Backcountry use impacts and media coverage in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Sigg C. 2017. Backcountry use impacts and media coverage in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Natural Resource Report. NPS/GAAR/NRR—2017/1444. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (NPP) is the northernmost park unit in the United States. It lies entirely above the Arctic Circle and is home to many slow-growing plants and lichens. This fragile ecosystem can easily be disturbed by the recreational backcountry use of park visitors, especially if use is concentrated in certain areas. The creation of trails, fire rings, human waste, and other human impacts detract from the wilderness experience the park was created to preserve. Using geographic information systems (GIS), I developed a map showing correlations between recreational backcountry impacts and areas of the park featured in popular outdoor magazines and blogs. Park data on impacted sites and management zones was obtained from the National Park Service (NPS). Data concerning areas of the park featured in the media was created by compiling Google search results for “Gates of the Arctic National Park” and adding new fields to the park management zone GIS layer. The intersect geoprocessing tool was used to show which impact sites fell into management zones featured in blogs or magazines. Overall, a majority of the impact sites were located in management zones that were recommended by blogs and magazines as places to visit. The overwhelming concentration of impact sites in these featured zones indicates blogs and magazines have a strong influence in determining where backcountry users plan trips in Gates of the Arctic NPP. The map has practical applications for the NPS in deciding where to allocate resources to prevent recreational impacts and to rehabilitate areas damaged by recreational use.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Sigg, Casey
- Date of Issue
- 2017-05
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- GAAR , NRSS
- Keywords
- Alaska, backcountry, Gates of the Arctic, impacts, media, recreation, visitor use
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Human Use | Point-Source Human Effects | Point-Source Human Effects , Ecological Framework: Human Use | Visitor and Recreation Use | Visitor Use