Research update: technology lends a helping hand: recreation managers are learning the benefits of using geospatial technologies in resource management.

The introduction of geographic information systems, or GIS, has been a momentous technological development for recreation and natural resource agencies within the last few decades. The potential for increased mapping and analytical abilities coupled with ease of access and affordability has made GIS an integral tool for planning, managing and analysis in the fields of recreation and natural resources.

Geospatial technology refers to any system that is used to acquire, store, analyze and output data in two or three dimensions. This data is referenced to the earth by some type of coordinate system such as a map projection. Geospatial systems include the Global Positioning System (GPS), remote sensing (RS) and GIS. Geospatial technologies are a particularly important group of specialized information and communication technologies that are becoming less expensive, less complex and more accessible (Clarke, 2001).

Meighen and Volger (1997) said that "recreation is a spatial activity, occurring at a specific place and time. When recreation planners calculate supply and demand, they should not overlook the spatial nature of the data."

A chief advantage to using GIS is its ability to show both the current visualization as well as past and future circumstances with divergent sets of factors efficiently and effectively. This attractive feature has encouraged the wide implementation of GIS as a primary decision-making tool among recreation resource planners and managers (Nicholls, 2001).

A second key advantage to a GIS is its ability to capture, store and manipulate spatial data and other accompanying data, which can rarely be shown in a single paper map. The existence of information in digital form allows the user to interact with the data, changing it at will to visualize the results. In the perspective of recreation resources, an example of quantitative measures would be the amount and type of amenities in an area (e.g., trail length, private land, number of toilets), the amount and characteristics of typical visitors, and qualitative information concerning the level of development of the resource (e.g. primitive, semi-developed, or hardened recreation sites) or the condition of the resource.

A third advantage of GIS is its ability to link spatial information to a database. This linkage allows for data to be updated or changed efficiently and viewable instantaneously. In addition, data doesn't need to relate to only one corresponding theme. One of the underlying principles in a GIS is the ability to overlay varied information (land use, demographic data, trails system, signage, wildlife, vegetation) for a location, so that relationships amongst these themes may be assessed.

Recreation Resource Management and GIS Applications

GIS gives an effective approach to understanding the current conditions, trends and threats to recreation resources and the consequences of proposed management actions. GIS offers the ability to improve accuracy and long-term cost-efficiency of managing natural resource areas as they apply to recreation resource management: inventory, monitoring, analysis, planning and communication.

Inventory & Monitoring

inventorying involves the identification of areas and items of interest, their location, and current condition. Inventorying was one of the initial uses of GIS and is the most common use. The first true GIS was the Canadian Geographic Information System (CGIS). It was a nationally based system for inventorying land information (Niemann & Niemann, 1999). In 1967, the state of New York produced its Land Use and Natural Resources inventory System and the state of Minnesota produced their Land Management System in 1969 (Clarke, 2001).

Typical examples of inventorying in recreation and natural resources are locations of endangered and threatened species, vegetation types, trails, signage, roads, and maintenance items. Initially, parks that do not possess GIS, Global Positioning System receivers, and digital technologies will have to spend money for instruction and purchasing of equipment, but in the long run, inventorying tasks will be easier and quicker with these technologies (Landres, Spildie & Queen, 2001).

Monitoring involves the process of measuring an attribute over time to determine changes in location or condition. GIS handles data in both a spatial and temporal manner. Gajda, Brown, Peregoodoff and Bartier (1999) developed a monitoring protocol to provide a comprehensive picture of 75 current campsite conditions in the Gwaii Haanas, Canada. With the use of GIS, the authors integrated survey data with ecological land classification, archaeological databases, and a visitor database.

Analysis showed that campsites impacted only 0.0007 percent of the land base. However, 53 of the 75 campsites were ranked as extremely or highly sensitive to human disturbance. These analyses were used in assisting managers to make the "most informed" decisions to answer questions that were previously unanswerable.

Monitored resources can be incorporated into and assessed within a GIS. By storing, retrieving and accessing attribute data and comparing this data over a temporal framework, a GIS can simplify the procedure of monitoring by assessing changes and trends as they occur. Recently, satellite imagery and other remotely sensed data has been incorporated into inventory and monitoring programs via GIS (Oakley, Thomas, & Fancy, 2003). Examples of this monitoring are vegetation classification (Sneddon, & Zaremba, 2004), fire monitoring (van Wagtendonk, K.A. van Wagtendonk, Meyer & Paintner, 2002) and monitoring of exotic pests (Fuller, 2005). Decreased time and funding required to inventory and monitor large and remote areas could be seen as a direct benefit to resource managers.

