The 64th National Park
A National Park Service photo of Acadia, one of 63 national parks across the country. Nature Links participants argue more parks are needed to accommodate a sharp increase in visitors.
Anyone who lives here on the Blue Hill peninsula of Maine can attest to the fact that visits to nearby Acadia National Park have seen a sharp increase. The lines at our local grocery stores were far longer this summer, traffic in nearby Ellsworth increased and many of us avoided visiting the park altogether this season as it was flooded with out-of-state vacationers. According to the National Park Service, Acadia has experienced a 60% increase in visitors over the past ten years.
But our beloved Acadia is not the only national park that has broken records for number of visits in 2021. After a brief decrease at the beginning of the pandemic last year, more and more Americans across the country have left the confines of their home in 2021 to experience a national park. Yellowstone National Park recorded over a million visitors in the month of July alone, a number never before seen since the nation’s first national park opened in 1872. Many other national parks have experienced overcrowding, long lines and infrastructure stretched to its limits. Basic economic theory would tell you that if demand for national parks has peaked, supply should be increased. But with a nearly $12 billion backlog in repairs, the National Park Service may say that adding more national parks to accommodate visitors is easier said than done.
Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring can be virtually “visited” via Google Earth
At Nature Links, we focused our attention recently on learning about our national parks. We studied how Congress establishes national parks and virtually visited a few of Yellowstone’s most cherished sights. Since no participants had ever visited there before, many were fascinated by Old Faithful and the Grand Prismatic Spring, looking up answers to each other’s questions such as “how hot is the water when it erupts from a geyser?” and “how long does it take between eruptions?”. After our “visit” to Yellowstone, participants from Maine led our out-of-state students on a tour of Acadia, telling stories and showing them photos of their favorite places to visit in the park. Here in Maine, we know how lucky we are to have one of the few east coast national parks right here in our backyard!
A view from Acadia National Park
We then discussed the benefits and drawbacks to such a sharp increase in visitors to national parks. Some participants argued that more and more people getting outdoors to spend time with family in nature is a positive phenomenon. Others disagreed, saying the too many visitors could ruin the wild beauty people seek out in their visits and that overcrowding isn’t a safe practice during COVID. Either way, participants all agreed that more should be done by Congress to add national parks to our nation’s current list (one study found that locations re-designated as national parks see a 20% bump in visitors immediately following re-designation). But what natural beauty should become our 64th national park?
As we continued our exploration of national parks, Nature Links students participated in an activity that allowed them to become honorary members of Congress. Participants could research the location, sites of interest and important information about several incredible wild locations that could potentially become the next on the list (check out this article from Sierra Club that details some of the strongest contenders). We discussed our opinions on which site could best serve the growing demand for visitation, as well as what location may be best served by the extra funding that a national park designation could bring. Ultimately, participants cast their vote and the results were tallied, crowning Minnesota’s Boundary Waters the winner. The Boundary Waters, a million-acre wilderness area famous for thousands of pristine lakes and an unfathomable number of miles of canoe routes, is currently located within Superior National Forest. However, it is not a national park. That is, unless Nature Links has any say about it!
We’ll be watching the news to hear which site truly receives the next designation in the much-needed expansion of our national park system. But until then, local Mainers will have to endure the crowds and traffic, waiting for a brief lull to revisit our most treasured spots in Acadia.
