ABSTRACT
N ational parks in the U.S Southwest are areas of spectacular beauty, rich in unique biological, cultural, scientific, and historical significance. In this chapter, we use the term “national park” generically for any site in the National Park System, including national parks, monuments, recreation areas, historic sites, and so on. National parks make important contributions to local rural economies. In 2007, southwestern national parks received more than 28 million recreation visits. Visitors spent roughly $1.5 billion in local gateway communities, supporting more than 32,000 jobs (calculated from Stynes 2008).
