In a normal year, more than 4 million people flock to Yellowstone National Park, half of them during the summer months. They fill visitor centers, gift shops and lodges, which are staffed by thousands of workers who come from all over the world and live within the park. And they pack boardwalks to gaze at Old Faithful, one of the world’s largest predictable erupting geysers, and Grand Prismatic, a widely recognizable neon blue, yellow and orange hot spring.
It’s the kind of situation that advocacy groups like the National Parks Conservation Association hoped to avoid, urging the Trump administration to close parks and not reopen them until it could guarantee the safety of visitors and staff. In recent weeks, Bernhardt has toured a number of park sites as they’ve ramped up operations and taken to Twitter and radio interviews to assure the public that the administration is working rapidly to expand access.
As a law enforcement officer, the ranger is concerned about visitors refusing to wear face coverings and practice social distancing, and that employees encouraging people to follow health and safety guidelines will be met with hostility.And if there is an outbreak of cases at parks or visitor numbers become unmanageable, he’s not confident that local officials will have the leeway to shut things down without Interior intervening.
“I recognize the benefits of reopening national parks and other public land sites when appropriate,” Grijalva wrote. “But rushing to reopen national parks prematurely and in the absence of stringent safeguards threatens public health and puts lives in jeopardy.”‘We Will Ask Them To Leave’Along with NPS staff, the parks’ seasonal contractors continue to face enormous uncertainty.
Lodge and restaurant buildings will also have screens placed at checkout stations, animal prints six feet apart where lines are expected to form and elaborate signage reminding guests to partake in social distancing, Keller explained. The lodge system manager said he isn’t surprised to see park visitors congregating in large groups at popular observation sites, as the public response has been the same in most newly reopened tourist attractions.
“They allowed us to stay in the dorm and fed us for free until they reopened. I didn’t want to go back to New York,” Fulton explained. “I’m not really worried about coronavirus. I’m just happy to get back to work.” It’s not just park workers who are anxious about what reopening will look like. A number of neighboring communities, including some that depend on seasonal park recreation, have also voiced concerns about how to handle an influx of tourists.
Sounds good.
Aw what's the worst that could happen?
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