Zion National Park
General Management Plan

Zion National Park 
Utah

Produced by the Denver Service Center 
National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior 
Washington, DC 

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"There is an eloquence to 
their forms which stirs the 
imagination with a singular 
power and kindles in the 
mind. Nothing can exceed 
the wondrous beauty of 
Zion . . . in the nobility and 
beauty of the sculptures 
there is no comparison."

- Clarence Dutton 1880 

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Summary

The purpose of this plan is to describe the 
general path the National Park Service intends to 
follow in managing Zion National Park over the 
next 20 years. 
The plan will provide a framework for proactive 
decision making on such issues as visitor use, 
natural and cultural resource management, and 
park development, which will allow park man­ 
agers to effectively address future problems and 
opportunities. In most cases, new development 
outside the park will take place to meet visitor 
needs. 
Park managers will make several changes to 
proactively address impacts resulting from 
increased levels of visitor use. The park will be 
zoned to ensure that resources are protected and 
opportunities are provided for a range of quality 
visitor experiences. Most of the park (90%) will 
continue to be recommended for wilderness des­ 
ignation and will be managed according to the 
provisions of the Wilderness Act. In the front­ 
country no new major visitor facilities will be 
provided; however, small visitor facilities, such as 
picnic sites and restrooms, may be built in sev­ 
eral areas, including the Kolob Canyons and the 
east entrance. Voluntary visitor shuttles may run 
along the Zion­Mt. Carmel Highway to the east 
entrance. The Zion Canyon Lodge will continue 
to operate as it has in the past. Part of the North 
Fork of the Virgin River in the main Zion 
Canyon will be restored to a more natural condi­ 
tion. 
In the backcountry several management actions 
will be taken. Three existing research natural 
areas (21% of the park) will be deauthorized, 
while new research natural areas covering 6% of 
the park will be designated. Interim group size 
limits and new interim group encounter rates 
will be instituted pending the completion of the 
wilderness management plan. Park managers 
may need to limit or reduce visitor numbers on 
12 trails and routes in the recommended wilder­ 
ness, including part of the Narrows, Middle Fork 
of Taylor Creek, and La Verkin Creek. Only 
authorized research and NPS­guided educa­ 
tional groups will be allowed in 9,031 acres in 
remote backcountry areas (including 
Parunuweap Canyon) due to their designation as 
research natural areas. 
The National Park Service will propose five 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) areas, total­ 
ing approximately 950 acres, for transfer to the 
park. Nine access easements, totaling about 15 
miles, and three conservation easements, totaling 
2,220 acres, will be proposed on private lands 
outside the park. Congressional authorization 
will be required for all these actions. 
Five drainages and their tributaries in the park 
and six tributaries on BLM lands adjacent to the 
park will be included in the national wild and 
scenic rivers system. The five drainages in the 
park are: the North Fork of the Virgin River 
above and below the Temple of Sinawava, the 
East Fork of the Virgin River, North Creek, La 
Verkin Creek, and Taylor Creek. The drainages 
partly on BLM lands are: Kolob Creek, Goose 
Creek, Shunes Creek, Willis Creek, Beartrap 
Canyon, and the Middle Fork of Taylor Creek. 
Congressional authorization will be required for 
inclusion of these drainages in the national wild 
and scenic rivers system. 

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<full-page image>

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Contents 

Foundation for the Plan 
Purpose of and Need for a Plan 1 
Purposes, Significance, and Missions Goals 5 
Park Policies and Practices 6 
Primary Planning Issues and Concerns 21 
Issues to be Addressed in Future Plans 25
 
The Plan 
Introduction 28 
Summary of the Management Zones 32 
General Management Strategies 35 
Zoning and Related Actions 40 
Boundary Adjustments and Easements 50 
Proposals for wild, Scenic, and Recreational 
River Designation 54 
Implementation 58
 
Appendixes/Bibliography 
Appendixes 
A: Record of Decision 61 
B: Statement of Findings for Floodplains 67 
C: Definitions of the Management Zones 69 
D: Summary of Research Natural Areas 77 
E: Wild and Scenic River Evaluation 80 
F: Legislative Historic for Zion National Park 83 
G: Summary of Key Legal Mandates 84 
Bibliography 86 

Maps 
Location 4 
Areas of Relative Inaccessibility 29 
Zoning 41 
Recommended Wilderness and Land Status 47 
Park Boundary Adjustment and Adjacent 
Landownership 51 
Wild and Scenic Rivers 55 

Tables 
1. Proposed Classification of Rivers 57 
2. River Mileage and Landownership of Suitable 
Rivers 82 

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Purpose of and Need for a Plan
 
As one of 384 units in the national park system, 
Zion National Park is under the management of 
the National Park Service (NPS). The Park 
Service manages all park units in accordance 
with the mandate in its 1916 Organic Act and 
other legislation to conserve resources unim­ 
paired for the enjoyment of future generations. 
To help achieve this mandate, the National Parks 
and Recreation Act of 1978 and NPS 
Management Policies (NPS 2001) require each 
national park unit to have a broad­scale general 
management plan (GMP). 
The purpose of this General Management Plan is 
to describe the general path the National Park 
Service intends to follow in managing Zion 
National Park over the next 20 years. The plan 
does not provide specific and detailed answers 
to every issue or question facing Zion. However, 
the plan does provide a framework for proactive 
decision making on such issues as visitor use, 
natural and cultural resource management, and 
park development, which will allow park man­ 
agers to effectively address future problems and 
opportunities. 
Many changes have occurred in Zion National 
Park, in the surrounding area, and in park man­ 
agement since Zion's last master plan was 
approved in 1977. In particular, park visitation 
has grown dramatically, with visitor use levels 
doubling between 1982 and 1997. This increase in 
use has affected park resources and the diversity 
of visitor experiences offered in Zion. The Zion 
Canyon shuttle system also has changed the 
visitor experience in the park. A new plan is 
essential for providing guidance to manage 
Zion's visitors in the 21st century, and thus 
ensure the preservation of park resources and 
provision of opportunities for visitors to have 
quality park experiences. 
Both the National Parks and Recreation Act and 
NPS policies require general management plans 
to address visitor carrying capacity. One of the 
primary purposes of this plan is to meet this 
requirement. Carrying capacity is defined under 
the visitor experience and resource protection 
(VERP) framework as the type and level of 
visitor use a park can accommodate while sus­ 
taining resource and social conditions that 
complement the purposes of the park and its 
management objectives. In other words, carrying 
capacity is a prescription for the levels of visitor 
use in relation to various natural resource and 
visitor experience conditions. To set up a frame­ 
work for addressing carrying capacity, the park 
was divided into zones that describe differing 
desired resource conditions and visitor experi­ 
ences. (Note that to fully implement the VERP 
framework, a follow­up implementation plan is 
needed to identify key social and natural 
resource indicators to be monitored in each of 
the park's zones, set standards [minimum 
acceptable conditions] for each indicator, and 
develop a monitoring program.) 
In addition to meeting the requirements for 
addressing visitor use management, park man­ 
agers needed this new plan to address other 
issues and concerns that have arisen in the past 
two decades. These issues include those related 
to research natural areas (RNAs) (i.e., areas 
administratively designated by federal land man­ 
agement agencies for research and educational 
purposes or to maintain biological diversity), 
noise, and land uses adjacent to the park. With 
most of Zion recommended for wilderness 
designation, the Park Service also needs this new 
plan to address how this designation will affect 
park management (e.g., changes in park zoning). 
Finally, a new plan presents an opportunity for 
park managers to explore and recommend other 
changes related to managing Zion, such as pro­ 
posing boundary adjustments and wild and 
scenic river designations. 

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Planning Assumptions 

Several fundamental assumptions underpin the General Management Plan. These assumptions are con­ 
sidered "givens" for how the park is managed in the future. 
. Existing major developments in the park will remain, although their functions may change. Park staff 
will continue to maintain the Zion­Mt. Carmel Highway, between the south and east entrances of the 
park, which will remain opened to through (i.e., nonrecreational commuter) traffic. 
. The National Park Service will not build new facilities, such as campgrounds, lodges, roads, and full­ 
service visitor centers, within the park, aside from those associated with the transportation system. It 
is assumed that the private sector will provide lodging and camping facilities outside the park. 
. The National Park Service will continue to operate the Zion Canyon shuttle system, as described in the 
1997 Canyon Transportation System Environmental Assessment. 
. Park managers will adjust staffing levels to reflect the increase in workloads. 

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Brief Description of the Park 

Located in Washington, Iron, and Kane Counties in southwestern Utah, Zion National Park encompasses 
some of the most scenic canyon country in the United States (see the Location map). The park is charac­ 
terized by high plateaus, a maze of narrow, deep, sand­stone canyons, and striking rock towers and 
mesas. Zion Canyon is the largest and most visited canyon in the park. The North Fork of the Virgin 
River has carved a spectacular gorge here, with canyon walls in most places rising 2,000 to 3,000 feet 
above the canyon floor. The southern part of the park is a lower desert area, with colorful mesas bor­ 
dered by rocky canyons and washes. The northern sections of the park are higher plateaus covered by 
forests. 
Zion is one of the earliest additions to the national park system. On July 31, 1909, President Taft issued 
a proclamation setting aside 15,200 acres as the Mukuntuweap National Monument. In 1918 another 
presidential proclamation enlarged the monument to 76,800 acres and changed its name to Zion 
National Monument. Congress established the area as a national park in 1919. A second Zion National 
Monument (now called the Kolob Canyons) was established by presidential proclamation in 1937. 
Congress added the Kolob Canyons to Zion National Park in 1956. The park currently encompasses 
148,016 acres. An additional 3,490 acres of private inholdings are present in the Kolob Terrace area, on 
the west side of the park. (The inholding acreage and all of the other park acreage figures included in 
this document are based on geographic information system (GIS) calculations. These figures may not 
correspond with legal description acreages.) 
Zion is part of the Southwest's "Grand Circle" of national parks, monuments, historical areas, and recre­ 
ational areas. Visitors reach the park via Interstate 15, which provides access to the Kolob Canyons area, 
and Utah Route 9. Zion is 158 miles northeast of Las Vegas and 320 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. 
The town of Springdale is less than a mile from the park's south entrance. Other nearby towns include 
Kanab (41 miles from the Zion Canyon Visitor Center), St. George (43 miles), and Cedar City (60 miles). 

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<map - Location, Zion National Park, Utah>

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Purposes, Significance, and Mission Goals of Zion National Park 

The purposes, significance, and mission goals of 
Zion National Park are three of the key elements 
that shaped the development of the General 
Management Plan. These elements underlie how 
the park is managed. The purposes tell why the 
park was aside as a unit in the national park 
system. The significance of the park addresses 
what makes the area unique --- why it is impor­ 
tant enough to our natural and/or cultural her­ 
itage to warrant national park designation and 
how it differs from other parts of the country. 
Zion's mission goals articulate the ideal future 
conditions the National Park Service is striving 
to attain. All of the management prescriptions in 
this management plan are consistent with and 
support the park's purposes, significance, and 
mission goals. 
Based on Zion's enabling legislation, legislative 
history, agency management policies, and the 
knowledge and insights of park staff, the follow­ 
ing are the purposes, significance statements, 
and mission goals for Zion National Park. The 
purposes of Zion National Park are to 
. preserve the dynamic natural process of 
canyon formation as an extraordinary 
example of canyon erosion 
. preserve and protect the scenic beauty and 
unique geologic features: the labyrinth of 
remarkable canyons, volcanic phenomena, 
fossiliferous deposits, brilliantly colored 
strata, and rare sedimentation 
. preserve the archeological features that 
pertain to the prehistoric races of America 
and the ancestral Indian tribes 
. preserve the entire area intact for the purpose 
of scientific research and the enjoyment and 
enlightenment of the public 
. provide a variety of opportunities and a range 
of experiences, from solitude to high use, to 
assist visitors in learning about and enjoying 
park resources without degrading those 
resources 
Zion National Park is significant for the follow­ 
ing reasons: 
. Zion's stunning scenery features towering, 
brilliantly colored cliffs and associated vegeta­ 
tion highlighted by a backdrop of contrasting 
bright, southwestern skies. 
. Zion is a geologic showcase with sheer sand­ 
stone cliffs among the highest in the world. 
. The Virgin River --- one of the last mostly 
free­flowing river systems on the Colorado 
Plateau --- is responsible for the ongoing 
carving of this deeply incised landscape. 
. Because of its unique geographic location and 
variety of life zones, Zion is home to a large 
assemblage of plant and animal communities. 
. Zion preserves evidence of human occupa­ 
tion from prehistoric to modern times, 
including American Indian sites, remnants of 
Mormon homesteading, and engineering and 
architecture related to park establishment and 
early tourism. 
The mission goals of Zion National Park are to 
. provide park visitors educational and recre­ 
ational opportunities that foster an apprecia­ 
tion of Zion and its resources 
. ensure that visitor impacts do not impair 
resources 
. maintain the resources, including plant and 
animal communities, at healthy and viable 
levels consistent with natural processes 
. manage cultural and physical resources to 
ensure long­term integrity 
. ensure that the built environment provides 
for safe visitor and staff uses in a sustainable 
and cost­effective manner 
. ensure that the organization is responsive to 
employee needs, recognizing the contribu­ 
tions of each individual 
. foster mutually supportive partnerships with 
private and public organizations and individu­ 
als to achieve visitor use and resource protec­ 
tion goals 

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Park Policies and Practices 

A number of federal laws and NPS policies and 
practices guide the management of Zion 
National Park. Appendix G describes some of 
these key federal laws, such as the NPS Organic 
Act, which underpins much of what can and 
cannot be permitted in national parks and which 
distinguishes national parks from other public 
lands. This section focuses on park policies and 
standard park practices that affect the manage­ 
ment of Zion. These policies and practices guide 
the actions taken by park staff on such topics as 
natural and cultural resource management, use 
of recommended wilderness areas, development 
of park facilities, and visitor use management. 
These policies and practices will continue to 
guide park managers. Park staff will continue to 
implement NPS policies and goals, as identified 
in NPS Management Policies (2001); several exist­ 
ing formal agreements; and many standard park 
practices, as described in the "Zion National 
Park Compendium" (NPS n.d.). 
The ongoing management policies and practices 
of Zion National Park are described below. For 
each topic discussed, there is a general statement 
that describes the National Park Service's 
desired future condition or goal for Zion. The 
general strategies or actions taken (or that will 
be taken) by park staff to achieve the desired 
conditions are also discussed. Some of the 
strategies described below are not currently 
being implemented, but the strategies are consis­ 
tent with NPS policy, are not believed to be con­ 
troversial and require no additional analysis and 
documentation under the National Environ­ 
mental Policy Act.
 
ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT 
Zion National Park lies within an extensive 
landscape of human, biological, and physical 
dimensions. Park resources and their manage­ 
ment are affected by natural processes and 
social circumstances, which often extend 
beyond park boundaries. Park visitors, local 
culture and traditions, adjacent land manage­ 
ment, and economic considerations all affect 
park recreational and wilderness values, as well 
as the conservation of cultural and natural 
resources. For example, although the park staff 
manages a small portion of the upper Virgin 
River watershed, water quality in the park may 
depend upon actions taken upstream of the park 
on over 700,000 acres. 
The park also is in a rapidly developing region of 
the United States. With the predicted population 
growth for Washington, Iron, and Kane 
Counties, lands adjacent to the park will be 
subject to increased development --- a trend 
already apparent. Increased use of recreational 
lands and facilities, greater consumption of 
water and other resources, and fragmenting of 
sensitive species habitat will likely result. 
Because the park is part of this greater eco­ 
system, should this development impact 
resources and alter ecological processes, the 
ability of the park to sustain natural and cultural 
resources may be compromised. 
In the past many park units were managed in a 
way that did not adapt to natural or social 
change, or consider influences beyond park 
boundaries. Managing for a static environment 
in the human or natural dimension will not 
provide the means to meet the needs of future 
generations nor accommodate the change inher­ 
ent to, and resulting from, natural processes. 
In terms of biological, geological, and hydro­ 
logic resources, the management of Zion 
National Park's natural resources has begun to 
change from custodial management to that of 
allowing natural processes to shape the land­ 
scape, while also taking restoration actions to 
conserve native biological communities and 
species. For example, the condition of vegeta­ 
tion communities has declined on park and 
adjacent lands since the settlement period from 
overuse, weed infestations, and exclusion of 
natural fires. To reinstitute the natural fire 
process, both management­ignited and naturally 
ignited fire are occurring under closely managed 
conditions. In concert with fire management, 
weed control and revegetation, using native 
plants as active restoration tools, are being used 
to restore natural vegetation. To be most effec­ 
tive, application of these restoration activities 
must be conducted in concert with adjacent 
land managers because vegetation communities 
do not conform to political boundaries. 

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. Desired Conditions: The Park Service 
demonstrates leadership in resource steward­ 
ship and conservation of ecosystem values 
within and outside the park. Zion National 
Park is managed from an ecosystem per­ 
spective, where internal and external factors 
affecting visitor use, environmental quality, and 
resource stewardship goals are considered at a 
scale appropriate to their impact on affected 
resources. Park resources and visitors are 
managed considering the ecological and social 
conditions of the park and surrounding area. 
Park managers adapt to changing ecological 
and social conditions within and external to 
the park and continue as partners in regional 
planning and land management. 
. Strategies: Park staff will continue to partici­ 
pate in and encourage ongoing partnerships 
with local, state, and federal agencies and 
organizations in programs that have impor­ 
tance within and beyond park boundaries. 
Partnerships important to the long­term via­ 
bility of critical natural and cultural resources 
include: 
(1) Interagency Conservation Agreement for 
the Virgin Spinedace: provides for habitat 
improvement and population protection 
for the spinedace 
(2) Virgin River Resource Management and 
Recovery Program: provides for conser­ 
vation of riverine resources (specifically 
seven species of concern) throughout the 
Virgin River drainage, through habitat 
management, improved water quality and 
quantity, in­stream flow, floodplain protec­ 
tion, and other means 
(3) Zion National Park Water Rights 
Settlement Agreement: protects stream 
and groundwater resources within and 
adjacent to the park and provides for 
federal reserved water rights (pending final 
adjudication) for the park 
(4) Grafton Heritage Partnership Project: 
restores/ stabilizes the extant structures 
and interpretation of the historic pioneer­ 
era settlement of Grafton, as well as river 
channel restoration 
(5) River channel and floodplain restoration 
of the North Fork of the Virgin River: 
restoration of natural floodplain and river­ 
ine processes in stretches of the river 
within and below the park. 
Central to ecosystem management is long­term 
monitoring of the change in condition of cul­ 
tural and natural resources and related human 
influences. Without a planned monitoring pro­ 
gram, improvement or degradation of resources 
and visitor experience cannot be determined 
with any certainty. To protect, restore, and 
enhance park resources and to sustain visitor 
use and enjoyment within the park and the 
related landscape, park managers will 
. initiate long­term monitoring of resources 
and visitor use, including use of the VERP 
process as appropriate 
. promote park­sponsored research to increase 
the understanding of park resources, natural 
processes, and human interactions with the 
environment 
. institute science­based decision­making, 
incorporating the results of resource monitor­ 
ing and research into all aspects of park oper­ 
ations 
. identify lands external to the park where eco­ 
logical processes, natural and cultural 
resources, and human use affect park 
resources or are closely related to park 
resource management considerations; initiate 
joint management actions, agreements, or 
partnerships to promote resource conserva­ 
tion 
. provide vigorous education and outreach 
programs to highlight conservation and man­ 
agement issues facing the park and related 
lands, and develop constituencies to assist in 
their resolution 

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RELATIONS WITH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS,
ADJACENT LANDOWNERS, AND GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES 
As noted above, Zion National Park is not an 
island --- the park is part of a greater area, 
socially, politically, ecologically, and historically. 
The National Park Service must consider how 
its actions in Zion affect the surrounding envi­ 
ronment and society. For instance, management 
of the park influences local economies through 
tourism expenditures, as well as the goods and 
services purchased by the Park Service to 
support park operations. 
. Desired Conditions: The National Park 
Service manages Zion National Park holisti­ 
cally as part of a greater ecological, social, eco­ 
nomic, and cultural system. Good relations are 
maintained with adjacent landowners, sur­ 
rounding communities, and private and public 
groups that affect, and are affected by, the 
park. Zion is managed proactively to resolve 
external issues and concerns and ensure park 
values are not compromised. 
. Strategies: Park staff will continue to establish 
and foster partnerships with public and private 
organizations to achieve the purposes and 
mission of the park. Partnerships will be 
sought for resource protection, research, edu­ 
cation, and visitor enjoyment purposes. 
To foster a spirit of cooperation with neigh­ 
bors and encourage compatible adjacent land 
uses, park staff will keep landowners, land 
managers, local governments, and the public 
informed about park management activities. 
Periodic consultations will occur with 
landowners and communities who are affected 
by, or potentially affected by park visitors and 
management actions. Park staff will respond 
promptly to conflicts that arise over their 
activities, visitor access, and proposed activi­ 
ties and developments on adjacent lands that 
may affect Zion. Park managers will seek 
agreements with landowners to encourage 
their lands to be managed in a manner com­ 
patible with park purposes. Park staff also will 
seek ways to provide landowners with techni­ 
cal and management assistance to address 
issues of mutual interest. 
The National Park Service will work closely 
with local, state, federal agencies, and tribal 
governments whose programs affect, or are 
affected by, activities in Zion. The Park 
Service will continue to be an active member 
of the Southwest Utah Planning Authorities 
Council (SUPAC). It also will continue to 
coordinate with the Five County Associations 
of Governments, and with other local, state, 
and federal agencies. In particular, park man­ 
agers will maintain a close working relation­ 
ship with the Bureau of Land Management, 
whose lands abut much of the park, to meet 
mutual management needs. Park managers 
also will pursue cooperative regional planning 
whenever possible to integrate the park into 
issues of regional concern.

GOVERNMENT TO GOVERNMENT RELATIONS BETWEEN AMERICAN
INDIAN TRIBES AND ZION NATIONAL PARK 
Several Southern Paiute tribes and bands view 
Zion National Park as part of their traditional 
homeland. These tribes and bands include the 
Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah (which includes the 
Kanosh, Shivwits, Koosharem, Indian Peaks and 
Cedar Bands), the Kaibab Band of Paiute 
Indians, the Moapa Paiute Indian Tribe, and the 
San Juan Paiute Indian Tribe. The Hopi Tribe 
and other Puebloan groups also have expressed 
their close affiliation with Zion. 
The National Park Service has developed several 
park policies based on legal mandates, such as 
the National Historic Preservation Act, 
Archaeological Resources Protection Act, Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation 
Act, and the American Indian Religious 
Freedom Act. The Park Service has written a 
formal park policy that exempts Southern Paiute 
tribal members from paying fees if they enter the 
park for nonrecreational activities (i.e., tradi­ 
tional religious, ceremonial, medicinal, or other 
customary activities). The Park Service and 
tribal governments of the Southern Paiute have 
also jointly developed a memorandum of under­ 
standing that allows, under prescribed condi­ 
tions, tribal members to gather plants found 
within the park that are used for traditional and 
customary purposes. 
. Desired Conditions: The National Park 
Service and tribes culturally affiliated with 
Zion maintain positive, productive, govern­ 
ment­to­government relationships. Park man­ 
agers and staff respect the viewpoints and 
needs of the tribes, continue to promptly 
address conflicts that occur, and consider 
American Indian values in park management 
and operation. 
. Strategies: The National Park Service will con­ 
tinue to cooperate with tribes in conducting 
ethnographic studies to better understand 
which tribes are culturally affiliated with the 
park and identify culturally significant 
resources. 

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Regular consultations will occur with affiliated 
tribes to continue to improve communications 
and resolve any problems or misunderstand­ 
ings. 
Park managers will continue to encourage the 
employment of American Indians on park staff 
to improve communications and working rela­ 
tionships, and encourage cultural diversity in 
the workplace. 
Culturally affiliated tribal values will be con­ 
sidered in efforts to improve overall manage­ 
ment and park interpretation. 
A joint monitoring program will be imple­ 
mented to monitor plant­gathering sites for 
potential impacts, as called for in the memo­ 
randum of understanding with the Southern 
Paiute.

NATURAL RESOURCES (GENERAL) 
Protection, study, and management of the park's 
natural resources and processes is essential for 
achieving the park's purposes and mission. The 
"Resource Management Plan" (NPS 1994a) pro­ 
vides details on the strategies and actions to 
address the park's most important resource 
management problems and research needs. 
. Desired Conditions: Zion retains its ecologi­ 
cal integrity, including its natural resources and 
processes. The natural features of the park, 
including the natural sound environment 
remain unimpaired. The park continues to be a 
dynamic, bio­diverse environment. Park visi­ 
tors and staff recognize and understand the 
value of the park's natural resources. Park staff 
uses the best available scientific information 
and technology to manage the park's natural 
resources. Park managers ensure that labora­ 
tory facilities are available to meet the needs of 
park staff and independent scientists engaged 
in fundamental physical, biological, and cul­ 
tural studies and analyses. Zion is recognized 
and valued as an outstanding example of 
resource stewardship, conservation, education, 
and public use. 
. General Strategies: Park staff and other scien­ 
tists will continue to inventory park resources 
to quantify, locate, and document biotic and 
abiotic resources in the park and to assess their 
status and trends. 
Park managers will encourage and support 
basic and applied research directly through 
various partnerships and agreements to 
enhance the understanding of park resources 
and processes, or to answer specific manage­ 
ment questions. 
Park staff and other scientists will continue the 
long­term systematic monitoring of resources 
and processes to discern natural and anthro­ 
pogenically induced trends, document 
changes in species or communities, evaluate 
the effectiveness of management actions taken 
to protect and restore resources, and to miti­ 
gate impacts on resources. 
The park staff will continue to expand the data 
management system, including a geographic 
information system (GIS), a research data 
base, and a literature data base, for analyzing, 
modeling, predicting, and testing trends in 
resource conditions. 
Park staff will apply ecological principles to 
ensure that natural resources are maintained 
and not impaired. They will manage fire to 
maintain and/or restore ecosystem integrity 
and use integrated pest management pro­ 
cedures when necessary to control nonnative 
organisms or other pests. Habitats for threat­ 
ened and endangered species will also be con­ 
served and restored. 
Park staff will apply mitigation techniques to 
minimize the impacts of construction and 
other activities on park resources (see the text 
box on page 11). Facilities will be built in previ­ 
ously disturbed areas or in carefully selected 
sites with as small a construction footprint as 
possible. 
Park managers will restore disturbed lands as 
much as possible and determine on a site­by­ 
site basis whether passive or active restoration 
was necessary. Park staff will carry out active 
restoration of previously or newly disturbed 
areas using native genetic materials to regain 
maximum habitat value. Should facilities be 
removed, the disturbed lands will be rehabili­ 
tated to restore natural topography and soils, 
and revegetate the areas with native species. 
Under some circumstances, primarily in front­ 
country developed areas, it may be appropri­ 
ate and within policy to use nonnative plants 
in restoration efforts. Additionally, certain 
exotic plant species may be used to control 
other, more noxious and invasive exotic plant 
species. These practices are intended for 
short­term use only, to achieve a long­term 
overall goal of native plant community 
integrity. 

