Importance/Issues
Public visitation is a primary purpose of the national parks. In some cases, however, visitation may result in unacceptable impacts to park natural resources, either through intensive use of authorized facilities or through illegal or unauthorized uses, such as off-trail travel, use of off-road vehicles, and illegal smuggling and migration associated with the international border.Parks Monitored
This will be determined by the management staff of each individual park. SODN will not actively monitor visitor use impacts; it was deemed more appropriate for individual parks to monitor impacts due to their mandate to restore and maintain park trails. Parks where this monitoring would be appropriate include Chiricahua NM, Coronado NMEM, Fort Bowie NHS, Organ Pipe Cactus NM, and Saguaro NP.Monitoring Objectives
1) Detect the status of and determine 5-year trends in trail width and trail width x depth ratio of authorized and unauthorized trails in SODN parks.2) Detect the status of and determine 5-year trends in soil compaction, soil stability, soil cover, and vegetation cover within 2 meters of the trail edges of authorized and unauthorized trails in SODN parks.
3) Identify the status of and detect trends in the occurrence and frequency of exotic plants along selected trail segments in SODN parks.