Sustainable bouldering
As Rocky Mountain National Park’s first scholar-in-residence, Taff replicated one of his studies from 2015 about education for sustainable behaviors in the bouldering community. Bouldering is a type of rock climbing where participants do not use ropes or harnesses while climbing closer to the ground, often with a safety mat stationed beneath them.
The 2023 study aimed to evaluate the success of the park’s Leave No Trace education efforts, which were implemented based on the results of Taff’s original 2015 study. The intent was to examine whether Leave No Trace education shifted sustainable bouldering behaviors in the park, such as avoiding approaching, feeding or following wildlife, staying on designated trails, and placing bouldering gear and safety mats on durable surfaces.
Taff said results suggest that the bouldering community is behaving more sustainably than in 2015, which highlights the potential of visitor education in helping the behavior of outdoor recreationists to become more sustainable.
“There needs to be an understanding of how recreation activities influence sociological and ecological well-being,” Taff said. “This is an example of one project where we implemented an educational program based on science that has truly created more sustainable bouldering practices now and into the future.”
Sustainability through sanitation
As part of Taff’s scholar-in-residence, he also studied how perceptions of human waste impact the Longs Peak area of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Human waste has been an issue for parks globally as outdoor recreation continues to rise, according to Taff.
He found that educational approaches using humor, noting the cultural significance of the mountain, and conveying aspects of human and environmental health were most effective in leading to an increase in sustainable practices.
Based on this research, Taff and recreation, park, and tourism management doctoral student Shari Edelson were awarded two new research projects to examine this topic in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and Mount Elbert, a 14,000-foot peak in Colorado.
“Research like this can inform visitor management and educational strategies at other popular locations throughout the entire park — not just the Longs Peak area,” said Taff, who recently presented these findings at the 2024 Rocky Mountain National Park Biennial Research Conference. “Human waste is a health hazard. It’s detrimental to the natural environment as well as human health.”
Sustainability through lighting
The lights that visitors use in national parks can affect both animals and visitor experience. Morgan Crump, a dual-degree doctoral student in recreation, park and tourism management and social data analytics, along with Taff, led research recently published in Sustainability about the perceptions of personal lighting devices and behaviors among visitors at Grand Teton National Park.
Crump said white light can disorient wildlife, such as the migration patterns of birds, while amber light is less disruptive.
"We found that people were motivated to behave in ways that lead to better health and well-being of wildlife,” Crump said. “If they knew the negative effects of lighting on wildlife, they would be more willing to make changes to their personal behaviors.”
The researchers recommended using amber or red lighting, like sets of streetlights currently used within the park. Grand Teton National Park plans to implement and incorporate the findings from this research into its visitor management programming and education this summer, according to Crump.
“Light pollution is a growing issue,” Taff said. “Parks and protected areas are some of the last places that protect the natural night sky. The natural dark is important to ecosystems as well as the visitor experience at natural parks.”