Efficacy of Combining Education and Site Management in Reducing Off-Trail Travel in a Fragile Biotic Community, Acadia National Park

Abstract

Averaging 2.4 million visits annually across fewer than 50,000 acres, Acadia National Park (ANP) is a “densely visited” park whose managers seek to protect the quality of natural resources and visitor experiences. The proliferation of informal (visitor-created) trail networks increases resource degradation and management costs to curtail and repair them. This paper evaluates the efficacy and acceptability of adaptive management measures for discouraging off-trail travel in a backcountry setting at ANP. Additive combinations of management techniques—designed to address multiple motives for going off-trail—are evaluated for efficacy along a high use backcountry summit trail. Trail site management actions and educational signs addressing multiple motives for off-trail travel were shown to be effective, as are more direct, obtrusive measures relying on fewer additive components. Management situations warranting the use of direct measures (e.g., fencing) vs. combinations of less direct and obtrusive measures are discussed.