Managers are consistently challenged to reconcile the impacts of recreational activity and tourism with protection of the integrity of the natural resources upon which these experiences depend. In the absence of opportunities for active resource management, the ability of natural mitigation
processes to sustain natural resources becomes a critical attribute of resource viability. This case study, therefore, examines the relationship between natural mitigation processes and a specific form of tourist management—signage—on the Zeke's Island Component of the North Carolina
National Estuarine Research Reserve Program (NCNERR). The island features of the Zeke's Island Component of the NCNERR are primarily accessible by small boat. Activities common for tourists to engage in at the Reserve are fishing, swimming, hiking, bird watching, and camping. Phase # of
the study examined whether, given the absence of visitor management, natural processes mitigate recreation and tourism impacts caused by these activities. Phase #2 of the study examined whether the use of signs is an effective passive management technique in restricting recreation and
tourism camping behavior. The results of the study indicate that: 1) natural processes mitigate most, but not all, recreation and tourism impacts on the subject site, and 2) signage can be an effective approach for passively managing human behavior and tourism in natural resource settings.
we collected data in face-to-face interviews on four sites in the North Carolina Research Reserve system. We subsequently conducted analyses on the effects of education, income, length of visitation, and frequency of visitation on visitor knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes regarding management. Visitors to the sites were well-educated, listed incomes above the state median, and were racially homogeneous. At the overall level, the majority (63%) knew who owned the sites, but only 43% correctly identified the managing agency. The majority also believed that overall conditions at the sites were stable, although those that had been visiting longer perceived conditions as deteriorating. Education was positively correlated with knowledge of ownership and management, and with support for additional rules and enforcement. Neither income, nor frequency of visitation showed any correlation with any of the dependent variables at the overall level. Some site-specific findings differed from the overall findings and varied from site to site. These differences were addressed individually.
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