評論
打印
United States
美國版塊
Park permits
公園許可證
Firefall and footfall
火瀑和腳步
Many parks are overcrowded.
許多公園人滿為患。
Permits are not necessarily helping
許可證并沒有什么用。
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK is almost always brimming with visitors.
優勝美地國家公園幾乎總是擠滿了游客。
For two weeks each February, however, the crowd intensifies.
然而，在每年2月的兩個星期里，人數暴增。
For just a few minutes each day, the setting sun lines up with Horsetail Fall, lighting the waterfall so that it appears to be lava.
夕陽與馬尾瀑布排成一線只在每天的幾分鐘里出現，陽光照亮瀑布，使其看起來像熔巖。
“Firefall” has become a tourist spectacle: it drew over 2,000 visitors on a single day.
“火瀑”已成為了旅游景點：它每天吸引超過2000名游客。
Big crowds have big drawbacks, though, risking environmental degradation, unsafe conditions and wildlife disruption.
不過，觀光人數眾多也有很大的缺點，可能會導致環境惡化、環境不安全以及野生動物受到侵擾。
The National Park Service (NPS) introduced a permit for the spectacle in 2021 because of covid-19, but lifted restrictions this year.
由于新冠疫情，美國國家公園管理局在2021年為該景觀引入了許可證服務，但是今年取消了限制。
“It’s a disaster,” says one of a pair of photographers frustrated with the number of visitors and lack of restrictions this year.
一對攝影師中的一位稱，“這是個災難。”他們對游客數量和今年沒有限制政策感到失望。
Surrounding their painstaking set-up was a long queue of cars and large groups shouting to one another while they waited for the sunset.
在他們辛苦搭建的設施周圍，有排長隊的的汽車，以及等日落時互相叫喊的人群。
The pair preferred the permit system, which limited the crowds.
這兩人更喜歡許可證制度，這樣可以限制人群數量。
But are permits the solution to overcrowding?
但是，許可證是否可以解決人數過多的問題？
America’s parks have many permitting methods, from digital sign-ups to bingo balls in community centres.
美國的公園有很多許可證的方式，比如在線注冊、社區中心的賓果球等。
The aim is to keep visits sustainable and access fair. The results are mixed.
目的是保持參觀的可持續性和公平準入。結果喜憂參半。
Some permits are effective.
有些許可證很有用。
The delicate sandstone feature known as “The Wave” near Kanab, Utah, can cope with only a trickle of visitors without suffering rapid erosion.
猶他州卡納布附近被稱為“波浪谷”的精致砂巖地貌，只有應付少量的游客才不會遭受快速侵蝕。
The odds of getting one of the four group permits issued in person each day are low, but Utah’s “only legal lottery” has succeeded in preserving one of the country’s most unusual natural structures while creating a gloriously uncrowded hiking experience.
每天，想要獲得現場發放的四個團體旅游許可證其中之一的概率很低，但猶他州“唯一合法的彩票（許可證）”成功地保護了這個國家最罕見的自然結構之一，同時創造了一種壯觀且不擁擠的徒步旅行體驗。
Permits typically carry a fee.
許可證需要花錢。
Although parks try to avoid discouraging the poor, that can be tricky.
盡管公園不想打消窮人來參觀的念頭，但問題卻很棘手。
The cost of the passes and permits can mount up.
通行證和許可證的成本會上升。
Several areas have permits for reasons of safety.
一些地區出于安全考慮設有許可證。
Take Half Dome, a short drive from Horsetail Fall, a challenging hike which attracts tens of thousands of people each year.
以“半圓頂”為例，它距離馬尾瀑布不遠，是一個具有挑戰性的徒步旅行，每年吸引成千上萬的人前來。
Cables have been installed on the steepest stretches, to enable those without rock-climbing skills to reach the summit.
在最陡峭的路段上安裝了電纜，為了使沒有攀巖技能的人可以到達山頂。
From 2005 to 2009 there were 85 search-and-rescue incidents and eight deaths.
從2005年到2009年，共有85起搜救事件，8人死亡。
In 2010 the NPS limited access to those with permits.
2010年，國家公園管理局只向有許可證的人授予有限訪問權限。
The number of visitors dropped sharply, and fatal accidents fell by half—but serious incidents per person actually rose.
游客數量銳減，死亡事件減半——但人均嚴重事故率卻增加了。
The scarcity of permits may have unhelpfully increased the pressure to complete the hike, leading to more accidents.
許可證的稀缺可能反而會增加完成徒步旅行的壓力，導致更多事故。
And some permits are doubly useless: neither preventing crowds nor enhancing safety.
一些許可證是倍加無用的：既不能限制人群數量，也不能增強安全性。
The Enchantments, an alpine area in Washington state, requires permits for camping, but not for day use.
在華盛頓州的高山地區“魔幻仙境”，露營需要許可證，但白天不可使用。
Many attempt to hike it in a single day, even though it is long and strenuous.
盡管路途漫長而艱難，但許多人仍然想嘗試一天就爬完這座山。
On a recent visit, your correspondent only got out a few hours after dark despite starting before sunrise.
在最近的一次游覽中，盡管記者在日出前就出發了，但在天黑后幾個小時才從山里出來。
Many people without proper gear were still hours behind.
許多沒有合適裝備的人可能還需要更多時間才能出來。
Several stragglers confessed that they had no idea about the difficulty.
一些落隊的人承認，他們對于這座山的難度沒有概念。
What may sound like a simple solution, in other words, turns out in practice to be anything but.
換句話說，有的事聽起來是個簡單的解決辦法，但實施起來卻大相徑庭。
Permit systems require a fine balance—much like the nature they seek to protect.
許可證制度需要一個良好的平衡——就像人們試圖去保護的大自然一樣。
