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Impact of Tourism

Positive

In 2018, more than 17.5 million visitors visited Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument, and Fort Point National Historic Site, and spent $1.2 billion in communities near the parks. The protections given to these areas by the federal government helped to  establish them as natural tourist destinations creating an attraction that brought positive externalities in the form of increased business to the surrounding communities.  According to the National Park Service, the spending and cash flow brought to the area through these visitors created 12,658 new local jobs and had a net benefit of $1.6 billion in additional revenue.

A peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists Catherine Thomas and Egan Cornachione of the U.S. Geological Survey and Lynne Koontz of the National Park Service. The report shows $20.2 billion of direct spending by more than 318 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 329,000 jobs nationally; 268,000 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $40.1 billion. This helps to illustrate the positive impacts that tourism brings to national parks and further explains the positive externalities that Muir Woods, as a federally protected national monument, brings to the area.

Negative

The popularity of Muir Woods as a tourist destination has created a great deal of congestion and delay on the two lane California State Highway 1. As a result, many civilians and residents living near Muir Woods and affected by the increased traffic on the pathway to the national monument have voiced concern with the National Park Service. In response, policy was designed that would create a parking reservation system, detailed road shoulder parking limits and enhanced parking enforcement in order to combat the negative externalities caused by Muir Woods.

However, according to the Mount Tam Task Force, created to address the traffic concerns created by Muir Woods, the policy aimed towards fixing the issue has proved ineffective. The introduction of https://gomuirwoods.com/, a website where all parking and shuttle reservations can be made, has helped to decongest the traffic to an extent. Despite the number of attending visitors trending downward at Muir Woods, parking and congestion remain a problem for tourists and locals alike.

Surrounding Ecosystems

According to the National Parks Conservation Association, in an attempt to protect the wildlife and environment of Muir Woods which is given certain protections due to the Antiquities Act it is necessary to take care of the ecosystems of surrounding areas outside of park boundaries that have impacts on the wildlife and ecosystems within the park. As a result, the park is involved in restoration and conservation efforts in Redwood Creek at the Banducci Flower Farm site, which is managed by Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and at Big Lagoon, which is outside the monument at Muir Beach, to improve ecosystem health and salmonid habitat. These efforts typically require a mixture of effort from the National Park Service, federal, state, and local governments; and even private landowners. The restoration efforts in surrounding areas outside of Muir Woods have helped to protect and restore the habitats of wildlife and fish such as coho salmon and the northern spotted owl.

The National Parks Service and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy have worked together to restore the last 1/2 mile of the Redwood Creek before it enters the Pacific Ocean. Before restoration efforts, the Redwood Creek mouth functioned poorly in conveying water and sediment from a nine square mile watershed to the ocean. The National Parks Service claim that for over 100 years agriculture, logging, and road-building increased the erosion and degradation of the creek. As a result local species of coho salmon and steelhead trout were threatened. Moreover, due to the poor state of Redwood Creek, even moderate and slight storms would cause flooding leaving residents flooded and local roads untraversable. While technically within the protected lands of Muir Woods, the poor state of Redwood Creek was having negative effects on wildlife and the ability to travel to Muir Woods. The efforts to restore Redwood Creek illustrate a way in which the government protection of Muir Woods leads to positive benefits for the surrounding area.

Parking and shuttle

Reservations are required for all vehicles and shuttle riders since 2018. Marin Transit operates a shuttle on all weekends and holidays and during select peak weekdays, providing service to Muir Woods from Sausalito, Marin City, or Mill Valley (Route 66); the National Park Service recommends that visitors use the shuttle when it is operating to avoid difficulties in finding parking.

The NPS requires reservations made in advanced for all vehicles and shuttle riders; a parking reservation is $8.50 per vehicle while a spot on the shuttle is $3.25 per person. Furthermore, an entrance fee of $15.00 per person is charged in order to gain entry to Muir Woods. The shuttle service and park are open every day of the year including holidays. The park is open from 8:00 am and closes at sunset.

Annual Recreational Visitors