“Hey man, I’m taking a trip to Utah! Are you still in Salt Lake City?”
Like a lot of people living in the beautiful Beehive State, I get this kind of text pretty often. Whether it’s a friend, family member, acquaintance or guy I met at a party that one time, it’s never surprising when people come out of the woodwork to let you know that they’re visiting our state’s incredible parks, monuments and/or world-class ski areas.
It would be surprising, however, if a follow-up text read something like, “Stoked for it! We’re going to be spending the week at Lagoon!”
Or, “We’re going to try and hit up every drive-thru soda shop along the Wasatch Front!”
Or, “This is a total bucket list thing, but I’ve always wanted to see the giant U2 claw outside of the Draper aquarium!”
Utah has plenty of fun and quirky things to do that have nothing to do with our natural spaces, but let’s be honest — that’s not why most people visit us. Given the choice between a rafting trip through the red-rock canyons of the Colorado River and a whirl through the Rattlesnake Rapids ride, your average tourist will probably spend their hard-earned money on the former.
You wouldn’t know it from the way our state and federal governments are behaving, though. At this point, we’re all aware of President Elo-I mean President Donald Trump’s efforts to slash the federal workforce, which have eliminated thousands of National Parks Service and U.S. Forest Service jobs, including at least 30 NPS jobs in Utah.
There’s also a new bill by Utah Congresswoman Celeste Maloy that proposes ending the presidential power to designate national parks and monuments, which environmentalists see as an attack on the Antiquities Act, an important conservation tool. That goes along with another bill by Maloy that would eliminate conservation as a “use” of Bureau of Land Management lands. This all comes just weeks after the state’s attempt to reclaim federally protected public lands failed in court.
Environmentalists have sounded the alarm about all of those proposed and existing actions, but even if you don’t buy them as a major threat, they would still represent a monumental change to the way our parks, lands and monuments are managed. So it’s reasonable to ask: What’s wrong with the way they’re being managed?
According to a 2024 study by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, visitors to Utah spent a record $11.98 billion and generated 98,600 travel-related jobs in 2022, leading to $23.8 billion in indirect output for Utah’s economy that year. Utah’s national parks alone brought in $3 billion to the state economy in 2023 and supported over 26,500 jobs. Meanwhile, the National Parks Service as a whole generated $10 for every $1 it spent in 2022.
It seems like our federal and state governments are ignoring the pivotal first half of, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Utah’s protected natural areas are not only the envy of the whole world, but they’re also bringing in billions to the state and national economy. I think most people would put that firmly in the “ain’t broke” category.
Maybe lawmakers think people are visiting Utah for other reasons, and maybe they’re right. I’m sure a family of four from Wisconsin is just as likely to visit the new Bees stadium as they are to visit Bryce Canyon. There have got to be plenty of retired couples that have always wanted to drive their RVs to Thanksgiving Point. We’ve even got a new hockey team for God’s sake! I bet somewhere in Europe right now, there’s a family scrapbooking their once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Delta Center.
Spoiler alert: They’re not. I know because I’ve spent the last four years writing for Utah’s tourism industry, and I’ve never been asked to figure out just which Crumbl is the valley’s best or make a “Real Housewives” themed tour of Park City. But I’ve spent a lot of time writing about the small towns, independent outfitters and amazing people whose livelihoods depend on a steady stream of visitors to our state’s outdoor playgrounds.
People come here for things they can’t get at home. Hiking Angel’s Landing. Resort skiing on National Forest land. Off-roading on thousands of miles of BLM trails. Following their guide through a slot canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. These are things people can’t get at home. They can get the Utah Jazz at home a few times a year, and usually for pretty cheap.
I’m not saying people don’t find other things to love about Utah once they get here. As someone who came for the nature and stayed for a host of other reasons, I know there’s more to love about this state than its natural spaces. There are hidden gems around every corner.
But those gems are hidden for a reason. They’re cloaked in the shadow of the Delicate Arch. They’re buried under a few feet of Alta powder. They’ve been washed away in the spring runoff coming down the La Sals. They’re lurking a bit too far off a desert trail in some cryptobiotic soil. They’re sitting under the darkest skies on the planet.
Utah has lots of great things, but it’s foolish to argue that its lands aren’t both its greatest treasure and its greatest gift to the rest of the world. Time and time again, our leaders not only refuse to acknowledge the gift that they’ve been given but even seem to show disdain for that gift. It’s like if you got someone a grand piano played by Wagner and they pawned it to get a Cameo from Kid Rock. Why would you do that? Who wants that?
Utahns (Utahans?) everywhere should speak out to defend their lands. To borrow a phrase, these lands are your lands. They deserve to be well managed, well staffed and well protected. We should care about them. They’re the reason people care about us.
(Photo courtesy of Brian Higgins) Brian Higgins
Brian Higgins is a writer and comedian in Salt Lake City.
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