Managing Outdoor Recreation: Case Studies in the National Parks

The popularity of outdoor recreation and ecotourism continues to grow worldwide. However, there is little systematic information on how to manage outdoor recreation in ways that protect park resources and the quality of the visitor experience. This book develops classification systems of outdoor recreation-related problems and management strategies and practices and combines them into a series of matrices that can help guide park and outdoor recreation management. The book then uses a series of case studies drawn from the US National Park System that illustrate a range of successful management approaches that can be applied globally. The book concludes with a series of principles for managing parks and outdoor recreation.

Table of Contents:
a: Introduction Part 1: Managing Outdoor Recreation 1: Parks and Outdoor Recreation 2: Impacts of Outdoor Recreation 3: Outdoor Recreation Management Practices 4: Evaluating Outdoor Recreation Management Practices 5: Applying Outdoor Recreation Management Practices Part 2: Case Studies in the National Parks 6: Treading Lightly on Acadia 7: Building a Better Campsite Along the Appalachian Trail 8: How Many Visitors is Too Many at Arches? 9: Protecting Biscayne's Underwater Treasures 10: Turning Off the Lights at Chaco 11: Busing Among the Grizzlies at Denali 12: Winning the Lottery on the Colorado River 13: The Sounds of Silence in Muir Woods 14: Stewarding America's Antiquities at Mesa Verde 15: What Goes Up Mt. Whitney Must Come Down 16: Preventing the Petrified Forest from Disappearing 17: Bear Etiquette in Katmai 18: Don't Pick Up Aquatic Hitchhikers in Voyageurs 19: A Mountain with Handrails in Yosemite 20: Doing the Zion Shuttle 21: The Buzz from Above at Grand Canyon 22: Managing Monuments and Memorials at the National Mall 23: The Winter Wonderland of Yellowstone 24: "Alternative Transportation" at Grand Teton 25: "No Bad Trip in Glacier" Part 3: Conclusions 26: Lessons Learned Appendix A1: Management Practices for Limiting Use Appendix A2: Management Practices for Increasing Supply Appendix A3: Management Practices for Reducing the Impact of Use Appendix A4: Management Practices for Hardening Resources and the Visitor Experience Appendix B: An Interactive Management Tool

About the Author :
Robert Manning enjoyed a forty-year career as a professor in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont where he advanced to an appointment as the Steven Rubenstein Professor (a prestigious endowed professorship). He taught courses on the history, philosophy, and management of national parks, and conducted a longterm program of research for the U.S. National Park Service. Robert has written extensively about this work, publishing a dozen scholarly books and more than 100 papers in academic and professional journals. He earned the highest awards at the University of Vermont in both teaching and research, along with a number of national awards, and spent four year-long sabbatical leaves working with the National Park Service at selected national parks. His book, A Thinking Person's Guide to America's National Parks, was published in 2016 to help celebrate the Centennial of the National Park Service; the book was aimed at both popular and professional audiences and was highly reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Review :
"Manning and Anderson (both, Univ. of Vermont) have written a timely, pragmatic, and useful work, a must read for managers of all lands visited by tourists/outdoor enthusiasts, students in land management programs, and policy makers. The well-informed park user would also find it valuable. Part 1, divided into five chapters, provides a conceptual and methodological basis for the book. Chapter 1 is a concise conceptual framework. Following chapters survey human impacts on parks, and examine, evaluate, and apply management practices. Part 2 contains 20 succinct case study chapters that illustrate discrete management problems and remarkable success in the context of national parks. These include mitigation of trail use by millions of visitors and overuse of backcountry campsites in Acadia and on the Appalachian Trail; management of light, noise, and human waste problems Chaco, Muir Woods, and Mt. Whitney; successful handling of vegetation and habitat issues at the National Mall and at Katmai; and resolving visitor transportation and safety issues at Zion and Yosemite. The case studies are pithy, appropriate, and results-oriented. Chapter 26 in part 3 presents lessons learned through 36 management principles. Appendix A provides a toolbox of park problems and management solutions. Appendix B is available on a companion website. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries."-- (04/01/2013)