Variation in environmental impact at rock climb areas in Red River Gorge Geological Area and adjacent Clifty Wilderness, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky.

摘要

Rock climbing surged in popularity in the 80's and 90's, leading to ecological impacts. This study developed a procedure manual and measured the impact at 16 climb areas, totaling 241 climbs. Mapping showed the impact at the base of the cliff is composed of lines and nodes. The lines are the access trails; the nodes are areas of impact that form at the base of climbs. Because the process is similar to campsite formation, the cliff base nodes are called climbsites. A model to predict climb impact was developed using multiple regression. Sport climbs had nearly three times as much impact as traditional climbs, as well as a different set of predictive factors. Overall, climbing impacted 0.01% of the area and 0.4% of the cliffline of the study area. Climbing causes little avoidable damage; so impact reduction efforts should focus on site hardening and actions to spatially concentrate climbing activities.