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Show National Parks Draw Six-Million to Utah Buoyed by record visitation to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, National Park Service areas in the state of Utah drew nearly six-million visitors last year for a gain of more than 18 percent over the previous year The National Park Service said Utah's 12 park areas attracted 5,918,775 visitors compared with 5,010,980 during 1976. Visitation to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area alone more than doubled from the previous year, from 1,061,716 to 2,127,419. Superintendent Temple A Reynolds said the probable explanation for Glen Canyon's popularity was the fact that 1977 was a drought year throughout the West and Southwest. As lakes and streams fell to critical levels elsewhere, Glen Canyon and its 186-mile-long Lake Powell became a major attraction for those seeking water-oriented recreation opportunities. Notwithstanding the aggregate increase in visitation to Utah's National Park Service areas, seven areas reported declines in visitation from 1976. They were Bryce Canyon National Park, ranyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef Nat'onal Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Golden Spike National Historic Site, Timpanogos Cave National Monument and Zion National Park Park areas reporting visitor increases were Arches National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, C.len Canyon National Recreation Area, Natural Bridges National Monument and Rainbow Bridge National Monument. Visitation figures by park area, with the 1976 figure listed in parenthesis, were: Arches National Park 313,383 ( 294,779); Bryce Canyon National Park 612,769 (626,207); Canyonlands National Park 75,621 (80,006); Capitol Reef National Park 467,953 ( 469,616); Cedar Breaks National Monument 356,090 (415,587); Dinosaur National Monument 412,873 (401,549). Glen Canyon National Recreation Area 2,127,419 (1,061,716); Golden Spike National Historic Site 77,670 (94,064); Natural Bridges National Monument 75,193 (71,865); Rainbow Bridge National Monument 87,300 ( 81,875); Timpanogos Cave National Monument 102,855 (191,312), and Zion National Park 1.209.649 (1,222,404). The decline in visitation to Timpanogos Cave National Monument was attributed in large part to the fact it was closed to public use for several weeks early in 1977 for stabilization work. |