July is National Parks & Recreation Month!
Blog by Emily Pierce, PLS CFed S
Do you know what a Hedonometer is? Yeah, me neither until just recently. No, it’s not another ancient surveying tool – it’s actually an analysis that determines how happy people are by their tweets.
The Vermont Complex Systems Center analyzes 50 million tweets per day, scoring happiness based on the categories of words that people use. It turns out that the pandemic has produced a period of national malaise that is now trending up as the pandemic is easing in many parts of the country.
Arches National Park, Utah
One of the things that kept us going through the past 18 months is our state and national park system. It gave us the opportunity to recreate, travel, and enjoy the outdoors, while being less restrictive than indoors, facing restrictions like masks, sanitizing stations, and a slew of other rules. A doctoral student, Aaron Schwartz used the tweets to study people’s moods before, during, and after visits to 150 parks, playgrounds and plazas just in the San Francisco area. He verified what everyone knows – visits to parks correspond to a spike in happiness as well as an afterglow lasting up to four hours*.
The good news is that more people than ever before have enjoyed outdoor activities. In September 2020, a survey found that people said that they developed a greater appreciation of nature due to going to national parks and that many said they’d become more physically active. And all this is despite some parks being closed or restricted due to the pandemic.
Poster of Zion National Park circa 1938
Below are a few of the parks that have seen the greatest increase in use from 1980-2020.
Bryce Canyon NP (Utah) – Change in visits +156.3%
Zion NP, (Utah)+219.6%
Arches NP, (Utah) +326.2%
Joshua Tree NP (California), +340.0%
Cuyahoga Valley NP (Ohio), +389.2%
Dry Tortugas NP (Florida), +461.6%
Canyonlands NP (Utah), +774.1%
The surge in visitors to national and state parks shows no sign of slowing. Wait times for park access are getting longer and longer.
For example, about 194,000 people visited Arches NP in April 2021, a 15% increase from 2019. Arches was closed in 2020. Canyonlands saw a 30% increase in visitors in April 2021 from April 2019.
In fact, the National Park Service is now considering some alternatives to dealing with the overcrowding, like requiring staggered reserved arrival times, increasing fees, and reducing or restricting access to areas that could potentially require a permit. Additionally, most NPS offices are understaffed, so with the increase in the number of visitors, staff are spread even more thin than before. Likewise, the National Parks are there to protect the natural beauty of our country, without human impact. So, the parks are having to face the challenge that they’ve had more human impact than ever before.
Image from Joshua Tree National Park, California
If you do plan to go to a state or national park, check to make sure there aren’t any rules or restrictions about entering the park. Make sure you have passes required and fees paid before getting there and be prepared for a crowd. And remember, leave no trace. Some parks even have a pledge you can take. Here’s Zion National Park’s pledge. If you want to see the visitor use stats of any park in the US, go to this page on the National Park Service. You can view the visitor stats through 2020. STATS - Welcome to Visitor Use Statistics (nps.gov). All this information is really helpful to me, because me and my family will be going on a trip to Utah and Arizona at the end of this month. We’re going to see Mt. Rushmore, Zion NP, the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley and the Four Corners. I’ll be on the lookout for Berntsen markers, which are sure to be found in nearly every national park.
In my research and planning, I found out that the National Park Service also offers discounted opportunities and great activities for the younger ones. Did you know that they offer free admission to any recent fourth grade student? And, to compensate for last year, they’ve opened it up to recent fifth grade students as well. Check out everykidoutdoors.gov for restrictions, and make sure to get your voucher BEFORE you arrive at the park. It’s good for the student, as well as the rest of the members of the vehicle. Some restrictions do apply. My youngest was in fourth grade this past year. She is so excited that she gets to “bring us” to the parks with her.
Little Tennessee River Crossing, Appalachian Trail
Likewise, NPS has some great adventures for everyone, young and old. These include military and senior passes, the Junior Ranger program, ranger-led tours, cultural and craft demonstrations, exhibits, and even virtual events. There is truly something for everyone, and each of the 63 national parks has its own distinctiveness, making them all an exceptional experience.
I’m planning to share our adventures with photos, social and blogs, so stay tuned to this page as well as our LinkedIn and Facebook pages. I can’t wait to add a few more stamps in my National Park passport book
I’m sure I’ll be sharing some great photos of Berntsen markers as I go, as well as interesting tidbits that us surveyors find interesting. I always seem to keep my head down looking for interesting things on the ground.
It’s Park & Rec month, so get out there and enjoy the great outdoors – this time for vacation!