Parks and Carrying Capacity

by Manning, Robert E.

• ISBN13: 9781559631051
• ISBN10: 1559631058
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-02-28
• Publisher: Island Pr

Summary

How much can we use the environment without spoiling what we find so valuable about it? Determining the carrying capacity of parks and related areas is a perennial question whose urgency grows each year as the number of visits continues to increase. Parks and Carrying Capacityrepresents a comprehensive assessment of the issue, as it: • offers a historical and conceptual treatment of carrying capacity • describes and illustrates research approaches for assessing carrying capacity, including qualitative and quantitative surveys, normative theory and methods, visual research approaches, trade-off analysis, and simulation modeling • examines management alternatives for limiting the environmental and social impacts of visitor use • considers the broader question of environmental management and how the issue of carrying capacity can be applied more generally • discusses how the theory and methods associated with managing the carrying capacity of parks and protected areas might be extended to other areas of environmental management The book includes a series of case studies that describe research programsdesigned to support analysis and management of carrying capacity at eight diverse units of the U.S. National Park System, and an additional case study that explores how the foundational components of carrying capacity (formulating indicators and standards, monitoring, and adaptive management) are being applied in an increasing number of environmental and natural resources fields to address the growing urgency of sustainability. Parks and Carrying Capacityis an important new work for faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and researchers in outdoor recreation, park planning and management, and natural resource conservation and management, as well as for professional planners and managers involved with park and outdoor recreation related agencies and nongovernmental organizations.

Author Biography

Robert E. Manning is a professor in the Rubestein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
From Commons to Carrying Capacity	p. 5
The Tragedy of the Commons	p. 7
Carrying Capacity of Parks and Protected Areas	p. 18
Indicators and Standards	p. 28
Research to Support Application of Carrying Capacity	p. 35
Identifying Indicators for Parks and Protected Areas	p. 37
Normative Standards for Indicator Variables	p. 42
Visual Research Methods	p. 56
Tradeoffs in Park and Outdoor Recreation Management	p. 77
Computer Simulation Modeling of Visitor Use	p. 90
Case Studies of Measuring and Managing Carrying Capacity	p. 99
Managing Recreation at Acadia National Park	p. 101
Day-Use Social Carrying Capacity of Yosemite Valley	p. 110
Wilderness Camping at Isle Royale National Park	p. 125
Indicators and Standards at Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area	p. 136
Estimating Carrying Capacity of Alcatraz Island	p. 146
Defining and Managing the Quality of the Visitor Experience at Muir Woods National Monument	p. 155
Wilderness Management at Zion National Park	p. 167
Indicators and Standards for Cultural Resources at Mesa Verde National Park	p. 181
Managing Carrying Capacity	p. 193
Alternative Management Practices	p. 195
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Management Practices	p. 203
Beyond Parks and Protected Areas	p. 229
Indicators and Standards of Sustainability	p. 231
Conclusion	p. 245
Indicators for Parks and Protected Areas	p. 253
Standards for Parks and Protected Areas	p. 261
References	p. 275
Index	p. 307
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