This page describes the broad research interests of our research group.
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Social-Ecological Systems
We are an interdisciplinary, recreation ecology lab with expertise in spatial methods for understanding visitor use in parks and protected areas. As such, we view parks and protected areas as social-ecological systems.
Each aspect of our research can stand on its own in providing useful information for managing parks and protected areas. However, a main research interest in our research group is integrating ecological, social, and behavioral data related to outdoor recreation in parks and protected areas. We think of recreation as a social-ecological system and approach much of our research questions using this framework. A key goal of our research is to be able to combine these various measures into models of visitor use, resource conditions, and visitor experience that can best inform parks and protected area management
Each aspect of our research can stand on its own in providing useful information for managing parks and protected areas. However, a main research interest in our research group is integrating ecological, social, and behavioral data related to outdoor recreation in parks and protected areas. We think of recreation as a social-ecological system and approach much of our research questions using this framework. A key goal of our research is to be able to combine these various measures into models of visitor use, resource conditions, and visitor experience that can best inform parks and protected area management
Recreation Ecology
Recreation ecology is an interdisciplinary field of research that examines the disturbance that outdoor recreation use (ex: hiking, biking, boating, etc.) can have on the environment. It is an applied field that aims to help park and protected area managers make decisions about outdoor recreation use and conservation outcomes.
Our recreation ecology works focuses heavily on the spatial aspects of impacts; such as the location and extent of informal trails and visitor-created sites. We are interested in understanding how recreation impacts are distributed across a landscape and how other social and environmental factors may impact the spatial distribution and level of disturbance of recreation impacts. Our work also aims to understand how outdoor recreation behavior and disturbance data can be combined in meaningful ways with other spatial data (such as wildlife movement and vegetation communities). |
Understanding Visitor Spatial Behavior
Visitor Use Monitoring
Our research group has strong expertise in monitoring visitor use including visitor use estimation and monitoring resource disturbance, crowding, and visitor experience. We've worked on several National Park Service projects where our aim was to match monitoring efforts and protocols to park staffing expertise and resources. We've worked on numerous projects where volunteer groups have been partners in visitor use monitoring. Our research group is also happy to assist with the analysis of monitoring data collected by parks and protected areas.