Backcountry Use in Riding Mountain National Park.

Our team analyzed the social and ecological impacts of human activity in the backcountry areas of Riding Mountain National Park.

Through the Developing an Integrated Backcountry Monitoring Program project (2001–2002), we established baseline environmental data and developed an innovative process to monitor backcountry impacts. Additionally, we evaluated the effectiveness of existing park procedures.

Our findings revealed that the apparent increase in backcountry use was largely driven by day use rather than overnight activity. This insight allowed park managers to adopt a more efficient budgeting model for backcountry management, aligning resource allocation with actual usage patterns.