Some of America's most iconic animals are in danger every day from an unexpected angle: tourists crashing into them while sightseeing.
Published 1:21 PM EDT Jul 25, 2019
Across the country, park rangers are spending more time managing traffic in national parks than on any other area of responsibility, which includes backcountry rescues, investigating assaults and combating poaching. Last year, about 1,800 rangers reported making more than 25,000 speeding stops at the National Park Service's 419 parks, monuments, parkways and battlefields, according to an exclusive USA TODAY analysis of internal park service data.
The data shows that park rangers have increased their traffic stops by 4% over the past three years despite a staffing reduction of more than 5% over the same period. The increase in enforcement has accompanied a rise in park visitation nationally, with 318 million visitors last year, up 16% in a decade.
“You’re coming into a place where the wildlife is protected just as much at the environment," Gediman said."We want visitors to know we’re very serious about this.” Davis and her staff focus primarily on law enforcement, making drug busts, arrests and writing speeding tickets. Their aggressive enforcement means Davis and her 20-ranger-staff are among the busiest in the country, making more traffic contacts than any other park in the 419-unit National Park System, according to the USA TODAY analysis. Davis herself once wrote a ticket for someone driving 105 mph, nearly twice the legal limit.
Critics have long complained that while park service managers know animal deaths caused by cars are a problem, they don't adequately track them. From 1990 to 2005, wildlife-vehicle collisions were the leading cause of single-vehicle crashes in the National Park Service system and accounted for 10% of total vehicle crashes, which was more than double the 4.6% national average, according to a 2009 park service study, the latest available.
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