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Visitation to public lands, and especially national parks, has been climbing for decades. While lands saw a brief respite during the pandemic last year, visitors returned in full force later in the summer. This summer, national parks across the country are easily on track for record-breaking visitation seasons, causing extended lines, closures, and frustration from both visitors and land managers. As a result, some national parks, such as Rocky Mountain and Yosemite, have brought back their pandemic-season reservation systems. Arches National Park is considering a similar system: the park has already been forced to close its gates over 80 times so far in 2021.
The overcrowding issue in parks highlights problems that park officials and land managers have raised concerns about for years. National parks are underfunded and overrun, and the problems aren't limited to national parks. A recent report found that last year national forests and grasslands saw 25% more visitors than in 2019, with the most significant increases in wilderness areas and dispersed recreation sites. At the same time as national forests are being overrun, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is understaffed and underfunded. As a result, some counties in Colorado have spent their own tax dollars to pay USFS employees, highlighting the need for public lands management funding.
However, there's also good news: the American public lands system offers many less crowded destinations that are also awe-inspiring, Instagram-worthy, and road-trip-deserving. Check out the least visited national parks, and consider visiting them or finding other under-utilized public lands near you!
Booming public lands visitation shows the deep desire of Americans to get outside and experience our treasured protected areas and conserved landscapes. The problem highlights the need for improved outdoor access for all people, as not everyone can afford to travel for their nature fix. Part of the solution must be to match supply to demand and conserve 30% of America by 2030 while ensuring that conservation efforts focus on user access. This expansion of protections and conservation programs must come hand-in-hand with increased funding, and will ensure that generations of Americans can enjoy the wonders of our great nation.
Record-breaking heatwaves sweep across America
Climate models have predicted heatwaves such as those that swept across America in the past week, pushing temperatures to new triple-digit heights across the West. Over the past few days, all-time heat records were made in cities thousands of miles apart, including Sacramento, Las Vegas, Denver, and Phoenix. In Death Valley National Park, nighttime temperatures stayed above 111 degrees Fahrenheit past midnight, among the hottest nights ever recorded on the continent. Even with relief in sight this week, a new heatwave is already gaining steam along the northern Pacific coast.
It's clear that what climate models have predicted is coming true. For decades, scientists have warned that climate change would fuel higher temperatures, falling humidity, dwindling snowpack, and intensifying drought. The West’s current drought appears to be without precedent in recorded history, and dry soils and forests have primed the region for an eruption of wildfires that has already begun. We are truly in a climate crisis.
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Our public lands present our best chance to address climate change, our biodiversity crisis and invest in our local communities and economy."
