The Impacts of External Development on the Economic and Aesthetic Values of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Abstract

Following several telephone conferences with the TRNP staff - especially Jeff Bradybaugh and Bob Powell - co-principal investigators George Wallace and Pat Reed visited the Park during the week of May 30-June 3. During this visit we further discussed the main issues and concerns held by the staff and spent several days becoming well acquainted with the Park and both the existing and proposed development that staff members feel may be a threat to Park values. This reconnaissance and an analysis of use data enabled us to agree on the criteria for selecting interview sites. Chief Ranger Bob Powell assisted with the formulation of a sampling plan. At the end of the week we were able to finalize interview sites with the help of the staff and take photographs at each - most of which were designated as Integral Vistas for the Park. Upon our return, a sampling plan was finalized and the work began on the survey instruments. The photos were enlarged and retouched by an artist so that visitors can view the landscape at each interview site in both its pristine condition and with features that may represent encroachments on that vista (this requires both the inclusion and removal of impacts). All simulated features were identified as probable or possible and inserted at the proper scale after computing the distances. As described in the proposal, these pairs of photos enable us to ask a series of comparative questions of visitors.