One of the most popular and spectacular natural sites in the state is the geologic phenomenon known as The Wave, near the Utah-Arizona border. If you’ve never seen it, it looks sort of like striped layers of cinnamon and sugar, curved and swirled around into a Dr. Seuss-like prehistoric landscape.
In order to visit it, you have to obtain a permit from the Bureau of Land Management — and only about 10 percent of the 73,000 annual applicants get one. Now the BLM has suggested changes to the permitting process.
Right now, only 20 people a day are given permits to visit The Wave. Ten of those permits are given through an online lottery, and 10 are given by an in-person one, which means you have to actually go to Kanab, Utah, to participate to get a permit for the following day. Now the BLM wants to get rid of the in-person lottery and instead have just an online lottery 48 hours in advance. There’s some concern by folks in Kanab that because people head up there, stay in hotels, eat at restaurants, if the system changes to an online one people may not spend as much time or money there...
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That's what you get when you depend on a federal program or policy for your tourism dollars.
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