Parks and People: Managing Outdoor Recreation at Acadia National Park

7. Indicators and Standards of Quality across Space and Time

7Indicators and Standards of Quality across Space andTime Acadia includes several iconic attractions, including Cadillac Mountain, Sand Beach, and Thunder Hole, that attract thousands of visitors on peak-season days. Also within the park are several lesser-known and less-visited sites, such as Acadia Mountain and Little Hunter’s Beach. During peak season, these alternate sites provide opportunities for lower-use recreation. Visitors to these alternate sites may be seeking a different recreation experience than those visiting more popular areas of the park. Visitation at popular sites also fluctuates throughout the day, providing an opportunity to consider how individuals visiting during nonpeak hours (i.e., early in the morning or late in the afternoon ) may differ from those visiting during peak daytime hours. The purpose of this study was to compare indicators and standards of quality of visitors based on their spatial and temporal distribution within the park. The three objectives of the study were to: (1) identify indicators and standards of quality of visitors at several locations throughout Acadia, (2) compare indicators for visitors to high-use and low-use sites, and (3) compare indicators and standards for visitors to high-use sites at peak and nonpeak times. STUDY METHODS Data for this analysis were collected by means of visitor surveys conducted during the summer use season at seventeen sites within Acadia (table 7.1). Questionnaires were self-administered, and included open- and close-ended  This chapter is an edited version of the following paper: Laura Anderson, Robert Manning, and William Valliere, “Indicators and Standards of Quality Across Space and Time,” Proceedings of the 2008 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium, usda Forest Service General Technical Report nrs-p-42, 170–76, 2009. I N D I C A T O R S A N D S T A N D A R D S O F Q U A L I T Y  questions about indicators and standards of quality at each location. Based on discussions with park staff, ten of the seventeen sites were identified as “highuse ” locations while the remaining seven sites were identified as “low-use” locations. Visitors to each location were surveyed between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on sample days. At high-use locations, every nth visitor was approached and asked to complete the survey, while at low-use locations a member of each groupencounteredwasaskedtoparticipate.Threehigh-uselocations—Ocean Drive, Sand Beach, and Thunder Hole—also were surveyed between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Visitors surveyed during early morning and evening hours were classified as “nonpeak time” respondents; individuals surveyed during the middle of the day were classified as “peak time” respondents. A total of 1,197 questionnaires (72.7 percent response rate) were completed at the ten high-use locations and 759 (84.7 percent response rate) were completed at the seven low-use locations. At the three high-use locations where visitors were surveyed during different times of day, 387 questionnaires (68.4 percent response rate) were completed during peak hours and 298 (72.1 percent response rate) surveys were completed during nonpeak hours. STUDY FINDINGS Indicators of Quality Visitors to the seventeen sites were asked about the characteristics of their group, their perceptions of crowding and other issues specific to their locaTable 7.1 Acadia National Park survey locations and response rates. High-use sites Low-use sites Peak-time sites Nonpeak-time sites Bass Harbor Acadia Mountain Sand Beach Sand Beach Cadillac Mountain Compass Harbor Ocean Drive Ocean Drive Echo Lake Hunter’s Beach Thunder Hole Thunder Hole Jordan Pond Little Hunter’s Beach Ocean Drive Loop Drive PrecipiceTrail Seawall Sand Beach Valley Cove Sieur de Monts Thunder Hole Wildwood Stables N 5 1,197 N 5 759 N 5 387 N 5 298 Response rate 72.7% Response rate 84.7% Response rate 68.4% Response rate 72.1% A C R O S S S P A C E A N D T I M E  tion, and their opinions about issues in Acadia in general. Respondents visited Acadia with an average of one to two other people. While no differences in group size emerged between those visiting at peak and nonpeak times, respondents at high-use locations came with slightly larger groups than those at low-use sites. Similarly, there were no differences in the amount of time that peak and nonpeak time visitors...