Sunday, December 1, 2019
Loving Big Bend National Park to death
For a long time now I've seen hundreds, probably thousands, of posts like these on Facebook, shared and reshared endlessly. That's why the park is so overcrowded. I'm lucky to have my own little oasis away from the chaos, but I am concerned about the environmental impact caused by hordes of people to such a fragile environment. One solution I've thought about is expanding the parks systems. And I guess they could make some of the bad park roads more accessible. That would disperse the traffic some. Or maybe allow visitors by reservation only with a limited number of reservations given for any single day. Like they do with the cabin rentals in the basin. People have to reserve them at least a year in advance. Sad state of affairs. And if a rare bird got spotted in the park, not many birders would get to go see it. Currently, it's only overcrowded during certain times of the year, but those times are expanding. Soon it'll be almost year-round.
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2 comments:
It makes me sad. I've been visiting the park since the mid-60s and I've seen the changes. There are certain times of year I just won't go anymore. I always pick the least visited times so I can enjoy the solitude. I, too, worry about the future of the park.
Yes, I saw this coming as soon as social media exploded on the scene. It seems our country needs more parks. And probably places like the Old Ore Road, River Road, and Pine Canyon need to be black-topped so it'll take some of the pressure off other places. And maybe expand the park by buying out ranches in the area. I'm certainly not just bopping into the park anymore without paying attention to when it's the busiest. I love the summers best there anyway. Trouble is, I love the oasis so much in the summer that I can't tear myself away to go to the park at that time.
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