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Park managers will continue to regularly 
update the park's resource management plan 
and prioritize actions needed to protect, 
manage, and study park resources.

AIR QUALITY 
Zion National Park is designated a class I area 
under the Clean Air Act. This designation allows 
air quality characteristics, including visibility, to 
be degraded the least, compared to other Clean 
Air Act designations. 
. Desired Conditions: Zion's class I air quality 
is maintained or enhanced with no significant 
degradation. Nearly unimpaired views of the 
landscape both within and outside the park are 
present. Scenic views, which are integral to the 
visitor experience and have been identified in 
the park as per the Clean Air Act, are substan­ 
tially unimpaired. For example, Mt. Trumbull 
and the Kaibab Plateau, both over 50 miles 
away in northern Arizona, can usually be seen 
from Lava Point. Park staff carry out pre­ 
scribed fires to replicate ecological conditions 
and/or reduce dangerous fuel loading, in a 
manner that minimizes local effects to visibility 
from smoke production. 
. Strategies: The National Park Service will con­ 
tinue to work with appropriate state and 
federal government agencies, industries, 
nearby communities, land managers, the 
Southwest Utah Planning Authorities Council 
(SUPAC), the Utah Division of Air Quality, and 
the Western Regional Air Partnership to main­ 
tain park and regional air quality. 
Park staff and other scientists will inventory 
and monitor air quality in the park to gain 
baseline data and to measure any significant 
changes (improvement or deterioration) to 
Zion's airshed. This will include a complete 
inventory of in­park emission sources, as well 
as those in the immediate vicinity of the park. 
The Park Service will review, comment on, 
and recommend actions to minimize or reduce 
emissions from sources being proposed within 
64 miles (100 kilometers) of Zion. 
Park managers also will attempt to minimize 
the effects of in­park pollution sources on air 
quality. For example, emissions from burning 
wood in campgrounds and residences may be 
reduced by establishing nonburn days or by 
banning wood­burning stoves.

NIGHT SKY 
NPS policy recognizes that Zion's night sky is a 
feature that significantly contributes to the 
visitor experience. The policy further states that 
the Park Service will seek to minimize the intru­ 
sion of artificial light into the night scene. In 
natural areas, artificial outdoor lighting will be 
limited to meeting basic safety requirements and 
will be shielded when possible. 
. Desired Conditions: Excellent opportunities 
to view the night sky are available. Artificial 
light sources both within and outside the park 
do not impair night sky viewing opportunities. 
. Strategies: Park staff will continue to work 
with local communities to encourage protec­ 
tion of the night sky and will evaluate impacts 
on the night sky caused by facilities within 
Zion National Park. To the extent possible, the 
staff will work within a regional context to 
protect night sky quality. 
If park staff determine that light sources 
within the park affect views of the night sky, 
they will study alternatives to existing lighting 
sources, such as shielding lights, changing 
lamp types, or eliminating unnecessary 
sources.

WATER QUANTITY AND QUALITY 
Water is a key resource in Zion National Park, 
shaping the landscape and affecting plants, 
animals, and visitor use. Nearby communities 
and landowners also rely on the water that flows 
into and out of the park. River flow in Zion is 
currently substantially natural and free flowing. 
It is protected by federal reserved water rights 
recognized under the 1996 Zion National Park 
Water Rights Settlement Agreement between the 
United States, the State of Utah, the Washington 
County Water Conservancy District, and Kane 
County Water Conservancy District. The agree­ 
ment identified state appropriative rights and 
federal reserved water rights to help ensure that 
the National Park Service maintains groundwa­ 
ter, stream flows, and spring discharges within 
the park. While the agreement allows for some 
potential future development of water above the 
park, the agreement recognizes the United 
States' reserved rights to "all water underlying, 
originating within or flowing through Zion 
National Park ... that was unappropriated as of 
the dates of reservation of the lands now within 
the boundaries of the park, which waters are to 
remain in a free flowing condition." [emphasis 
added] The rights comprise "those waters in the 
Virgin River Basin," and include all sources of 
surface and groundwater. 
. Desired Conditions: The National Park 
Service fully complies with the Zion National 
Park Water Rights Settlement Agreement to 

---- page 10 end ----

== insert begin ==
Natural Resource Mitigation Measures

Park staff will continue to apply the following measures to avoid or minimize the impacts on sensitive 
natural resources: 
. Enforce trail closures during the Mexican spotted owl breeding/nesting period (March 1 -- August 31) 
for side canyons off the main Zion Canyon where the owls typically are found. 
. Prohibit the climbing of cliff faces that support peregrine falcon aeries during breeding and nesting 
periods (approximately February through July); direct air traffic away from these nesting areas. 
. Limit damage or loss of vegetation and associated species (including Zion snails) in hanging gardens 
through visitor education and the use of delineated trails, barriers, and signs. 
. Employ erosion control measures or place barriers to control potential impacts on rare plants from 
trail erosion or social trailing. 
. Employ a variety of techniques, including visitor education programs, restrictions on visitor activities, 
and ranger patrols, to reduce impacts on wildlife during sensitive times. 
. Use designated river access/crossing points, barriers, and closures to prevent trampling and loss of 
riparian vegetation. 
. Use interpretive displays and programs, ranger patrols, and regulations on use levels to minimize 
water pollution. 
. Where possible, new developments will be built in previously disturbed sites. New developments also 
will be built away from microbiotic soil crusts. 
. Prior to any construction in areas where spotted owls are known or suspected to occur, park man­ 
agers will evaluate the specific locations for new developments, such as picnic areas and trails, in con­ 
sultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. No new facilities will be built during the owl breed­ 
ing/nesting season (March 1 -- August 31). 
. No new designated camping sites will be located in Mexican spotted owl territories. If survey results 
indicate that visitors are camping near nest or roost sites, restrictions will be placed on camping in 
those areas. 
. Park staff will survey proposed development sites for rare plants and will relocate new developments 
if rare plant populations are present. Similarly, trails and routes will be located to avoid impacts on 
rare plants. 
. Site­specific measures, such as the placement of silt fencing, retention and replacement of topsoil, 
revegetation of sites, and selective scheduling of construction activities, will be taken to reduce 
runoff from construction sites. Workers also will be required to control dust, and all construction 
machinery will be required to meet air emission standards. Restoration efforts will be scheduled to 
minimize impacts on downstream water users and to avoid the Virgin spinedace spawning periods. 
. Wading and hiking in streams with Virgin spinedace will be managed to minimize impacts on the 
fish. 
. To minimize impacts of trail erosion and social trailing on microbiotic crusts in developed areas, park 
staff will place barriers, erect signs, and rehabilitate damaged areas. 
. To help minimize the spread of nonnative plants, park managers will allow only the use of weed­free 
materials and equipment for park operations and visitor use activities. 
== insert end ==

---- page 11 end ----

support park resource, visitor, and administra­ 
tive uses, and the rights of other water users. 
Flows in the springs, rivers, and tributaries, 
including floods, are substantially natural. All 
water withdrawals and appropriations are 
limited to authorized amounts. Zion's water 
quality continues to reflect natural conditions 
and supports administrative and recreational 
uses, and adjacent communities. 
. Strategies: With regard to water flows, the 
National Park Service will work cooperatively 
with the Utah Department of Natural 
Resources, Washington County Water 
Conservancy District, and Kane County Water 
Conservancy District to implement the Zion 
National Park Water Rights Settlement 
Agreement. 
Park staff will strive to conserve water in all 
park operations. Examples of actions that can 
be taken include replacing irrigation ditches 
with pipes, reducing irrigated landscapes, and 
installing low flow fixtures such as toilets and 
showers. 
Park personnel will document and monitor 
current water consumption in the park and 
monitor stream flows. Park managers will 
review all future projects for compliance with 
the provisions of the water rights agreement. 
Visitor interpretive and education efforts will 
emphasize the hazards from flash flooding that 
exist in the park and appropriate responses 
when flooding occurs. Park staff will educate 
visitors in techniques to prevent water pollu­ 
tion and safely collect and treat drinking water 
from natural sources. 
Park personnel will develop a program to 
manage human waste in all areas, particularly 
in riparian or riverine situations. This program 
may involve visitors carrying their own wastes 
out from certain areas. 
Park managers also will work with adjacent 
landowners and the Utah Department of 
Natural Resources to prevent water pollution 
and minimize the risk of water­borne diseases 
stemming from livestock and other sources. 
Park managers will also participate in state or 
national water quality remediation and water­ 
shed planning programs. 
A monitoring program will be established to 
regularly measure water quality and quantity, 
including physical, chemical, and biological 
properties.

NATURAL SOUNDS 
NPS Management Policies require park managers 
to strive to preserve the natural soundscape 
(natural quiet) associated with the physical and 
biological resources (for example, the sounds of 
the wind in the trees). The concept of natural 
quiet was further defined in the Report on Effects 
of Aircraft Overflights on the National Park 
System (NPS 1995): 
What is natural quiet?: Parks and wildernesses 
offer a variety of unique, pristine sounds not 
found in most urban or suburban environ­ 
ments. They also offer a complete absence of 
sounds that are found in such environments. 
Together, these two conditions provide a very 
special dimension to a park experience --- 
quiet itself. In the absence of any discernible 
source of sound (especially manmade), quiet is 
an important element of the feeling of soli­ 
tude. Quiet also affords visitors an opportunity 
to hear faint or very distant sounds, such as 
animal activity and waterfalls. Such an experi­ 
ence provides an important perspective on the 
vastness of the environment in which the 
visitor is located, often beyond the visual 
boundaries determined by trees, terrain, and 
the like. In considering natural quiet as a 
resource, the ability to clearly hear the delicate 
and quieter intermittent sounds of nature, the 
ability to experience interludes of extreme 
quiet for their own sake, and the opportunity 
to do so for extended periods of time is what 
natural quiet is all about. 
Aircraft flights over the park for sightseeing, 
photography, or filming purposes can adversely 
affect the natural soundscape. The potential 
exists for increases in air tours and associated 
noise impacts in the park. Land­based sources, 
such as motor vehicles, can also affect natural 
sounds. 
. Desired Conditions: Natural sounds predom­ 
inate in Zion. Visitors have opportunities 
throughout most of the park to experience 
natural sounds in an unimpaired condition. 
The sounds of civilization are generally con­ 
fined to developed areas. 
. Strategies: Park managers will continue to 
follow several policies and practices to mini­ 
mize noise both from land and air sources. 
With the passage of Public Law 106­181 
(National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 
2000), the park staff will develop an air tour 
management plan to provide guidance in man­ 
aging this activity. The plan will conform to the 
above legislation. 

---- page 12 end ----

As provided in the legislation, the Federal 
Aviation Administration (FAA) will grant 
interim operating authority for air tour opera­ 
tors to continue to operate as they have in the 
past, pending completion of an air tour man­ 
agement plan. If all parties, including the park 
superintendent, agree, an interim operating 
authority may be modified to further protect 
park resources, values, and/or visitor experi­ 
ences. 
Park managers will work with the FAA, tour 
operators, and all other interested parties in 
developing the air tour management plan. This 
plan will determine if commercial air tours 
will be appropriate for the park, and if so, 
under what conditions (e.g., if air tours are 
appropriate in some or all of the park, the plan 
may establish conditions such as routes, alti­ 
tudes, times of day, maximum number of 
flights per unit of time, etc.). 
The National Park Service will continue to 
work with the Federal Aviation Administration 
(FAA), tour operators, commercial businesses, 
and general aviation interests to minimize 
noise and visual impacts of aviation to the 
park. Aircraft will be encouraged to fly outside 
the park, especially for those flights where the 
presence of the park is incidental to the 
purpose of the flight (i.e., transit between two 
points). Actions that may be considered for 
encouraging pilots to fly outside park bound­ 
aries include identifying the park on route 
maps as a noise­sensitive area, educating pilots 
about the reasons for keeping a distance from 
the park, and encouraging pilots to fly in com­ 
pliance with FAA regulations and advisory 
guidance, in a manner that minimizes noise 
and other impacts. 
The National Park Service will work with the 
Department of Defense to develop a process 
to address the occasional problems that arise 
from military flights over Zion. 
Park managers will follow several strategies to 
control existing and potential land­based 
noise sources: 
. continue operating the shuttle system and 
eventually prohibit tour buses in Zion 
Canyon, which will reduce noise levels and 
eliminate the greatest source of noise in Zion 
Canyon 
. continue to require bus tour companies in 
Zion to comply with regulations that reduce 
noise levels (e.g., turning off engines when 
buses are parked) 
. encourage visitors to avoid the use of genera­ 
tors, thus reducing related noise (Electric 
hookups in the Watchman campground 
should eliminate most of the need for genera­ 
tors.) 
. maintain the existing quiet hours in camp­ 
grounds 
. continue to enforce existing noise policies in 
the backcountry 
Park managers will minimize noise generated by 
park management activities by strictly regulating 
NPS and concession administrative use of 
noise­producing machinery such as aircraft and 
motorized equipment. Noise will be a consider­ 
ation when procuring and using park equip­ 
ment. In the recommended wilderness area, the 
use of motorized equipment will conform to the 
requirements of the Wilderness Act, "minimum 
requirements procedures," and related NPS 
policies (NPS Director's Order 41). Park man­ 
agers also will prepare a soundscape preserva­ 
tion and noise management plan to provide 
guidance for managing all noise sources in the 
park, including buses, generators, NPS equip­ 
ment, other aircraft, and external sources.

