Within the last decade, the United States Forest Service (USFS) has initiated a nation-wide project of Sustainable Recreation as a response to the decreasing amount of resources available to maintain the current recreation infrastructure, including trails, campgrounds, etc. These unmaintained trails and facilities pose a potential safety threat to users and the landscape in which they reside. This smaller pilot project, as part of the Southeast Arizona Sustainable Recreation Strategy, is the second pilot project in the Southwest Region of the USFS aimed at growing the Sustainable Recreation initiative. The main goal of this project is to create the framework for an inter-agency web application of recreation opportunities in Southeast Arizona, with an aim to increase communication between land management agencies, and to increase public participation and conservation of public lands. To achieve this, recreation data were gathered from multiple participating agencies and merged into a new schema in order to provide useful attribute information. This schema was then uploaded to ArcGIS Online and saved as a web map for internal, agency use. In addition, a public-facing web application and corresponding Story Map were also created. The result better portrays the Sustainable Recreation initiative and provides a one-stop-shop of useful recreation information and links for users who wish to become more involved. This project provides the groundwork for which more data from additional agencies and areas can be added and the participation of both land management agencies and the general public can grow.

Recent research has emphasized the need to professionally manage campsites for long-term use, particularly in light of rising visitation to natural protected areas worldwide. Camping regulations vary considerably along the length of any long-distance trail due to the many land types and management agencies involved. Large proportions of long-distance trails have at-large camping policies, resulting in camping problems associated with visitor-chosen or developed campsites. Several long-term monitoring studies in areas with at-large camping policies indicate the expansion and proliferation of individual campsites, and growth of overall camping related impacts, to be a substantial managerial concern. This research evaluates the relative influence of environmental and topographic factors, both collected in the field and modeled in GIS using high-resolution topography (LiDAR) data, on areal measures of campsite impact utilizing Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) penalized regression for factor selection and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) for regressions. Chosen variables in regressions explained 64% of the variation in campsite size and 61% of the variation in the area of vegetation loss on a campsite. Results indicate four variables managers can utilize to enhance the sustainability of campsites: use level, overnight site type, and terrain characteristics relating to slope and topographic roughness. Results support indirect management methods that rely on the design and location of campsites and trails and not the effectiveness of enforcement or restricting visitor freedom. In the face of rising use, techniques and concepts presented aid in identifying or creating ecologically sustainable campsites. / Master of Science