Date of Award:

8-2026

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Environment and Society

Committee Chair(s)

Peter Howe

Committee

Peter Howe

Committee

Anna Miller

Committee

Andre de Lima Moraes

Committee

Elise Laugier

Abstract

Heat exposure and the risks to human health that stem from it have been studied extensively in the context of urban and occupational settings. Less studied however, is the effect of heat exposure in a recreational setting such as on hiking trails. What makes this fact more surprising is that recreation, especially in the Western US, is extremely popular, with national parks such as Zion and Arches bringing in hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. With millions of recreationists exposed to the hazard of heat every year, it is critical that recreationists are made aware of the dangers they face when out on the trail, Communication between land managers and trail users must be efficient and effective. The purpose of this study is to explore how small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS), commonly known as drones, might be utilized in order to gather thermal information on recreational trails. This study seeks to understand if the data collected from drones can be used to estimate heat stress on recreational trails for the purpose of making data collection easier for land managers. If a more efficient and cost effective method is available for land managers to understand the heat risks on the land that they manage, then it will be easier for that information to be communicated to the public in the hopes of reducing heat stress related incidents on recreational trails such as illness and death.

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