Dear Editor:
I attended the City Council meeting workshop by Kate Cannon on the proposed Arches National Park reservation system, and I have great concern about this proposal, and about the Moab City Council’s proposed resolution in favor of supporting this. I feel the proposed plan does not have Moab lodging, outfitters and restaurants in mind. These businesses rely on tourism, and if tourism slows down, then these businesses and employees will suffer economic hardship. Moab has a huge amount of foreign visitors who only travel during peak reservation months. These visitors do not travel during the shoulder season that Kate Cannon mentioned might happen or occur in the future to help balance the flow of people coming in. If they are not able to get a reservation, they will just not come, and go elsewhere. If the reservation system were implemented, the same problem for families who vacation here during summer break would also occur. I hope that the Moab City Council will ask the community for input and talk with the local businesses before they revise and vote on their proposed resolution supporting the reservation system. No one denies that congestion in the park needs to be addressed, but a more restrictive solution that Kate Cannon is proposing is shortsighted, and fails to consider how drastically this will affect our local economy.
