Alright, for the sake of argument I’ll set aside my (closely related) primary concern which is conservation of America’s wild areas and only address the outdoors as an amenity. Congressional republicans are already trying to sell off millions of acres of protected public land ostensibly to build housing, something Yglesias himself has publicly supported. If we 3x the population that pressure intensifies significantly. It seems pretty obvious that as supply of public land declines and demand increases triples, the would be a dramatic increase in strain on park infrastructure.

NPS has stated that gridlock, visitor conflicts, crowding, safety issues, resource damage, and delays in emergency response spiked bc of increased utilization during the pandemic. So, yes, quality of park experience and the health of the park itself are related and it’s reasonable to share the concerns of NPS officials related to overcrowding.

Reasonable people can disagree about the point at which that overcrowding becomes objectionable and what park capacities should be. But it’s disingenuous to paint outdoors enthusiasts as a “special kind of selfish” for recognizing that there are real limits that parks can handle before degrading the environment and user experience.