Other methods of monitoring while in the field include using GPS to directly record digital data on features of interest such as the location and condition class of campsites (Leung & Marion, 2000), following wildlife (Gau, Mulders, Ciarniello, Heard, Chetkiewiez, Boyce, Munroe, Stenhouse, Chruszez, Gibeau, Milakovic & Parker, 2004), and monitoring fire fighting personnel in the field (Kremens, Faulring & Phillips, 2005).

Analysis

GIS provides a means of analyzing recreation resource data by revealing trends, dependencies and inter-relationships that would be more difficult to discover on paper or in tabular format. It allows policy makers, planners and managers to visualize problems in relation to resources and more efficiently target areas in need.

Recreation resources can be mapped in relation to their surrounding environment, existing conditions and varied infrastructures. When mapped together, such information creates a powerful tool for the monitoring and management of resources and public programs. A study by Cakir (2005) explored the potential of using GIS to measure landform attributes, such as trail incision and width, to develop models of trail degradation. Her results suggested that models based on GIS-derived data perform as well or better than models based on field-measured data.

Through its analytical capabilities, a GIS allows recreation resource managers to ask "geographic questions" (Falbo, Queen, & Blinn, 1991). For example, GIS could establish how the introduction of a new road would affect the habitat of a protected species or the ecology of sensitive vegetation.

In a case study in Broken Arrow Canyon, Ariz., Bishop and Gimblett (2000) presented the use of spatial information systems, spatial modeling and virtual reality in recreation planning research. They used models moving in a GIS-based landscape to imitate patterns of visitors. Better management of the recreational area was achieved through the effective understanding of recreationists' behavior.

Parks resource managers might ask if there are any patterns where trail standards are exceeded and erosion is taking place. If so, they may ask if there are any contributing factors such as soil type, slope or nearness to trail heads. Facility managers might also ask if these places lie near areas of special concern and if so, whether monitoring and re-routing of trails could alleviate said problems.

Using a time series analysis, a GIS may provide information on how trails are changing through time and keep a long-term record on the changes. These long-term records allow analysts to frame questions in different ways, in turn allowing other individuals to examine different potential relationships.

Planning

GIS also aids in planning in many ways. Leung, Shaw, Johnson and Duhaime (2002) established a "baseline" of natural resources on the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area using GIS and GPS technologies. This information was integrated into the visitor carrying capacity project, which was used to support the general management plan for the park.

As relationships are identified and threats are understood, recreation planners can simulate different scenarios as well as changing aspects of conditions and threats. Harris et al. (1995) mapped use and wildlife habitat data into GIS to model locations where recreational activities were likely to intersect with sensitive wildlife. Areas where use and habitat overlapped were considered potential areas of conflict.

In another case, GIS was used to examine the accessibility and distributional equity in the park system of Bryan, Texas (Nicholls & Shafer, 2001). The researchers were able to compare accessibility using a standard distance method versus a network method. They found that the distribution of neighborhood parks in urban areas was equitable to the age groups of interest, but inequitable with respect to income. The study supported park and recreation professionals employing GIS as a tool to visualize and measure levels of accessibility and equity.

Communication

Using GIS to communicate information allows researchers to convey the complex and sometimes hidden interactions that arise in the management of recreation resources in a simple and straight-forward manner to both the public and management agencies. Incorporating local citizens' knowledge can also impact the possible benefits and costs that may have been missed. At Brecon Beacons National Park, maps were generated from a GIS that permitted local facilitators and planners to conduct discussion and provide focus for public meetings (Bahaire & White, 1999).

The TourPlan system (Feick & Hall, 2000) is a GIS-based decision-support system that was designed to assist individuals and groups to explore alternative development strategies while building consensus and identifying conflict in land-use planning. A sample application involved four basic types of participants: government, non-government, private sector and the general public.

Although GIS is not a stand-alone decision support system, it can produce needed information in varying forms, performing various calculations and display the results, thus facilitating decision making. McAdam (1999) noted GIS's contribution to decision-making by providing value-added information. This value-added information is a result of GIS's ability to show relationships and patterns based on specific criteria.

Conclusion

Recreation is a highly complex activity. It requires tools that aid in decision-making in line with competing economic, social, and environmental demands of development. GIS is a tool that is increasingly showing its usefulness for researchers and practitioners in recent years.

Inventorying features and their relationships is a simple and practical application of this technology. GIS can be used to monitor features over time and space and reveal trends in use, impacts and conditions of resources. An advantage of GIS over more conventional tools like paper maps and spreadsheets is the ability to link and analyze relationships between different data sets (i.e., layers) and attribute data (i.e., tabular data). Armed with these abilities, managers can integrate findings into planning and management of recreation resources. The visual nature of GIS can facilitate communication with stakeholders and other agencies.

With consistent spatial data on recreational activities, characteristics of these locations, and long-term visitor use data, GIS applications will grow significantly over time. The growing worldwide interests in recreation studies will certainly demand even more sophisticated and complex GIS applications in these fields.

