Approach
Following a severe disturbance, there is often a strong push to return damaged infrastructure to pre-disturbance conditions as soon as possible, even though that action could subject the rebuilt infrastructure to the same or more pronounced vulnerabilities going forward. Damage and disturbance can instead present opportunities to reevaluate the form that recreation might take, especially on dynamic landforms that experience natural fluctuations or migrations, such as barrier islands and inland lakes and reservoirs. This approach promotes materials and designs that can be moved to accommodate changing and more variable conditions. Examples can include using impermanent open-air shelters or tents, portable piers, or floating docks or using mobile trailers as traveling visitor centers.
Tactics
- Anticipate degradation and use semi-permanent native materials that will not degrade the environment once eroded, such as crushed clamshells for parking areas at seashores.
- Replace permanent visitor facilities and infrastructure with temporary structures that can be relocated when necessary, e.g. open-air shelters or tents that can be packed down, portable piers, floating docks, etc.
- Use mobile units or trailers that could serve as traveling visitor centers to accommodate shifting environmental conditions as well as shifting seasons of visitation.
Strategy
Strategy Text
Changes in climate may prompt recreation professionals to revisit what are considered best management practices for the industry. Seasonality will change across diverse geographic locations. Winter recreation will be affected by shorter winters with less snow in northern areas. With this will come both risks to the industry and occasions to transition to new opportunities. This strategy includes both conventional and non-conventional actions to transition recreational infrastructure and opportunities into forms that would not be likely to suffer total loss over their lifespans, even given the uncertainties inherent in a changing climate.
O’Toole, D.; Brandt, L.A.; Janowiak, M.K.; Schmitt, K.M.; Shannon, P.D.; Leopold, P.R.; Handler, S.D.; Ontl, T.A.; Swanston, C.W. Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Approaches for Outdoor Recreation. Sustainability 2019, 11, 7030.