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Grand Canyon copes with overpopulation -- by tourists
May 27, 1997
Web posted at: 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 GMT)From Correspondent Don Knapp
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Arizona (CNN) -- It may sound impossible, but the Grand Canyon is running out of space.
Officials have put a limit on boats at the bottom of the massive gorge and restrictions on how low airplanes can fly. Now the authorities want to ban cars, which the park superintendent promises will be an improvement.
(1.4MB/39 sec. small QuickTime movie
or 3.3MB/39 sec. large QuickTime movie)"You're not going to listen to the background of diesel buses and Harley Davidsons and chattering helicopters," Superintendent Rob Arnberger said. "In fact, you're going to be able to come to this place and have a much more intimate experience."
About 5 million people are expected to visit the Grand Canyon this year. Most will get no closer than a few parking lot overlooks on the South Rim.
That puts a lot of people in a limited space. And they bring 6,000 or more cars a day, nearly three times as many cars as places to park them.
The park's new plan calling for a ban on cars could be a boon for the Grand Canyon Railway. The company wants the park to approve plans for a light rail loop along the South Rim.
"We would have this train for people who have more time and want to have the nostalgic experience and experience some of the romance of rails," said Marshal Bryant of the Grand Canyon Railway.
Of course, there are plenty of areas within the national park that visitors can't reach by car, train or airplane. About 21,000 people raft down the Colorado River each year, and perhaps 100,000 adventurers hike along canyon trails.
But it's the millions of people at the top, on the South Rim, that threaten the park. Their showers and toilets take water from springs needed for plants and animals.
"Ninety percent of biodiversity in a desert environment like this is in the stream corridors ... As we develop up here, we could adversely impact places down there, almost a mile below us," said Eric Howard of the Grand Canyon Trust.
Other problems originate outside the canyon. Smog from Los
Angeles clouds canyon views. A dam upstream on the Colorado River has changed the waterway, cooling and cleaning its waters and threatening the survival of plants and animals.
Forty percent of the Grand Canyon visitors come from abroad. U.S. citizens may soon have to compete with them for a chance to visit the park. For the first time, the Department of Interior is talking about requiring advance reservations along with a new $20 fee to visit the canyon and other popular national parks.
Related stories:
- Going to a National Park? Be ready for sticker shock - May 25, 1997
- U.S. celebrates national parks - April 23, 1997
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