Parks Overwhelmed by Record Numbers of Visitors

After a few months of respite from the tourist crowds, America's parks and public lands have seen a resurgence of visitors–and with it, the return of concerns about overcrowding, trash, and other management issues. As Jonathan Thompson writes in High Country News, tourist "numbers surged to record-breaking levels during the latter part of 2020 — a trend that was reflected and then some on the surrounding non-park lands." 

Throughout the United States, camping participation grew by 28%, or almost 8 million new campers. At Utah's state parks alone, visitation was up by 1.7 million people. The number of people who entered Yellowstone during Memorial Day weekend saw a 50% jump between 2019 and 2021. "Meanwhile, the agencies charged with overseeing the lands have long been underfunded and understaffed — a situation exacerbated by the global pandemic." To stem the overwhelming numbers of out-of-state visitors, Oregon has raised camping fees for non-residents.

"If nature did manage a little healing in the spring, by summer the wounds were ripped open again in the form of overuse, torn-up alpine tundra, litter, noise, car exhaust and crowd-stressed wildlife," says Thompson. And thanks to the surge in travelers who are new to the outdoors, "[s]earch and rescue teams, most of which are volunteer, were overwhelmed." 

As the summer of 2021 wears on, "[t]here is no end in sight: The first five months of 2021 have been the busiest ever for much of the West’s public lands. And tourist season has only just begun."