You are probably aware that National Parks have become overcrowded, especially since the Covid epidemic. Overuse often means a less meaningful experience for visitors as well as harm to the natural areas in the parks.
One way to lessen the crowding at parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone would be to increase the number of parks, and that can be done very easily simply by re-naming what are now called monuments. We visited the Colorado National Monument this past summer. It is less than five miles off I-70 near Grand Junction, and it is magnificent. I had driven past that monument probably 20 times and never stopped because of the word “monument.” When you think monument, you think one thing, like a statue.
Re-naming a monument a park really would have an impact. After the New River Gorge in West Virginia was renamed a park last December, visitors increased by 21 percent in the following months.
By the way, the difference between a monument and a park is that monuments are named by Presidents and parks by Congress.
I will admit that spreading out visitors might not be m much of a solution if there are simply too many people trying to visit natural areas. It may be that parks have two incompatible purposes, first to preserve natural areas, and second, to provide recreation. I’m not sure those two purposes can co-exist.
I think that is a good idea. I myself have done some of that over the years. By the way, I see you posted a picture. First one too.
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