Download (PDF 131 KB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/35665.pdf
Abstract
We sampled 112 trail segments in Maine and New Hampshire to assess the impact of motorized and non-motorized recreation on trail conditions and stream sedimentation. On each segment, we assessed physical trail conditions (width, cross-sectional area, occurrence of excessively muddy and rutted/eroded sections), presence of trash, and sedimentation at stream crossings. Motorized trails were significantly wider and had significantly greater cross-sectional area, more rutted sections, and more trash than both non-motorized and non-mechanized trails. Non-mechanized trails had the highest density of excessively muddy sections. All trail types (nonmechanized, non-motorized, and motorized) had sections that contributed sediment to streams and 9 percent of stream crossings had catastrophic sediment additions (significantly altered stream morphology). The data also show significant differences in physical parameters among trail types, but both past land use and current recreational use may contribute to these differences.
Parent Publication
Citation
Wilkerson, Ethel; Whitman, Andrew. 2010. Recreation trails in Maine and New Hampshire: A comparison of notorized, non-motorized, and non-mechanized trails. In: Watts, Clifton E., Jr.; Fisher, Cherie LeBlanc, eds. Proceedings of the 2009 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-66. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 214-222.
