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Abstract
Despite low use densities and a largely absent development footprint, parks in arctic environments are confronted with questions similar to more heavily used protected areas. Many of these questions concern the character of experiences visitors seek and for which agencies attempt to provide opportunities. These experiences, like others, have a variety of dimensions, such as solitude, adventure, naturalness, scenery, and so on. Understanding these experiences and ensuring that visitors have an opportunity to experience them are major challenges for stewardship organizations, given the character and remoteness of the setting. This paper describes a three-phase project to discover the dimensionality of experiences among visitors to Canada’s Auyuittuq National Park and develop indicators that managers could use to assess if such desired experiences were being achieved. In Phase I, the project used qualitative interviews to identify the dimensionality of experiences and in Phase II quantitative methods to assess their importance to visitors as well as to link experiences to various setting attributes. Phase III involved a workshop involving managers, scientists, and tourism officials to identify potential indicators of each desired dimension of the visitor experience. The process used here ensured that research was policy relevant and may serve as a model for other park and protected area stewards faced with similar challenges.
Parent Publication
Keywords
wilderness,
biodiversity,
protected areas,
economics,
subsistence,
tourism,
traditional knowledge,
community involvement,
policy,
stewardship,
education,
spiritual values
Citation
McCool, Stephen F.; Lachapelle, Paul R.; Gosselin, Heather; Gertsch, Frances; Sahanatien, Vicki. 2007. Managing recreational experiences in Arctic National Parks: A process for identifying indicators. In: Watson, Alan; Sproull, Janet; Dean, Liese, comps. Science and stewardship to protect and sustain wilderness values: Eighth World Wilderness Congress symposium; September 30-October 6, 2005; Anchorage, AK. Proceedings RMRS-P-49. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 162-169
