So Many People

An influx of residents, visitors pushes Valley to the brink

Be careful what you ask for.

In a resort town, where strong tourism is critical for economic survival, a steady stream of visitors is a much welcomed occurrence. In fact, marketing efforts and dollars are used specifically toward that cause. But when a pandemic turns second-home owners into longer-term residents, and international vacationers into regional campers, and festival-goers into regular trail users, a small mountain enclave can be pushed to the brink.

Here in the Wood River Valley, it just may be.

“There’s definitely an uptick in tourists passing through and second homeowners staying longer,” said Mike McKenna, the executive director of The Chamber of Hailey and the Wood River Valley.

Typically, regional tourists passing through may come to the Valley just once during the summer season. But without the option of, say, international travel or with the dearth of events going on in big cities nationwide, those visitors may be here multiple times now. Similarly for second-home owners, the weeks they may spend in the Valley are turning into months. The steady stream of folks in and out has turned into a reservoir of souls looking for something to do.

And all of this has its pros and cons.

The Pros & The Cons

“The impact is being felt most in recreational activities,” said McKenna. “If you’re in (the business of) recreation, you’re having a great summer. Rafting, fishing, they’re all doing really well.”

McKenna, who is a camping enthusiast even in regular summers, noted that the amount of people at campsites and on the trails far outnumbers what he has seen in the past.

“Highway 75 is always busy, but when you go off the beaten path a bit, you can really see the difference,” McKenna noted.

A number of Valley residents have been vocal across social media and in other news outlets about the litter they’ve seen on trails and at campsites. And questions have been raised about whether people are recreating safely. On Sunday, Aug. 16, for instance, the Muldoon Fire 20 miles southwest of Mackay was spotted. Ironically, McKenna was nearby recreating and shared images on his personal social media page. According to a member of the Salmon-Challis National Forest, the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but McKenna and others in the area who shared images online said there was no sign of a lightning strike.

The litter, the potential fire hazards, the traffic, and even the noticeably longer lines in the grocery stores across the Valley are all reasons for efforts like Recreate Responsibly McKenna is helping to spearhead. Recreate Responsibly was born from the consensus that as geography started to open up, there was going to be a lot of interest in getting outside, as it was seen as safe, and that land managers would be overwhelmed and would need help getting the message out about how to recreate responsibly. The movement has a foothold in Washington State and California, and McKenna is hoping Idaho is the next state to join in.

McKenna said he, as the Chamber’s executive director, has been in more political meetings the past few months than any time before. On Monday, he was meeting with staff from U.S. Senator Jim Risch’s office who had come in from Washington, D.C. The topics of discussion ranged from the status of PPP loans to industry-specific policies aimed at keeping the economy afloat. Meetings prior to that, McKenna said, involved both the federal and state labor departments.

“The lack of events is the biggest drain on the economy here, but we’re doing what we can to help,” McKenna said. “People can be calling us really for any reason under the sun, and we’ll be here for them.”