While I was being semi-sarcastic when I mentioned Disney World parking lots above, Disney World isn’t a bad example of how to move people around. A mammoth parking lot with small shuttles going to a central rail station and then a rail loop through the park and back isn’t a bad way to move people. Rail has an advantage over buses when moving lots of people from point A to point B. A rail system needs to be a loop or have two tracks to be really efficient. You just need to remember where you parked.

Hmm..except at RMNP people still have to pay when using the shuttles outside the park. I’d rather see large mall-like parking lots in town than in a place to contemplate nature. YMMV.

You are, of course, right. I think about some Garrison Keiler once said: “Majestic doesn’t appeal to us. We [Americans] like the Grand Canyon better with Clarence and Arlene parked in front of it, smiling. ” In 2016 I would amend that to: “….smiling. With selfie sticks. And then posting the selfie on Instagram. ”

The NPS is just reacting to what the majority visitors want; and they want technology and ease of access.

Of course I think the NPS, USFS, and BLM have lost sight of their original charters.

Perhaps it is time for you (or me) to again write about the Waterman’s Wilderness Ethics. We must be diligent and continually speak out for wilderness.

Metrics. All about metrics. 🙁

Thanks Nick.

That is what really gets me. Backcountry rangers are becoming like Sasquatch settings. There is a huge trail maintenance backlog and campsites are being closed.

But there is money for roads, visitor centers and WIFI ACCESS IN THE NATIONAL PARKS BY 2018 ?!?!?!?!

Egads.

Here’s the problem: the key metric for the NPS is visitor count. I spend at least 80 nights a year in Joshua Tree NP, Lake Mead NRA, and the Mojave Preserve. JT and Lake Mead now charge $20 per vehicle and the visitor count for both is 2 million and 7 million respectively. That’s a lot of do-re-me.

Last year JT did a lot of new road work costing millions, but they don’t have money to protect the backcountry (http://popupbackpacker.com/why-i-hate-trip-reports/).

They also have money to remodel visitor centers. Actually a few years ago the Lake Mead Alan Bibler Visitor Center remodel took longer to complete than it took to build Hoover Dam!

The NPS also administers the Mojave Preserve. There are no entrance booths or fees, but that will probably change since they just repaved all the roads… however most traffic is people shortcutting through the MP to get to and from Las Vegas, so I expect fees will be put in place soon. There are very few trails in these 3 units, so that is a good thing as cross country travel is fairly unrestricted.

Of course the solution is to blow up all roads leading to and going through any National Park, National Forest or designated Wilderness area. But that is a minority opinion.

Good news is that I have a lifetime pass to all NPS units that cost a one-time fee of $10. This is the only benefit to being old and mean.

Good write-up, as usual.