Lawmakers and key experts searching for ways to alleviate overcrowding at national parks suggested upgrading smartphone applications for visitors, increasing park staffing and expanding transit services during a hearing Wednesday before the U.S. Senate National Parks Subcommittee.

Historic levels of visitation at Glacier and Yellowstone were highlights of the discussion, and officials emphasized there is no "one size fits all" solution for the many popular destinations in the National Park Service system.

Kristen Brengel, senior vice president for government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, said the Park Service recorded 327 million visits across its 423 sites in 2019 — a 20% increase from 2013.

That, Brengel said, is a testament to the success and importance of the national parks system.

"However, the growth in visitation is also posing one of the greatest challenges NPS has ever faced," she warned. "We are concerned for the natural and cultural resources the Park Service is empowered to preserve."

At Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, Brengel said, visitors are increasingly venturing off established trails and disturbing wildlife such as elk and moose. In Utah, Arches and Canyonlands national parks have documented an uptick in vandalism, notably the defacing of Indigenous rock paintings.

In addition to traffic gridlock, long lines for basic services and crowding at popular attractions, Brengel said upticks in graffiti, litter and improperly discarded human waste are of great concern.

"This undesirable and harmful behavior suggests unprepared visitors are recreating in parks, and the need for more interaction with park rangers to educate visitors," she said.

Michael Reynolds, a Park Service regional director who oversees 89 parks in nine states, said the agency has invested in shuttle services and multi-use paths to reduce vehicle congestion, and worked with local and regional tourism agencies to promote sustainable tourism.

"In addition to using pilot projects and flexible planning tools to test ideas, we are conducting robust public and stakeholder engagement before committing to long-term implementation," Reynolds said.

MONTANA SEN. Steve Daines, the ranking Republican on the subcommittee, and Kevin Gartland, director of the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce, discussed the pros and cons of Glacier National Park's new reservation system for the Going-to-the-Sun Road, which is still regarded as a pilot program subject to change in future visitor seasons.

"By all accounts, the entry system has relieved a bit of the overcrowding we've seen in the last few years," Gartland told the subcommittee via Zoom. "That's a plus for those who are able to get into the park."

But, he emphasized, the new system has caused a lot of headaches. Some visitors have traveled thousands of miles and "paid tens of thousands of dollars in hotel and airfare and rental car reservations only to see their vacation ruined because they can't get that $2 ticket to see Glacier National Park," he said.

The reservation system also has caused some locals to feel "left out," Gartland said. "These folks live and work here, they have park passes, and they're competing with 3 million other people to get a limited number of daily tickets to get into the park when they can."

Still, Gartland said many local business owners would prefer to keep some version of the reservation system in place. Unrestricted access to the Sun Road came with its own problems, including lines of traffic that spilled onto U.S. 2 and forced officials to close the west entrance without warning.

Reynolds, the Park Service regional director, said several parks have implemented similar reservation systems, with Glacier, Rocky Mountain and Yosemite testing out pilot programs this year. So far, park officials consider those systems a success.

"Glacier National Park estimates that the park has been able to adequately serve and support the same daily visitation on the Going-to-the-Sun corridor, even with decreased staff numbers and reduced visitor services," Reynolds said.

Gartland said the main problem is how the reservation system was introduced.

"The fact that the new system was rolled out very late in the game, just a couple of months before the summer crush hit, caused a lot of confusion and frustration not only amongst visitors who were attempting to purchase tickets, but for employees of local businesses and folks like us at the visitor information center," he said.

SEN. ANGUS King, the Maine independent who chairs the subcommittee, suggested the Park Service look into developing smartphone apps that could help visitors plan their trips and avoid crowded areas. He pointed repeatedly to the app Waze, which motorists use to share real-time information on travel times and route details. And he said the Park Service may need to boost staffing.

"More visitors have stretched our rangers and staff thin and made park operations more challenging on a day-to-day basis," he said.

Daines concurred, saying the Park Service should look for ways to improve its hiring procedures.

"Clearly we need to find ways to get more additional employees to help with the increased demand and visitation of these parks," Daines said. "We want to look at how quickly they're responding to hire qualified individuals to address the issues we're talking about today, because employee retention and morale is key to addressing increased visitation."

Reynolds noted visitation levels vary drastically across the national parks system.

"About half of all our recreation visits are occurring at only the top 23 most-visited parks, with significant congestion conditions concentrated in the most popular 12 to 15 destination parks," he said.

Daines said that pattern presents an opportunity, suggesting the Park Service encourage people to visit smaller and less-frequented cultural and recreational sites. In Montana, those include the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area and the Big Hole National Battlefield, which Daines referred to as little-known "gems."

"This would not only relieve congestion and wear and tear at our larger parks, but it would also, importantly, boost the local economies by these smaller parks," he said.

Assistant editor Chad Sokol may be reached at 406-758-4439 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com.