oil drilling rig, those things are an eyesore and they kill baby Polar Bears. Sewage treatments are so much more pleasing to the eye. Instead of dark brown liquid harvested from the earth, it will be dark brown liquid harvested from humans.

A further contrast between the 2 facilities:

• One of these structures have never been on any plans to be constructed near a National Park, ever.
• One of these facilities would not only be an eyesore, but a nose sore.
• Each of these facilities would involve a "pipeline", but only one of them would be protested.

[kd7kmp]

The following quote sums it up for me:

"We’re growing,” Oldham said, while acknowledging that the only challenge for him is finding respite from the crowds. “I have to go further and further back country to seek solitude.”

My family and I have started visiting Arches, Canyonlands, etc., (our, well, my favorite NPs) over the Christmas holiday to avoid crowds. The weather can be a bit dicey, but it's worth it to avoid the crowds.

At least my line of work gets me out often into the backcountry where nary a person is seen or encountered.

Kevin
"I'm not prejudice, I hate everybody!"

[jman]

If people want to avoid crowds then don't do the touristy things. Easy as that. :)

I have been in Zion in the hottest of days, playing in water, having a lot of fun and not seeing anyone else the entire day (except for at the trailheads).

Same with Moab. There are other things to see besides Delicate and Devils Garden. Just saying.

Most folks just aren't willing to put in the work to see these places. It's all seem from their cars and walked in their flip flops.



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[savanna3313]

Interesting. Hopefully it will help local businesses. I always wanted to have a "traveling" snowball stand (that makes New Orleans style snowballs) and park at the end of some trail heads and move here and there to accommodate hot and thirsty hikers. People that own such in Louisiana make enough between Easter and October to take off the rest of the year. I figure the summer season in Zion and the surrounding areas would do the trick each year. btw - I'm coming back to Utah in a few months, but have decided to settle in the St. George area instead of the SLC area this time. Many years ago, when my parents used to bring us West for our summer vacations, I wanted to live in Springdale. It won't be in Springdale, but I will be close. Never say never. If I don't put the snowball plan into action, I plan to find a rich OLD widower and kill him with "kindness"!

[jman]

Interesting. Hopefully it will help local businesses. I always wanted to have a "traveling" snowball stand (that makes New Orleans style snowballs) and park at the end of some trail heads and move here and there to accommodate hot and thirsty hikers. People that own such in Louisiana make enough between Easter and October to take off the rest of the year. I figure the summer season in Zion and the surrounding areas would do the trick each year. btw - I'm coming back to Utah in a few months, but have decided to settle in the St. George area instead of the SLC area this time. Many years ago, when my parents used to bring us West for our summer vacations, I wanted to live in Springdale. It won't be in Springdale, but I will be close. Never say never. If I don't put the snowball plan into action, I plan to find a rich OLD widower and kill him with "kindness"!

What's a snowball? I'm presuming it's similar to "shaved ice"?

If so, then yes. There are a few in st George and do really well. And in Springdale - you would make a ton of money. Everyone would stop.

K, wait, I'm in on this now. I'll be your manager and co-owner! :)


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[savanna3313]

I guess the only equivalent thing I can think of already in Utah would be the shaved ice/Hawaii Ice/etc. However, it's no comparison. In New Orleans, there is a snow ball (some call it snow cones) machine that is unlike anything anywhere else. It actually makes the ice come out like powder and was designed by a local man 50+ years ago. You can purchase the syrups that are locally made as well. I know one guy who owns a stand in a suburb of New Orleans, he operates Easter through Halloween and takes off the rest of the year. His profit is mid 6 figures for his time opened. I have a couple of names I think would work well. Think about it......something that costs you around .40 to make and you sell anywhere from $3 to $7 depending on toppings, size, etc. Surrounded by beauty and I'm sure being able to meet amazing people from all over the world.....works for me. We could have several vehicles (think ice cream vendors - just more current) and hit multiple spots in the area. There is a company here in Austin that park about a dozen little shiny airstream trailers around town and they only sell cupcakes. 2 sorority sisters from UT started it up and they are making a fortune. One place isn't profitable, it's moved to another location. It's called "Hey! Cupcake" I like being an entrepreneur.