Estimating Recreational Use in the Niobrara National Scenic River Corridor

Principal Investigators:
Dorothy H. Anderson, Department of Forest Resources and CPSP, 612-624-2721
Jerrilyn L. Thompson, Department of Forest Resources and CPSP, 612-624-3699

Project Personnel:
Mae Davenport, Research Assistant, Forest Resources
Kate Flitsch, Research Assistant, Forest Resources

Project Duration:
January 2001- September 2003

Funding:
Midwest Regional Office, NPS

Summary:
As use has dramatically increased on the Niobrara National Scenic River in the last decade, so has the need for a reliable and accurate method for estimating use within the river corridor. Use estimates are important to managers both for reporting purposes and in linking use levels to social and biophysical conditions. The primary goals of the Niobrara National Scenic River Use Estimation Project were to: 1) measure use levels and identify travel patterns and 2) develop and test a model for estimating use within the river corridor.

The first field season in 2001 was aimed at collecting baseline information related to use levels at launch areas and at points of interest within the National Scenic River corridor. Direct river users (visitors floating the river on canoe, inner tube, kayak, or raft) were counted according to a predetermined sampling plan through personal observations at launch areas and other points along the river. Indirect river users (visitors hiking, sightseeing, camping or picnicking) were counted through mechanical traffic counters and human observations at parking lots and campgrounds along the river.

The data collected in the first field season were compiled and analyzed. Comparing launch rates at access points along the river across different days of the week enabled the generation of coefficients of variation. Based on these data a model for estimating visitor use within the corridor was generated. The model was “ground truthed” and refined in 2002. Three direct river use periods (high, moderate, and low) were identified and models for each use period were developed. A report will be compiled that describes the study process, presents the use estimation models, and guides NPS staff in future visitor use estimations.