National Park Service staff perspectives on how climate change affects visitor use

Bibliographic Data

ID19583278
AuthorsSarah Rappaport Keener (0009-0005-5299-147X, United States Geological Survey), Emily Wilkins (0000-0003-3055-4808, United States Geological Survey, corresponding author), Wylie Carr (0000-0003-3368-4501, National Park Service), Samantha G Winder (0000-0002-7620-6916, University of Washington), Julianne Reas (0009-0006-6993-5279, National Park Service), Daniela B Daniele (0009-0003-1633-6430, National Park Service), Spencer A Wood (0000-0002-5794-2619, University of Washington)
Year2025
Volume7
Issue10
Pages2346-2360
Publication date2025-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePeople and Nature (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2575-8314 • E-ISSN: 2575-8314
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/pan3.70107
OpenAlexW4413809063
LanguageEN
References cited46

Many public lands, including those managed by the U.S. National Park Service (NPS), have the purpose of conserving natural and cultural resources and providing opportunities for visitors to recreate in and enjoy these areas. Achieving this mission becomes more challenging as drought, flooding, increasing temperatures and other climatic change effects are impacting NPS lands and visitors and affecting factors such as visitation, recreation access and health and safety among other aspects of park operations. However, the literature lacks insights from staff dealing with on‐the‐ground climate impacts to visitor use. To address this gap, we held semi‐structured interviews with 63 staff from 31 NPS units across the United States (U.S.) to better understand the effects of climate change on visitor use. We qualitatively analysed the interviews using both deductive and inductive methods to identify key themes. Interview participants consistently noted that climate change is already affecting visitor use at their parks. For instance, increasing temperatures are negatively affecting both staff and visitor safety at parks nationwide, whereas all coastal parks within our sample are already experiencing impacts from sea‐level rise or more frequent and severe coastal storms and hurricanes. Other impacts include reduced recreational access, damaged infrastructure and cultural resources and diminished visitor experiences due to fire and smoke. Similarly, concerns about future impacts often revolved around the health and safety of visitors and staff—particularly related to wildfire and smoke, water quality and availability, and increased heat—and climate change forever altering parks. Our research shows staff in parks and protected areas are noticing effects of climate change on visitor use; some of these impacts have not been previously documented in the scientific literature. Study results highlight future visitor use management research needs and key topics to consider for visitor use planning processes. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog

Archaeology · Business · Climate change · Environmental planning · Environmental resource management · Geography · Meteorology · National park · National weather service · Political science · Public relations · Visitor pattern · Computer Science · Economic and Environmental Valuation · Environmental Science · Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management · Urban Green Space and Health · Ecology · Marketing

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