ABOUT THIS EPISODE
At 8 a.m. on March 15, Glacier National Park’s advance online reservation window opened to a groundswell of prospective backpackers eager to nab a prized wilderness campground permit. Within 10 minutes, however, the park’s most coveted campsites had filled, and the reservation window slammed shut on a host of highly sought-after multi-day itineraries.The new online system is part of a nationwide shift toward online, contact-less reservations to access outdoor spaces.
Will Rice, the head of the Wildland and Recreation Management Research Lab at the University of Montana uses social science to help wildland recreation managers improve the experiences of all visitors while preserving the ecosystems that support those experiences, and has published studies on different access strategies for recreation spaces like campgrounds. Dr. Rice joined host Micah Drew to talk about his research, how an online system can be exclusionary and what the solutions to managing access to popular outdoor spaces may look like in the future.
Later, Micah runs through the news of the week.
RELATED LINKS
Are Online Reservations the Key to Solving Montana’s Campground Crunch?
MDT Announces Roadway Safety Improvements Planned in Flathead County
Doctors Warn Abortion Bill Would Restrict Montana Obstetric Care
Glacier Symphony and Virtuoso Violinist Midori to Perform at McClaren Hall
Read more about all of this week's stories and get the latest breaking news at flatheadbeacon.com and sign up for our new daily newsletter at flatheadbeacon.com/newsletter.
The introductory music in this this episode is “Thinking Music” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License, The episode also features songs from Montana singer/songwriter Mike Murray's album We Are Like Warriors, "The Good Ol' Days You're In" and "Moment of Time," used with permission.
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