“If you want to help national parks right now, don’t go to national parks.”

[LoveCareThinkDo]

Here is an article titled, I'm a Park Ranger and I'm Worried About the Future of National Parks.

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/im-a-park-ranger-and-im-worried-about-the-future-of-national-parks

 

[user 423]

I have limited data and won't read the article but it's probably the same sentiment Edward Abbey had 50 years ago when he wrote "Desert Solitaire".

Add 110,000,000 people to the us population since then + millions of foreign visitors each year.

 

[bullfrog]

Remote locations which are duty stations in the National Parks usually have "shared housing" which means several share a bathroom. Under the Corona virus guidelines each person must have their own bathroom. This means the parks will be extremely understaffed and without fee collection underfunded and over run. Glen Canyon opened Wahweap main ramp for day use by local boaters on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The 15 of May they will be open to all boaters from anywhere. They registered 700 local boaters in the last few days. Memorial Day will see thousands of visitors. With few restrooms open if any or trash pickup and all staff on the ramps to try to get people checked in you can imagine what the park will look like in a few weeks. No testing, temperature checks or N95 masks (they provided homemade washable cloth ones though to be worn in temps over 100 degrees) to protect the employees in a state where they are open to travel even with a large number of new cases each day in an area where 30% of the residents have no running water, makes one wonder what will happen when there are even fewer employees to care and protect the resource. I have yet to see a visitor with a mask of any kind social distancing. You truly have to be a devoted seasonal to give up unemployment to make less money to come work in these conditions, wish all of you good luck and stay healthy!

 

[maki2]

Since most travel is still restricted to "essential" and there is very little affordable camping around I don't image the national parks will be hosting too many out of town visitors at present. Right now a lot of states have a 14 day quarantine requirement for people coming into the state from other states. What are people going to do, sit in a motel room for 14 days waiting until they get an "all clear" so they can go into a national park for a day use visit?

 

[bullfrog]

For the parks like Glen Canyon with visitors from all over the country and world, groups demanding openings have already started organizing mass intrusions into the parks. Several have regularly illegally gained access. There is a YouTube Video from a local news station showing what happened two weeks ago at Sand Hollow State Park. It is a small lake by Lake Powell standards that closed its gates at noon the first day it opened after over 2500 came through the gates. People lined the road for miles on both sides and climbed the fences to flock shoulder to shoulder on the beaches. Crazy! No wonder new cases rate continues to rise in the southwest states. Law enforcement is not capable of controlling the crowds and western sheriffs have refused to follow the governors orders in many cases. Who says the wild west is gone.

 

[crofter]

Here is an article titled, I'm a Park Ranger and I'm Worried About the Future of National Parks.

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/im-a-park-ranger-and-im-worried-about-the-future-of-national-parks

So true that parks will lose their revenue stream due to not collecting any fees. To collect fees, it is necessary to be on the ground and actively collect fees. Most people do stand about 6 feet away when paying, but no mask or gloves unless they are mandated (not).

Parks are requesting that visitors use online ways to pay to reduce contacts and cash handling. Park service somehow sees vault toilets as cleaner than flushies. I do not understand that part.

Are the parks "wearing out" due to so many visitors? It is a renewable resource. Altho some plants and animals do become extinct every day, the ecosystem does rebound. In order to limit visitation numbers, you would need even more rangers/ hosts on the ground. 
-crofter

 

[bullfrog]

I hope your water plant is working well as most of southern California gets water from the Colorado River. Let's see how 5,000 to 10,000 people a day pooping and peeing below the high water mark not to mention the several thousand pets that they bring along concerns anyone down stream in the next few months. In the past Lake Powell was called "Lake Foul". It only took 15 years or so of hard work to clean it up. More than hospitals can get overrun! LOL!!!

 

[bullfrog]

I sure hope you are right. With kids out of school at home driving their parents nuts, cheap gasoline, many with government stimulus burning a hole in their pockets or increased unemployment payments as well as rent and mortgage delayed payments, knowing they will be bankrupt soon, many will take one last try at a memorable vacation I fear. Plus all the college students looking for someplace to go besides home. Plus many national park visitors are wealthy, not working, traveling around in their motorhomes pulling boats here.

 

[crofter]

I hope your water plant is working well as most of southern California gets water from the Colorado River.  Let's see how 5,000 to 10,000 people a day pooping and peeing below the high water mark  not to mention the several thousand pets that they bring along concerns anyone down stream in the next few months.  In the past Lake Powell was called "Lake Foul".  It only took 15 years or so of hard work to clean it up.  More than hospitals can get overrun! LOL!!!

Ewww. You are painting a rank picture no wonder there is so much chlorine in the water (choke, gag) I'm getting here in the south end of everything. 
-crofter

 

[bullfrog]

If you knew detectable drugs like caffeine were being found in the Colorado River south of Las Vegas would it make you feel any better? Insert add for expensive water filter here.

 

[B and C]

Free caffeine!

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

Since most travel is still restricted to "essential" and there is very little affordable camping around I don't image the national parks will be hosting too many out of town visitors at present. Right now a lot of states have a 14 day quarantine requirement for people coming into the state from other states. What are people going to do, sit in a motel room for 14 days waiting until they get an "all clear" so they can go into a national park for a day use visit?

You imagine incorrectly. I went up to the Prescott, AZ area and went to several National Forest areas. Every single campground wall literally packed. With multiple vehicles crammed into every campsite.

The 14 day quarantine rules for people coming into states are just for show. There is absolutely no one making sure anyone actually do that. Besides, at this point, they are useless. The virus is distributed all over. One state trying to keep from being infected by another state is ludicrous. 

Should people isolate themselves as much as possible? Yes. Regardless of where they are.

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

Park service somehow sees vault toilets as cleaner than flushies. I do not understand that part.

Flush toilets spray a mist of infected water and feces up into the air that remains floating around for hours and settles everywhere. Flush toilets have multiple stalls less than six feet apart. Regular bathrooms with flush toilets are often poorly ventilated.

Vault toilets have no spray. Each one is it's own separate room. They are well ventilated. They just smell bad. The smell is gas molecules. Not bacteria or viruses. 

People are just as nasty whether they are pooping in a regular toilet or vault toilet. I cleaned 11 vault toilets all last summer. I almost never had someone make a mess on the floor, other than tracking in mud.

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

I don't think people will come pouring down to National Parks any time soon.

All the national parks around Prescott, AZ were packed to the gills. I had to drive an hour and a half away, down into the hot dessert floor to find a camping spot.

Camping is cheap. It is essentially unregulated. Multiple families can camp in one spot for two weeks whereas they would get shunned if they had a party at their house.

It's funny how many people are "thinking" and "imagining" things that are just completely wrong.

 

[user 423]

All the national parks around Prescott, AZ were packed to the gills.
It's funny how many people are "thinking" and "imagining" things that are just completely wrong.

No national park near Prescott. Nearest one is Grand Canyon. Quite a distance away.

 

[nature lover]

Yes the national parks and national forest are independent of each other and therefore the open and closed status is different. So now let's show everyone how CRVL people are kind and helpful to each other and stop bickering with each other. Maybe I am reading something into the posts but they sound a little "sharp"

 

[rvwandering]

I deleted a few of the bickering posts. Please consider the tone of your reply before hitting Post. Thanks!