Denali National Park & Preserve Soundscape Annual Report 2006

Withers, Jared

Natural sound is both a resource in its own right as well as an important aspect of the Denali’s wilderness resource values, and the influence of motorized noise on visitor experience is a key concern throughout the park. Denali’s Backcountry Management Plan (BCMP), finalized in 2006, established indicators and standards for the natural sound environment and requires monitoring to evaluate if the standards are being satisfied. Soundscape measurements are objective, and employ methods that are easily reviewed by the public, which will provide strong support for future management decisions. Without these data the park will have little information to make management guidelines or support management decisions that may affect the quality of the Park’s soundscape. The initial push for Denali to begin soundscape inventories began with Director's Order 47 (DO-47). Robert Stanton issued the order in 2000 directing park managers to identify baseline soundscapes and related measures. DO-47 states that “natural sounds are intrinsic elements of the environment that are often associated with parks and park purposes…They are inherent components of ‘the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life’ protected by the NPS Organic Act.” DO-47 directed park managers to “(1) measure baseline acoustic conditions, (2) determine which existing or proposed human-made sounds are consistent with park purposes, (3) set acoustic management goals and objectives based on those purposes, and (4) determine which noise sources are impacting the park and need to be addressed by management.” Furthermore, it requires park managers to “(1) evaluate and address self-generated noise, and (2) constructively engage with those responsible for other noise sources that impact parks to explore what can be done to better protect parks.” The primary purpose behind the Denali soundscape study has been to measure the level of influence overflight traffic and snowmachine traffic has on the Park’s soundscape. Understanding the natural soundscape is important to evaluate the levels of impacts human-generated sounds may have on this important resource. Different habitats have specific soundscape characteristics that are an important attribute of the natural system, with distinct impacts on the human perception of the environment. The natural soundscape is generally comprised of two main sound categories, physical and biological. Physical sounds are created by physical forces (wind, rock fall, rivers, etc.), whereas biological sounds are created by organisms (birds, frogs, plants, etc.). The presence and abundance of sounds from these two categories is used to characterize different habitats. Impacts on the natural soundscape and on visitor experiences come from human-generated sounds.

Denali National Park & Preserve Soundscape Annual Report 2006

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