Meeting Notices

Arches National Park Public Meeting on Visitor Access and Experience EA/Plan
Date	Start Time	End Time	Time Zone	Location
Nov 13, 2024	12:00 PM	2:00 PM	Mountain Time	Virtual Public Meeting N/A N/A, X - Unknown or N/A

The National Park Service invites the public to participate by joining the public meeting and by providing their comments via the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment website. The comment period will run from October 24 through November 23, 2024. To participate, please register at the following link: bit.ly/ArchesNPSmeeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join the Zoom Webinar.
 
Description:
Visitation to Arches National Park has grown 73 percent over the past decade, more than doubling since 2007. This rapid growth has caused parking congestion, long wait times at the entrance station, and crowding at key attraction sites. Between March and October, the park has had to temporarily restrict access until congestion lessens, with the main entrance closed for as long as 3 to 5 hours. This plan identifies strategies that will address traffic congestion and associated safety hazards during peak season, enhance the quality and predictability of visitor access, address facility overuse, and protect park resources.

To more evenly distribute visitation throughout each day of the busy season, the park piloted timed entry reservation systems during 2022, 2023, and 2024. Based on public feedback and information gathered, the park adjusted processes after the first pilot year. This plan's preferred approach, called an alternative, would establish a timed entry reservation system similar to the 2023 and 2024 pilots while maintaining flexibility to refine details over time based on feedback, conditions on the ground, or changes in how people visit the park and surrounding communities.

Park staff are eager to continue engaging with the public, local community and businesses, stakeholders, and Tribal Nations about the plan, issues it addresses, and its approaches to maximizing access while providing for public safety and high-quality visitor experiences.

Meeting Directions/Instructions:


URL/Webinar link:
bit.ly/ArchesNPSmeeting

Arches National Park Public Meeting on Visitor Access and Experience EA/Plan
Date	Start Time	End Time	Time Zone	Location
Nov 14, 2024	5:30 PM	7:30 PM	Mountain Time	Grand Center 182 N 500 W Room 3 Moab, Utah

The National Park Service invites the public to participate by joining the public meeting and by providing their comments via the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment website. The comment period will run from October 24 through November 23, 2024.
 
Description:
Visitation to Arches National Park has grown 73 percent over the past decade, more than doubling since 2007. This rapid growth has caused parking congestion, long wait times at the entrance station, and crowding at key attraction sites. Between March and October, the park has had to temporarily restrict access until congestion lessens, with the main entrance closed for as long as 3 to 5 hours. This plan identifies strategies that will address traffic congestion and associated safety hazards during peak season, enhance the quality and predictability of visitor access, address facility overuse, and protect park resources.

To more evenly distribute visitation throughout each day of the busy season, the park piloted timed entry reservation systems during 2022, 2023, and 2024. Based on public feedback and information gathered, the park adjusted processes after the first pilot year. This plan's preferred approach, called an alternative, would establish a timed entry reservation system similar to the 2023 and 2024 pilots while maintaining flexibility to refine details over time based on feedback, conditions on the ground, or changes in how people visit the park and surrounding communities.

Park staff are eager to continue engaging with the public, local community and businesses, stakeholders, and Tribal Nations about the plan, issues it addresses, and its approaches to maximizing access while providing for public safety and high-quality visitor experiences.

Meeting Directions/Instructions: