Standards of quality in parks and recreation.

Parks are increasingly important in modern society. They protect vital natural and cultural resources and enhance the quality of life by providing opportunities for recreation to an expanding population. But can parks continue to be successful as they attract more and more visitors? This article suggests that setting standards of quality is becoming increasingly important in the management of parks and recreation.

National parks may represent the ultimate manifestation of the tradeoff between use and quality in parks and recreation. Reflecting their significance in society, national parks are often called America's "crown jewels." Moreover, data on visits to the national park system dramatically illustrate their popularity: annual visits are now counted in the hundreds of millions. But how many visitors can our national parks ultimately accommodate?

The increasing popularity of parks presents both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity is to manage parks so they reach their full potential value to society; the challenge is to protect park resources and the quality of the visitor experience. Too many visitors can trample fragile vegetation, erode soil, pollute water, and disturb wildlife. Likewise, too many visitors can cause crowding and conflict, degrading the quality of the recreation experience.

Standards of Quality

The predicament represented by these issues is often addressed within the concept of carrying capacity. In its broadest sense, carrying capacity can be defined as "the amount of visitor use that can be accommodated within a park or recreation area." Contemporary approaches to carrying capacity stress the central role of indicators and standards of quality (Stankey et al., 1985; Stankey and Manning, 1986; Graefe et al., 1990; National Park Service, 1997). Indicators of quality are measurable variables that specify the resource and social conditions to be managed within a park. Standards of quality define the minimum acceptable condition of each indicator variable.

A brief example may help illuminate these concepts and definitions. Wilderness areas constitute a special type of park and recreation area where visitors are supposed to find opportunities for solitude. But what constitutes "solitude" and how is it to be measured? Indicators and standards of quality provide answers to these types of questions. It may be determined through a program of research that the number of encounters with other groups along trails is a key measure of solitude. Thus, number of daily trail encounters with other groups may be a good indicator of quality. Moreover, most visitors may report that once they encounter more than three groups per day along trails, they no longer achieve an acceptable level of solitude. Thus, the standard of quality for the number of trail encounters per day might be most appropriately set at three. Other considerations, of course -- including resource conditions and legislative mandates -- can also influence indicators and standards of quality.

By defining indicators and standards of quality, parks can be managed within their carrying capacity by means of a monitoring and management program. Indicators of quality can be monitored over time and if standards of quality are violated, carrying capacity has been exceeded. At this point, management action is required to ensure that standards of quality are maintained.

The Carriage Roads of Acadia National Park 

The carriage roads, a system of more than 50 miles of unpaved roads constructed at the direction of John D. Rockefeller Jr. in the early 1900s, represent one of the most significant resources at Maine's Acadia National Park. Originally built for horse-drawn carriages, the carriage roads are now used primarily for hiking and biking and have become extremely popular. However, increased use has created concern for the quality of the experience on the part of both visitors and managers. In response to this concern, a program of research was initiated to help formulate indicators and standards of quality for the carriage-road experience.

A first phase of research focused on identifying potential indicators of quality. A survey of a representative sample of carriage-road visitors was conducted. Using both open- and close-ended questions, visitors were asked to indicate what added to or detracted from the quality of their experience on the carriage roads. Two types of indicators of quality were identified: one was crowding-related and concerned the number of visitors on the carriage roads; the other was conflict-related and addressed several "problem behaviors" experienced on the carriage roads including bicycles passing from behind without warning, excessive bicycle speed, people obstructing the carriage roads by walking abreast or stopping in groups, and unleashed dogs.

The first phase of research also documented existing patterns of use on the carriage roads and visitor attitudes toward a variety of management alternatives. The carriage roads currently support a diversity of recreation opportunities defined both spatially and temporally. Some areas and times are relatively heavily used while other areas and times accommodate relatively light levels of use. Despite the problem behaviors noted above, most visitors supported maintaining the current mix of carriage-road users -- hikers, bikers, and equestrians. Based on these findings, park management decided to maintain a diversity of carriage-road experiences by establishing and defining two types of recreation opportunity "zones" for the carriage roads as defined by location, time of day, and time of year. However, both of these zones would continue to accommodate all types of visitors. The two carriage-road zones would be defined by the same indicators of quality, but different standards of quality would be set.

Crowding-Related Standards of Quality

A second phase of research focused on formulating standards of quality. This research also used a survey of a representative sample of carriage-road visitors and adopted normative theory and related empirical techniques (Shelby and Heberlein, 1986; Vaske et al., 1986). As applied in outdoor recreation, norms are generally defined as standards that individuals and groups use to evaluate social and environmental conditions in parks and related areas (Shelby and Vaske, 1991). If visitors have normative standards concerning relevant aspects of recreation experiences, then such norms can be studied and used as a basis for formulating standards of quality.

Because of the relatively large number of visitors on the carriage roads, crowding was measured in terms of persons-per-viewscape (PPV), incorporating a visually based measurement approach. The viewscape for the carriage roads (the length of carriage road that can be seen at any one time) averages approximately 100 meters. A series of photographs was prepared that showed a range of zero to 30 visitors on a typical 100-meter section of the carriage roads. The photographs were prepared using a computer and digital photo-editing software. Sample photographs are shown in Figure 1.

[Figure 1 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Visitors were shown the photographs in random order and asked to rate their acceptability on a scale from minus 4 (very unacceptable) to plus 4 (very acceptable). Study findings are shown in Figure 2. This figure is called a norm curve and represents the aggregate acceptability ratings for the sample of visitors. The norm curve indicates that visitors generally find that it is acceptable to see up to 14 PPV. However, the quality of the experience is very marginal in the upper portion of this range, and visitors prefer to see far lower PPV levels.

[Figure 2 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

A more detailed assessment of PPV was developed through a computer-based simulation model of carriage-road use. This model was developed using the travel routes that visitors reported in the visitor survey. The model can be run at any total daily use level for the carriage roads and estimates the resulting PPV levels that will occur. The model was validated by comparing model estimates to actual carriage-road data.

Using the model, five one-hour trips on the carriage roads were developed and described in a series of scenarios. Incrementally increasing, these trips represented total use levels of 750 to 12,000 visitors. The scenarios described the PPV conditions that would be experienced at each of the five use levels, and visitors were asked to rate the acceptability of each scenario using the scale described above. Once again, a norm curve was developed for these data (Figure 3).

[Figure 3 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Because the carriage roads are such an important park resource, it was decided that they should be managed to ensure that most visitors enjoy a high-quality experience. Using this management objective, it was decided that at least 80 percent of visitors should have an experience they rate at quality level two or higher on the acceptability scale described above. Data used to develop Figure 3 indicate that these criteria are met at up to a total daily use level of 3,000 visitors. Moreover, data from the computer simulation model indicate that at a total daily use level of 3,000 visitors, a visitor to the more heavily used portions of the carriage roads (high-use zone) would see zero PPV at least 31 minutes out of an hour, one to five PPV no more than 27 minutes out of an hour, six to 10 PPV no more than two minutes out of an hour, and never more than 10 PPV. A visitor to the less heavily used portions of the carriage roads (low-use zone) would see zero PPV at least 48 minutes out of an hour, one to five PPV no more than 11 minutes out of an hour, six to 10 PPV no more than one minute out of an hour, and never more than 10 PPV.

These detailed use levels, expressed in terms of PPV and the associated total dally use level of 3,000 visitors, have been adopted as crowding-related standards of quality for the carriage roads.

Conflict-Related Standards of Quality

Standards of quality were also set for the four problem behaviors described above. Visitors were asked to report the maximum number of times it would be acceptable to experience each of these behaviors during a trip on the carriage roads. The resulting norms were used as a basis of formulating standards of quality. As with crowding-related standards, standards of quality for problem behaviors were set somewhat lower than maximum acceptable norms to ensure a relatively high level of quality. And different standards of quality were set for the high- and low-use portions of the carriage roads to ensure that a diversity of experiences was maintained.

For the high-use portion of the carriage roads, standards of quality specify that visitors should experience no more than two instances of bicycles passing from behind without warning, two instances of excessive bicycle speeds, one instance of visitors obstructing the carriage roads, and no instances of unleashed dogs. For the low-use portion of the carriage roads, these numbers should be one, one, one, and zero, respectively.

