Protecting Our Acoustic Heritage: An Analysis of a Survey of U.S. National Park Service Managers

Dumyahn, Sarah; Marin, Lelaina

NPS recognizes that park acoustical environments, or the combination of physical sound resources (i.e., natural, cultural, and historical sounds) within the park, are resources that require protection under NPS Management Policies. The Natural Sounds Program of the NPS Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division was established to protect soundscape resources in units of the national park system. To better understand the acoustic resources and noise issues present throughout the National Park System, the Natural Sounds Program sent a survey to each of the park units (n=391) in 2008-20092. Respondents from 141 park units provided information on park acoustic resources, noise sources and impacts, and mitigation measures. The survey question responses were analyzed by theme and the results are reported as number or percent of respondents. The acoustic resources reported most frequently were sounds from wildlife, sounds from bodies of water, and wind through vegetation. Nearly all respondents (98.7%) indicated that motorized vehicle noise, such as general traffic on roads, buses, motorcycles, and aircraft, was adversely affecting the acoustical environment and soundscape. Visitor impacts were reported most frequently (n=95) followed by impacts to the acoustical environment and wildlife impacts. Motorized noise sources were identified as the cause of most of the reported impacts and conflicts (n=97). Many types of noise mitigation measures were mentioned by respondents including different forms of park planning, communication with identified noise contributors, changing aspects of park operations, and aircraft regulations. Approximately one-third of the respondents indicated that no mitigation measures were being conducted at their park units. Exploratory correlation analyses were conducted to determine if there were any significant relationships between responding park characteristics and whether mitigation measures were being conducted or not. Significant relationships were found for many of the variables including park unit size, region, and park unit type. Additional research is needed to understand the barriers of soundscape management.

Protecting Our Acoustic Heritage: An Analysis of a Survey of U.S. National Park Service Managers

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