Quiet and Less Crowded: The Park in 2020
Katherine Grieb considers herself a regular at Rocky Mountain National Park. Every year, she would take the two-hour drive from Colorado Springs many times to hike, fish or even just drive down Trail Ridge Road trying to spot as much wildlife as she can.
“I love this park. I remember my parents bringing me up here when I was little, and I was hooked,” said Grieb, who has lived in southern Colorado her entire life. “The scenery, the peacefulness, it provides an escape from the normal Monday through Friday lifestyle.”
But earlier this year, it became clear Grieb’s usual plans to visit throughout the spring and summer would be upended. As COVID-19 spread across America, businesses, schools and sports were forced to go into lockdown, and RMNP wasn’t immune. The park closed its gates, leaving many wondering if they would even be able to visit once in 2020.
In a normal year, Grieb usually comes to the park with family members and friends, entering through the park’s eastern gates near, also known as the Beaver Meadows entrance. Even on the outskirts, no matter how many people are visiting that day, many cars will be pulled off on the side of Trail Ridge Road throughout the park to get a look at the scenery, and the wildlife. Elk, deer, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, and bears are just a few of the more than 60 mammal species that call the park home.
However, the pandemic provided the park with an opportunity this summer to roll out a system that they thought would protect their visitors from the pandemic while protecting the park's natural resources and wildlife, a problem that has been plaguing national parks all across the country for the past decades.
Reservation for Four, Please
For months, the scenic roads lay empty but for the occasional ranger vehicle, and wildlife roamed freely throughout the park. What once felt like a tourist hotspot had turned into a wildlife sanctuary. This is what national parks across the country have been hoping for, and a group of graduate students from the University of Colorado Boulder may have the solution.
Every year, CU Boulder offers a Masters of the Environment program for graduate students. As part of a 17-month program, students work directly with an organization to address the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
In January 2019, long before most people could even define the word “coronavirus,” John Hannon, the management specialist at RMNP, heard the group was looking for partners and reached out in search of a solution to the park's environmental impacts. The park was torn between conservation and park sustainability. Wanting to provide visitors with a great experience also comes with a price. Humans leave a large footprint on the environment, especially the wildlife.
One team of four was up for the challenge. Bridger Tomlin, Kirsta Tortoirice, Stephanie Reifenberg, and Alison Dietze set out to find a way to reduce the impact humans have on wildlife and nature while providing visitors with a positive experience.
“They wanted to make a difference for visitor use and environmental goals,” said Lydia Lawhon, the group’s advisor. “They wanted to protect the integrity and the health of the resources the people are going to visit.”
The park tasked the students with designing a reservation system that would allow for an enjoyable visitor experience while protecting the park from resource deprivation and overcrowding. The reservation system was to only be applied in small steps at the start. Due to negative feedback out of Utah from Arches National Park’s reservation system, RMNP wanted to apply it to the busiest part of the park, Bear Lake Corridor, before implementing the system park-wide.
Using a comparative matrix, the group set out across the country to conduct interviews, research, and apply systems other places had implemented, from Disneyland to restaurants to movie theaters. Their main goal, however, was to show that reservation systems are a common practice, and can help solve their environmental worries. After studying reservation systems in the United States, the group expanded their research to 16 different parks and popular attractions around the world, including Machu Picchu to see how they managed their visitors.
The project concluded with three different reservation systems that could be implemented, ranging from environmentally strict to visitor-focused. The systems were pitched in Nov. 2019, and the group ended their program not knowing if their work would be accepted.
“We kind of knew going in that if these recommendations were going to be implemented, it wouldn't be for a while,” Tomlin said.
Then came March 2020, and COVID-19 forced Rocky Mountain National Park to fully close its gates to the public. The shutdown lasted for two months before park officials agreed to open again with a plan that would comply with health orders. It was the perfect time to test out the reservation system pitched to them just five months prior. In eight weeks, the park evaluated the students' research and implemented the timed-entry program, not just at Bear Lake Corridor, but park-wide.
Timed entry permit reservations were required from May 27 to Oct. 12, capping the number of visitors at 60% capacity. The permits issued allowed park visitors to enter within two-hour windows of availability from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. These permits were required for all areas of the park. For regular visitors of the park, it was easy to notice a difference.
“It was a unique year, that’s for sure,” said Grieb. “I never saw the park this quiet, with the reservation system and all of the social distancing and mask mandates being implemented. It was nice to be able to visit at least a few times, though.”
But park officials saw it as the right time to test the system.
“COVID-19 offered the perfect opportunity to trial it (the program) in a soft manner,” Tomlin said.
National Parks have been battling one issue for years: how to conserve wildlife and trails while offering a visitor a positive experience with nature. The timed-entry system might be the solution the park was looking for.
The Timed-Entry Program’s Effect on Wildlife
While the park took a rest from its summer visitors, animals were taking note, and adapting.
