Bryce Canyon superintendent reports 18% visitor rise, new local-hire authority and plans to ease trail conflicts

Alana Wollbrick, acting superintendent at Bryce Canyon National Park, updated the Garfield County Commission on park operations, staffing changes and steps the National Park Service is taking to reduce user‑group conflicts on trails.

Wollbrick told commissioners the park recorded roughly an 18% increase in visitation in March compared with the prior year and that preliminary revenue is also up. “We were up 18%,” Wollbrick said, noting the lodge facilities and shuttles are operating and that seasonal staff have returned.

The Park Service has a new, one‑year field‑unit local‑hire authority included in the 2026 appropriation, Wollbrick said. Under that authority, field units may directly hire local applicants for jobs up to GS‑9, and certain maintenance positions may be filled up to WG‑15. “It gives DOI field units … the ability to advertise positions to locals,” Wollbrick said; the…