In 1947, when my parents brought me to Yellowstone on my first visit, one difference then was that the regional population was small and the phenomenon of people owning trophy homes and vacation getaways, compared to today, did not exist. Recreation use was low tech involving relatively few people.
Today many of the visits being notched in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are coming from locals in neighboring towns and cities, including the Salt Lake City metro area, meaning that on top of global tourism bringing record-setting numbers of plane passengers to the Bozeman, Idaho Falls, and Jackson Hole airports, we now also have many more people living near the doorstep of the national parks.
It is why the crowds, even if higher travel costs should slow some vacationers from coming here, are not going away. And it’s why our elected leaders, public land managers, planners…