CULTURAL RESOURCES (GENERAL) 
Zion's cultural resources, including its pre­ 
historic, historic, and ethnographic resources, 
are an integral part of the park landscape. 
Protection of these resources is essential for 
understanding peoples' past, present, and future 
relationship with the park environment and 
expressions of America's cultural heritage. The 
Zion "Resource Management Plan" (NPS 1994a) 
provides details on the strategies and actions to 
address the park's most important cultural 
resource problems and research needs. 
. Desired Conditions: Zion's cultural resources 
are protected and the integrity of the park's 
cultural resources is preserved unimpaired. 
Park visitors and employees recognize and 
understand the value of the park's cultural 
resources. Zion is recognized and valued as an 
example of resource stewardship, conserva­ 
tion, education, and public use. 
. General Strategies: The National Park Service 
will support basic and applied research, 
directly and through various partnerships and 
agreements, to enhance the understanding of 
resources and processes or to solve specific 
management questions. 
Park staff will use the best available scientific 
information and technology for making deci­ 

---- page 13 end ----

== insert begin ==
Cultural Resource Mitigation Measures 

Park staff will continue to apply the following measures to ensure that impacts on sensitive cultural 
resources are avoided or minimized: 
. Consult a Utah state historical preservation officer and undertake an archeological survey, to deter­ 
mine the extent and significance of archeological resources in areas that are not surveyed, for actions 
that may involve ground disturbance or affect structures and/or landscapes that are either on or eligi­ 
ble for the National Register of Historic Places 
. Where possible, site projects and facilities in previously disturbed or developed locations 
. Whenever possible, modify project design features to avoid effects to national register eligible or list­ 
ed properties 
. Ensure that archeological monitors are present during all construction activities that may impact sub­ 
surface cultural deposits 
. Add signs and physical barriers to protect sites listed on the national register (or are eligible for list­ 
ing) from visitor related impacts. 
. Focus public education initiatives on class I and class II sites, as identified under the park's archeologi­ 
cal site disclosure policy
== insert end ==

sions on and managing the park's cultural 
resources. 
Park staff and scientists will continue to collect 
information to fill gaps in the knowledge and 
understanding of Zion's cultural resources, to 
assess their status and trends and more effec­ 
tively protect and manage the resources. 
The National Park Service also will continue 
long­term monitoring of archeological sites to 
measure the deterioration from natural and 
human sources and to evaluate the effective­ 
ness of management actions to protect 
resources and mitigate impacts. 
To analyze, model, predict, and test trends in 
resource conditions, park managers will con­ 
tinue to use and expand a data management 
system, including a geographic information 
system (GIS). 
To provide the public and park staff with 
optimum interpretive and resource manage­ 
ment opportunities, park personnel will con­ 
tinue to research, document, and catalogue the 
museum collection. Museum objects and 
archival materials will be conserved to NPS 
and professional standards. The park's 
museum conservation program will continue 
to provide for the proper preservation and 
protection of the museum collection. 
In accordance with the National Historic 
Preservation Act, as amended, park managers 
will continue to locate, identify, and evaluate 
park resources to determine if they are eligible 
for listing in the National Register of Historic 
Places. 
Visitor use management and construction mit­ 
igation techniques will continue to ensure that 
human activities are not impairing park 
resources. Park managers will rely on a variety 
of actions to minimize these impacts, includ­ 
ing visitor education and interpretation, and 
use of foot patrols to enforce the Archeo­ 
logical Resources Protection Act. The park's 
archeological site disclosure policy will con­ 
tinue to be followed (see the archeological site 
disclosure text box on page 15). 
Park managers will continue to regularly 
update the "Resource Management Plan" and 
prioritize actions needed to protect park 
resources.

HISTORIC STRUCTURES 
The National Park Service listed a total of 91 his­ 
toric structures at Zion in the Park Service's 1998 
"List of Classified Structures" (LCS). Eighty­five 
of those structures are either listed or recom­ 
mended as eligible for listing on the National 
Register of Historic Places. With the exception 
of a few prehistoric architectural sites, all of the 
historic structures on the LCS are used for park 
operational purposes (housing, offices), trans­ 
portation, or recreation. 
. Desired Conditions: The historic built envi­ 
ronment, whether federally owned or conces­ 
sion leased, is maintained in good condition.

---- page 14 end ----

== insert begin ==
Zion National Park's Archeological Site Disclosure Policy 

The National Park Service has devised and incorporated an archeological site disclosure policy at several 
national parks in Utah, including Zion National Park. This policy makes information about the location 
of archeological sites available to the public, but only if "no harm, threat, or destruction of cultural 
resources will result" from disclosure of that information. In general terms, such information is only 
provided to those sites that are regularly patrolled, monitored, stabilized, or otherwise protected from 
visitor impacts or harm. The site disclosure policy establishes three classes of sites, based on the ability 
of the site to withstand visitor impacts. The following describes those classes and the management 
actions that continue to be taken with regard to visitor access to sites within each class. 
Class I sites are those that are highly visible in the park and generally known to visitors, like the 
Weeping Rock granary or the south gate petroglyph site. These sites also receive direct physical protec­ 
tion (e.g., fencing, barriers, signs), as well as regular monitoring and condition assessment by park staff 
and site stewards. Some of these sites may have already been impacted by prior visitor use. The 
National Park Service provides information on these sites at the visitor center, as well as information on 
appropriate site etiquette and the Park Service's archeological site protection and use policy. 
Class II sites are evaluated as being more fragile and vulnerable to visitor impacts than class I sites, but 
are also well known to visitors. When visitors request information on a specific site, by name or site 
number, they are directed to the visitor center and a member of the park interpretive staff. Park per­ 
sonnel provide visitors location information on class II sites only after providing information on appro­ 
priate site etiquette and the archeological site protection and use policy. Park staff also regularly moni­ 
tor class II sites, which have stabilization and protective measures in place. 
Class III sites comprise the majority of sites within the park. These are considered to be fragile resources 
and not appropriate for visitor uses. In accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act and the 
Archeological Resources Protection Act, location information on these sites is withheld from the general 
public. The National Park Service allows access only to those holding valid Archeological Resource 
Protection Act permits related to the study or management of these sites and only after they have con­ 
sulted with the cultural resource management specialist or the park archeologist. 
== insert end ==

Whenever possible, adaptive use of historic 
structures for park needs is considered before 
building new infrastructure. 
. Strategies: The park staff will continue to 
manage historic structures as "cultural 
resources" and will give full consideration to 
historical values that may be affected as a result 
of park planning efforts. 
. The park staff will continue to work closely 
with and consult with the Utah State Historic 
Preservation Officer and other interested 
parties to identify, evaluate, and protect his­ 
toric structures through mitigation or avoid­ 
ance, as required by sections 106 and 110 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act, as 
amended. 
. The park staff will employ technically sound 
historic preservation practices through routine 
preservation maintenance actions that are 
intended to slow the rate of deterioration and 
protect the fabric, character, and design of the 
building or structure. 
. Park resource and maintenance staff will 
receive historic preservation training and will 
be made aware of the most recent preservation 
technology and applications available.

LAND PROTECTION 
Private lands, water rights, and mineral rights are 
in portions of Zion National Park (shown on the 
Recommended Wilderness and Land Status map 
on page 47). Private lands are confined to the 
Kolob Canyons and Kolob Terrace. Private water 
rights are associated with some of these land 
inholdings, and on federally owned lands in the 
northwest corner of the park at Camp Creek. An 
application has been filed with the state engi­ 
neer to relocate a private water right on Shunes 
Creek in the southeast part of the park to a loca­ 
tion outside the park. The town of Springdale 
and the Springdale Consolidated Irrigation 
Company share a diversion with the National 
Park Service on the North Fork of the Virgin 
River 0.3 miles below the junction of the Zion 
Mount Carmel Highway and the Zion Canyon 
Scenic Drive. Private mineral rights are confined 
to two small tracts (4.39 acres) near the south 
entrance. 
The National Park Service recognizes all private 
rights in the park and respects the rights of the 
owners. Private vehicles will continue to access 

---- page 15 end ----

the inholdings on existing roads, unless the land 
and associated roads are acquired. Use of snow­ 
mobiles will continue to be permitted along the 
Kolob­Terrace Road in the park and on two seg­ 
ments of the Lava Point Road so landowners 
can access their private property. 
Inholdings are managed under the provisions of 
the "Zion National Park Land Protection Plan" 
(NPS 1984). Private landowners may conduct 
certain activities, defined as compatible uses, 
which will not damage the resources for which 
Zion National Park was established to protect. 
Some examples of compatible uses include: 
normal maintenance and upkeep, interior 
remodeling, razing of a structure and replacing it 
with one of the same size, continued diversion 
of water consistent with a valid water right, or 
grazing by domestic animals if that use was 
occurring when the land became an inholding. 
Examples of incompatible uses include: con­ 
struction of buildings on undeveloped land, 
subdividing or selling a portion of the inholding, 
developing minerals, or any action that results in 
damage to natural or cultural resources, wildlife, 
or scenery. 
If incompatible uses occur, the National Park 
Service will contact the landowner to eliminate 
this use. The National Park Service will not seek 
to acquire any interest in private lands without 
the consent of the owner as long as these lands 
are devoted to compatible uses. However, if sig­ 
nificant environmental impacts occur through 
incompatible use, measures will be taken to 
rectify the situation. The alternatives discussed 
in the "Land Protection Plan" may be employed 
to prevent the incompatible use. If these meas­ 
ures fail, it may be necessary to invoke condem­ 
nation procedures as a last resort to protect park 
values. 
. Desired Conditions: In the short run, 
landowners manage their lands in a manner 
compatible with the purposes and mission of 
the park. Water rights are managed to mini­ 
mize impacts to park resources. In the long 
run, the National Park Service has agreements 
or has acquired sufficient interests in the 
inholdings and water rights to achieve park 
purposes and mission goals. If and when the 
lands are acquired, they will be managed like 
the surrounding park lands and management 
zones. 
. Strategies: In the short run, private property 
and water rights will continue to be recog­ 
nized. Park staff will continue to clearly com­ 
municate with private right owners regarding 
desired management. Periodic meetings will be 
held with the owners to resolve any problems. 
In the long run, park staff will continue imple­ 
menting the actions called for in the "Land 
Protection Plan." Various techniques will be 
used to protect park values, including cooper­ 
ative management agreements, acquisition of 
conservation and access easements, land 
exchanges, donations, and purchase of fee 
title. The management of such lands will revert 
to the zoning and wilderness status proposed 
in this plan once the land or water rights are 
acquired or relinquished, and nonconforming 
uses are removed.

PARK ACCESSIBILITY 
The policy of the National Park Service is to 
maximize accessibility for people (visitors and 
staff) with disabilities. Guidance on this topic is 
provided by federal statutes and regulations. 
These regulations include the Architectural 
Barriers Act of 1968; the Rehabilitation Act of 
1973; the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; 
28 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 36 
and 43 CFR, Part 17; the Uniform Federal 
Accessibility Standards of 1984; the U.S. Access 
Board Draft Accessibility Guidelines for 
Outdoor Developed Areas of 1999; and NPS 
Management Policies and Director's Orders. 
. Desired Conditions: Zion National Park's 
buildings, facilities, programs, and services are 
accessible to and usable by all people, includ­ 
ing those with disabilities. All new and reno­ 
vated buildings and facilities, including those 
provided by concessioners, are designed and 
constructed to provide access to people with 
disabilities. All services and programs, includ­ 
ing those offered by concessioners, volunteers, 
cooperating associations, and interpreters, also 
are designed to be accessible by people with 
disabilities. There are opportunities for all 
people to access parts of the park's backcoun­ 
try. 
. Strategies: Park staff will work with user 
groups, such as saddle stock groups and dis­ 
abled people or their representatives, to 
provide opportunities for the disabled to 
access to the front and backcountry. 
Existing buildings and facilities will be evalu­ 
ated to determine the degree to which they are 
currently accessible to and usable by people 
with disabilities, and to identify barriers that 
limit access. Action plans will be developed 
identifying how barriers will be removed. 

---- page 16 end ----

Similarly, existing programs, activities and 
services (including interpretation, telecommu­ 
nications, media, and web pages) will be evalu­ 
ated to determine the degree to which they are 
currently accessible to and usable by people 
with disabilities, and to identify barriers to 
access. Action plans will be developed identi­ 
fying how barriers will be removed.

