Hockett Karen S, Marion Jeffrey L, Leung Yu-Fai
Yosemite National Park, Division of Resources Management & Science, 5083 Foresta Rd., El Portal, CA 95318, USA.
U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Virginia Tech, Dept. of Forest Resources & Environmental Conservation (0324), Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
J Environ Manage. 2017 Dec 1;203(Pt 1):17-28. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.06.073. Epub 2017 Aug 1.
Park and protected area managers are tasked with protecting natural environments, a particularly daunting challenge in heavily visited urban-proximate areas where flora and fauna are already stressed by external threats. In this study, an adaptive management approach was taken to reduce extensive off-trail hiking along a popular trail through an ecologically diverse and significant area in the Chesapeake and Ohio National Historical Park near Washington DC. Substantial amounts of off-trail hiking there had created an extensive 16.1 km network of informal (visitor-created) trails on a 39 ha island in the Potomac Gorge. A research design with additive treatments integrating educational and site management actions was applied and evaluated using self-reported behavior from an on-site visitor survey and unobtrusive observations of off-trail hiking behavior at two locations along the trail. Study treatments included: 1) trailhead educational signs developed using attribution theory and injunctive-proscriptive wording, 2) symbolic "no hiking" prompter signs attached to logs placed across all informal trails, 3) placement of concealing leaf litter and small branches along initial sections of informal trails, 4) restoration work on selected trails with low fencing, and 5) contact with a trail steward to personally communicate the trailhead sign information. The final, most comprehensive treatment reduced visitor-reported intentional off-trail hiking from 70.3% to 43.0%. Direct observations documented reduction in off-trail hiking from 25.9% to 2.0%. The educational message and site management actions both contributed to the decline in off-trail travel and the two evaluation methods enhanced our ability to describe the efficacy of the different treatments in reducing off-trail travel.
公园和保护区管理者的任务是保护自然环境，在游客众多的城市近郊地区，这是一项特别艰巨的挑战，因为那里的动植物已经受到外部威胁的压力。在本研究中，采用了一种适应性管理方法，以减少沿着一条受欢迎的小径的大量偏离步道徒步行为，该小径穿过华盛顿特区附近切萨皮克和俄亥俄国家历史公园内一个生态多样且重要的区域。那里大量的偏离步道徒步行为在波托马克峡谷一个39公顷的岛屿上形成了一个广泛的16.1公里的非正式（游客创造）步道网络。应用了一种结合教育和场地管理行动的加法处理研究设计，并使用现场游客调查的自我报告行为以及对步道沿线两个地点的偏离步道徒步行为的非侵入性观察进行评估。研究处理措施包括：1）使用归因理论和禁令性 - 禁止性措辞开发的步道起点教育标志，2）附着在横跨所有非正式步道放置的原木上的象征性“禁止徒步”提示标志，3）在非正式步道起始段放置隐蔽的落叶和小树枝，4）对选定的步道进行低围栏修复工作，以及5）与步道管理员联系以亲自传达步道起点标志信息。最终、最全面的处理措施将游客报告的故意偏离步道徒步行为从70.3%降至43.0%。直接观察记录了偏离步道徒步行为从25.9%降至2.0%。教育信息和场地管理行动都导致了偏离步道行走的减少，并且这两种评估方法增强了我们描述不同处理措施在减少偏离步道行走方面功效的能力。
