Assessing trail conditions in protected areas: application of a problem-assessment method in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA

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dc.contributor.authorLeung, Y. F.en
dc.contributor.authorMarion, Jeffrey L.en
dc.contributor.departmentUSGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Centeren
dc.date.accessed2014-07-15en
dc.date.accessioned2014-07-21T15:49:36Zen
dc.date.available2014-07-21T15:49:36Zen
dc.date.issued1999-12en
dc.description.abstractThe degradation of trail resources associated with expanding recreation and tourism visitation is a growing management problem in protected areas worldwide. In order to make judicious trail and visitor management decisions, protected area managers need objective and timely information on trail resource conditions. This paper introduces a trail survey method that efficiently characterizes the location and lineal extent of common trail problems. The method was applied to a large sample of trails within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a high-use protected area in the USA. The Trail Problem-Assessment Method (TPAM) employs a continuous search for multiple indicators of pre-defined tread problems, yielding census data documenting the location, occurrence and extent of each problem. The present application employed 23 different indicators in three categories to gather inventory, resource condition, and design and maintenance data of each survey ed trail. Seventy-two backcountry hiking trails (528 km), or 35% of the Park's total trail length, were surveyed. Soil erosion and wet soil were found to be the two most common impacts on a lineal extent basis. Trails with serious tread problems were well distributed throughout the Park, although trails with wet muddy treads tended to be concentrated in areas where horse use was high. The effectiveness of maintenance features installed to divert water from trail treads was also evaluated. Water bars were found to be more effective than drainage dips. The TPAM was able to provide Park managers with objective and quantitative information for use in trail planning, management and maintenance decisions, and is applicable to other protected areas elsewhere with different environmental and impact characteristics.en
dc.description.adminPublic domain – authored by a U.S. government employeeen
dc.description.sponsorshipUS Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains National Parken
dc.identifier.citationLeung, Y. F.; Marion, J. L., "Assessing trail conditions in protected areas: application of a problem-assessment method in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA," Environmental Conservation 26(4): 270-279. DOI: 10.1017/s0376892999000399en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1017/s0376892999000399en
dc.identifier.issn0376-8929en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/49627en
dc.identifier.urlhttp://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=38499&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0376892999000399en
dc.language.isoen_USen
dc.publisherCambridge University Pressen
dc.rightsCreative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedicationen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/en
dc.subjecttrail degradationen
dc.subjectimpact assessmenten
dc.subjecttrail surveysen
dc.subjecttrailen
dc.subjectproblem-assessment methoden
dc.subjectgreat smoky mountains national parken
dc.subjectbiodiversity conservationen
dc.subjectenvironmental sciencesen
dc.titleAssessing trail conditions in protected areas: application of a problem-assessment method in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USAen
dc.title.serialEnvironmental Conservationen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
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