VISITOR USE AND EXPERIENCE 
With the exception of commercial guided activi­ 
ties, visitors have had few restrictions on tradi­ 
tional activities in Zion until the past decade or 
so. However, over 2.5 million people now annu­ 
ally visit Zion and participate in a wide range of 
activities. Park managers are taking action to 
manage this use, minimize or avoid resource 
impacts, and ensure that visitors continue to 
have the opportunity for high quality experi­ 
ences. 
. Desired Conditions: Zion offers a variety of 
activities that are consistent with the park's 
purposes and significance. The vast majority of 
visitors are satisfied with appropriate park 
facilities, services, and recreational opportuni­ 
ties. Most visitors understand and appreciate 
the basic purposes and significance of the park 
and their stewardship role in preserving park 
features. They actively contribute to the park's 
preservation through demonstrated appropri­ 
ate use and behavior. Visitor use levels and 
activities are consistent with park purposes 
and desired resource conditions and visitor 
opportunities. Resource impacts and conflicts 
between users are minimal. Visitors have 
opportunities to experience the natural sound 
environment of the park in an unimpaired 
condition. They understand and support 
management actions that are taken to diminish 
or avoid resource impacts. 
. Strategies: If it is necessary to take action to 
address visitor impacts, park managers will use 
the method that assures the most resource 
protection whenever possible. Methods that 
may be used in this regard include such tech­ 
niques as providing ongoing visitor education 
and redesigning or "hardening" facilities (e.g., 
surfacing a trail or building a fence). More 
restrictive methods may include implementing 
a reservation system and requiring permits for 
certain uses or areas, placing limits on use, and 
closing areas including trails or campsites. 
Restrictions on visitor use will be based on a 
determination by the park superintendent that 
such measures are consistent with the park's 
enabling legislation and are necessary to either 
prevent the degradation of the values and pur­ 
poses for which the park was established, or to 
minimize visitor use conflicts. 
Park managers will continue to use the 
transportation system to manage visitor use 
and distribution within Zion Canyon, accord­ 
ing to the need to protect resources and 
provide quality visitor experiences. Visitor use 
of specific features or trails will continue to be 
managed or limited on a case­by­case basis to 
protect key visitor experiences. 
Park staff will periodically conduct visitor 
surveys to determine visitor satisfaction with 
the shuttle system and to determine if conges­ 
tion is occurring in other parts of the park. 
Park managers will emphasize visitor educa­ 
tion, including pretrip planning regarding the 
need for and use of the shuttle system.

VISITOR INFORMATION, ORIENTATION, INTERPRETATION,
AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION 
The National Park Service uses a variety of 
methods to orient visitors to Zion, provide 
information about the park, and interpret the 
park's resources for visitors. The "Zion National 
Park Interpretive Plan" (NPS 1996a) describes 
interpretation goals and objectives and interpre­ 
tive themes. The interpretive plan specifies what 
park staff will do to provide visitors with 
information, orientation, and interpretation. The 
1996 plan also addresses interpretive media, 
such as wayside exhibits, bulletin boards, and 
signs. 
. Desired Conditions: The National Park 
Service makes pretrip information available to 
assist visitors in planning a rewarding visit to 
the park. Park staff use radio announcements, 
web sites, mailouts and reservation systems to 
assist visitors with preplanning. When visitors 
arrive at Zion, park staff provide information 
to orient them on what to do (and what not to 
do), attractions to see, and how to enjoy the 
park in a safe, low­impact way. Interpretive 
programs connect the visitor to the park's 
resources, build a local and national con­ 
stituency, and gain public support for protect­ 
ing the park's resources. Outreach programs 
through schools, organizations, and partner­ 
ships build emotional, intellectual, and recre­ 
ational ties with the park and its cultural and 
natural heritage. 
. Strategies: Park managers will continue to 
implement the park's interpretive plan, with 
emphasis on providing information, orienta­ 
tion, and interpretive services in the most 

---- page 17 end ----

effective manner possible. Staff will use state­ 
of­the­art technologies where appropriate. 
Park staff will stay informed of changing 
visitor demographics and desires to better 
tailor programs to visitor needs and desires. 
They will develop interpretive media support­ 
ive of the park purposes and significant 
resources. 
Working with other federal agencies, the state 
of Utah, and local communities, park staff will 
take action to improve pretrip planning and 
provide enroute information and orientation 
for park visitors. Park staff will work with local 
communities and other entities to provide 
information/orientation and interpretive facili­ 
ties outside park boundaries where appropri­ 
ate. Park staff also will seek partnerships with 
other state and national parks, educational 
institutions, and other organizations to enrich 
interpretation and educational opportunities 
regionally and nationally. 
The park evacuation plan and warning system 
for flash floods will remain in effect. Park staff 
will continue efforts to educate the public 
regarding flood hazards and place signs at all 
new facilities when appropriate to warn of 
flash flood hazards.

MANAGEMENT OF THE RECOMMENDED WILDERNESS AREA 
In 1978, the president recommended to 
Congress that 120,620 acres within Zion 
National Park be designated as wilderness and 
an additional 10,364 acres be identified as poten­ 
tial wilderness. The National Park Service is cur­ 
rently recommending that 132,615 acres (90% of 
the land under federal jurisdiction within Zion 
National Park) be designated as wilderness; 4,175 
acres of private lands and water rights within the 
park boundary remain identified as potential 
wilderness additions. These adjustments to the 
1978 acreage figures are due to (a) the acquisi­ 
tion of several inholdings, state surface and 
mineral rights, grazing rights, and water rights, 
(b) the use of geographic information system 
data, which more accurately delineates the origi­ 
nal (recommended) wilderness boundary, and 
(c) the correction of an error regarding a preex­ 
isting private water right on Camp Creek. 
. Desired Conditions: All of the lands within 
the recommended wilderness area retain their 
wilderness characteristics and values. Visitors 
continue to find opportunities for solitude and 
primitive, unconfined recreation. Signs of 
people remain substantially unnoticeable. The 
area continues to be affected primarily by the 
forces of nature. 
. Strategies: Within the next five years, park 
staff will complete a wilderness management 
plan, which will include the establishment of 
specific visitor carrying capacities. Compo­ 
nents of the wilderness management plan will 
address climbing/canyoneering, river recre­ 
ation, and the potential for commercial guide 
services. In the meantime, and in keeping with 
established NPS policies and Director's Order 
41 ("Wilderness Preservation and Manage­ 
ment"), the park staff will continue to manage 
the area recommended for wilderness designa­ 
tion as wilderness. 
The park's wilderness committee will also apply 
a minimum requirement assessment, as defined 
in Director's Order 41, to all activities affecting 
the wilderness resource and character. The 
minimum requirement assessment determines 
whether or not a proposed management action 
is appropriate or necessary for the administra­ 
tion of the area as wilderness. If the project is 
deemed appropriate or necessary, the manage­ 
ment method selected will be that which causes 
the least amount of impact to the physical 
resources and experiential characteristics of the 
wilderness. The park staff will also continue to 
take appropriate action to limit visitor impacts 
on resources to maintain wilderness values (see 
also the "Visitor Use and Experience" section).

LEVELS AND TYPES OF PARK DEVELOPMENT 
A variety of different types of development exist 
in Zion to transport, house, inform, and serve 
visitors and park staff. Most visitor and opera­ 
tional developments are concentrated at the 
south park entrance and in Zion Canyon. Some 
of these developments are adequate to meet 
visitor and park needs; other developments, 
such as some employee housing, do not meet 
NPS standards. 
. Desired Conditions: Park development is the 
minimum necessary to serve visitor needs and 
provide for the protection of park resources. 
Visitor and management facilities at Zion and 
its concessioners meet sustainability standards, 
and are harmonious with park resources, com­ 
patible with natural processes and surrounding 
landscapes, aesthetically pleasing, and func­ 
tional. The Park Service continues to provide 
access to and use of Zion's facilities for physi­ 
cally and learning disabled visitors, in confor­ 
mance with applicable laws, regulations, and 
NPS policies. 

---- end page 18 ----

. General Strategies: Park staff will properly 
maintain and upgrade existing development 
using sustainability principles where necessary 
to serve the park mission. They will consider 
and plan for flood hazards and mitigation 
efforts as appropriate. 
Park managers will consider the availability of 
existing or planned facilities in nearby com­ 
munities and adjacent lands when deciding 
whether to construct new developments in the 
park. This will ensure that any additional 
development in the park is necessary, appro­ 
priate, and cost­effective. 
The National Park Service will continue to 
strive to make affordable housing available 
within commuting distance of the park (60 
minutes), for park staff who are nonemer­ 
gency response personnel, seasonal em­ 
ployees, lower graded employees, occupants 
of historic quarters, and concessioner employ­ 
ees. 
The National Park Service will modify existing 
facilities to meet accessibility standards as 
funding allows or as facilities are replaced or 
rehabilitated. Park staff will periodically 
consult with disabled persons or their 
representatives to increase awareness of the 
needs of the disabled and to determine how to 
make the park more accessible. 
Entrance stations will remain on the south and 
east boundaries of the park (along the Zion­ 
Mt. Carmel Highway), and at Kolob Canyons. 
Entrance fees will continue to be collected at 
these stations. 
Park managers will work with other govern­ 
mental, private, and nonprofit organizations to 
find partners and funding sources for a 
research/environmental education facility and 
to explore locations within and outside the 
park to establish the facility. 
The National Park Service also will continue 
to seek opportunities to build the other man­ 
agement facilities called for in the Development 
Concept Plan, Zion Canyon Headquarters 
(1994b) and the 1997 Canyon Transportation 
System Environmental Assessment (NPS 1997a).

UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES 
Basic utilities and related access are necessary 
within the park to support visitor services and 
administrative operations and to provide for 
visitor and employee safety. Occasional mainte­ 
nance, upgrades, and minor route adjustments 
are carried out within existing corridors. 
Currently, a transmission line right­of­way and a 
road easement cross the park. The transmission 
line provides electric power to Rockville, 
Springdale, and the park's south entrance and 
main Zion Canyon area. The road easement in 
effect, between Interstate Highway 15 and the 
Kolob Canyons visitor center, provides access to 
a water tank on private lands. This easement 
includes maintenance of an existing privately 
owned water line buried in the road corridor. 
. Desired Conditions: Utility and communica­ 
tions facilities support park operations and 
public safety with a high degree of reliability, 
anticipate future loads and needs, minimize 
impacts on park resources, and are jointly 
located with other existing facilities and rights 
of way to the greatest extent possible. Only 
those communications facilities necessary to 
provide for public safety and administrative 
efficiency are located in the park. 
. Strategies: New or reconstructed utilities and 
communications infrastructure will be located 
in association with existing structures and 
along roadways or other established corridors 
in developed areas. This will allow ready 
access for repair and maintenance, thereby 
reducing potential visual quality impacts and 
resource disturbance from overland transport 
of vehicles and equipment. 
When utilities require reconstruction or 
extension into developed areas not currently 
serviced, park staff will select routes that will 
minimize impacts on the park's natural, cul­ 
tural, and visual resources. Rights­of­way will 
continue in effect or be established for service 
lines to existing and planned park facilities 
(including concessions facilities). Rights­of­ 
way will be granted for utilities, water con­ 
veyance, or other facilities within potential, 
proposed, or designated wilderness areas 
except where valid existing rights are estab­ 
lished. 
Utility lines will be placed underground to the 
maximum extent possible. 
In the southwest corner of the park, a right­of­ 
way exists for a powerline serving Rockville, 
Springdale, and the park. Due to concerns 
regarding the age of the infrastructure and 
growth in the communities, Utah Power and 
Light has proposed to reconstruct a higher 
capacity line between 2001 and 2003. The 
existing right­of­way for the powerline on the 
Zoning map in this plan is shown as an 
administrative zone. A separate environmental 
analysis will be conducted to evaluate routes 

---- end page 19 ----

for the proposed new powerline, including 
alternatives within and/or outside the park. 
Park staff will work with the utility company to 
analyze and select alternative techniques and 
routing to minimize potential impacts on the 
park's natural, cultural, and visual resources. 
Public involvement through the National 
Environmental Policy Act process will be 
solicited. 
There is potential for natural gas service to the 
park, Springdale, and Rockville, routed along 
State Highway 9. If this possibility materializes, 
park staff will work with the service company, 
local communities, and the public to locate the 
line in a manner that minimizes the effects to 
park resources. A right­of­way will be estab­ 
lished for natural gas distribution lines to NPS 
facilities within the main Zion Canyon area. 
Maintenance of the existing NPS radio system 
will be continued with solar­powered 
repeaters at existing sites. 
Additional park communications equipment is 
anticipated for the operation of the Zion 
Canyon transportation system and providing 
needed coverage along the Kolob­Terrace 
Road. These are minimal facilities, which will 
be located in administrative areas or co­ 
located with existing radio facilities. 
Commercial telecommunications applications 
(Telecommunications Act of 1996) will be 
processed in accordance with NPS policies 
(RM­53) and NEPA guidelines. The primary 
tests for the applications will be whether there 
is a documented public safety need, whether 
or not there are feasible alternatives, and 
whether a facility will result in derogation of 
the resources, values, and purposes for which 
the park was established. For NPS and com­ 
mercial communications needs there will be 
no facilities located within potential, pro­ 
posed, or designated wilderness areas 
(Wilderness Act, 16 USC §1131), except as 
specifically provided by law or policy.

