Visits to National Parks on the Decline; Many Worried

For anyone who has spent a summer day searching for a parking spot at Rocky Mountain National Park , it's hard to believe, but, according to recently released statistics, attendance at the nation's parks and monuments is on a rapid decline.

According to the National Park Service, visits to the nation's 390 parks dropped from 287 million in 1999 to 273 million in 2005, a decline of about 5 percent.

The drop continues the downward trend parks have been experiencing since 1987, when visits peaked at an average of 1.2 visits per person per year. In 2003, that number had fallen to 0.9 trips per person per year.

Camping and overnight stays have fared even worse. Between 1995 and 2005, tent camping in the parks dropped 23 percent, and overnight stays were down 20 percent. RV camping has declined by 31 percent, while backcountry camping fell 24 percent.

The numbers have NPS officials, conservationists and the tourism industry concerned about what may happen to the parks in the future if the downward trend continues.

Conservation experts say fewer visits to national parks mean fewer people - especially young people - will connect with nature. With no personal outdoors experience, people will feel less inclined to advocate for their preservation, they say.

A Utah State University study has already shown that undergraduate enrollment in natural resource programs has fallen as much as 50 percent between 1980 and 2003.

"Let's face it: It's hard to protect the parks if no one is interested in them," Butch Street, an NPS statistician, told The Denver Post.

Tourism officials worry about what declining visits might mean for nearby towns and resorts, which have come to rely on the revenue vacationers bring in every year.

"America's National Parks are not only an important component of our nation's social fabric, they are often the driving force in the economies of many rural communities," Bob Warren, manager of the convention and visitors bureau in Redding, Calif., recently told NPS officials.

According to estimates by the NPS, the parks system generates more than $10 billion for the economy every year and supports more than 200,000 jobs. In Colorado alone, where tourism is the second largest industry, park visits bring in 5.5 percent of the $8.5 billion generated annually by the sector.

Reasons for the decline range from rising park fees to America's changing demographics to the iPod generation's lack of interest in non-electronic activities. While it's not quite clear what exactly needs to be done, experts say it is clear the NPS will have to make some changes in order to remain relevant in the years to come.

"We have requests for base jumping in Black Canyon," Bill Wellman, former superintendent of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. "In the past, we would just have said no. We may still say no, but, this time, we'll consider why we're saying no."

Next in the series: A closer look at why the nation's parks aren't drawing as many people.

SOURCES:

The Denver Post - www.denverpost.com/search/ci_4391721
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel - www.gjsentinel.com
National Park Service - www.nps.gov