Public conflicted over whether Fossil Creek should encourage more visitors

Fossil Creek’s popularity is increasing, and the Forest Service has to manage the high demand with allowing people to experience it while protecting it, project manager Marcos Roybal said.

Some people who weighed in on a management plan want more parking and restrooms as well as better vehicle access, Roybal said. Others are concerned about more trash, threats to species and habitat and traffic that could come with increasing visitor numbers, he said.

“That’s been a lot of the problem in the past. There wasn’t a particularly robust management structure,” he said. “Now we’re looking at what it would take to accommodate a given amount of use.”

The comment period was open from Dec. 1, 2018, through April 4.

Fossil Creek averages nearly 8,000 visitors a month in the six months permits are required, according to agency data.

This year’s permit season started in May, rather than April, because of the most recent federal government shutdown, Coconino National Forest spokesman Brady Smith said. Permits generally aren’t required from Oct. 2 through March.

The recreation area is about 60 miles northeast of Phoenix.