SUSTAINABILITY 
Sustainability can be described in this context as 
the result achieved by conducting activities in 
ways that do not compromise the environment 
or its capacity to provide for present and future 
generations. Sustainable practices minimize the 
short­ and long­term environmental impacts of 
developments and other activities through 
resource conservation, recycling, waste mini­ 
mization, and the use of energy efficient and 
ecologically responsible materials and tech­ 
niques. 
Over the past several years, the federal govern­ 
ment has been placing more emphasis on adopt­ 
ing sustainable practices. In particular, Executive 
Order 12873 mandates federal agency recycling 
and waste prevention, and Executive Order 
12902 mandates energy efficiency and water 
conservation at federal facilities. 
. Desired Conditions: All decisions regarding 
park operations, facilities management, and 
development in Zion --- from the initial 
concept through design and construction --- 
reflect principles of resource conservation. 
Thus, all park and park operations are sustain­ 
able to the maximum degree possible and 
practical. New developments and existing 
facilities are located, built, and modified 
according to the Guiding Principles of 
Sustainable Design (NPS 1993) or other similar 
guidelines. The park has state­of­the­art water 
systems for conserving water, and energy con­ 
servation technologies and renewable energy 
sources whenever possible. Biodegradable, 
nontoxic, and durable materials are used in the 
park whenever possible. Park personnel 
promote the reduction, use, and recycling of 
materials and avoid as much as possible mate­ 
rials that are nondurable, environmentally 
detrimental, or that require transportation 
from great distances. 
. Strategies: Park staff will work with experts 
both in and outside the agency to make Zion's 
facilities and programs sustainable. 
Park managers will perform value analysis and 
value engineering, including life cycle analysis, 
to examine the energy, environmental, and 
economic implications of proposed park 
developments. 
Park staff will support and encourage the 
service of suppliers, contractors, and conces­ 
sioners that follow sustainable practices. 
Park interpretive programs will address sus­ 
tainable park and nonpark practices. 

---- end page 20 ----

Primary Planning Issues and Concerns

The planning team identified a number of key 
issues and concerns facing Zion National Park 
based on discussions with park staff, interested 
agencies and organizations, and the general 
public. Many of the issues revolve around the 
increasing number of visitors, the resulting 
impacts on park resources, and the quality of 
the visitor experience. The General Management 
Plan provides a framework or strategy for 
addressing these issues. This section summarizes 
the key issues and concerns of this document. 
This plan will not answer specific questions 
about the operation of the shuttle system in 
Zion Canyon, such as the number and types of 
shuttles, frequency of shuttles, shuttle operating 
times, and locations of most shuttle stops. 
Decisions regarding these elements were pre­ 
sented in the Canyon Transportation System 
Environmental Assessment (NPS 1997a) and the 
subsequent "Finding of No Significant Impact."

INCREASING VISITOR USE 
Visitation to Zion has grown dramatically over 
the past two decades. The number of people 
camping in the backcountry has risen each year, 
from 7,807 users in 1986, to 21,002 users in 1999. 
The park's campgrounds are generally full to 
capacity during the peak months from June 
through September. Increased visitation is 
resulting in resource impacts and crowding of 
some backcountry trails and frontcountry areas. 
While most of the park's resources are in good 
condition, in some areas visitors are inadver­ 
tently damaging natural and cultural resources 
by creating multiple social trails (i.e., unofficial 
trails formed by visitors). The formation and use 
of these trails result in trampled vegetation, 
eroded soils, stirred up sediments in rivers and 
streams, and displaced and collected surface 
artifacts. 
Although most visitors rate their experiences in 
Zion as high, they still express concern about 
some aspects of the visit. Some visitors feel there 
are too many people in some areas of the park. 
These visitors suggest limiting the use of the 
park based on established carrying capacities or 
other criteria. Another segment of the public 
wants Zion to continue to be available to all visi­ 
tors and believes the way to address crowding is 
not through limits, but by increasing visitor facil­ 
ities and access, or redistributing visitors to less 
used areas of the park. 
About 90% of Zion is recommended for wilder­ 
ness designation. Under NPS policy, this area 
must be managed as if it were established 
wilderness. This obligation carries with it certain 
expectations for visitors, such as the opportunity 
to experience solitude and quiet. But these 
opportunities cannot always be met in some 
areas of the backcountry due to the behavior 
and number of other visitors. 
The National Park Service must determine the 
conditions (i.e., resource conditions, visitor 
experiences) for which Zion National Park 
should be managed. If park managers allow use 
levels to increase further, the potential for 
resource damage will increase and opportunities 
for quality experiences, such as solitude, will 
likely decline. If park managers regulate or 
restrict use levels, resources can be better pro­ 
tected, but visitors will have less freedom to go 
where and when they choose. If park managers 
limit use in one area and displace visitors there, 
other areas within or outside the park may 
receive higher use levels and resource impacts.

FUTURE OF RESEARCH NATURAL AREAS (RNAS) 
Research natural areas are areas administratively 
designated by federal land management agencies 
for research and educational purposes and/or to 
maintain biological diversity. Research natural 
areas typically preserve examples of ecological 
communities that have been little disturbed in 
the past, and in which current natural processes 
are allowed to continue with minimal human 
intervention. Uses in research natural areas are 
restricted to research that samples but does not 
alter the existing condition, and educational 
activities that do not detract from the areas' 
research values. Federal land management agen­ 
cies, including the National Park Service, have 
established a national network of research 
natural areas. 
Zion National Park currently has three areas 
designated as research natural areas: Bighorn 
(8,313 acres), West Rim­Phantom Valley (22,409 
acres), and Kolob Mesas (279 acres). Bighorn 
and West Rim­Phantom Valley were designated 

---- page 21 end ----
 
as research natural areas in 1942, while Kolob 
Mesas was designated as a research natural area 
in 1966. Parunuweap Canyon also has been 
considered for designation. Park staff raised 
questions regarding the rationale for the three 
existing park research natural areas, which have 
not been consistently managed with the intent of 
the designation and NPS guidelines. Although 
recreational use is not generally allowed in 
research natural areas nationally, most of the 
currently designated Zion research natural areas 
are open to recreational use. 
Park managers must determine whether the 
existing research natural areas meet park 
resource management goals or whether manage­ 
ment of better­defined research natural areas is 
needed. If these areas are managed as intended 
under NPS policy, then potential impacts on 
many of the park's natural and cultural 
resources will be avoided, but much of the park 
will be closed to the public. If park managers 
establish a management designation that permits 
certain uses in research natural areas, potential 
impacts may result, and questions concerning 
how Zion's research natural areas relate to the 
national system may arise.

PUBLIC USE OF PARUNUWEAP CANYON 
In 1992, park managers closed Parunuweap 
Canyon for recreational use, pending comple­ 
tion of this planning effort. There are differing 
opinions on whether or not this area should be 
opened to the public. Some people want the 
canyon to be opened for unlimited recreational 
use, others prefer the canyon to be opened only 
for strictly regulated recreational use. Still others 
support keeping the canyon permanently closed 
to recreational use to prevent impacts on sensi­ 
tive cultural and natural resources. 
Park managers must determine whether or not 
to open Parunuweap Canyon to the public. If 
the canyon remains closed, the special resources 
in this area will be protected, but visitors will 
not be able to access this area. If this area was 
open to the public, impacts on the canyon's 
natural and cultural resources will increase. If 
the canyon was open to limited public use, park 
managers must answer questions regarding how 
many people should be allowed into the area, at 
what times, and at what points. Some people 
who want to see the area may not be able to do 
so at the time of their choosing.

FUTURE OF ZION CANYON LODGE 
The Zion Canyon Lodge operation has been a 
traditional use in Zion for more than 80 years. It 
has enabled many visitors to stay in the park by 
providing overnight accommodations and food 
services. Although the lodge is the only place 
offering these visitor services within the park, 
other facilities and services are available in 
Springdale and nearby communities. Some 
people believe the lodge should continue to 
operate, arguing it is a special part of Zion's 
history, and offers a unique visitor experience 
and services that add to visitors' enjoyment of 
the park. Others argue that the lodge is inappro­ 
priate and unnecessary in a national park, that it 
encourages crowding and resource impacts. 
These people believe the lodge should be closed 
or converted to another more appropriate use. 
The National Park Service must determine 
whether or not to continue the current opera­ 

---- page 22 end ----

tion of the Zion Canyon Lodge. If the lodge 
remains open as it is now, many people will con­ 
tinue to gain a special experience staying 
overnight in the park. However, resource 
impacts also will continue in the area, and the 
lodge will continue to take away potential cus­ 
tomers from businesses in Springdale. If the 
lodge was closed, some resource impacts will 
decrease in the area and businesses in 
Springdale may benefit. However, a special 
visitor experience now offered in the park will 
be eliminated and adversely affect the lodge 
employees and the employer.

WILD AND SCENIC RIVER DESIGNATION 
Both the public and park staff expressed con­ 
cerns about maintaining the free­flowing condi­ 
tion and other outstanding values of rivers and 
streams in and adjacent to Zion. Other citizens 
are concerned that designating drainages in and 
adjacent to Zion as wild and scenic rivers will 
impinge on visitor activities and freedoms. The 
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act requires federal land 
managers to consider potential national wild, 
scenic, and recreational rivers in planning for 
water and land resources. 
The National Park Service and Bureau of Land 
Management must determine whether or not to 
recommend that the drainages in and adjacent 
to Zion be designated as part of the wild and 
scenic rivers system. Making such a designation 
will provide additional protection to the park's 
drainages and may attract additional visitors to 
the park. On the other hand, if increased use 
occurs, the designation may result in additional 
resource impacts in the drainages.

MANAGEMENT OF THE NORTH FORK OF THE VIRGIN RIVER 
Recreational use of the North Fork of the Virgin 
River in Zion Canyon has dramatically increased 
in recent years. Visitors kayak the river in the 
spring, and swim and wade in the river during 
the summer. Concerned citizens have raised 
questions regarding how the Park Service 
should manage the North Fork in the future. 
These questions include: 
. What types of recreational uses are appropri­ 
ate for the river environment and the visitor 
experience? 
. Should the upper portion of the North Fork in 
Zion Canyon continue to be channelized or 
should it be restored to more natural condi­ 
tions? 
. If part of the river is restored, what effect will 
it have on the Zion Lodge, the road, and use 
of the canyon? 
Park managers must determine the appropriate 
uses for the North Fork of the Virgin River and 
whether or not to restore the river channel and 
its floodplain. Limiting certain uses will reduce 
or eliminate resource and visitor impacts, but 
this will also reduce the diversity of experiences 
offered in the park. 
Restoring part of the river's floodplain will be 
consistent with the park purpose to preserve the 
dynamic processes that formed the canyon. The 
riparian forest community along channelized 
reaches of the river has lost viability as evi­ 
denced by the even­aged, decadent overstory 
with no recruitment of new trees. Similar occur­ 
rences have been documented throughout the 
West where there has been a loss of connectivity 
between rivers and floodplains due to channel­ 
ization, channel entrenchment, or control of 
floods downstream of reservoirs. To reproduce, 
most riparian tree and shrub species need the 
disturbance and watering provided by floods 
and channel migration. Historic photographs of 
Zion Canyon, and comparisons with similar 
river channels elsewhere, show a much more 
active channel and greater use of the floodplain. 
Surveys in Zion have shown that Virgin 
spinedace populations are much higher where 
the river has not been channelized than where it 
has. 
River restoration will reestablish a natural mor­ 
phology and riverine ecology and maintain or 
restore habitat for aquatic and floodplain 
species. The level of restoration will determine 
the extent of impacts on the park road, foot­ 
bridges, and lodge; the level of visitation in Zion 
Canyon; and the degree to which visitors face 
safety hazards when the river floods. 
Although the plan focuses on what types of 
recreational uses are appropriate for the river 
and whether or not the river floodplain should 
be restored, detailed questions about the man­ 
agement of the river will not be answered. Spe­ 
cifically, this plan will not answer questions 
regarding appropriate use levels, use manage­ 
ment techniques, and the degree of restoration 
of the floodplain. A future detailed river 
management plan will address these questions. 

---- end page 23 ----

DEVELOPMENT AND USES ADJACENT TO THE PARK 
The population in the region around the park 
has been rapidly growing. As more people move 
into the area, residential and second­home 
development has been increasing on lands adja­ 
cent to the park. There most likely will be more 
development in the future, particularly near the 
south entrance, the Kolob Canyons entrance, 
and on land east of the park. Private develop­ 
ments and management practices may affect the 
scenic views from the park, night sky, ambient 
sound levels, solitude, soil erosion, composition 
of native plant and animal communities, and 
wildlife migration/ habitat corridors. Access may 
be restricted or closed off to parts of the park. 
Park managers must determine how to manage 
park resources in light of the development that 
is occurring, or may occur, adjacent to the park. 
If no actions are taken, park resources and the 
visitor experience will most likely degrade in 
parts of the park. Current access may be 
restricted or eliminated in some parts of the 
park. 

---- page 24 end ----

Issues to be Addressed in Future Plans 

Several other issues are of concern to park man­ 
agers and visitors at Zion National Park, which 
are summarized below. The General Manage­ 
ment Plan provides some directions and lays the 
groundwork for addressing these issues. 
However, future implementation plans will 
provide specific directions and actions that deal 
with these issues. Opportunities for public input 
will be provided in developing these implemen­ 
tation plans.

CARRYING CAPACITY 
Within the next five years carrying capacity 
studies will be completed for the park. These 
studies will serve as components for future plans 
such as the wilderness management plan. The 
1978 Parks and Recreation Act requires parks to 
address carrying capacity, and it is essential in 
order to protect resources and provide a quality 
visitor experience. While the General 
Management Plan addresses carrying capacity 
qualitatively, a more scientific approach is 
needed to determine appropriate resource and 
visitor experience conditions. A VERP process 
or similar one will be used to collect additional 
data on visitor experiences and resource condi­ 
tions, establish indicators and standards for each 
zone, and set up a monitoring program to deter­ 
mine whether conditions are acceptable or 
unacceptable. This process will allow manage­ 
ment to take action to ensure resources and 
visitor experiences do not deteriorate to an 
unacceptable level. In the meantime, interim 
carrying capacities for the primitive and pristine 
zones have been established based on current 
levels of use and resource protection needs.

