Bryce Canyon National Park • In stark contrast to the grandeur of Bryce Canyon National Park that America’s second gentleman Doug Emhoff visited Friday, his message was plain and simple:
“I want to tell you and all Americans to make sure if you’re not vaccinated, to please get vaccinated,” Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, told park staff, volunteers and onlookers.
Emhoff’s tour of the national park in southern Utah is part of the Biden administration’s “America’s Back Together” blitz over the July Fourth weekend to tout the progress the country is making in returning to a pre-pandemic normal and to encourage more Americans to get vaccinated.
The push comes amid concerns about the emergence of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is about 60% more transmissible and more likely to result in serious illness. It also comes as health experts across the country warn of possible regional spikes of the coronavirus, especially in areas where vaccination rates are low.
In forging ahead with the America’s Back Together celebration, the White House acknowledged it will fall short of its goal for 70% of Americans to be partially vaccinated by July 4. The administration hopes the nationwide effort will help nudge the country over the finish line.
In many rural states, getting people to sign up for the shots has been tough. In Utah, just over 49% of residents have been partially vaccinated and 44% of residents have been fully vaccinated.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, jokes with the Evans family from Dallas, TX, as he visits Bryce Canyon National Park to highlight how National Parks have helped people connect with family and friends and stay active during the pandemic, on Friday, July 2, 2021.
Locals wary in county that went for Trump
While Emhoff’s whirlwind tour of the park was largely devoid of politics or political posturing, that didn’t stop some rural residents and officials from critiquing the visit.
As Garfield County Commission Chair Leland Pollock and others noted, rural Utah is Trump country. The former president carried Garfield County, where Bryce Canyon is located, with 79% of the vote in the 2020 election, compared to just under 19% for Biden.
“Donald Trump showed us something that nobody else did. He listened to the forgotten voices of the people … and he fixed a lot of the public land problems that were created by the Obama and the Clinton administrations,” Pollock said.
“Whoever this Emhoff guy is, I don’t have any desire to meet him,” he added. “As far as I’m concerned it’s a dog and pony show.”
Much of Pollock’s rancor toward Emhoff is centered on the expectation that President Joe Biden, acting on Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s recommendation, will restore the size of Utah national monuments — Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — to where they were before Donald Trump reduced them.
Pollock’s bleak assessment of Emhoff’s visit was echoed by Utah state Rep. Phil Lyman.
“The federal government shut down the economy, and our national parks and monuments during COVID,” he said. “As a result, people — especially in rural Utah — have experienced devastating consequences. For [the Biden administration] to come to rural Utah and expect us to kiss the ring, I don’t think most rural Utahns feel inclined to do that.”
Henry and Tanya Thomas, owners of Thomas Auto Repairs in Panguitch for 40 years, dislike Vice President Harris too much to put much stock in anything Emhoff says.
For others, Emhoff’s visit and emphasis on America’s return to a pre-pandemic normal is good news.
Lance Syrett, general manager at Ruby’s Inn, said it was difficult providing visitors with a place for nonessential travel last year when health experts told people to stay home.
“In my tenure as manager we’ve gone through 9/11, a national park shutdown and things like that, but nothing compares to what the COVID-19 pandemic did to us last year,” Syrett said. “So we appreciate any positive messaging we can get.”
Syrett said the COVID vaccines and a decline in case counts have been a boon to his business.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, talks to Bryce Canyon employees, at Paria View, as he visits Bryce Canyon National Park to highlight how National Parks have helped people connect with family and friends and stay active during the pandemic, on Friday, July 2, 2021.
Focus stays on COVID, not on politics
During his visit, Emhoff steered clear of politics and focused on COVID and the important role national parks have played in providing a safe way for people to connect with family and friends outdoors and stay active during the pandemic.
“This is not political. Our national parks are an American treasure for all of us,” he said.
Emhoff’s entourage arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park about noon and made quick stops at three different overlooks.
At Sunset Overlook, he met with Southern Utah University interns Kezli Floyd and Sergio Vasquez to learn about the Junior Ranger Program and the varied wildlife that calls the area home.
The students are part of the Intergovernmental Internship Cooperative, a partnership between Southern Utah University, various land management agencies and Native American tribes.
Last year alone, the internship program celebrated nearly 100,000 hours of labor put into conservation efforts with 182 interns and crew members earning $1.4 million in wages and benefits over the summer months, according to SUU.
During his presentation to Emhoff, Vasquez held up a skull of a pronghorn antelope, the fastest land mammal in North America, and asked onlookers what was the fastest.
“A cheetah,” one girl answered.
Camden Edwards, a 10-year-old from Dallas, Texas, chimed in with the correct answer for the fastest bird of prey, a Peregrine falcon, which can exceed air speeds of 200 miles per hour.
“How do you know this already?” Emhoff asked.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, visits with Jr Rangers at Sunset Point, as he visits Bryce Canyon National Park to highlight how National Parks have helped people connect with family and friends and stay active during the pandemic, on Friday, July 2, 2021.
There are currently 200 Junior Ranger programs in the National Park Service. The program gives children and families the opportunity to explore and learn about America’s national parks and about how best to protect them for future generations.
Emhoff’s second stop was at Bryce Point, a stunning overlook at 9,000 feet elevation with a panoramic view of whimsical red spires, hoodoos and other geologic formations below.
Against that backdrop, Emhoff met with Taryn Withers, a seasonal interpretive ranger with the National Park Service, to learn about Bryce’s geology and how its features were formed.
“What about those caves over there?” Emhoff asked Withers, pointing toward the canyon walls.
“I was getting to that,” she replied.
“Sorry, it’s the lawyer in me. I’m not really taking a deposition,” Emhoff quipped.
From there, the second gentleman and his entourage visited Paria View, where Jim Ireland, acting park superintendent, introduced him to some staff members, volunteers and members of search and rescue.
“This is historic,” Ireland said. “I’m the first superintendent to ever say this: ‘We’re honored to welcome the second gentleman of the United States to Bryce Canyon National Park.’”
Bryce was a model during COVID
During the height of the pandemic, Bryce Canyon was one of the first large national parks to develop a plan and modify its operations, which allowed it to reopen safely and enabled visitors to enjoy the park in a new way.
Among other things, officials moved much of the park’s visitor center operations outdoors, removed some of the seats on shuttle buses to enhance social distancing, shut down some of the lodges’ food operations and changed the way food was distributed.
Bryce’s modifications served as a model for many other large parks across the nation, which used its blueprint to make similar changes that would allow them to reopen during the pandemic.
Emhoff said visiting national parks was a mainstay of he and Harris’ Saturdays when much of the country was shut down due to COVID.
“We couldn’t even go outside, but we could get in the car and drive to the national parks … to help us, just like millions of other Americans, get through this horrible experience we’ve all been through together,” he said.
Emhoff also touted the virtues of public service and thanked park employees for being on the front lines during COVID and helping visitors have a safe and enjoyable experience.
“You are doing public service of all different kinds. … Thanks for all you do for all of us,” he said.