Quirky datapoint: a small sampling of the number of visitor hats that blew off heads into Yellowstone' geothermal areas in 2018. When Covid arrived two years later, and visitation soared to unprecedented levels, there was no hat count but resource violation by visitors in fragile areas around geysers and hot springs skyrocketed and rangers complained how difficult it was to manage the masses. Photo courtesy Jacob W. Frank/NPS
Quirky datapoint: a small sampling of the number of visitor hats that blew off heads into Yellowstone' geothermal areas in 2018. When Covid arrived two years later, and visitation soared to unprecedented levels, there was no hat count but resource violation by visitors in fragile areas around geysers and hot springs skyrocketed and rangers complained how difficult it was to manage the masses. Photo courtesy Jacob W. Frank/NPS