Applications - Soundscape Ecology: Principles, Patterns, Methods and Applications - page 275

10.10 Snowmobile Noise in National Parks
The visit of some mountain parks in winter time requires the use of snowmobiles
and snowcoaches that allow the transportation of tourists along the best scenic
views of parks while reducing the risk of casualties for unguided trekkers
For instance, visiting Yellowstone National Park (YNP) in wintertime has been a
subject of controversies and discussion when visitors are encouraged to use
snowmobiles and snowcoaches. Before 2004 the majority of vehicles were
unguided snowmobiles. Since 2004 a new regulation has considered private
snowmobile and snowcoach use as not allowed. The admitted snowmobiles and
snowcoaches must be “Best Available Technology” to meet the NPS requirements.
To verify and test the value of the sonic environment in wintertime at the
Yellowstone National Park an investigation was conducted by Freimund
et al. ( 2011 ) on 413 visitors in the Old Faithful area by using a questionnaire. The
respondents were between 18 and 87 years old (average, 51). Personal information
about the visit and modalities was collected as well.
The majority of respondents were in agreement with the statement that the YNP
is a place for natural quiet, and “a place to hear natural sounds.” Of the visitors,
99 % stated that “the opportunities to experience natural sounds were important to
the overall value of the park.” The respondents during the visit to the YNP used on
different occasions different vehicles. According to the selection of vehicles there
were differences in valuing the sonic environment: 81 % of respondents declared
that natural sounds had a positive effect on their visit, and 19 % replied that the
natural sound was not important for the quality of their visit (Fig. 10.6 ).
Fig. 10.6 Level of agreement of visitors about the different definitions of the Yellowstone
National Park (Reproduced with permission from Freimund et al. 2011 )