Parks and People: Managing Outdoor Recreation at Acadia National Park

17. Computer Simulation Modeling as a Monitoring Tool for the Carriage Roads

17Computer Simulation Modeling as a MonitoringTool for the Carriage Roads Growing popularity of outdoor recreation is challenging researchers and managers as they attempt to protect park resources and the quality of the visitor experience. One important issue is the complexity of trail and other travel systems in parks and related areas. Little research has been aimed at describing the way that visitors travel and distribute themselves within a park or recreation system. This study seeks to fill this gap by meeting two objectives. One is to gather descriptive data on visitor travel on the carriage roads in Acadia to strengthen knowledge concerning travel patterns. The second objective is to explore the usefulness of computer simulation as a monitoring tool through this process. Simulation Modeling Applied to Outdoor Recreation Simulation modeling is a simplification of the structure and operation of a complex system. Simulation modeling enables the study of, and experimentation with, the internal interactions of a real-world system. The approach is especially suited to those tasks that are too complex for direct observation , manipulation, or even mathematical analysis (Banks and Carson 1984; Law and Kelton 1991; Pidd 1992). Beginning in the mid-1970s, researchers explored computer simulation modeling as a tool to assist recreation managers and researchers (Manning and Potter 1984; McCool, Lime, and Anderson 1977; Potter and Manning 1984; Schechter and Lucas 1978; Smith and Headly 1975; Smith and Krutilla  This chapter is an edited version of the following paper: Ben Wang and Robert Manning, “Computer Simulation Modeling for Recreation Management: A Study on Carriage Road Use in Acadia National Park, Maine, USA,” Environmental Management 23 (1999): 193–203. M O N I T O R I N G  1976). The main goal of the resulting “wilderness travel simulation model” was to estimate the number of encounters that occurred between recreation groups in a park or wilderness area. The model required input variables such as typical travel routes and times, arrival patterns, and total use levels. Outputs included the number of encounters between visitor groups of various types and the date, time, and location of encounters. Initial tests established the validity of the model, but the model soon fell into disuse because computers were relatively inaccessible at the time, and little was known about the maximum number of encounters between groups that was acceptable to visitors. Recent changes in computing power and accessibility complemented advances in research on the carrying capacity of parks and related areas. These developments provided the context and impetus for the present study to revisit computer simulation for recreation research and management. Simulation-capable computers have become more accessible, and exponential growth in the power of personal computers has facilitated the use of graphic user interfaces and visual interactive modeling technologies to make the simulation process accessible to nonspecialists (Pidd 1992). These advances have led to the wide proliferation of simulation in a variety of fields including engineering, business management, and manufacturing. Moreover, advances in research on carrying capacity, including development and application of management frameworks such as verp have enabled formulation of indicators and standards of quality that can be used to help guide park management. Given the advances in carrying capacity research and computer simulation modeling, application of simulation modeling to carrying capacity was warranted. In concert with an ongoing program of research at Acadia, it was decided to apply this work to the park’s carriage roads. The carriage road system has eight major entrance/exit points and twenty-six intersections, with peak daily use levels approaching 3,000 visitors. Approximately 71 percent of visitors are cyclists, 26 percent are hikers or runners, and 5 percent are on horseback or in horse-drawn carriages (Manning et al. 1997). Initial research on the carriage roads found that the number of visitors seen along the carriage roads (expressed as “persons per viewscape” or ppv) was an important indicator of the quality of the visitor experience, and that visitors reported that the maximum ppv that could be experienced without diminishing the quality of the recreation experience to an C O M P U T E R S I M U L A T I O N M O D E L I N G  unacceptable degree was approximately 15. (This research is described in more detail in Chapter 2.) This indicator and standard were used to guide development and application of a computer simulation model of visitor use of the carriage roads...