Challenges facing Grand Canyon National Park

The NPCA released a report this week outlining the challenges that face Grand Canyon National Park in the years to come. With over 5 million visitors per year, Grand Canyon NP is one of the most well-known parks in the system. However, those 5 million people have an impact on the park’s environment, outlined in the report. Many of the challenges that the park faces are shared across the entire National Park System.

Here are a few of the major points that the NPCA outlined in their report:

• Colorado River basin water flow and management must incorporate adaptive strategies for protecting and restoring native animals, natural habitats, cultural resources and backcountry recreation opportunities along the river corridor.
• Mining activities on lands adjacent to the park, including uranium extraction, could result in environmental and watershed contamination. Potentially harmful materials from past mining activities are still present in parts of the park.
• Sound pollution from scenic and commercial air plane overflights in the park is a major concern.
• Air pollution from sources as far as more than 100 miles away has the potential to obscure scenic vistas, harm human health, and damage park resources.
• An additional $6.2 million in base funding is needed annually to support basic park operations, and the park suffers from a more than $300 million maintenance backlog.

Unfortunately, many of the problems concerning the park are either climate-, pollution-, or money-related issues. If these problems are not addressed, they will only get worse, and without sufficient funding, none of these problems can be addressed properly.

Of course, the NPCA also offered a list of recommendations to combat the challenges the park faces. Among the recommendations are:

• To address Colorado River management actions (i.e., Glen Canyon Dam operations) that continue to degrade resources along the river corridor, changes in water flows supported by scientific evidence must be made to restore resources.
• To provide for natural soundscapes largely free of noise caused by aircraft overflights, the Park Service must have the authority to manage noise within the park’s boundaries, including prohibiting flights in certain areas and capping air tour numbers.
• An act of Congress permanently withdrawing sensitive public lands near the park from mineral extraction would offer permanent protection for park resources, the visitor experience, and local communities.
• Protecting Grand Canyon National Park’s air quality, scenic vistas, and health of its visitors from air pollution depends largely upon the actions of state and tribal authorities and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, because the National Park Service does not have direct authority over external sources of pollution that affect the Grand Canyon. Regulatory entities must fully enforce laws aimed at cleaning up existing sources of pollution and preventing air quality degradation from new sources.
• To ensure the park’s water sources are protected, better accounting and tracking of groundwater pumping is needed so that groundwater extraction to support municipalities and industries does not deplete seeps and springs critical to plants and wildlife. In addition, the park should continue to conduct research on regional aquifers and the effects of groundwater pumping on the park’s seeps and springs.
• Avoiding impacts from trespass grazing can be addressed by continued collaboration with federal agencies that manage nearby lands where grazing is permitted and with private individuals who graze their cattle on these federal lands. Maintaining or building fences to exclude cattle from the park would greatly improve the protection of park resources.
• Preventing the introduction of non-native plants and animals is the best way to avoid negative impacts from these species. If they are already established in the park, support for removal and restoration efforts is essential to prevent non-native species from degrading native habitats.
• To address the park’s main challenges in the frontcountry, which include providing visitor services, ensuring visitor safety, and safeguarding historic structures and other cultural resources, the park needs resources to complete necessary historic structure reports and address fire concerns. In addition, the park requires significant funding for maintenance as well as funding to address concessionaire interest and thus allow continued generation of adequate franchise fees for building improvements and visitor services.
• Giving official wilderness designation to the park’s backcountry (determined by Congress) and providing the park with the resources needed to update its backcountry management plan would assist the park with managing visitors and resources in this area.
• The park needs permanent funding for more proactive, strategic consultation activities to continue to foster effective relationships with its 11 affiliated American Indian tribes.
• A research program is needed to examine how climate change is affecting park resources.
• Resource protection and visitor services are hampered by a lack of sufficient operating funds. The park’s base funding supports only 38 percent of its full-time equivalent employees; the remaining 62 percent are funded with non-base funds. An additional $6.2 million in base funding is needed to support all critical positions necessary to achieve basic park functions. Additionally, the park has more than $300 million in deferred maintenance for buildings, roads, and shuttle buses.

For more details on the report, read the press release from the NPCA, and for even more information, you can download the full (84-page) report from their website.