Table of Contents

IntroductionIs the Government helping out

Why is Zion's Special?

• Special features

What is closing the backcountry

How does the GMP works.

• Prestine zonesPrimitive zones

Zion's Canyoneering Coalition

Raw Facts

• Graphs
  

Introduction

Zion's is the Mecca for canyoneers, but of course like always the government has to come in and make so many restrictions, making it very hard for us canyoneers to get in and enjoy this wonderful creation that God has made. Don't get me wrong i am all about preserving this park, but there has to be a better way of doing business. It is the government that limits the amount of people to cut down on erosion, but you're hiking in a drainage system so the landscape changes every time it rains.

I believe that they should change the restrictions of the group size and total number of people according to the usage of that month. This blog is my ideas and research that I have put together to keep the backcountry of Zion's open.

What makes Zion's Special?

Zion's National Park is one of a kind; according to the Zion's backcountry management plan, almost ninety-eight percent of Zion's National Parks is backcountry. Tom Jones, the chairman of Zion's Canyoneering Coalition, describes canyoneering on the coalition web page as, "A primitive and unconfined form of recreation. Canyoneers enjoy the spirit of exploration found in the canyons, where turning any corner can be a new experience."

Special features of Zion's

• Only place in Utah with large repeals
  
  
  



• Lush Green colors contrast with red rock back ground
  
  
  



• Large amounts of water in canyons
  





• Easy access to most of the canyons
  

Home

What is closing the backcountry?

By law according to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 requires Each National Park to have:

• A backcountry management plan
  





• A Visitor Experience and Resource Protection study (VERP)
  
  



• The permit system which restricts access to canyons
  
  
  
  

In my interview Ranger Ray O'Neil said this about the permit system: that one of the pros of the permit system is that at some point you are going to have to decide when there are too many people coming in to the park and what the parks carrying capactity for this delicate ecosystem. This is a heavy handed way of doing business because you can't please everyone.



How the GMP Works



The backcountry is a limited resource and the government requires all national parks to have general management plan to keep this resource around for future generations. Canyoneering is rapidly growing wich increases the human traffic in these canyons, which causes erosion. The GMP restricts the access by issuing permits. One way Zion's GMP controls the human traffic is dividing the park into zones. The zones that are important to the canyoneers are the pristine and primitive zones. What these zones consider is how much usage they get. The more usage the more restrictive.

Pristine Zones

Pristine zones are designed to give the canyoneer a feeling of being completely alone and that the sense of exploration and adventure. The thing is people want this solitude but it makes it very difficult to get in and enjoy. Here are the requirements for the pristine canyons:

• Enter the lottery system to obtain a permit
  




• 12 people day in canyons
  

• Entry of lottery system to get a permit
  
  

Primitive Zones

Primitive zones are more easily accessed and the visitor is still able to enjoy the landscape. To create a sense of solitude with some signs of people they limit the amount of people to a:

• Maximum of 50 people a day
  





• Group size no larger than 12
  

Home






What is the Government doing to help?



One thing that the government has done to help us canyoneers to obtain a permit is that they have made it possible to get permits online. Before you had to go to the backcountry desk the day before or the morning of depending on the canyon you were going to. Doing this burned up a lot of your time and when you're planning on hiking for 10+ plus hours time is of the essence. Ray O'Neil said that it is better for someone to wait at the backcountry desk then in a canyon. this philosphy is ment to keep the accidents to a minium.




What is The Zion's Canyoneering Coalition?


The ZCC was founded in October 2002 in response to proposed Interim Use Limits for the spring 2003 season in Zion National Park that we felt were blatantly unfair. Part of the unfairness was the lack of public process in development of these limits. thier puropose was to has all the members right a letter to the super intendent to voice there opion. they did this becasue every 10 or so years by law when changeing the GMP the voice of the public should include in the planing. There opinion was not consider in the planning process. when i was talk to Ray O'Neil he gave so excuse that the canyoneer did not have the proper representation.


Home


The Raw Facts

Here are some charts that I have gathered to make it easier to see my opinion.
Backpacking groups tend to be small. Technical Canyon groups average somewhat larger, and of the groups listed, Subway groups are the largest. But all the groups tend to be fairly small. As you can see with the graph below that people groups are never close to 12.




















The numbers show that during the heavy usage months that the permits system works great to keep human erosion down but what about the lesser usages months. I say the permit system should be varied by according to the usage of the canyons.

Home