Monitoring and Management of Social Trails and Visitor Use on Little Moose Island, Acadia National Park: 1996 - 2002

Jacobi, Charles

Following taken from summary section of report: 'Little Moose Island is an important botanical area in Acadia National Park with rare plants, plants sensitive to human use, and soils subject to erosion. Until recently, visitor use of the island was essentially unmanaged. A myriad of social trails had developed over 50 or more years as visitors explored the island on their own terms; soil erosion was also common. The NPS had never constructed or designated any hiking trail routes. This report describes management and monitoring activities conducted between 1996 and 2002, and intended to mitigate erosion and plant loss and preserve the values of rare flora, naturalness, and solitude.' 'In 1996, the National Park Service mapped nearly three miles of social trails on Little Moose Island using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and assessed trail conditions using a Condition Class System. This is a high density of trails for 54 acres, and the trails were concentrated on the west side of the island. Most social trails were in the lower or least impacted Condition Classes. However, more than 18% of them, totaling 1/2 mile were in Condition Class 5, representing substantial erosion.' 'In 2000, the NPS hosted several consultants with expertise in trail design and maintenance, local biological knowledge, and research in recreation ecology. A field trip Little Moose Island resulted in consensus on a general action plan. That action plan was developed in detail by park staff and implemented in the late fall of 2001. Specific social trails totaling 1.09 miles (5769 feet) were designated for maintenance; other social trails were closed. Designated trails were brushed out to make them obvious and allow easy passage. Trails were closed by covering them in brush, and small revegetation signs with a low profile were placed in key spots to discourage use. One educational sign was installed at the cobble beach at a location where most visitors are drawn to as they access the island. This sign offered a Leave No Trace message to stay on the main trails or step on rocks.' 'Twenty-three photo points were established in 2001 on both open and closed trails to monitor conditions. These were mapped by GPS in 2003 and repeat photos were taken. No major changes in vegetative cover were detectable from the photos over this 2 year period, but observations of closed social trails show substantial recovery is beginning in many places.' 'The NPS supported research in 2002 to examine visitor preferences of tradeoffs among various resource conditions, social conditions, and managerial settings (Cahill 2003). One of the three study sites was Little Moose Island. Compared with Jordan Pond area visitors, Little Moose Island visitors prefer low levels of encounters with other visitors and more primitive trail conditions. When forced to choose, Little Moose Island visitors were more willing to accept access restrictions and a greater management presence. Visitor censuses conducted as part of this research for 19 days during July showed the average number of visitors was 13.2 and the range was from 4 - 26.' 'Management recommendations for Little Moose Island include the following: Install parking management stones along the Schoodic Road; Monitor the trail conditions in 2006 through photographs and, if warranted, a follow-up condition class assessment; Watch for the development of new social trails; map and assess condition of those that develop using GPS technology; Maintain authorized trails by trimming brush; annually brush in all social trails that were closed; Conduct Leave No Trace education through personal contacts to the extent possible; continue to promote Leave No Trace education with local businesses; Develop policies for use of Little Moose Island by programs associated with the Schoodic Education and Research Center.' /STUDY LOCATIONS:/ /ISLANDS/Little Moose Island/

Monitoring and Management of Social Trails and Visitor Use on Little Moose Island, Acadia National Park: 1996 - 2002

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