Joe Arevalo, Taylor Emmons, Sarah Harefa, Ashley Van Wyk, and Jacob Zondag

Calvin CollegeDepartment of Geology, Geography, and Environmental Studies

EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

USED AT MT. PISGAH

Holland, Michigan – Mt. Pisgah circled in red

STUDY AREA

Trampling impact (Andersen 1995)van Dijk and Vink (2005) study results

Unnaturally angled ramp down bare sand slipface Notch in crest 5 meters lower than surrounding crest Most visitors not local and do not believe the dune has

problemsManagement techniques completed in 2009

BACKGROUND

Have management techniques at Mt. Pisgah been eff ective?

RESEARCH QUESTION

To measure activity on the dune. To compare extent of activity measured to results of van

Dijk and Vink (2005) study. To map and assess the presence and quality of dune

management techniques implemented. To understand visitors perception of dune management at

Mt. Pisgah.

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Measured sediment activity with erosion pins Compared extent of activity by replicating pictures

taken in 2005Mapped management techniques and human impactsGauged visitor perceptions by distributing

questionnaire

METHODS

MEASURING SEDIMENT ACTIVITY

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Erosion Pins

October 25-November 1

November 1-November 8

Points

Diffe

renc

es in

Mea

sure

men

ts (m

m)

COMPARING ACTIVITY LEVELS

2005 2012

View along southern arm looking west

COMPARING ACTIVITY LEVELS

2005 2012

View from blowout looking toward the crest

COMPARING ACTIVITY LEVELS

View across middle of the blowout looking north

2005 2012

COMPARING ACTIVITY LEVELS

View from base of leeward slope looking west – unnaturally angled slope

2005 2012

COMPARING ACTIVITY LEVELS

View from crest towards Lake Macatawa

2005 2012

MAP OF MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

MAP OF HUMAN IMPACTS:UNMANAGED TRAILS

MAP OF HUMAN IMPACTS:LITTER AND DAMAGED FENCES

VISITOR PERCEPTIONS

Where visitors were from

HollandWithin an hour drive

VISITOR PERCEPTIONS

Winte

r (Dec

-Feb

)

Sprin

g (M

ar-M

ay)

Sum

mer

(Jun

e-Au

g)

Fall (S

ept-N

ov)

0

30

60

90

When respondents visit Mt. Pisgah

Perc

en

t of

resp

on

den

ts

VISITOR PERCEPTIONS

Go fo

r a w

alk

Walk th

e do

g

Climb

the

dune

Enjoy sc

ener

y

Play

gam

es

Run d

own

dune

on

sand

Obser

ve w

ildlife

Other

0

30

60

90

Activities visitors participate in while on Mt. Pisgah

20052012

Perc

en

t of

resp

on

den

ts

VISITOR PERCEPTIONS

Visitors Level of Dune Knowledge

1 - I know almost noth-ing23 - I know a lit-tle45 - I know a lot

Stro

ngly o

ppos

e

Oppos

e

Neutra

l

Favo

r

Stro

ngly Fav

or0

10

20

30

40

Visitor opinion of dune management and inter-pretation activities

Building a boardwalk to protect dune surface

Limiting access to protect dune areas

Planting dune grass to stabilize the dune

Placement of sand fencing to stop sand movement

Interpretive sign with dune information

Educational programs such as public walks/talks

Nu

mb

er

of

resp

on

den

tsVISITOR PERCEPTIONS

VISITOR PERCEPTIONS

No problem Minor problem Moderate problem

Major problem0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Do you consider the following to be problems/an-noyances on the dune?

LitterDune climbersDog waste/noiseDamage to duneManagement efforts

Nu

mb

er

of

resp

on

den

ts

VISITOR PERCEPTIONS

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Reaction to the statement: the man-agement efforts have been successful

Management techniques have been eff ective at limiting and mitigating human impact.

In general, there is public acceptance and cooperation with management techniques.

However, unmanaged trails, litter, and damaged fences indicate an uncooperative segment of visitors.

CONCLUSIONS

WORKS CITEDAndersen, U.V. 1995. “Resistance of Danish coastal vegetation

types to human trampling.” Biological Conservation 71:223–230.Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “Holland State Park.”

Slideshow. <http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/Holland_SP_Slideshow_334712_7.pdf>.

van Dijk, Deanna and D. Robert Vink 2005. “Visiting A Great Lakes Sand Dune: The Example of Mt. Pisgah in Holland, Michigan.” The Great Lakes Geographer 12(2): 45-63.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission who provided

our research site and Calvin College for providing facil ities and equipment.

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation Grant 0942344, Melanie Manion and Deanna van Dijk.