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It might sound crazy, but if you're planning on backpacking or camping on public lands this summer, now is the time to start looking into reserving a spot. A Center for Western Priorities (CWP) analysis of reservable camping spaces at federal and local public lands between 2014 and 2020 showed more than 95% of sites were taken at peak periods, with an overall 39% increase in summer camping at public spaces.
Camping reservations aren't the only thing that has exploded—day use has skyrocketed, too. According to the latest State of the Rockies Project Conservation in the West poll from Colorado College, about 58% of Coloradans said crowding in the last two to three years has changed where and how they recreate. The Colorado Sun recently reported on the increased visitation to state parks along Colorado's Front Range with results showing it has doubled or nearly tripled in recent years. Jefferson County Open Space believes visitation surpassed 7 million last year across 28 sites, and officials expect use to keep climbing, especially as motorists now have the option to add a discounted state parks pass to their vehicle registration.
The challenge for land managers is how to deal with the impacts of increased visitation without provoking a public backlash against new rules and procedures, including mandatory shuttles from remote lots, parking fee add-ons, timed entry, seasonal trail closures for wildlife protection, and extra fees for non-residents. “You do have to be ready to say OK, first come, first served doesn’t work if you have an entrance line that’s a half mile long every day. We have to find a better solution," said Aaron Weiss, CWP's deputy director.
Rather than forcing everyone to use online reservation systems or pay discouragingly high fees, one part of the solution could include meeting the demand for places to recreate by protecting more open land, a proposal that is in line with the Biden administration’s executive order seeking to protect 30% of U.S. land and water by 2030. The Sierra Club is fighting for more open space and recreation opportunities closer to cities, and by its own definition of “nearby,” 100 million Americans lack easy access to open space. Jackie Ostfeld, director of Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All campaign says, “Increased use of state and federal lands is a good thing, and the solution isn’t to curtail access, but rather increase it by conserving more land and removing barriers to entry from those who feel excluded or unable to access the outdoors.”
New podcast: High gas prices and oil industry lies
Gas prices are going crazy in much of the U.S. right now, and the oil and gas industry has been quick to blame President Joe Biden. It’s using the Ukrainian crisis—and the resulting global oil and gas shortage—to push for more leasing and less regulation on U.S. public lands. But is a lack of access to our public lands really behind rising gas prices? We put the question to Jenny Rowland-Shea, deputy director of public lands at the Center for American Progress, and Jesse Prentice-Dunn, our very own policy director, and they refute Big Oil’s claims using cold, hard leasing and permitting data. Listen to the latest episode of The Landscape to hear their conversation.
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Prioritizing what’s in a name may seem trivial amid the greater goals of reducing emissions and advancing sustainability. But when we identify the climate crisis as one caused by a continuous breakdown of our relationships to the natural world—our kinship connection to life itself—correcting this crisis begins with reexamining the respect we have for the land, and ultimately, for each other."