Dr. Joanna Lambert, an environmental studies professor at the University of Colorado who studies human-wildlife interactions says the biggest threat humans present to wildlife is populating their habitats. RMNP helps protect wildlife habitats but recreation continues to threaten them.
With the timed entry program, the magnitude of people who usually enter the park was significantly reduced, and therefore decreased the impact it has on wildlife in the area. In the summer of 2019, RMNP welcomed just over three million visitors from March to August. In the same time frame this year, under two million entered the park according to RMNP visitor statistics.
Wildlife is always aware of threats to their environment and adapts accordingly. Many animal species view humans as potential threats.
“Having grown up and living near mountains my entire life, I know how to act around most animals,” said Grieb. “I have definitely seen other people get too close or be too loud or just act inappropriately around them, but I think with this year you’re getting people who have a passion for the park visiting, and the animals appreciate that.”
Although it is impossible to limit all visitors, the timed-entry program exemplifies a solution to the uses caused by overpopulation and recreational threats to the wildlife in the area. According to the National Park Service, the park has taken in excess nitrogen, mercury, and sulfur compound over the years due to recreation, impacting the growth and development of certain species. Many of these pollutants also come from oil and gas plants across the state, in close enough proximity to the boundaries. Limiting the number of visitors each day decreases the threat.
“What they’ve done at Rocky Mountain National Park has been extremely successful,” Lambert said. “It has influenced a lot of people, including me because I live right down the road from Rocky Mountain National Park.”
Lambert says that she has been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to jump in her car and enter the park whenever she wants the majority of days, but the reservations limit her at times. Most spots were reserved weeks in advance and it limited the number of times people could visit during the reserved hours. Some of the park’s most popular days - Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, were much more subdued.
Once visitors entered the park, even though the process may have been more complicated initially, Hannon noted that most were pleasantly surprised at the quietness and open space they were able to enjoy.
“We actually enjoyed our visits more this year than in years past,” said Alison Miller, a Boulder resident who frequents the park with her husband. “Usually you don’t have much room on the side of the road to pull over, since there are so many cars lined up. But this year, you actually had some room to move about and take it all in. It was definitely more pleasant.”
Lessons From the Pandemic
“National Parks around the country are struggling with what to do with the total number of visitors they get,” Lambert said. “It not only impacts animals but severely impacts the pleasure and the joy of going to the national park.”
Most visitors explore the park during the summer months which increases the total number of people in the park at the same time. While the parks help conserve wildlife, they also provide job opportunities for the local communities. Between the park rangers, park maintenance, small businesses in Estes Park, and more, visitors are crucial to the management of the park. Tourism is also one of Estes Park’s main sources of revenue.
“Obviously, when your main source of funding comes from visitors and you have to restrict the amount of people you allow in the park, your budget is going to get smaller,” Hannon said. “We only had six weeks to put this plan in place this time, so if we do decide to establish this we will take our time to find the most sustainable option.”
Closing the park to all visitors in April impacted the park management. The timed entry program allowed for a solution to many problems the coronavirus pandemic created. Although it may limit the number of times people such as Grieb are able to explore the park, it helps the animals in the long run, she is all for it and thinks most people should be as well. Once in the park, visitors have reacted positively to the decrease in crowds.
“It’s bittersweet, but it’s necessary. I want my kids to be able to enjoy this park for a long time to come, and I want these animals to enjoy this beautiful land without being disturbed.”
The Future of Rocky Mountain National Park
Although the park has discontinued the timed-entry program as COVID-19 became more manageable, it is not off the table yet. Hannon sees the program as a viable option for the future with a few alterations.
“Once COVID passes, it would make sense for the park to continue with the program because the same (environmental) issues will still persist,” Tomlin said.
When the timed-entry was introduced to the public, regional visitors were itching to leave their quarantined quarters and explore nature. There were mixed feelings about the reservation system at first, but the program began to grow on regional visitors.
“The first three weeks were pretty rough,” Hannon said, “But after that things settled down and most people who came had a reservation and knew about the system.”
Rocky Mountain National Park is the third-most visited national park in the country, according to the NPS. Hannon pointed out that most visitors are from the area due to the park’s close proximity to the front range, and that helped out with sharing the reservation information around the state.
The program proved to be an effective solution to the park's environmental problems. It provided a balance of visitation and the protection of resources.
“It would depend on the public’s opinion of it, but it is not out of the realm of possibility,” Hannon said.
COVID-19 has turned the world upside down. With the help of a group of determined master’s students at CU Boulder and RMNP, there has been light shed on this year. The timed-entry program may have been originally implemented to protect the park visitors, but it provides a possible solution to the ongoing environmental concerns.
Editor's note: Alison Miller is my boss at the University of Colorado Boulder Disability Services office. The quote attributed to her was not from an interview, but from a casual conversation over the phone when I mentioned I was working on a project about the park. She has given permission for her name and quote to be used in the article - Vinny Lupo