Panorama Point will be open from 6:00 p.m. Thursday night to 7:00 a.m. Monday morning every week. Construction equipment and barricades will remain in the area. Visitors are reminded not to disturb or move this equipment.

The closure will allow construction crews to install new visitor facilities, including a picnic area, vault toilets, designated bus parking, and an area for night sky and telescope viewing programs. Visitor fees provided funding for these improvements.

For additional information about the Southeast Utah Group of national parks visit our websites:

Arches National Park

Canyonlands National Park

Hovenweep National Monument

Natural Bridges National Monument

As part of the process, park officials solicited public input on the proposed alternatives included in the draft plan. More than 400 comments were received. The park has been reviewing those comments and revising the plan in response.

“We received quite a bit of feedback on the proposal,” according to Kate Cannon, Superintendent of the Southeast Utah Group. “It take time to consider each of the comments and determine how we can revise the plan to mitigate some of the concerns while finding space in the plan to include some of the good suggestions.”

Once the park incorporates revisions to the plan, it will be submitted for agency approval before being made available to the public this fall. Any proposed changes to traffic management will not affect visitors in the park until summer of 2019, at the earliest.

The NPS does not comment on any specific revisions to the proposed plan until the review is finished. Superintendent Cannon added, “We want to get the plan right and you can be sure we are working on it.”

For more information about the Southeast Utah Group of national parks visit our websites at:

www.nps.gov/arch

www.nps.gov/cany

www.nps.gov/hove

www.nps.gov/nabr

New restriction orders supersede all previous restriction orders for all participating agencies
and will be in place until the fire hazard subsides. Maps and more specific information about
the fire restrictions may be found on the interagency Utah Fire Info website.
Fire restriction orders are specific to each agency and may contain different stipulations,
but all the orders have the following prohibited acts in common:
1. No campfires (wood or charcoal) anywhere including designated campgrounds.
2. No smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site,
or while stopped in an area that is paved, barren, or cleared to mineral soil.
3. No metal cutting, welding or grinding activities in areas of dry vegetation.
4. No discharging or using any kind of fireworks, steel tipped/core ammunition, tracer
ammunition or other pyrotechnic devices including exploding targets.
5. Permissible acts- Devices fueled by petroleum or liquid propane gas (LPG) products
with a shut-off valve are allowed in areas clear of flammable vegetation within 3 feet
of the device.
For more information about fire restrictions, wildfires, fire prevention, and fuels treatment
projects, please visit www.utahfireinfo.gov. As a general practice always extinguish
campfires, dispose of cigarettes properly, stay on established roads and trails to avoid dry
vegetation, and ensure trailer chains don’t drag or create sparks. Being fire-wise helps
prevent wildfires, keeps families safe, protects communities and reduces unnecessary
risk to fire fighters.

“Arches and Canyonlands national parks welcome visitors from across the country and around the world,” said Superintendent Kate Cannon. “We are delighted to share the story of these special places and the experiences they provide. The parks also introduce visitors to this part of the country and the many recreational opportunities available here. National park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy, returning $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service, and it’s a big factor in our local economy as well. We appreciate the partnership and support of our neighbors and are glad to be able to give back by helping to sustain local communities.”

The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas of the U.S. Geological Survey and Lynne Koontz of the National Park Service. The report shows $18.2 billion of direct spending by more than 330 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 306,000 jobs nationally; 255,900 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $35.8 billion.

The lodging sector received the highest direct contributions with $5.5 billion in economic output to local gateway economies and 49,000 jobs. The restaurants sector received the next greatest direct contributions with $3.7 billion in economic output to local gateway economies and 60,500 jobs.

According to the 2017 report, most park visitor spending was for lodging/camping (32.9 percent) followed by food and beverages (27.5 percent), gas and oil (12.1 percent), souvenirs and other expenses (10.1 percent), admissions and fees (10.0 percent), and local transportation (7.5 percent).

Report authors also produce an interactive tool that enables users to explore visitor spending, jobs, labor income, value added, and output effects by sector for national, state, and local economies. Users can also view year-by-year trend data. The interactive tool and report are available at the NPS Social Science Program webpage: www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/vse.htm

To learn more about national parks in Utah and how the National Park Service works with Utah communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/utah.

For additional information about the Southeast Utah Group of national parks visit our websites:
Arches National Park: www.nps.gov/arch
Canyonlands National Park: www.nps.gov/cany
Hovenweep National Monument:www.nps.gov/hove
Natural Bridges National Monument: www.nps.gov/nabr

A final report of the economic analysis performed by Industrial Economics, Inc. (IEc) will be
available to the public in the summer of 2018. The NPS will incorporate the findings of the
economic analysis into a revised final EA, which will also be available for public review.

The Traffic Congestion Management Plan (TCMP) is being developed to address vehicle
traffic and parking congestion problems that affect visitor access, visitor enjoyment, and

resource conditions. The TCMP proposes a reservation system for entrance during high-
visitation season and peak-visitation hours. Arches National Park staff would like to thank the

public for their continued involvement in the traffic congestion management planning process.
For general information about Arches National Park visit our website at: www.nps.gov/arch.