Impacts on Back-Country, Picnic, and Car Camping Sites in the Colorado Front Range, U.S.A.

Abstract

of these subalpine forests has increased during the last 30 years and impacts associated with recreational use are a growing concern for resource managers (Cole, 1981; Dearden and Sewell, 1985). Trampling of recreational sites typically increases soil compaction and reduces the protective vegetative cover. Thus, recreational use may make it difficult to maintain aesthetic and natural area values, and it may lead to long-term site degradation by soil erosion (Lutz, 1945; Young and Gilmore, 1976; Legg and Schneider, 1977; Dawson et al., 1978; Cole, 1983; Stohlgren and Parsons, 1986). Frequency and type of use influence the magnitude of impact on recreational sites. But there has been little research comparing impacts of different types of use that may guide managers in developing and implementing site resource plans for recreation areas with different types of use (Cole, 1981, 1983, 1987a). The objectives of this study were to determine if soil and ground-cover characteristics differed on recreation sites with the following types of use: back-country camping, picnicking, and car camping.