Mitigating tourism in the Daks

https://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/opinion/editorials/2019/07/putting-in-the-effort-to-mitigate-tourism/?platform=hootsuite

This is brilliant.  It’s what locals have been thinking for a couple years now that this tourist train is a runaway and we need to do something to get it under control and back on the tracks.

Two  key quotes

“The bottom line is that, under Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York spends lots of money to attract tourists but very little to mitigate their impact.”

“The Essex County occupancy tax should probably be part of the solution. The state recently agreed to let the county raise this tax on visitor lodging from 3% to 5%. We think the extra 2% shouldn’t go to tourism marketing, as the 3% does; it should be used to mitigate tourists’ impact. It could provide shuttle buses to trailheads, add trail crew workers or build workforce housing in places like Lake Placid where vacation rental units have driven up rent and house prices.”

"Many people, including town supervisors in Essex County, suggest it’s time for charge hikers the way the state charges for fishing and hunting licenses."

Yes brilliant. Vermont would love that plan.

I don’t have a problem with mandating a hiking license.  Hiking is at least or probably higher impact than catch and release fishing.  It could cover additional rangers and search and rescue.  You could even make it optional but if you don’t buy it and need S&R then you get a bill including for Heli time and costs.

How about requiring an Empire Pass to park at the trailheads? Also, I agree that charging (fining?) for rescue costs is pretty reasonable. I feel like a hiking license will be a hard sell.

Colorado already has something close to this.

https://www.coloradosarboard.org/COSARFund.shtml

I also recall that if you visit Chamonix and intend to ski off piste hike or climb you can purchase a liscence to do so that then covers S&R costs.  It’s not mandatory but if you don’t you could end up with a 25k Euro Bill.

Route 73 has become extremely dangerous and is really the major route in and out trucks that supply the area as well as the tourists themselves

Today there were 15 tourists including little kids standing on a two foot wide shoulder taking photos in a 55 mph zone.  These people have absolutely zero common sense.

I wouldn't be surprised if, in Essex County where hikers are fixated on peak bagging, impact from hikers is higher than fisherman. In other parts of the park it may be different. High elevation environments are fragile, the valleys more resilient.

I have no idea about litter. Who leaves more garbage, fisherman or hikers?

Z wrote

I don’t have a problem with mandating a hiking license.  Hiking is at least or probably higher impact than catch and release fishing.  It could cover additional rangers and search and rescue.  You could even make it optional but if you don’t buy it and need S&R then you get a bill including for Heli time and costs.

Isn't the issue you're talking about only relevant to a few very popular areas, and also confined to Friday through Sunday for the most part? (And holidays).

If so, incentivize people to hike other places and times. Don't tax people who want to hike a less popular peak on a Tuesday. I still think a NY hiking license would be a wonderful boon to Vermont and New Hampshire.

Great article.  I'd be fine with paying for some kind of hiking license.  Along with crowded trail heads the rangers are totally overworked.

I think the key is in the use of the additional Oc-Tax  to mitigate usage. A plan like this would be beneficial throughout the Park.

Makes perfect sense to me

In NYS you need a license to drive a car and we will give them to anyone.

You need a license to hunt and fish.

Clearly a license to walk is needed as well