Date of Award:
12-2017
Document Type:
Dissertation
Degree Name:
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department:
Environment and Society
Committee Chair(s)
Christopher A. Monz
Committee
Christopher A. Monz
Committee
Mark Brunson
Committee
Joanna Endter-Wada
Committee
Peg Petrzelka
Committee
Steve Burr
Abstract
Managing outdoor recreation requires that managers do the following: (1) consider the user experience, environmental and cultural resources, and type and intensity of management actions; (2) specify desired conditions to be maintained, monitor conditions, and take appropriate action if unacceptable impacts occur; (3) adapt to new conditions and information; and (4) exercise good judgment based on their professional experience and the best information available to them. Social science studies of visitors and studies of significant recreation resources like campsites are important sources of information for managers and are commonly used in parks and protected areas to support planning and decision-making.
The studies presented here are designed to enhance our understanding of how visitors evaluate the acceptability of impacts to recreation resources and how we can more effectively analyze large campsite resource condition datasets to get meaningful results. A better understanding of impacts to cultural and environmental resources, the people who visit parks, and how they evaluate the acceptability of impacts will enable managers to make more informed decisions. This is an important part of the adaptive management of parks and protected areas.
Checksum
1de8acbcd50bdab73d42b6bda563dbb7
Recommended Citation
Goonan, Kelly A., "Integrating Social and Ecological Methods to Assess and Inform Park Monitoring and Management" (2017). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023. 6692.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/6692
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