Longitudinal variation in environmental impact at rock climbing areas in the Red River Gorge limits of acceptable change study area, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky

<p>Recreation ecology began in the 1960s to measure the impacts of recreation on ecosystems. Area of environmental impact is an important objective to assess recreational impact. However, few researchers have examined the trends of these impacts over time. This study measures the environmental area of impact at eight climbing areas, in Red River Gorge, Kentucky, over a six year period, to determine impact trends. The results of this research will help recreation ecologists and land managers understand environmental impacts over time, and possibly predict future impact scenarios. The hypothesis of this research is the total mean area of impact at the climb areas in 2007 and again in 2013 will change insignificantly. The findings support this hypothesis. Six of the eight climb areas resulted in insignificant change in area of impact over six years. Application of mitigation strategies by land managers may therefore be more effective at reducing impact areas. Longer duration impact trend studies should be conducted to verify there is a consistent impact threshold at climb areas. Determination of this threshold, and how to build a predictive model, should also be considered in the future. Also, further research replicating this study should be conducted at climbing areas with different environmental and social conditions.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Recreation and Park Administration

Grantor dc:publisher

Eastern Kentucky University

Year

2015

Author dc:creator

• Walendziak, Nicholas

• Climbing
• Land Use Planning
• Recreation Ecology
• Recreation Impacts
• Recreation Resource Management
• Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2015 Nicholas Walendziak

Repository record dc:identifier

https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/239

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:encompass.eku.edu:etd-1237