Nature, For Granted
Author: Daniel Schelinski
Naturalist of LaGrange County, Indiana
According to the U.S. Bureau Of Economic Analysis outdoor recreation made up 2.2 percent of our national GDP between 2017 and 2022 (we are waiting on the numbers for 2023). The industry saw a growth rate that was more than double the rate of total GDP growth with some years reaching as high as a 22 percent growth rate. Much of the growth in this time frame was fueled by the Covid 19 pandemic and a desire to escape the four walls of our homes. This is a trend that is projected to continue over the next ten years. The RV industry has shown growth every year since the recession of 2009 with a peak in those Covid years of 600,000 units shipped. The National Parks system has increased usage numbers year after year since the 1980s and contributes upward of $26 billion in revenue for the communities that surround these parks. This is all good news for everyone working in outdoor recreation, and most of all for those counties where RVs are built (mine included). Outside of the economics involved in this booming sector, what is the cost involved with such huge growth in eco-tourism?
The case of Zion National Park in Utah shows the danger in this explosive growth when the public is not aware of the hazards to the environment that comes with over-usage. A beautiful park encompassing 146 thousand acres (800 thousand acres less than Yellowstone) sees as many visitors as our nation’s first park every year. This issue of available space is compounded due to the makeup of the park and the density of the must-see vistas in the park. A single six-mile road services the park entrance and visitors are required to take a shuttle from the visitor center into the park. The main drawing points of the park are in a ten-mile strip between the visitor center and the start of the Narrows. This has led to extreme overcrowding and a greater impact on the park’s ecosystems.
On Humphrey’s Peak, 2022
This level of overcrowding has necessitated measures by park managers to mitigate the impact. The shuttle system is one that was implemented in the early 2000s, reducing the number of vehicles going into the interior of the park. In addition, the park’s campgrounds are going through a complete rehabilitation project to repair damage that has occurred during the surge of visitors. Despite these actions visitors may still want to prepare themselves before going to the park. Eco-tourists are often looking to take incredible views, physically push themselves, and gain a sense of solitude in nature that they would not be able to attain anywhere else. With the number of visitors coming to our national parks that feeling of solitude can be difficult to find. Places that used to have only a few daring trekkers are now swarmed with people. Because of this, prepare to either search for locations that are more difficult to get to (the peak of Mt. Humphreys comes to mind) or plan your trip in the shoulder or off seasons.
The measures from the National Park Service need to be paired with our own efforts to be stewards of the places we want to not only enjoy but to be able to pass on to those who will follow in our footsteps. Following principles like those from the Leave No Trace organization or the Boy Scouts can be helpful, but these actions must come from the belief that the environment is worth protecting. Developing a mindset such as the one Aldo Leopold called the Land Ethic is the only way that our impact can truly be reduced. Leopold espoused the theory in his book The Sand County Almanac, writing that “…conservation is a state of harmony between men and land”; he wrote that his land ethic “…simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land....”. I note that he does not say that we should not spend time in nature, or even that we shouldn’t use it, however he sees our natural resources as something that should be jealously guarded and protected just as we would a member of our community.
Those of us who live here in the U.S of A are blessed with a plethora of national and state parks to visit. It is not hard to get to scenes of natural beauty anywhere in this country. However, we often can take these places for granted and see them as just another place to spend a weekend with friends and family roasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories. They, in reality, are a treasure passed down to us from men and woman who saw their value and worked to protect them for future generations. These pioneers endured legislative battles, wrote books, took thousands of pictures and notes, and convinced their peers that there was more value than simple raw material in our wild places. The least we can do is honor their work by being mindful and respectful of what they built.
