Human footprints in exposed sediment surfaces are, by definition, on the surface — visible, accessible, but also vulnerable to weathering, to the feet of visitors who might not recognize what they are seeing, and to the ordinary processes of erosion that will eventually destroy every exposure.

The National Park Service has implemented visitor management protocols designed to balance access and protection.

Some areas with documented trackways are closed to general visitor access.

Interpretive programs explain the significance of the site and help visitors understand what they are seeing when they encounter preserved surfaces.

The ongoing tension between preservation and access — a tension familiar to every national park — is particularly acute at a site where the evidence is both irreplaceable and, in the exposed form in which it has survived, impermanent.

What The 2023 Results Changed And What They Did Not