Monitoring visitor transportation in parks and public land settings-development of indicators and standards for measuring performance

Without transportation systems sufficient to support a growing user population, many recreation areas are experiencing not only diminished resources, but declining visitor satisfaction. Included in the missions of all four federal land management agencies is the directive to manage resources so as to provide enjoyment, while meeting the needs of future generations of Americans. This directive is not only a key component of the agencies missions, but vital to the survival of federal lands, as it is the interest of Americans and their connections to these areas that creates a national incentive to manage and protect them. An important outcome of this research will be a process that builds upon and synthesizes previous work, while presenting a transit performance-measuring system that can be customized for individual recreation units and easily implemented and maintained. This process will allow units to make informed management decisions based on preselected targets, and management decisions will be able to be supported by whether or not quantifiable standards are being met. Also, this research will ideally influence management and improve the visitor experience by promoting the implementation of ATS that more fully addresses user needs and adequately reduces congestion and crowding.

Investigator: Daigle, J.

Unit: School of Forest Resources

Termination Date: 30-Sep-16