At start of new term, commissioners debate support for a permanent reservation system at Arches National Park
The Grand County Commission held its first meeting of the year on January 7, 2025, welcoming newly elected commissioners Melodie McCandless and Brian Martinez. With them, the meeting also saw the start of a conservative voting majority on the commission for the first time in several years.
Bill Winfield was elected as the new commission chair, with McCandless stepping in as vice chair. Outgoing Chair Jacques Hadler, who served a three-year term, reflected on his time in office.
“I’ve tried hard to present the best face that I can and always to represent the county with dignity,” Hadler said. “I’m extremely humbled and honored to have served in this way.”
Winfield offered his gratitude to Hadler and spoke about the shared challenges ahead.
“I look forward to working with all of you to tackle the challenges we face in Grand County,” Winfield remarked. “We have the opportunity to build something positive, and I’m excited about what we can accomplish together.”
However, Lynn Jackson, the chair of the Grand County Republican Party, made it clear in remarks during the public comment period that in his view, the shift in leadership was politically significant.
“Not only the country but our county voted for an alteration in our course in this last election,” said Jackson in the first comments of the evening. “In Grand County, the 2,000 registered Republicans I represent voted for less government, we voted for less taxation, we voted for fiscal responsibility. We voted for the protection of property rights…we voted for less regulation.”
“We hope that this new commission is capable of doing that,” said Jackson.
The Repeal of the Arches Timed Entry System Support
The new commission quickly moved to “withdraw its support of the Arches National Park timed entry reservation system” with a letter to Lena Pace, National Park Service superintendent for Arches and Canyonlands national parks.
The letter rescinds one approved on November 19, endorsing a National Park Service draft proposal that would make the timed-entry reservation system at Arches National Park permanent.
In discussion, commissioners pulled back and clarified that they would not support the timed entry system becoming permanent without further local input and revisions.
“I think that a timed entry system is a piece of the puzzle but I don’t think it’s the only piece to create a great visitor experience,” McCandless said.
The NPS released an expansive draft of the Visitor Access and Experience Plan for Arches in October 2024, covering possible permanent programs to address overcrowding. The 113-page plan examines collected data and potential environmental and economic impacts on the region. The plan presents two recommended courses of action, both in the form of entry reservations.
Arches National Park – Draft Visitor Access and Experience Plan and Environmental Assessment
“The draft visitor access and experience plan, grounded in the feedback we received from the 2022 and 2023 pilot programs, presents timed entry reservations as the preferred alternative,” Pace said at the meeting.
However, Pace emphasized that “no final decision has been made yet” and local concerns could still alter the planning process. Pace noted that a meeting with Winfield and Martinez held earlier that day was already impacting the draft plan.
The plan has a section on how managing visitation to the park may impact the economies of Grand and San Juan counties, which concluded by noting that economic conditions in the regions “can change annually depending on various factors (e.g., national economic trends and social factors, natural disasters, visitation patterns).”
The NPS draft plan downplays a direct correlation between the timed entry system and local economies, asserting that “planned actions in the park…are unlikely to have substantial impacts on the socioeconomic trends described above.”
Alternative ways to address overcrowding, like increasing parking options within the park or creating a shuttle bus system, were judged “not feasible or financially possible,” Superintendent Pace said at the commission meeting.
Winfield called the system “a burden for local residents” and, in the draft letter withdrawing support included in the meeting agenda, pointed to data showing a decline in tourism and visitor spending in Grand County since 2022 when the pilot was launched.
“The timed entry reservation system has negatively impacted Grand County’s economy,” the draft letter from the commission concludes. “As a result, the Grand County Commission is unable to support the timed entry reservation system as a permanent management solution, as proposed (Alternative B) in the Draft Arches National Park Visitor Access and Experience Plan and Environmental Assessment.”
At the meeting, Winfield acknowledged Pace’s comments, saying that the meeting’s revised motion was to state that “we aren’t in favor of this current system going permanent without some amendments” but discussions would continue.
A motion by Commissioner Mary McGann to postpone the agenda item to discuss how to word the letter was defeated by Winfield, McCurdy, Martinez and McCandless. Hadler abstained from the vote.
The vote to withdraw support for the timed entry system was 4-2, with commissioners Hadler and Trisha Hedin voting in favor of continuing support and Commissioner McGann abstaining from the vote.
The withdrawal of official support for the timed entry system could be an early indicator of the new political landscape in Grand County. With a conservative majority now in control, the Commission is likely to continue revisiting policies that align with its priorities of local autonomy, emphasis on economic growth, and minimal government intervention.
