"Half the park is after dark" ... as long as you photograph it from the parking lot!

Explore Landscapes #107

New NPS restrictions are so onerous that no photographer is going to want to attend a workshop, and potentially, the public will be prevented from visiting many locations.

Arch Rock and the Milky Way - which can longer be visited for nighttime photography workshops | © 2024 Jon Norris

The phrase “Half the park is after dark” is a slogan coined by astronomer and educator Tyler Nordgren, in 2010, to promote the nighttime wonders of America’s national parks.

It has become the unofficial motto of the National Park Service’s “Night Skies” program, emphasizing that the experience of a national park extends far beyond daylight hours.

As per my 2025 review post (click here to read) I’ve been leading landscape photography workshops in Joshua Tree National Park since January 2021. This was my passion project, my side-gig, and something that I hoped would grow and develop into something that I could transition to from my corporate day job. I would then have this ‘bridge’ into a delayed retirement while I continued to run workshops.

Over the past 9 months I’ve noticed a steady decline in the number of workshops booked. This has been a consistent story I’ve heard from other activity providers in the park - not just photography, but hiking, backpacking, and climbing as well. Discretionary spending has clearly been impacted by the pressures and concerns caused by increasing costs, job losses, and the overall climate in the US.

I understand that, and had been preparing myself for the slowdown, but bookings were still happening, even though more sporadic that in previous years.

The final nail in the coffin (as far as my photography workshop business is concerned) came from the National Park Service. As the end of the year approached the NPS made significant changes (restrictions) impacting Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) permit holders wanting to offer Photography Instruction in Joshua Tree National Park in 2026 onwards.

A CUA permit is required if you want to perform ‘paid’ workshops in any National Park. To receive a CUA permit you have to pay the annual fee, plus provide proof of current First Aid and Leave No Trace training, and provide copies of both your Operations Plan and Safety Plan. So it’s not a casual endeavor to get a CUA permit.

CUA permit holders respect the NPS and the parks they serve and in my experience uphold the rules and act as responsible stewards for the parks that they visit. They provide a valuable service to the public in terms of sharing awareness and respect for the wilderness areas that they visit - as well as providing activity training in the parks.

In addition to the annual CUA fee they also pay a proportion of their annual revenue derived from the parks back to the NPS each year.

The new restrictions were not announced formally by the NPS, rather, they were discovered by a fellow CUA photography instructor, who happened to have double checked the small print while preparing for his 2026 CUA permit application.

The restrictions are so onerous that no photographer is going to want to attend a workshop - let alone pay for one.

Hidden Valley - this area can no longer be visited for daytime or nighttime photography workshops as it’s a campsite | © 2019 Jon Norris

Jumbo Rocks - this area can no longer be visited for daytime or nighttime photography workshops as it’s a campsite | © 2020 Jon Norris

Here are the rules (restrictions) that were introduced for 2026 CUA photography instruction permits in Joshua Tree National Park:

Workshop Locations - Daytime

• Workshops are permitted to take place in day use areas, scenic pullouts, and within walking distance of parking lots that are open to the public.

• Trails - Workshops are not permitted to take place on trails.

• Entering campground locations, administrative roads, and areas behind a locked gate not permitted for the use of this Commercial Use Authorization (CUA)

Quail Springs - this area can no longer be visited for nighttime photography workshops | © 2024 Jon Norris

Workshop Locations - Nighttime

• Workshops are permitted to take place in park listed night sky viewing areas, Echo T parking lot, Cap Rock parking lot, Twin Tanks parking lot, and Scenic pullouts only.

• Workshops are not authorized to use day use areas such as Barker Dam, Wall Street Mill, Arch Rock, and Heart Rock. Use of these areas during the night will result in administrative action.

• Workshops are not permitted to enter any campground location, administrative area, and areas behind a locked gate. Use of these areas during the night will result in administrative action.

• Illuminating Park features and landscapes for the purpose of photography is strictly prohibited. This will disrupt wildlife and will result in administrative action.

Jumbo Rocks - this area can no longer be visited for daytime or nighttime photography workshops as it’s a campsite | © 2022 Jon Norris

To put these restrictions into context there are only about 10 photographers who had a CUA permit for photography instruction in 2025. Speaking personally, I have had on average about 30-40 photographers a year attend my workshops. That’s not going to move the needle at all in terms of reducing the over visitation that Joshua Tree National Park faces. Assuming that’s why the restrictions have been put in place.

Joshua Tree definitely has an over visitation problem - but the CUA permit holders are not the cause of that.

In speaking with other CUA photography permit holders it became clear that none of us have ever seen each other while out on a workshop. We each have our preferred areas to visit which means that we create very little impact. We’re not swamping the photo locations with photographers. We have never had any issues with the visiting public while running a workshop.

What I have seen though, especially during the now widely publicized meteor showers, is many hundreds of visitors entering the park after the fee booths have closed. They overfill the parking lots. They fill up all the scenic pullouts. They create a significant amount of noise (playing loud music) and stray light. Headlights, tail lights, headlamps and powerful flashlights. I have seen evidence of damage and littering of the park following meteor showers. During the meteor showers the park is left to fend for itself and remains largely unstaffed apart from a few law enforcement rangers (who are patrolling over 795,000 acres).

Ryan Ranch - this area can no longer be visited for nighttime photography workshops | © 2022 Jon Norris

During the 2024 Perseid meteor shower I was leading a workshop for just three photographers in a remote area of the park. We had a great evening photographing star trails and the Milky Way. We weren’t using any artificial lighting. We weren’t impacting anybody. We followed Leave No Trace and Nature First principles.

It took over an hour longer than normal to leave the park that night because Park Boulevard (the main road through the park) was gridlocked with traffic. This was at 1am in the morning. This level and type of visitation is left unchecked - and is not being caused by the CUA permit led photography workshops.

We were told that the new restrictions would also apply to other visitors. I cannot see how the restrictions are going to be policed when the park is chronically under-resourced.

I do not see how heavily restricting photography workshops from operating in the park is going to benefit the park. Penalizing the CUA photography instructors who maybe attract 200-300 photographers total (in any one year) is not going to do anything to reduce over visitation and/or wildlife impact. It will however, reduce the revenue that the NPS makes through the CUA permit fees and annual revenue share payment.

After two meetings in late December, between NPS staff and the CUA photography instructors, it was pretty clear that the decision had been made and it was unlikely that the restrictions were going to be modified or lifted.

White Tank - this area can no longer be visited for daytime or nighttime photography workshops as it’s a campsite | © 2023 Jon Norris

Sadly, due to the changes that the NPS have made to the rules (restrictions) placed on running workshops in Joshua Tree National Park, I have made the difficult decision to cancel all of my workshops scheduled in 2026 and will not be renewing my CUA permit.

I am extremely disappointed with this outcome because I have truly enjoyed providing workshops, teaching and working with each of my clients, to develop their photography, and I’m going to miss that terribly.

I have decided to pivot and focus on the following three areas:

• Online Photography Mentoring — personalized 1:1 support

• Online Lightroom Training — a faster, cleaner editing workflow and/or photo library and backup management

• Fine Art Prints and Cards — bringing the outdoors into your space

In parallel, I’m going to be putting a lot more energy and focus into my personal photography projects (especially using the Mamiya RZ67 for B&W).

OK. I’m getting off my soapbox now.

Until next time go explore, experience, and enjoy our wildlands responsibly, and create some fantastic images.