Issue Overview

The purpose of this section is to provide information and boilerplate language that will help to provide a basic understanding of the issue by factually describing the issue, its scope, and dimensions.

An increase of visitors to a given area typically results in an increase in travel-related spending and greater economic vitality to a local community. However, there are costs also associated with increased visitation. Effective management of visitation in a given area should focus on both minimization of damage to the resource base and the capability of existing infrastructure to handle increasing visitation. Without clear visitor use management guidelines and planning, the probability of resource damage or degradation to a given area heightens. Even in areas where management is evident, overuse or unclear restrictions can lead to impacts. Counties must clearly identify visitor trends, opportunities for increased visitation and the types of visitation that is anticipated. Accordingly, the impacts or “costs” of increased visitation should also be identified and weighed against the benefits of inducing more travelers into a given area.

Options & Trade-Offs

Counties currently assume a high degree of responsibility for visitor management. Local law enforcement is clearly impacted by increased visitation. Likewise, search and rescue incidents climb as visitation increases, particularly in backcountry areas. Impacts on infrastructure (roads, facilities, flood control, etc.) - health and sanitation may be significant with increasing visitation.

• What is the capability of existing infrastructure to handle increasing visitation?
• What is the probability of resource damage or degradation?
• Can the county identify visitor trends?

Potential for Conflict

Some of the factors that need to be considered in effective visitor management programs include management of conflicting uses, dispersed use and camping, search and rescue, effective law enforcement, and sanitation. A discussion of each of these areas of concern follows.

Some recreation uses do not co-exist very well on the same resource. For example, motorcycle and hiker use might be incompatible on certain trails. Recreational and non-recreational uses may also be incompatible. An example of this might be sightseers using the same road as heavy industrial vehicles.

Dispersed use allows visitors to reach remote and uncontrolled locations and often provides a more primitive experience. However, such use can lead to resource damage as listed above and can increase the workload of law enforcement and search and rescue personnel.

Similarly, dispersed camping can lead to sanitation problems. A well-used recreation area near Moab was threatened with closure by the health department because the lack of sanitary facilities resulted in a human waste problem. The managing agency was forced to install necessary facilities and improvements to prevent the closure. Furthermore, dispersed camping can also lead to homesteading by the homeless or seasonal workers. These people often reside in these areas for extended periods, causing resource damage, sanitary problems and, in some cases, law enforcement problems.

Range of Alternatives

Access to unique resources or features – natural, cultural, historic – attracts visitors to a given area. This is clearly the case in many areas of the state where visitors come to experience unique scenic opportunities, camp, boat, hunt or fish, or visit historic places. Consequently, it is often in the county's best interest to help protect these resources. The county should clearly identify its resources – flora, fauna, heritage, cultural, archeological – and work in partnership with the appropriate management agency to determine how best to provide opportunities for visitors while minimizing impacts upon these resources.

Are there other management options / alternatives that can help define a county's desired management preference?

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Existing Condition

The purpose of this section is to provide information and boilerplate language that will help to describe the existing condition.

Data Review

Are there any studies, data, reports, maps, photos, etc that could help local officials describe their existing condition?

Items to Consider

Are there things that locals should consider when describing their existing condition?

Boilerplate Language

Overall, counties can expect to realize positive net gains in economic impacts from increasing visitation. For instance, research conducted by the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation shows that each State Park visitor spends approximately $20 per person/per day in adjacent areas. Clearly, the induction of several thousand visitors to an area carries with it significant economic benefits, particularly in small rural economies. However, increases in visitation can also have costs. These may assume a myriad of forms including damage to the area's natural, cultural or historic resource base, crowding, conflicting use or needed improvements/expansion in public infrastructure to accommodate visitor demands.

Are there good examples of local plans that could be used to generate boilerplate language?

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Desired Future Condition

The purpose of this section is to provide information and boilerplate language that will help to describe the improvements and changes that need to be made to the existing condition in order to achieve the desired future condition. It also provides the basis for the development of policy statements that support the desired future condition.

Range of Alternatives

Counties should employ management strategies to mitigate impacts by ensuring that vehicles stay on roads where off-road travel has damaged resources. Similarly, efforts should be made to work jointly with managing agencies to ensure that hikers and bikers stay on designated trails, and receive adequate education and interpretation opportunities about safety and resource protection, i.e., not collecting or damaging plants, disturbing wildlife or impacting other natural features. Many agencies and counties have established regulations or ordinances that control the length of time that someone can camp in a one location. These ordinances should be updated as conditions warrant.

As visitation to an area increases, the probability of increased incidence of search and rescue operations will likewise increase. As this is typically a county function, it is imperative that counties coordinate with law enforcement/search and rescue operations to effectively plan for future visitor growth. As with search and rescue, law enforcement incidents and needs increase with visitation. Planning for adequate law enforcement should account for visitor trends.

Increases in visitation, or visitation to new areas, will cause the need for sanitation, transportation and other facilities. Development and maintenance of impacted facilities should be likewise be considered.

Boilerplate Language

Wild and Scenic River designation will have a lasting effect, for better or worse, on the designated stream segment and the surrounding area. Federal land management agencies should carefully select Wild and Scenic Rivers based on their regional and national significance, rather than local significance. These selections should be supported by data/estimates that clearly show such selection will not negatively impact the ability of agriculture and other industry to access the water it needs and of local communities to develop water supplies and other resources to meet their future needs. Where such impacts are unavoidable, a plan to mitigate such impacts should be presented.

We need to link this to the “items to consider” list.

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Policy and Position Statements

The purpose of this section is to provide boilerplate policy statement language that will support the desired future conditions. A range of possible conditions is provided here.

Boilerplate Language

The county can effectively manage its visitor base by determining the rate of increase in expected visitation and evaluating the potential impacts that such an increase will have on its resources and infrastructure. The county should identify relevant issues, develop goals and implement strategies to secure the benefits of an increasing visitation while simultaneously protecting its natural, cultural and historic resource base. To do this, the county should identify key areas containing significant natural, cultural and heritage resources. An evaluation of impacts that visitation may have on these areas should be explored. An evaluation of public infrastructure and local law enforcement should likewise be considered. Effective planning for future growth will help ensure that the benefits of increasing visitation exceed the costs.

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Goals, Objectives, and/or Action Items

The purpose of this section is to provide boilerplate examples of the types of improvements or changes that typically would be needed to reach the desired future condition. “Goal” is the desired condition. “Objectives” are improvements or changes that need to be made to reach the goal. “Action Items” are specific actions that can be taken in order to achieve the objective.

Can you think of examples of the types of improvements or changes that typically would be needed to reach a desired future condition? Are you aware of any good local examples?

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Monitoring Methods and Mechanisms

The purpose of this section is to provide suggested techniques and methods for monitoring progress towards the desired condition.

Can you suggest any techniques and methods for monitoring progress?

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Sources and Resources to Assist

This section is intended to be a reference guide to help locate any sources of assistance.

Utah State Parks and Recreation

• State Park Staffs throughout the state or State Office at P.O. Box 146001 , 1594 West North Temple, Salt Lake City , Utah 84114-6001 . http://www.stateparks.utah.gov

Local offices of the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service

• Can provide expertise in visitor management, law enforcement, resource protection, facility development and maintenance, and search and rescue

Utah State and local travel council offices

• May have funding for visitor information media production and possibly for mitigating some visitor impacts. Other counties and municipalities that have dealt with similar issues in the past.

Local and state recreational user groups

• Can form trail patrol groups, can help with cleanups, trail repair and construction, repairing resource damage, and can offer expertise about their activity during planning efforts.

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