WILDERNESS MANAGEMENT 
About 90% of the park is recommended wilder­ 
ness and is managed as wilderness. It is essential 
that these areas be managed to protect the 
wilderness characteristics and values, both for 
the resource value itself as well as for the 
visitor's wilderness experience. As backcountry 
use is expanding dramatically, it is increasingly 
difficult to protect resources and manage for 
solitude and primitive recreation. A compre­ 
hensive plan is needed to address wilderness 
management. The park staff will complete a 
wilderness management plan within five years. 
This plan will follow NPS policy, including the 
minimum requirement process, to determine 
appropriate uses and levels of use in wilderness. 
In addition to carrying capacity, the wilderness 
management plan will specifically address 
climbing/canyoneering, river recreation, and the 
potential for commercial guiding (see each 
description below).

CLIMBING AND CANYONEERING 
Climbing and canyoneering are two activities 
that have dramatically risen in popularity in 
recent years. These activities have the potential 
to adversely affect park resources, defacing rock 
faces, disturbing cultural resources, disturbing 
sensitive species (e.g., peregrine falcons, spotted 
owls, and desert bighorn sheep), trampling vege­ 
tation, and forming social trails. Climbing/ 
canyoneering will be addressed as a component 
of the wilderness management plan.

RIVER RECREATION 
Concerns have also been expressed about the 
impacts of river recreation. Visitors kayak the 
North Fork of the Virgin River in the spring, and 
swim, wade, and hike portions of the river in the 
summer. There are concerns about the impacts 
of these activities on water quality (e.g., 
increased sedimentation and turbidity, spread of 
human waste), soil erosion, sensitive species, 

---- page 25 end ----

and the disturbance of other visitors, particu­ 
larly in the Zion Narrows. 
Concerns regarding the use and management of 
the North Fork will be addressed in a river man­ 
agement plan.

NATURAL SOUNDS, NOISE, AND AIR TOURS 
Natural sounds (e.g., water flowing, wind 
blowing through trees, birds calling) are a 
resource that contributes to the visitor experi­ 
ence in all parts of the park. Natural sounds pre­ 
dominate in most of Zion; however, mechanical 
and other human­created sounds can be a 
problem in some areas. Noise from aircraft can 
be heard throughout the park. In the frontcoun­ 
try (Zion Canyon), some visitors complain that 
the sounds of automobiles and buses, genera­ 
tors, motorized equipment, and other people at 
times interfere with the natural sounds of the 
park. The intrusion of human­generated noise 
in the backcountry may negatively affect visitors' 
experiences. In particular, there is concern that 
the noise generated by an increase in low­flying 
aircraft or commercial jets will impair visitors' 
ability to hear natural sounds and detract from 
the experience of solitude. Human­generated 
noise can also affect the behavior of some 
animals, depending on the type, frequency, and 
level of noise, especially during sensitive periods 
such as the breeding season. 
Park managers must determine what activities 
produce, or can produce, unacceptable noise 
levels in the park consistent with management 
zoning. If sources of man­made noise are 
limited or prohibited, natural ambient sound 
levels will be maintained, and potentially nega­ 
tive impacts park resources on visitors' experi­ 
ences may be avoided. But this action also will 
reduce the range of scenic viewing opportuni­ 
ties. 
Questions pertaining to air tours will be 
addressed in a future air tour management plan 
while other noise issues will be covered in a 
soundscape preservation and noise management 
plan.

GUIDE SERVICES 
Currently, guided hiking or climbing activities in 
the park are not permitted. NPS staff­led activi­ 
ties include visitor center and evening programs, 
and ranger­led hikes. Some visitors and guiding 
organizations have requested that guided activi­ 
ties be allowed in Zion, believing these opera­ 
tions will enhance many visitors' experience, 
reduce potential impacts, and help prevent acci­ 
dents. Other people believe that guided activities 
should not be permitted, arguing that these 
operations will increase use in already over­ 
crowded areas and displace or impact 
nonguided users. Many questions exist regard­ 
ing what guided services (e.g., guided hiking, 
bicycling, climbing) are appropriate in the park. 
Other questions relate to when and where the 
services should take place and to what extent. 
The wilderness management plan and carrying 
capacity studies will determine whether or not 
to permit guided activities in Zion. Permitting 
guided services will have both positive and nega­ 
tive impacts, as noted above.

AIR QUALITY 
Long­range transport of air pollutants from 
industrial sources and large urbanized areas, 
increased numbers of visitors, and increased 
development in the region as well as near the 
park boundary have the potential to adversely 
affect Zion's air quality. Although the park's 
shuttle system has helped to reduce air pollution 
in Zion Canyon, increased vehicular traffic in 
Springdale and other parts of the park may 
increase air pollution. Smoke from campfires in 
the summer and from residences with wood 
stoves in the winter is sometimes evident in the 
canyon in early mornings and evenings. Local 
trash burns, prescribed burns, and administra­ 
tive maintenance burns can also produce 
temporary reductions in air quality.

WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY 
A number of water resource issues exist in Zion, 
including water quality and flood hazards. 
Impacts on water quality have occurred in parts 
of the park due to recreational use and livestock 
grazing outside the park. Changes in water 
quality and water flows can have major effects 
on park resources and visitors. A parkwide 
water resources management plan will address 
these issues and other scientific and legal 
requirements to promote understanding and 
management of park waters.

NIGHT SKY 
Viewing of the night sky is an important aspect 
of visitors' experiences in Zion National Park. 
Outdoor lighting in developed areas of the park 
and in surrounding communities can negatively 
affect the night sky. As neighboring communities 
continue to grow, the potential for light pollu­ 
tion affecting the night sky visibility will 
increase. Actions and strategies will be devel­ 
oped to mitigate or eliminate impacts of artificial 
lights as part of the resource management plan.

CULTURAL RESOURCES 
Unmanaged visitor use at archeological or his­ 
toric period sites can impact the integrity and 

---- page 26 end ----

scientific value of these sites. The nature and 
extent of these impacts can be difficult to assess 
because baseline data on site conditions are 
often unavailable or incomplete. In recent years, 
park staff has implemented site monitoring and 
site condition assessment programs to aid in 
developing long­term protective strategies for 
significant sites that may be impacted by visitors. 
Park managers must maintain historic buildings 
on an ongoing basis (i.e., cyclic maintenance and 
rehabilitation) to ensure that conditions are suit­ 
able for national register eligibility. 
Cultural resources management will be 
addressed in the park's resource management 
plan. 

---- page 27 end ----

THE PLAN

Introduction

CONCEPT 
The General Management Plan, which the 
National Park Service will implement for Zion 
National Park over the next 20 years, is intended 
to safeguard the future integrity and diversity of 
park resources and provide for a range of quality 
visitor experiences within that context. 
Management of resources and visitors will be 
emphasized rather than providing new develop­ 
ments --- any proposed developments will be in­ 
tended primarily to protect resources and 
secondarily to improve visitor experiences. 
Visitors will have opportunities to participate in 
a variety of park experiences, ranging from 
social to wilderness experiences. Park managers 
will establish a framework to proactively address 
impacts that result from increased visitor use 
levels. For the first time, management zones will 
be applied throughout the park to identify de­ 
sired resource and visitor experience conditions 
and to set the basis for determining visitor carry­ 
ing capacities. With prescriptions for resource 
conditions and visitor experiences, managers 
can take actions, including setting limits, to en­ 
sure that Zion's resources are unimpaired for 
future visitors to enjoy.

VISION FOR FRONTCOUNTRY AREAS 
The frontcountry experiences will vary 
dramatically throughout the park. Visitors trav­ 
eling to the Kolob Canyons area can expect to 
leave an intensive, high­speed feeling from travel 
on I­15 and be immersed almost immediately in 
the scenic grandeur of the Kolob Fingers --- an 
especially inviting trip at sunset when the sand­ 
stone cliffs almost glow. The natural environ­ 
ment will be largely undisturbed, and visitor 
facilities will serve to assist in the transition and 
serve as an information source for the trails 
accessible along the scenic drive. 
An even more rural experience will be gained by 
travel along the Kolob­Terrace Road, connecting 
the town of Virgin to the pine­covered plateaus 
north of the park. A few small visitor facilities 
along the road and at Lava Point will continue to 
reflect the low intensity, remote nature of the 
park. 
When driving to the park's south entrance, visi­ 
tors will be treated to a decompression zone 
after they leave I­15. They will travel through 
small communities and then follow the scenic 
corridor where the sandstone formations of 
Zion and nearby BLM areas are protected from 
development. Visitors arrive via State Route 9 in 
the town of Springdale, which is nestled on 
three sides by Zion National Park. They will find 
that Springdale reflects the mood and feeling of 
being in the park. The streetscape will reflect the 
rustic architecture found in the park, and there 
will be a seamless effect provided by the 
transportation system shuttle stops. The empha­ 
sis on pedestrians will cause one to slow down 
mentally as well as physically. The visitor center 
located just inside the park boundary will sim­ 
plify this relaxation approach, encouraging visi­ 
tors to stroll through the facility, gaining an 
appreciation for the park's resources and learn­ 
ing how best to use the transportation system. 

== insert begin ==
Definitions of Planning 
Terms 
The following terms are used throughout this 
document. 
Desired conditions refer to the goals or end 
results park managers are striving to achieve. 
The NPS can set desired conditions for park 
resources, visitor experiences, management activ­ 
ities, and facilities. Desired conditions reflect the 
park's purposes and mission goals, and ensure 
that the NPS preserves Zion's resources and pro­ 
vides quality experiences. 
General management strategies describe the 
general actions park managers intend to take to 
achieve the desired conditions. These strategies 
are not tied to management zones. They may 
apply parkwide (e.g., general visitor use man­ 
agement) or to specific geographic areas or facil­ 
ities (e.g., Zion Canyon Lodge). 
Management zones identify how different 
areas in the park will be managed to achieve a 
combination of desired conditions. Each zone 
prescribes a unique combination of physical, bio­ 
logical, social, and managerial conditions. 
Zone­specific management strategies 
describe the actions that would, or could, be 
taken to achieve the desired resource conditions 
and visitor experiences for a given zone. 
== insert end ==

---- page 28 end ----

<map - Areas of Relative Inaccessibility>

---- page 29 end ----

[page 30 is either missing or this is a page numbering error]

A rural atmosphere will again be provided for 
those visitors entering the park from Mt. Carmel 
Junction along State Route 9. Opportunities for 
park orientation may be developed along the 
way. Inside the park, the Zion­Mt. Carmel 
Highway will stay as is, with opportunities for 
scenic viewing of the cross­bedded Navajo 
sandstone being the prime visitor experience on 
the park's eastside. 
Natural processes and landscapes in the front­ 
country will be unaltered, except within or 
directly adjacent to the limited developed sites. 
In these areas, alterations will blend in with the 
natural landscape.

VISION FOR BACKCOUNTRY AREAS 
About 90% of the park has been recommended 
for designation as wilderness. Visitors entering 
this area will expect to find quiet and solitude 
and experience Zion where natural conditions 
prevail. The only sounds heard here will be 
natural sounds. Natural processes and the land­ 
scape will be unaltered, except for minimal 
developments such as designated campsites, 
trails, and routes in some areas. 
Visitors to the backcountry will be exposed to 
the value of wilderness in its own right, as a part 
of the American heritage. This natural environ­ 
ment, away from social pressures, tension, and 
stimuli brought by civilization, will allow the vis­ 
itors to experience the restorative and spiritual 
powers of wilderness. 
These backcountry areas will also allow people 
to examine ecosystems as they have evolved 
outside significant human influence. They will 
provide a source of information for people to 
learn about natural processes, species diversity, 
and the importance of physical and biological 
systems. 
In particular, land zoned pristine, primitive, 
research natural areas (RNA), and some por­ 
tions of the transition zone will be managed for 
wilderness values. A large percentage of these 
areas in the backcountry of Zion is inaccessible 
due to steep topography (see Areas of Relative 
Inaccessibility map on page 29). Existing trails 
and routes throughout the backcountry reflect 
the character of wilderness and are managed to 
maintain the wilderness resource. In these areas 
visitor use will be managed to ensure these 
visitor experiences and resource conditions 
retain their wilderness character. 

---- page 31 end ----

Summary of the Management Zones 

Zion will be divided into different zones. These 
zones identify how the different areas of the 
park will be managed to achieve desired 
resource and social conditions and to serve 
recreational needs. The zones are intended to 
protect park resources and make a range of 
quality activities available for visitors. The zones 
give visitors an understanding of where certain 
activities are and are not allowed. They also tell 
park managers where development can and 
cannot be added and the intensity of manage­ 
ment that is appropriate in different parts of the 
park. 
The key elements of the zones are summarized 
below. (Appendix C describes additional details 
on the zones.) It is important to note that three 
of the zones place interim limits on the number 
of people, and one of the zones places an 
interim limit on saddle stock groups in the back­ 
country --- managing group sizes and encoun­ 
ters with other groups will affect how many 
people can go into different areas in the park. 
These limits will be re­examined in the carrying 
capacity studies and possibly modified in the 
subsequent wilderness management plan.

FRONTCOUNTRY HIGH DEVELOPMENT ZONE 
This zone will provide visitors with highly struc­ 
tured opportunities to enjoy and learn about the 
park by means of motorized, primary roads. In 
essence, visitors will feel that they are in a 
pocket of civilization surrounded by the park's 
natural beauty. 
. Both natural processes and the natural land­ 
scape will be highly modified. 
. A wide array of visitor services and facilities 
will be available, including primary motorized 
roads, visitor centers, and developed camp­ 
grounds. 
. Visitors will experience highly social condi­ 
tions, although there will be some opportuni­ 
ties at certain times for solitude. 
. Limits will only be placed on the numbers of 
people to address resource protection con­ 
cerns or facility design capacities.

