dc.contributor.author	Wood, Kerry Todd	en
dc.contributor.committeechair	Lawson, Steven R.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Marion, Jeffrey L.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	McGehee, Nancy G.	en
dc.contributor.department	Forestry	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-14T20:37:45Z	en
dc.date.adate	2006-07-27	en
dc.date.available	2014-03-14T20:37:45Z	en
dc.date.issued	2006-04-26	en
dc.date.rdate	2006-07-27	en
dc.date.sdate	2006-05-20	en
dc.description.abstract	The rock outcrops and cliffs of Shenandoah National Park provide habitat for several rare and endangered plant and animal species. The location of the world-famous ridgeline parkway, Skyline Drive, makes many outcrops and cliffs within the park readily accessible to the park's 1.2 million annual visitors. Consequently, visitor use of cliff areas has led to natural resource impacts, including marked decreases in size and vigor of known rare plant populations. Despite the clear ecological value and potential threats to the natural resources at cliff areas in the park, managers possess little information on visitor use of cliff sites and presently have no formal planning document to guide management. Thus, a park wide study of cliff sites was initiated during the 2005 visitor use season. As part of this research effort, the study presented in this thesis integrated data from resource impact measurements and visitor use observation to help assess the effects of recreational use on the natural resources of one heavily used cliff site in the park, Little Stony Man Cliffs. Results of resource impact measurements indicate that several nodal areas of high disturbance (bare soil) are present on the cliff-top and cliff-bottom. Additionally, visitor observation data point to several possible visitor use factors that may contribute to cliff-top impacts, including concentrated levels of use during certain times of day and days of the week, and frequent trampling of soil and vegetation by visitors. The information from the study presented in this thesis will help assist Shenandoah National Park staff in developing a cliff resource management plan that will protect park resources while providing opportunities for visitor enjoyment.	en
dc.description.degree	Master of Science	en
dc.identifier.other	etd-05202006-233809	en
dc.identifier.sourceurl	http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05202006-233809/	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10919/33032	en
dc.publisher	Virginia Tech	en
dc.relation.haspart	04ThesisBody.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	05ThesisBody.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	01CoverPageAbstract.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	03ThesisBody.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	02Acknowledgementstableofcontents.pdf	en
dc.rights	In Copyright	en
dc.rights.uri	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/	en
dc.subject	Shenandoah National Park	en
dc.subject	visitor use observation	en
dc.subject	visitor impacts	en
dc.subject	rock climbing	en
dc.title	Assessing Recreation Impacts to Cliffs in Shenandoah National Park: Integrating Visitor Observation with Trail and Recreation Site Measurements	en
dc.type	Thesis	en
thesis.degree.discipline	Forestry	en
thesis.degree.grantor	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	en
thesis.degree.level	masters	en
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science	en

Assessing Recreation Impacts to Cliffs in Shenandoah National Park: Integrating Visitor Observation with Trail and Recreation Site Measurements

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