Approach
Increased participant numbers during peak season and shoulder seasons can result in overcrowding and problems with access that overwhelm existing infrastructure. Increased numbers can also result in damage to natural or cultural resources if not managed appropriately. Reducing personal motorized access in favor of mass transit options, such as shuttle busses or ferry services, lessens the potential for resource damage and may also reduce maintenance over the long term since fewer vehicles would be accessing popular sites. This would be an additional indirect benefit given the potential for shoulder-season staffing shortages discussed above.
Tactics
- Provide shuttle buses in cases where over-congestion due to increased visitation is causing resource damage.
- Incentivize outfitter guide and tour operator services by limiting personal motorized access, where increasing costs due to resource damage make regular maintenance unfeasible.
- Provide ferry service in the case of national seashore or barrier islands where the continued retention of access roads is compromised.
- Diversify the variety of recreational opportunities and the manner in which visitors are able to access them, i.e. provide non-motorized trailheads where motorized congestion is a consistent problem.
Strategy
Strategy Text
Higher temperatures, reduced snowpack, and earlier spring runoff will lengthen the season for warm-weather recreational activities. The total number of people participating in outdoor recreation is expected to grow along with projected population increases, though per capita participation rates are likely to decrease in activities such as snowmobiling and backcountry skiing. Both total participant numbers and participation per capita are projected to increase for some forms of water-based recreation, which, combined with anticipated lower baseline summer streamflows, is likely to produce access issues and overcrowding. A longer and hotter snow-free season will create opportunities to increase available access at expanded times of the year, but also challenges in how to permit users, staff facilities, and protect natural resources at times when facilities had not historically been open and seasonal employees are not yet on staff. Providing high-quality recreational experiences under these conditions to a diverse and expanding population is a challenge. This strategy seeks to provide options for how to safely and flexibly administer new modes and methods of visitation while continuing to protect and natural and cultural resources.
O’Toole, D.; Brandt, L.A.; Janowiak, M.K.; Schmitt, K.M.; Shannon, P.D.; Leopold, P.R.; Handler, S.D.; Ontl, T.A.; Swanston, C.W. Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Approaches for Outdoor Recreation. Sustainability 2019, 11, 7030.