Standards in the Denali Park road vehicle management plan — how current conditions measure up: A summary report 2013
McKenny HC, Clark WC, Borg BL. 2014. Standards in the Denali Park road vehicle management plan — how current conditions measure up: A summary report 2013. Natural Resource Technical Report. NPS/DENA/NRTR—2014/915. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
This report summarizes data collected during the 2013 regulatory season to monitor six of the seven Denali Park Road Vehicle Management Plan (VMP) tier one indicators: 1) number of vehicles stopped to view wildlife at one time (wildlife stops); 2) number of vehicles at rest stops; 3) number of vehicles visible in viewscapes; 4) maintenance of hourly ten-minute gaps in traffic at sheep crossing locations (sheep gaps); 5) number of vehicles per hour between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. (night-time traffic); and 6) amount of time a hiker waits for a bus. The primary objective of this report is to compare the conditions of VMP indicators during the 2013 regulatory season to the standards. The monitoring results will be used to develop strategies for managing vehicle traffic on the park road in a manner that meets the goals and standards established by the VMP. Our results suggest that traffic scheduling, volumes, and driver behavior during the 2013 regulatory season enabled the park meet most of the VMP standards. The results also highlighted: 1) areas where conditions could be improved through vehicle management; and 2) areas where our monitoring efforts could be improved.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- McKenny, Heather; Clark, William; Borg, Bridget
- Date of Issue
- 2014-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- DENA , NRSS
- Keywords
- DENA, Denali National Park, preserve, Road, sheep gap, vehicle management plan, vehicle use, wildlife views
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Human Use | Visitor and Recreation Use | Visitor Use , Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Viewscape | Viewscape/Dark Night Sky