Recreation Ecology and Visitor Impact Management
Why does the social carrying capacity of public lands change across space and time?
What is an acceptable level of change to the visitor's experience and to the resource the visitor impacts?
Why do indicators of visitor and resource quality stay the same and standards vary within a protected area and across protected areas?
Balancing visitor use and resource protection in parks and protected areas is an ongoing challenge which demands that research address both the social and biophysical factors that impact resource capacity. Effective management depends on research that results in development of monitoring tools and protocols that address these factors. Researchers in PRTM are actively engaged in providing these tools. Our research is leading not only to new ways of monitoring for quality visitor experiences and resource conditions but also to better ways of implementing outdoor recreation policies designed to protect and conserve the ecological and social benefits of these lands
The envirsioned outcome: Natural areas that not only provide for the aesthetic and recreational enjoyement of people but also retain the ecological functions and services that ensure a sustainable future for all of us.
Featured Project: Developing Visitor Impact Monitoring Protocols for
Yosemite National Park
Their mission?
Yosemite National Park in California is one of the National Parks System's most popular destinations. With visitor popularity comes significant resource impact. This project developed and evaluated protocols park management can use for monitoring, analyzing, and reporting resource impact indicators associated with visitor use. Major indicators tested include the extent and proliferation of informal trails, conditions of formal trails, wildlife exposure to human food, and riverbank conditions.
Why does this matter?
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson created the National Park Service with a mandate to manage our public lands to
"conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Monitoring resource impact is an essential component of the Visitor Experience and Resource Protection (VERP) Framework that is being implemented at Yosemite to address user capacity and impact issues. The work at Yosemite is serving as a model for other U.S. national parks and international protected areas - so we can enjoy these treasures today and still preserve them for future generations.
Learn more about our National Parks
Learn more about Recreation Impacts on Public Lands
Examples of Recent Publications from PRTM in the area of Recreation Ecology and Visitor Impact Management:
Monz, C., Cole, D. N., Leung, Y.-F., & Marion, J. L. (forthcoming) Sustaining visitor use in protected areas: Future opportunities in recreation ecology research. Environmental Management.
Lin, H.-C., Leung, Y.-F., & Hsu, S.-I. (in press) Examining trail impacts and their management effectiveness in Yangmingshan National Park (in Chinese). Chinese Journal of Environmental Education (Taiwan ROC).
Tien, S.-H., Leung, Y.-F., & Lu, D.-J. (in press) Developing a quality evaluation tool for monitoring protocols of natural recreation areas (in Chinese). Taiwan Forestry Journal.
Leung, Y.-F., Marion, J. L., & Farrell, T. A. (2008) Recreation ecology in sustainable tourism and ecotourism: a strengthening role.. In: McCool, S. F. & Moisey, R. (ed.), Tourism, Recreation and Sustainability: Linking Culture and the Environment (2nd Ed.) (pp. 19-37). Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing.
Kline, C., Cardenas, D., Leung, Y.-F., & Sanders, S. (2007) Sustainable farm tourism: Understanding and managing environmental impacts of visitor activities. Journal of Extension 45(2).
Marion, J., Leung, Y.-F., & Nepal, S. K. (2006) Monitoring trail conditions: new methodological considerations. George Wright Forum, 23(2), 36-49
Manning, R. E., Leung, Y.-F., & Budruk, M (2005) Research to support management of visitor carrying capacity on Boston Harbor Islands. Northeastern Naturalist 12(SI3): 201-220.
Coble, T. L., D.H. Anderson, D.W. Lime, T.E. Fish, J.L. Thompson, and J. Chen. 2008. Managing Visitor Use in Coastal and Marine Protected Areas: Maintaining the Quality of Resource Conditions and Visitor Experiences. NOAA Coastal Services Center, Washington, D.C.