RESEARCH SUMMARY 



CONTENTS 



Wilderness recreational use is difficult to measure. 

 Many approaches have been tried, but all have limitations. 

 Self-issued, mandatory permits are a relatively new system. 

 Such a system was begun for the Spanish Peaks Primitive 

 Area, Montana, in 1978. A rigorous evaluation was con- 

 ducted to determine compliance by different types of 

 visitors and for different types of permit station locations. 



Virtually all use at the six major trailheads was counted 

 and classified in terms of compliance and in terms of a 

 number of variables believed to influence visitor com- 

 pliance, using automatic electronic use-monitoring 

 equipment. 



Overall, 53 percent of the visitor groups obtained 

 permits. Compliance varied widely among different trail- 

 heads, from 21 to 72 percent. Stations located up the 

 trails away from the parking areas at the trailheads had 

 higher compliance rates than those at the trailheads. 

 Summer and fall compliance rates were identical. Com- 

 pliance dropped sharply as visits became shorter. This 

 was the factor most strongly related to compliance among 

 the variables examined. Campers, whether hiking or riding, 

 complied 72 percent of the time, and this varied little 

 among trailheads. Day-users had only a 45-percent 

 compliance rate, with wide fluctuations among trailheads. 

 The briefer the day-use, the lower the compliance. Visitors 

 staying less than 2 hours had only a 20-percent compliance 

 rate, while those staying over 3 hours had a 65-percent 

 compliance rate. Day-visitors riding horses had only a 

 25-percent compliance rate. Persons visiting the area 

 alone had lower compliance than groups. 



The self-issued permit system works best for the 

 longer-term visitors, who have the most importance for 

 management planning. The system appears, in its first year, 

 to have produced slightly better data than voluntary trail 

 registers used earlier. It approximates the performance 

 of agency-issued permits in some areas, but falls short of 

 the compliance obtained in other areas. The system 

 appears to have promise as a use measurement system, 

 although a decision to adopt self-issued permits also needs 

 to consider other management objectives, as well as costs 

 of all potential systems. Station location, design, main- 

 tenance, and compliance monitoring all need to be 

 emphasized by managers to raise compliance rates and 

 make a self-issuing permit system a useful management 

 tool. 



Page 



INTRODUCTION i 



Use Measurement Methods 1 



STUDY OBJECTIVES 2 



STUDY PROCEDURES 4 



Self-Issued Permit System 4 



Sample Sites 4 



Observation Period 4 



Observation Methods 5 



Protection of Privacy 6 



Traffic Classification, Permit Compliance 6 



Permit Tabulation 6 



Permit Station Location 6 



ANALYSIS PROCEDURES 6 



Variables Analyzed 6 



Statistical Significance 7 



Evaluation Criteria 7 



RESULTS 7 



Equipment Performance 7 



Compliance and Related Factors 7 



DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 11 



Self-Issued Permits Compared to Trail Registers ... 1 1 

 Self-Issued Permits Compared to Agency-Issued 



Permits 12 



The Spanish Peaks System Compared to Other 



Self-Issued Permit Systems 12 



Overall Evaluation 12 



Factors Affecting Compliance 13 



MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS 13 



Adoption of a Self-Issued Permit System 13 



Station Location 13 



Station Design 14 



Station Maintenance 14 



Monitoring Compliance 14 



Data Editing 14 



PUBLICATIONS CITED 15 



APPENDIX I: PERMIT FORM USED IN THE 



SPANISH PEAKS PRIMITIVE AREA 16 



APPENDIX II: FORMS USED FOR CLASSIFICATION 

 OF TRAFFIC AND COMPLIANCE 17 



