By The Associated Press | Posted - Aug. 5, 2016 at 7:10 a.m.

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ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) — Zion National Park officials say visitation has already grown by 11 percent this year and is on track to surpass 4 million visits.

The St. George Spectrum reports that Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh says it's tough to keep up with the crowds during peak times like holiday weekends.

Bradybaugh told the Washington County Commission that park officials are trying to determine how many people a day can be accommodated at the park without stressing the natural environment being preserved for future generations.

Zion chief of commercial services Jack Burns says rangers struggle to keep up with basic demands like trash removal.

He says noise and graffiti have become problems, as well as visitors who have carved out 30 miles of new foot trails in the last year alone.

Visitors to Zion National Park In 2006, data shows 2,589,250 people visited Zion National Park. That number jumped to 3,662,220 by 2015. See the breakdown of the number of visitors to the park at www.nps.gov/zion

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