References

Bahaire, T.M., & Elliott-White, M. (1999). The Application of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in Sustainable Tourism Planning: A Review. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 7(2), 159-174.

Bishop, I.D., & Gimblett, H.R. (2000). Management of recreational areas: GIS, autonomous agents, and virtual reality. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 27(3), 423-435.

Cakir, J.F. (2005). Modeling Trail Degradation Using Field end GIS Methodologies: A Comparative Study. Dissertation Abstracts International 66-05B, 2480.

Clarke, K.C. (2001). Getting Started With Geographic Information Systems. 3rd edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Dixon, G., Hawes, M., & McPherson, G. (2004). Monitoring and modeling walking Track impacts in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Australia. Journal of Environmental Management, 71, 305-320.

Falbo, D., Queen, L., & Blinn C. (1991). Introduction to data analysis using a geographic information system. Minnesota Extension Service Publication, NR-FO-5740-E. 11 p.

Feick, R.D. & Hall, B. (2000). The Application of a Spatial Decision Support System to Tourism-Based Land Management in Small Island States. Journal of Travel Research, 39, 1-63-1-71

Fuller, F.O. (2005). Remote detection of invasive Melaleuca trees (Melaleuca quinquenervia) in South Florida with multispectrat IKONOS imagery. Journal of Remote Sensing, 26(5), 1057-1063.

Gajda, A.M.T., Brown, J., Peregoodoff, G., & Barrier, P. (2000). Managing Coastal Recreation Impacts and Visitor Experience Using GIS. Volume 5: Wilderness Ecosystems, Threats, and Management. Proceedings RMRS-P-15-VOL-5. USDA, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.

Gau, R.J., Mulders, R., Ciarniello, L.M., Heard, D.C., Chetkiewiez, C.B., Boyce, M., Munroe, R., Stenhouse, G., Chruszez, B., Gibeau, M.L., Milakovic, B., & Parker, K.L. (2004). Uncontrolled field performance of Televilt GPS-Simplex(tm) collars on grizzly bears in western and northern Canada. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 32(3), 693-701.

Guisse, A.W., & Gimblett, H.R. (1997). Assessing and mapping conflicting recreation values in state park settings using neural networks. AI Appl., 11, 78-89.

Kliskey, A.D. (2000). Recreation terrain suitability mapping: a spatially explicit methodology for determining recreation potential for resource use assessment. Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning, 733, 1-11.

Kremens, R., Faulring, J, & Phillips, D. (2005). A Compact Device to Monitor and Report Firefighter Health, Location and Status In: Buffer, B.W and Alexander, M.E. Eds. Eighth International Wildland Firefighter Safety Summit.

Landres, P, Spildie, D.R., & Queen, L.P. (2001). GIS Applications to Wilderness Management: Potential Uses and Limitations. General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-80. USDA, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.

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Leung, Y.-F., & Marion, J.L. (2000). Recreation impacts and management in wilderness: A state-of-knowledge review. In D.N. Cole, S.F. McCool, W.T. Borrie, and J. O'Loughlin (Comps.), Wilderness Science in a Time of Change Conference--Volume 5: Wilderness Ecosystems, Threats, and Management. Ogden, UT: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Proceedings RMRSP-15, 5, 23-48.

Leung, Y,-F., Shaw, N., Johnson, K., & Duhaime, R. (2002). More than a Database: Integrating GIS Data with the Boston Harbor Islands Visitor Carrying Capacity Study. The George Wright Forum, 19, 69-78.

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Research into Action: Making Decisions Using GIS

Research using GIS and recreation resources can enable and inform park and recreation professionals, which allows them to make more informed decisions. Recreation mangers can use GIS to identify problems before, as and after they occur. Some immediate benefits that managers can reap with GIS within their parks include the following:

* A GIS can store the locations of recreational conflicts such as recreation-wildlife user conflicts, and show areas of high conflict allowing the prioritization of tasks and areas of concern, while providing options to circumvent problems.

* A GIS can facilitate the monitoring of specific indicators in a park, providing real time data on situations as they occur and the ability to show what has been monitored (e.g. trails, wildlife, watersheds).

* A GIS allows the ability to identify suitable locations for recreation development, as well as show areas of concern.

* A GIS allows simulation and modeling of spatial/temporal outcomes of proposed development in and around a community.

* A GIS allows integration of environmental and socio-economic data within a given area and provides a way to show areas of disparities.

Michael D. Naber, M.S., is a Ph.D. student in Parks Recreation and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University and his advisor is Dr. Yu-Fai Leung. His research interests include recreation ecology, recreation geography, natural resources and the integration of GIS into recreation resource management.