Reports and Presentations:

A Recreation Trail Scorecard for Evaluating Trails in Northern New England

Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, Natural Capital Science Note

December 2009

Document

Recreation Trail Stewardship Scorecard: User Guide

Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences

December 2009

Document

Datasheet: Color Version

Datasheet: Black and White Version

Recreation Trails & Water Quality: Are recreation trails degrading stream quality?

New Hampshire Water and Watershed Conference, Nov 20, 2009, Concord, NH

Power Point Presentation

Recreation Trails in Maine and New Hampshire : A Comparison of Motorized, Non-Motorized, and Non-Mechanized Trails

Northeast Recreation Research Conference, March 30, 2009, Bolton Landing, NY

Power Point Presentation

Recreation Trails in Maine and New Hampshire: A Comparison of Motorized, Non-Motorized, and Non-Mechanized Trails

Draft version of: Wilkerson, E. and A.A Whitman. 2010. Proceedings of the 2009 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium; 2009 March 29 - 31; Bolton Landing, NY. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-xx. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: xx-yy.

Report

Recreation Trails & Water Quality: Are recreation trails degrading stream quality?

Maine Water Conference, March 17, 2009, Portland, ME

Power Point Presentation

Manomet Keeps Recreationists on Track

Bill Green's Maine, WCSH TV6

Story and Video 

Project Background

Quality outdoor recreation is vital to the economy and character of the Northern Forest Region. It provides the "second paycheck" that keeps people here and unique experiences that draw visitors from away who support the economy. On the other hand, the U.S. Forest Service has identified public recreation as one of the four greatest threats to forests in the U.S. Hence, controversies about what constitutes appropriate recreational uses are becoming more frequent on both private and public lands.

Private lands in northern forest region have historically provided a significant portion of the land base available for recreation. Here, the conflict is between landowners concerned about recreational impacts, and recreational groups seeking to maintain or expand their recreational access. On public lands, the environmental community is concerned about how the ecological impacts of recreation are managed. For ecological reserves on public lands, there has been a contentious debate as to increase, grandfather, or reduce motorized access.

On both public and private lands, different recreational groups compete with each other for trail space. Tensions everywhere are made worse by competition among recreational groups for trail space, declining public access to private lands, and vulnerable rural economies.

At the heart of all these conflicts are negative perceptions about recreational impacts on the forest ecosystem, but there is little hard data to bear that out. Manomet's Recreation Stewardship Scorecard will provide users with a science-based tool for estimating and monitoring the overall ecological impact of trails within a recreational area. The key to having trails on public and private lands is to assure good stewardship so that trails are maintained without damaging the environment.

Recreation Trails Sampled

For more information on the Recreation Stewardship Scorecard contact Ethel Wilkerson .