Full metadata
Title
The effectiveness of trail mitigation and theory-grounded signage in an economical approach to reducing social trail behaviors
Description
Trails perform an essential function in protected lands by routing visitors along planned, sustainable surfaces. However, when visitors deviate from official trails in sufficient numbers, it can lead to the creation of social trails. These visitor-created pathways are not sustainably designed and can severely degrade both the stability and appearance of protected areas. A multitude of recreation motivations among visitors and a lack of resources among land management agencies have made the mitigation and closure of social trails a perennial concern. A sustainable, economical strategy that does not require the continual diversion of staff is needed to address social trails. In this study, two techniques that stand out in the research literature for their efficacy and practicality were tested on a social trail closure in South Mountain Park, a high-use, urban-proximate mountain park in Phoenix, AZ. A research design with additive treatments utilizing the site management technique known as trail mitigation, sometimes referred to as brushing in the literature, followed by theory-grounded signage incorporating injunctive-proscriptive wording, an attribution message, and a reasoning message targeting visitor behavioral beliefs, norms, and control was applied and assessed using unobtrusive observation. Both treatments reduced observed off-trail hiking from 75.4% to 0%, though traces of footsteps and attempts to re-open the trail revealed the existence of unobserved “entrenched” users. With entrenched users attempting to reopen the trail, trail mitigation represented an effective but vulnerable approach while the signage represented a long-lasting “hardened” approach that provides an educational message, management’s stance on the closure, and which might put social pressure on the entrenched user(s).
Date Created
2018
Contributors
- Riske, Taylor (Author)
- Budruk, Megha (Thesis advisor)
- Andereck, Kathy (Committee member)
- Avitia, Alonso (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Topical Subject
Resource Type
Extent
v, 51 pages : color illustrations
Language
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Primary Member of
Peer-reviewed
No
Open Access
No
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.51687
Statement of Responsibility
by Taylor Riske
Description Source
Viewed on June 3, 2019
Level of coding
full
Note
Partial requirement for: M.S., Arizona State University, 2018
Note type
thesis
Includes bibliographical references (pages 49-51)
Note type
bibliography
Field of study: Community resources and development
System Created
- 2019-02-01 07:03:23
System Modified
- 2021-08-26 09:47:01
- 2 years 8 months ago
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