BY VITORIA POEJO
As the sun peeks over the sandy shores of the Indiana Dunes, a great blue heron stirs to life and oak trees sway in the crisp breeze off of Lake Michigan. It is a vivid reminder that National Parks remain some of the last sanctuaries of natural beauty in an increasingly urbanized world. Spoiling this breathtaking view, however, a line of tour buses snakes its way along the shore, unloading groups of eager tourists.
Over the past decade, a surge in tourists looking to escape urban life or simply looking to capture the perfect selfie has posed an unprecedented challenge to the National Parks in managing their delicate ecosystems.
This July, the U.S. Department of the Interior issued an urgent call to action, outlining that the National Park Service will conduct visitor research to identify key strategies to address the surging demand in visitors. In 2022, 312 million people visited one of the nation's 63 national parks, according to the National Park Service.
For Bill Smith, a Park Ranger at Indiana Dunes National Park, which drew over 2.8 million people last year, more visitors translates to an increased strain on park infrastructure.“As we got more and more people, our facilities became more and more trashed,” Smith said.
In response to a spike in visitors, the park, situated on the Lake Michigan shoreline, began charging an entrance fee. The goal was to alleviate park congestion, but according to Smith, it didn't make a significant difference in visitor numbers.
“It helped with bringing in money,” Smith said. Revenue, made by charging $15 per person or $25 per family, now goes towards maintenance of roads and parking lots as well as expanding public safety.
Over the past few decades, increased visitor traffic has also put a strain on wildlife conservation efforts. In June, the National Park Service was forced to release a statement calling for visitors to respect the wildlife at Yellowstone National Park after a series of incidents, including a Hawaii man who pleaded guilty in May for intentionally disturbing the wildlife.
Approaching or intentionally agitating wildlife in their natural habitats can lead to severe consequences, including stress, injury and altered behavioral patterns. To protect the safety of animals and visitors, park regulations require at least 25 yards of distance away from all wildlife and at least 100 yards away from wolves and bears.
According to Dr. Stephanie Eby, a terrestrial ecologist, wildlife disturbances have the greatest impact on endangered species. “Our endangered species, or species with small numbers, will sometimes be at higher risk as any little thing will upset them.”
Eby also emphasizes that every national park is impacted by an ecological footprint, resulting in adverse effects on wildlife and the surrounding ecosystem. Factors like campsite waste, paved roads, and traffic all contribute to consequences for both wildlife and the park's ecosystem.
“We have a pretty big human footprint inside the park, even though nobody is allowed to live inside the park permanently,” she said. “No national park is not impacted by humans, even though it's been set aside to be protected. We have impact. Even the [parks] with the least amount of tourism have been impacted somehow by tourists who have come there.”
In order to protect both lands and the local animals, Eby suggests that buffer zones around the parks could protect both land animals and people, but are unlikely to be enacted.
“You'd have to literally move towns,” she says. “People have been displaced many times for the creation of protected areas, which is another thing we have to acknowledge. I think in the United States, I don't see it happening.”
However, park rangers and conservation advocates don't want to completely discourage visitors. Celeste Venolia, forest protection coordinator for the Sierra Club of Massachusetts, believes the answer is simple. By educating park-goers on proper behavior and pointing adventure seekers to less crowded hiking trails across the country, there is still opportunity to appreciate nature without compromising resources.
“There's a lot of the outdoors that people can spread out to that aren't key national parks locations,” Venolia says. “I still want everyone to be excited about the outdoors, but it's about spreading out the traffic in key points as much as we can.”
Smith, who has spent 37 years at Indiana Dunes, also agrees with Venolia. Rangers there have been actively working to inform visitors about the wealth of trails the park has to offer, beyond the most visited ones.
“We are starting to get our visitors to learn about the over 70 miles worth of trails that we have in the park,” Smith said. “A few of them are getting abused.”
Despite over tourism's threat to the parks, Smith sees reason for hope. Setting aside the challenges posed by masses of tourists, Smith believes his role as a park ranger is vital in helping to preserve these important lands.
“95 percent of my job is people thanking me for doing what I do,” he said.”I wouldn't have been here for 37 years if I didn't love it.”
All photos courtesy of Indiana Dunes National Park.