FRONTCOUNTRY LOW DEVELOPMENT ZONE 
Visitors will have a fairly structured, rural expe­ 
rience oriented around motorized sightseeing 
on secondary roads, camping, picnicking, and 
taking short walks. 
. Natural conditions will be unmodified in 
most of the zone. 
. Basic facilities and services will be provided, 
but they will be fewer and less concentrated 
than in the frontcountry high development 
zone. Focused visitor facilities, secondary 
roads, picnic areas, and less developed camp­ 
grounds are examples of facilities that may be 
present. 
. There may be opportunities to camp in camp­ 
grounds. 
. There will be few opportunities for solitude, 
but the social environment will remain 
uncrowded. 
. Limits will only be placed on the numbers of 
people to address resource protection con­ 
cerns or facility design capacities.

TRANSITION ZONE 
The main purpose of this zone will be to allow 
visitors to view or directly access many of the 
park's prime resources by means of nonmotor­ 
ized, well­developed, high use trails. 
. Natural processes and landscapes may be 
altered or manipulated in developed areas, 
but most of the landscape will be largely 
undisturbed and the resources protected. 
. This will be a day­use zone. Only minimal 
facilities (e.g., trails) will be present. Park 
managers will concentrate visitor use within 
or near these facilities. 
. During the peak season, there will be a low 
expectation of solitude due to the sights and 
sounds of other people. However, crowded 
levels will not keep visitors from reaching 
desired destinations or viewing outstanding 
park features. 
. Limits will only be placed on day use to 
address resource protection concerns or facil­ 
ity design capacities.

PRIMITIVE ZONE 
This zone will provide better opportunities for 
visitors to experience wildlands and solitude 
than the zones described above. However, com­ 
pared to the pristine zone, access will be easier 
into this zone, there will be signs of people, and 
the area will feel less remote. 

---- page 32 end ----

==insert begin ==
Definitions of NPS Visitor Facilities 
The following types of NPS facilities are present in the development zones. 
Full­service visitor centers provide a variety of services including: restrooms, orientation, interpreta­ 
tion (e.g., introduction to the park, themes, all manner of interpretive media), trip planning, item sales 
(interpretive and informational), and fee collection (e.g., as part of trip planning). Park staff will also 
issue permits at these centers but will not provide food service. Full­service visitor centers will only be 
allowed in the frontcountry high development zones. 
Focused visitor facilities focus on only a few functions. Unlike a full­service visitor center, these facili­ 
ties provide interpretation related to resources at­hand, and limited, if any, sale items. Restrooms may 
be present. Focused visitor facilities may be indoor or outdoor, and be staffed or unstaffed, depending 
on need and the services provided. They may be found in both frontcountry low development and 
frontcountry high development zones. 
Picnic sites have tables and may include grills, trash facilities, and restrooms. Water will be provided 
only if it was already present. In the frontcountry high development zone, many picnic sites may be 
added to a given area, but in the frontcountry low development zone, the number added may only 
total a cumulative of 10 sites per area, such as at Lava Point. Picnic sites may be located in frontcountry 
high development, frontcountry low development, and transition zones. 
== insert end ==

. The landscape will be largely undisturbed, 
with natural processes predominating. 
. There will be very little development. Only 
narrow, unpaved trails and/or routes will be 
maintained. Other facilities related to pro­ 
tecting resources may be provided. 
. Primitive camping may be permitted at large 
or in designated campsites, but camping facil­ 
ities will not be provided. 
. There will be a sense of being in a natural 
landscape with a moderate sense of solitude. 
. Park personnel will manage the number of 
people in this zone. Hiker group sizes for day 
and overnight use will continue to be limited 
to 12 or fewer individuals. A maximum of six 
saddle stock and six people will be allowed 
per group. Hikers will generally encounter no 
more than 12 groups per day in the zone, 
while saddle stock groups will encounter no 
more than one other group per day. (Note: 
All of the above limits are interim limits, 
which may change in the future.)

PRISTINE ZONE 
The pristine zone will offer the feeling of being 
entirely alone in Zion's remote and isolated 
wildlands. Visitors will have a chance to experi­ 
ence a natural landscape. 
. Natural conditions and processes will be 
largely undisturbed by people. Bolts on 
climbing routes may be present. Culturally 
significant resources also may be maintained. 
. Routes and paths may be defined and main­ 
tained if necessary to prevent resource 
damage; no other visitor facilities will be pro­ 
vided. 
. Visitors can camp throughout the zone, 
although in some cases, camping sites will be 
designated to protect resources. 
. Opportunities for a high degree of solitude 
will be provided throughout the zone. 
. Use of these areas will be limited. Saddle 
stock use will be prohibited. Hiker groups 
will continue to be limited to no more than 12 
people. Visitors will usually not expect to 
encounter other groups in the zone. (Note: 
The group sizes and encounter rates are 
interim limits, which may change in the 
future.)

RESEARCH NATURAL AREA ZONE 
A research natural area (RNA) is an administra­ 
tive designation that federal land management 
agencies use to designate field ecological areas 
primarily for research and educational purposes 
and/or to maintain biological diversity. This zone 
applies the key conditions of research natural 
areas. Conducting baseline inventories and long­ 
term ecological observations will be emphasized 
in this zone, with the primary purpose to create 
an ecological/environmental benchmark over 
time. This zone will not be opened to recre­ 
ational uses, but may be opened to educational 
uses. 
. Research natural areas will be areas with little 
to no human disturbance. 
. No visitor facilities will be present. Trails and 
temporary research equipment may be per­ 
mitted in limited instances. 
. In general, camping will not be permitted, 
unless it was essential for meeting research 
goals and was consistent with other park 
policies. 
. Group sizes for research, educational, and 
administrative activities will be limited to 12 or 
fewer individuals. (Note: The group size is an 
interim limit, which may change in the 
future.) 

---- page 33 end ----

ADMINISTRATIVE ZONE 
The primary purpose of this zone will be to 
support the management and administration of 
the park. General visitation will not occur, 
although some visitors may need to access these 
facilities/areas to obtain staff assistance or to 
solve a problem. 
. Natural processes and landscapes will be 
altered to support park operations. 
. The type and level of development and con­ 
centration will vary as needed to provide for 
park operations. 
. NPS staff, concession employee, and scien­ 
tists may be provided with housing, but 
visitor camping will not be permitted. 
. Park staff will not encourage public visita­ 
tion, although there will be no limits placed 
on the use of this zone. 

---- page 34 end ----

General Management Strategies 

Park managers will follow all of the desired con­ 
ditions and strategies described in "Park Policies 
and Practices," plus several additional manage­ 
ment directions and strategies. These strategies 
relate to supplying and conserving water, man­ 
aging visitor use and various levels and types of 
park development, and managing the North 
Fork of the Virgin River.

WATER SUPPLY AND CONSERVATION STRATEGIES 
In addition to the water quality and quantity 
strategies described in "Park Policies and 
Practices," park managers will follow one other 
strategy to maintain Zion's water quality and 
improve water conservation in the park. 
To evaluate the possibility of restoring springs in 
Zion Canyon and to explore water conservation 
techniques, the National Park Service will study 
water supply and treatment alternatives. This 
study will examine alternative ways for the 
National Park Service to obtain drinking water, 
including the procurement of treated water 
from Springdale. Any changes in the water 
supply system will be consistent with the Zion 
National Park Water Rights Settlement 
Agreement.

PARK CARRYING CAPACITY AND VISITOR USE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 
The National Park Service has long recognized 
the need to apply the carrying capacity concept 
to areas under its jurisdiction. The National 
Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 (Public Law 
95­625) requires that general management plans 
establish a visitor carrying capacity for each 
national park system unit. This plan provides a 
basis for and a management framework to begin 
to address Zion's carrying capacity. 
The visitor experience and resource protection 
(VERP) framework addresses carrying capacity 
and visitor use impacts on park resources and 
visitor experiences (NPS 1997b). Under this 
approach carrying capacity is defined as the 
type and level of visitor use that can be accom­ 
modated while sustaining resource and social 
conditions that complement the purposes of a 
park and its management objectives. In other 
words, carrying capacity is interpreted as a 
prescription of natural and cultural resource and 
visitor experience (social) conditions. Under the 
VERP framework, the park staff, with public 
input, determines desired resource conditions 
and visitor experiences in different areas of the 
park. A monitoring program is established to 
measure changes in resource and social condi­ 
tions. From monitoring results, management 
actions are initiated to maintain desired condi­ 
tions. 
To address carrying capacity, this General 
Management Plan describes desired resource 
conditions and visitor experiences by manage­ 
ment zone. The management zone prescriptions 
can be seen as setting qualitative carrying capac­ 
ities for the park --- the zones prescribe the 
appropriate range of visitor uses, resource 
conditions, developments, and management in 
each area of the park. However, there are three 
more integral elements (described below) in the 
VERP framework, which will be addressed fully 
in the wilderness management plan and carrying 
capacity studies to be completed within five 
years (as described under the "Future Planning 
and Research Needs " section). 
. For each zone indicators and standards are 
selected. Indicators are specific, measurable 
variables that can be monitored to determine 
the quality of natural and cultural resource 
conditions and visitor experiences. Standards 
identify the minimum acceptable conditions 
for each resource or social indicator --- the 
standards indicate when management actions 
are merited. 
. The next element of the framework is long­ 
term monitoring of the indicators. The indi­ 
cators are systematically monitored in the 
zones to determine the conditions of 
resources and visitor experiences. Effective 
monitoring of resource and social indicators 
provides the feedback and documentation 
needed to implement meaningful manage­ 
ment action. Monitoring documents if and 
when a management action is needed to keep 
conditions within the standards. (Monitoring 
will be an ongoing task starting with the 
implementation of this plan. Monitoring 
needs will be further analyzed as part of the 
future wilderness management plan and car­ 
rying capacity studies.) 
. The final element is management action. 
Management action(s) are taken if resource 
conditions or visitor experiences are out of 

---- page 35 end ----

== insert begin==
Group Sizes and Encounter Rates 

The current backcountry group size limit of 12, which has been in place since about 1982, will continue 
as an interim limit for the primitive and pristine zones until the wilderness management plan and carry­ 
ing capacity studies are completed. While a substantial body of scientific literature exists regarding the 
effects of group size on resources and visitor experiences (see Manning (1999) and Hammitt and Cole 
(1998)), information specific to Zion is limited. Information collected through the carrying capacity stud­ 
ies during the development of the wilderness management plan should assist park managers in setting 
appropriate group size limits for the primitive and pristine zones. It may be necessary to impose stricter 
group size limits than the current limit to meet the desired future conditions for the two zones as 
described in this plan. 
With regard to visitor encounters, the continued growth in backcountry use requires some proactive 
action now to ensure that resource integrity and the quality of visitor experiences are maintained. 
Limiting group encounters is one way to ensure that that desired conditions for the primitive and pris­ 
tine zones are met. The encounter limits proposed in the plan are consistent with encounter rates in 
other wilderness areas across the country. Like the group size limits, they are labeled as interim limits 
because additional research, specific to Zion, is needed to determine if these limits are sufficient for 
protecting resources and ensuring quality visitor experiences in the primitive and pristine zones. The 
future wilderness management plan will reexamine the encounter rates and modify them if appropri­ 
ate. 
Prior to completion of the wilderness management plan, park managers may institute other interim 
group sizes or encounter rates in specific areas to address resource damage or visitor safety concerns. 
== insert end ==

standard or monitoring indicates a down­ 
ward trend in the condition of the resources 
or visitor experiences. (Proactive manage­ 
ment action will be an ongoing task starting 
with the implementation of this plan. See the 
discussion under "Park Policies and Prac­ 
tices" regarding methods that may be used.) 
Resource indicators and standards have not yet 
been set for Zion. Although few formal studies 
exist documenting resource impacts and impair­ 
ment in much of Zion due to visitor use, impacts 
such as soil compaction, erosion, and trampling 
of vegetation are frequently observed. In addi­ 
tion, other park resources, such as bighorn 
sheep, are known to be highly susceptible to 
disturbance. If use levels increase, there is con­ 
cern that additional resource impacts may occur 
in the park. Thus, the plan emphasizes monitor­ 
ing in the front and backcountry to determine 
resource baselines and trends. The carrying 
capacity and wilderness management plans will 
identify which indicators should be monitored 
and when and where they should be monitored.

PRELIMINARY CARRYING CAPACITIES 
Until the wilderness management plan and car­ 
rying capacity studies are completed, many of 
the existing visitor use management policies will 
not change from current policies. Several carry­ 
ing capacities already have been set for areas 
exhibiting resource damage and crowding, such 
as in the Narrows from the northern park 
boundary down through Orderville Canyon (a 
maximum of 80 day hikers per day and 70 
overnight hikers at any one time) and the Left
Fork of North Creek (a maximum of 50 people
per day). Through the operation of the shuttle
system visitor use levels are somewhat regulated
in the main Zion Canyon. The shuttle system has
eliminated much of the vehicle congestion and
parking problems — one of the primary carrying
capacity problems in Zion Canyon.
Increasing visitor use levels will drive the need
to set quantitative carrying capacities in the
frontcountry. Current (2000) visitor use levels
are generally consistent with the zone conditions.
However, as use levels increase there is
concern that resource and visitor experience
impacts will increase. To address these concerns,
carrying capacity studies will establish baseline
conditions and identify indicators and standards
for