So far, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks have managed to escape most of the serious ecological problems that plague some of America's other national parks, such as air and water pollution from nearby cities, adjacent mining, and extreme overcrowding (with its resultant air and noise pollution from automobiles). Still, there is the threat of air pollution from power plants across the Colorado Plateau, and the park service has concerns over how Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks can be best managed to both preserve their delicate ecosystems and produce a rewarding experience for park visitors.
Presently, visitors to both Zion and Bryce Canyon can still get away from humanity fairly easily by heading out onto park trails or into the backcountry, and they can still find relatively unspoiled areas there. To preserve these unspoiled areas and their ecosystems, increasing efforts are being made in both parks to make visitors understand the need for zero-impact visitation, or as close as people can get to zero-impact (short of staying home). In most cases, people are getting the message and are doing their best to stay on trails, not pollute water or drop trash, and certainly not to disturb the parks' plants and animals. In addition, shuttle bus systems have been implemented at both parks to help relieve traffic congestion and parking problems.
One issue that is expected to take on more importance in the years to come -- and over which the National Park Service has little control -- is increasing development in nearby communities. Major hotels have recently been built in Springdale, just outside Zion; and some degradation to Bryce Canyon's delightful night sky is feared from continuing development just outside that park's entrance.
Meanwhile, within park boundaries the main issue -- both now and for the future -- is overcrowding, and how it affects the variety of habitats that support a vast array of plant and animal life. Officials of the National Park Service have taken the position that they do not want to limit the number of people who visit the parks, and have concluded that the problem isn't too many people, it's too many cars. So now we're seeing limitations and even outright bans on private motor vehicles in the parks, especially during their busiest seasons.
Although visitation at most national parks, including Zion and Bryce Canyon, has been down slightly the past few years, this is not expected to be a long-term trend, and park managers are rightly concerned about the future.
The issue of how the parks can handle an increasing number of visitors brings to mind the question of the entire philosophy of the National Park Service, which essentially is to accomplish two goals simultaneously -- preserve resources and promote visitor enjoyment. But which is more important: protecting the plants, animals, and geologic formations that make these parks the special places they are, or helping people enjoy these very same plants, animals, and geologic formations?
Essentially, the question is how far should parks go to accommodate their visitors -- the people who pay the entrance and user fees and in most cases the tax dollars that fund the parks -- and at what point does visitor impact become unacceptable? It's a tightrope for park managers and a debate both within and outside the park service that will not be settled soon, if ever.
