A SPATIAL INVENTORY & GIS ANALYSIS OF INFORMAL TRAIL NETWORKS IN COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR RECREATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The development of informal trail (“social trail”) networks is a concerning phenomenon to many land managers and agencies. They recognize the impacts of these informal trail networks to natural and cultural resources, including trampling, increased erosion, decreased water quality, habitat fragmentation, spreading of nonnative species, and vandalism, among others. These impacts can often be magnified in arid ecosystems due to environmentally limited rates of ecosystem recovery. Colorado National Monument (COLM), located in the semi-arid western slope of Colorado, has experienced rapid proliferation of informal trails within and adjacent to its boundaries. This is likely driven by a close proximity to the growing urban community of Grand Junction. To begin addressing this management issue, a comprehensive spatial inventory of social trails was conducted using a GPS-enabled tablet equipped with ESRI mobile data collection applications during the Monument’s 2022 field season. Approximately 62 miles of informal trails were documented, providing a strong foundation for landscape-level spatial analysis using GIS software. Parkwide trail density statistics were calculated, hot spots were identified, and several metrics of habitat fragmentation were calculated to quantify some of the impacts associated with informal trail development. Various strategies and considerations regarding the future mitigation of social trail impacts are also discussed. Going forward, this dataset will be a valuable tool for COLM staff to inform and implement management plans regarding the park’s areas of recommended wilderness, recreational opportunities (e.g. hiking trails, rock climbing), and archaeological site monitoring. Beyond COLM, the methodology described in this study has the potential to aid land managers elsewhere who need an approachable, replicable workflow to begin quantifying recreational impacts in protected natural areas.