Monitoring and Management

The carrying-capacity framework described earlier requires that indicators of quality be monitored and that management actions be taken when and where standards of quality are violated. This is an ongoing process on the carriage roads. Crowding-related indicators of quality can be monitored in several ways. Total dally use level of the carriage roads can be monitored by means of an electronic trail-use counter that has been statistically calibrated to total daily use. PPV levels can be monitored through estimation by the computer-based simulation model of carriage-road use, by a survey of visitors asked to pick the photograph of carriage-road use that looks most like what they experienced, and by observations of PPV levels by trained employees. Conflict-related indicators of quality can be monitored by a survey of visitors and by observations of trained employees.

To date, monitoring has indicated that crowding-related standards of quality have not yet been approached. The current peak total-daily-use level is approximately 2,000 visitors. However, data indicate that existing conditions for some problem behaviors have approached standards of quality. Consequently, park management instituted a number of management actions designed to maintain these standards of quality. These management actions include the development of "rules of the road," which are posted at all carriage-road entrances, a liaison with local biking and hiking groups, and courtesy patrols on the carriage roads. These are the types of management actions that respondents favored in visitor surveys. Recent monitoring indicates that most of the problem behaviors have declined substantially in the past year or two.

Conclusion

This study suggests that standards of quality are an important part of park and recreation management. Standards of quality define the type of recreation experience to be provided and maintained and constitute an informed and empirical foundation for subsequent monitoring and management. While the examples described in this study address the quality of the visitor experience, standards of quality can and should address issues of resource quality (Manning et al., 1995; Manning & Lime, 1996; Manning et al., 1996).

The research described in this study used relatively sophisticated techniques including digital photographic editing, computer-based simulation modeling, and visitor surveys to help formulate standards of quality. However, these techniques are not always necessary. Moreover, there are other sources of information that can and should be used to help formulate standards of quality including legal and administrative mandates, agency policy, historic precedent, interest-group politics, and expert judgment. Even with an abundance of data, some value judgments are still required from park and recreation managers hoping to formulate standards of quality. But without thoughtful standards of quality, parks are unlikely to realize their full potential to society.

References

Graefe, A., F. Kuss, and J. Vaske. 1990. Visitor Impact Management: The Planning Framework. Washington, D.C.: National Parks and Conservation Association.

Manning, R., D. Lime, M. Hof and W. Freimund. 1995. The Visitor Experience and Resource Protection Process: The Application of Carrying Capacity to Arches National Park. The George Wright Forum 12(3): 41-55.

Manning, R. and D. Lime. 1996. Crowding and Carrying Capacity in the National Park System: Toward a Social Science Research Agenda. Crowding and Congestion in the National Park System: Guidelines for Management and Research. University of Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station Publication 86-1996, pp. 27-65.

Manning, R., D. Lime, and M. Hof. 1996. Social Carrying Capacity of Natural Areas: Theory and Application in the U.S. National Parks. Natural Areas Journal 16(2): 118-127.

National Park Service. 1997. VERP: The Visitor Experience and Resource Protection (VERP) Framework--A Handbook for Planners and Managers. Denver: Denver Service Center.

Shelby, B. and T. Heberlein. 1986. Carrying Capacity in Recreation Settings. Corvallis, Oregon: Oregon State University Press.

Shelby, B. and J. Vaske. 1991. Using Normative Data to Develop Evaluative Standards for Resource Management: A Comment on Three Recent Papers. Journal of Leisure Research 23(2): 173-187.

Stankey, G., D. Cole, R. Lucas, M. Petersen, S. Frissell, and R. Washburne. 1985. The Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) System for Wilderness Planning. USDA Forest General Technical Report INT-176.

Stankey, G. and R. Manning. 1986. Carrying Capacity of Recreational Settings. A Literature Review: The President's Commission on Americans Outdoors. Washington, D.C, U.S. Government Printing Office, M-47-M-57.

Vaske, J. A Graefe, B. Shelby, and T. Heberlein. 1986. Backcountry Encounter Norms: Theory, Method and Empirical Evidence. Journal of Leisure Research. 18(3): 137-153.