Managing Routes and Trails - Tourism and Trails: Cultural, Ecological and Management Issues - page 227

Re-enactments
One means of interpretation that has been ill-researched in the context of
routes and corridors is re-enactments or participatory activities. Re-enactments
along some famous trails, such as the Mormon Pioneer National Historic
Trail where participants don pioneer clothing and pull handcarts for some-
times days on end, has become an extremely effective instrument for build-
ing solidarity and community pride. These often provide a deep experience
that is meaningful to participants and enhances attachment to place and
regional identity (Hill, 1998; Langelo, 2006). Similarly, getting children out
of the classroom and onto historic trails and participating in living history
demonstrations is argued to be a much more effective way of helping them
learn about history than watching movies or reading books (Jones, 1997).
All of these elements of interpretation are believed to engrain within
participants a stronger desire to protect their natural and cultural resources
and live by an established code of conduct. Good trail interpretation, accord-
ing to Payne (1997: 36), 'links people and places, tells stories, inspires, and
ideally provokes passions'.

Visitor monitoring
While monitoring is usually recognized as the final step in any planning
and development process, it is also an effective tool from a management
perspective. Monitoring allows route managers to assess not only natural
and human-induced impacts on recreation and tourism corridors far into the
future and be able to take appropriate corrective actions when needed, but
also any action they take will have obvious implications for trail preservation
as well as ensure visitor satisfaction.
For monitoring purposes, efficiency can be achieved better when manag-
ers divide trails into ranked classifications based upon the level of threat. The
highest priority areas are likely to be those with easiest public access, while
the lower priority areas are typically the sections that are more remote and
inaccessible. On the Appalachian Trail, Bristow (1998: 74) suggested the fol-
lowing 'hotspots' as the most vulnerable areas and therefore as having the
highest priority for monitoring:

• easements;
• special-use permit areas;

• ungated powerline crossings;

• ungated dirt roads;

• National Park Service-owned structures;

• areas with adjacent developments (e.g. cabins, mines);

• areas with adjacent all-terrain vehicle activity, rifle ranges or car parks;

• areas of conflicting land use;

• areas of high trespass, including dump sites, unauthorized camping or

timber theft.