Tourists are trampling vital life forms when stepping off Yellowstone trail, park says
A single step off a boardwalk or trail in Yellowstone National Park couldn’t hurt much, right? That’s very wrong, park officials say.
Just one step out of line can impact countless species, including six different plant species, three native bugs, and bacteria and fungi, according to park officials. Just because you didn’t see it, doesn’t mean you didn’t kill it, according to the park, which did not specify all the different organisms at risk of wayward parkgoers.
“This summer, not just one, but hundreds of steps have been taken off the beaten path, creating social trails like this one near the Upper Terrace Drive in Mammoth Hot Springs,” the park said in a Friday post on Facebook. “Social trails develop over time from off-trail foot traffic, and some can even mark the landscape for decades.”
Rebuilding the area can be expensive and success isn’t guaranteed, the park said. Yellowstone is home to dozens of fragile thermal areas, and those are delicate and harder to rebuild.
Avoiding damaging the Yellowstone land is easy: Just stay on designated trails and boardwalks, the park said.
Many people were outraged by the park’s destruction. Some said it’s an example of people feeling entitled to go wherever they want, while others said people need to follow the signs.
“It is sickening how some people cannot follow instructions or common sense in these protected places, or in many other cases,” one commenter said. “Even my 10-year-old grandson followed every rule and/or instruction to stay on walkways, paths, garbage disposal, etc. without any issues arising or complaints.”
This isn’t the first time tourists have disobeyed park officials’ rules for staying in designated areas in the park. Visitors keep trying to swim and soak in prohibited waters, the park said in July.
Jumping into unknown and prohibited waters at Yellowstone could land you in scalding, boiling water — or frigid snow melt.
“This summer, we have had a surge in visitors wading in waters that are closed for their own safety and the protection of unique park resources,” park officials said. “Yellowstone is not a safe place for swimming or soaking because of frigid lakes, swift rivers, and scalding or worse hydrothermal waters.”
