Visitor Use

Importance / Issues

Visitor impacts ranked a high priority designation due to the clear management implications of this fundamental park issue. Many of the NETN parks are heavily visited, and thus allow substantial opportunity for adaptive management of visitor impacts. The intertidal zone, especially the rocky intertidal, is a frequently visited habitat and often the focus of park-led interpretive tours at both Acadia and Boston Harbor Islands. Trampling and removal of resources can be significant. It is important to monitor visitor use, and more specifically, intensity of visitors, location of visitor use, and activities of visitors (e.g., walking, resource removal). Trampling and other visitor use impacts are likely localized to areas with available parking (e.g., at Acadia) or ferry access (at Boston Harbor Islands). We plan to monitor visitor usage as part of the rocky intertidal protocol, which we will begin developing in 2007 with cooperators at Northeastern University. We will pursue visitor usage protocols for other resources once the core NETN protocols are in place; one possibility is partnering with the existing Visitor Experience and Resource Protection (VERP) program at Acadia.

Protocol Development & Status

The protocol development summary for visitor use is available at this time. Protocol development for this vital sign will occur in the near future. In the meantime, the Long-term Forest Monitoring Protocol and Rocky Intertidal Monitoring Protocol (presently in development) address the effects of trampling in their SOP's.

Potential Measures

Potential measures that will be addressed are:

• What are current levels of visitation, how are those visitors distributed across the park, and what activities are those visitors engaged in?
• To what degree do trampling impacts alter soil compaction, vegetation diversity, and vegetation condition within NETN open upland systems?
• To what degree is wildlife disturbed by human visitation at key sites within NETN parks?
• How are visitors affecting aquatic and intertidal resources, including the effects of trampling, harvesting, and the potential introduction of exotic species?

Preliminary Monitoring Objective

The specific objectives of this protocol are to assess the impacts of visitor use on ecological resources within NETN parks and to inform management decisions affecting visitor use of NETN parks, such as regulations governing visitor access and activities, and the development and maintenance of park trails.

Contact Information

NPS lead: Brian R. Mitchell

Email: Brian R. Mitchell

802-457-3368 ext. 37

References

None Presently Avaiable