filed under: user management
What it Teaches Us About Better Trail Design and Management
The purpose of this presentation is to provide an easy to understand and practical overview of past and current research related to trail conflict in a way that enables trail professionals to improve trail design and trail management.
by Roger Moore, Associate Professor, North Carolina State University, Brendan Adams, Graduate Student, North Carolina State University
The purpose of this presentation is to provide an easy to understand and practical overview of past and current research related to trail conflict in a way that enables trail professionals to improve trail design and trail management. This session will begin with a presentation that introduces a social science-based “behavioral approach” to help understand why trail users do what they do. It will then move into an overview of the research related to trail conflict with an emphasis on what things influence the types and levels of problems that can occur and what principles and practical guidance we can draw. Most importantly, the session will engage and involve those present in applying the principles and knowledge they have learned. We will do this by selecting several actual trail conflict situations the participants are facing in their home jurisdictions and working in small teams (hopefully including people in each team who participate in the trail activities in question) to develop integrated approaches to addressing those conflicts that could actually be implemented. Teams will report out on their proposed approaches and receive feedback from the full group.
ORV – Social & Management Issues
Off-road vehicles can have a substantial impact on the experience of other non-motorized visitors on trails that are shared or even on adjacent forest or park settings.
This research investigated the influence of several use-related, environmental, and managerial factors on soil loss on recreational trails and roads at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, a unit of the U.S. National Park Service.
All-Terrain Vehicle Sustainability Assessments
The sustainable management of ATV use is an expensive proposition requiring careful design, construction, and maintenance of ATV trails.
This research assessed the condition and sustainability of the trail system at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, a National Park Service unit that partners with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in the management of this unit.
