Visitor use in parks and protected areas inevitably leads to resource impacts. In order to effectively manage for resource impacts, it is important for managers to not only understand ecological aspects of their system but sociological aspects as well. The two papers presented in this thesis used integrated approaches to better understand the current level of resource impacts within the Bear Lake Road Corridor of Rocky Mountain National Park and to explore visitor perceptions of these impacts. The first paper used traditional monitoring and assessment techniques, as well as recently developed methodologies, to determine the current level of resource impacts and examine areas for potential future resource change. Findings showed that there is significant impact in the trail system, particularly at popular hiking destinations. At two of these popular hiking destinations, with current use levels, there is potential for future resource change. Integration with measures of social norms showed that visitors are frequently experiencing resource conditions within the Bear Lake Road Corridor that are considered unacceptable.

The second paper presented in this thesis explored visitor perceptions of resource impacts in the Bear Lake Road Corridor trail system. Specifically, the goals of the paper were to better understand the specific types of resource impacts that visitors perceive, identify visitor characteristics that influence visitor perceptions, and determine visitor standards for specific types of resource impacts. A self-administered survey and visual survey methods were used to accomplish these goals. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the relationship between visitor perceptions and visitor characteristics. Results showed that visitors are most perceptive of resource impacts which are the result of inappropriate behavior, such as visitor-created trails and tree damage, and their experience is most impacted by crowding. Overall, visitors did not perceive ecological resource impacts as affecting their experience or as being a problem within the Bear Lake Road Corridor. Visitors’ local ecological knowledge and knowledge of low impact practices were most influential in determining whether visitors perceived certain resource impacts. Finally, visitors were shown to have standards for both visitor-created trails and vegetation loss on visitor-created sites.