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By Melanie Davis
The Public Service Research Program at Appalachian State University
is seeking input from High Country residents. The honors class
is titled Parkway Research Seminar and is geared toward community-based
research techniques.
The class, led by ASU professor Norman Clark, is funded through
a three-year Learn and Serve America grant. It is currently
in its second year. Clark said community-based research is a
program that works to research specific areas by creating partnerships
and answering questions posed by the community.
For the entirety of the grant, which Clark also applied for,
will be spent in a partnership with the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Clark said the Parkway was a great choice for the partnership
due to the variety of research possibilities, including biological
and social opportunities.
For the current school year, the class is focusing on the
Hebron Falls, also known as the Hebron Rock Colony, off of Old
Turnpike Road in Boone.
The students are addressing several concerns including illegal
camping in the area, social trails that cross private land,
parking and access points, and littering. Social trails are
trails not constructed or maintained by the park service.
The class is seeking public input through scheduled focus
group sessions.
Members of the class will be interviewing citizens from 6
p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday.
Each participating person will be asked to relay personal experiences,
recommendations and how each uses or accesses the area. Those
who live in the area of the falls are also encouraged to provide
insight into traffic or parking concerns.
Due to the nature of the interview process, those interested
in providing input for the study are asked to register for a
time through the Web site psrp.appstate.edu, or by calling (828)
773-7056. Dinner is provided for participants.
In addition to the interview process, students are also collecting
water samples upstream and down from the illegal camping sites
to test for possible contamination. In the fall and continuing
in the spring, students go on site and count cars and people
and note the actions of those using the trails.
Students are also using GPS equipment to map the area and
distinguish between social trails and park-maintained trails.
In April, the class will present its findings to the National
Park Service, including recommendations based on the research
to alleviate problems.
The 2007-08 school year was the first year of the class.
Students studied trail use issues for the Bass Lake trails
and the Rough Ridge trails. In the Rough Ridge area, a major
concern identified was that hikers were leaving the posted trails
and damaging protected areas.
For the Bass Lake area, the students studied the crowding and
multiple uses of the trails.
The trails are currently used by those on horseback, cross
country runners, hikers, wheelchairs and strollers, and those
with pets.
Students, in a similar fashion to this year’s class,
conducted counts and uses, coming up with solutions to prevent
potential conflicts between trail users.
Those solutions, such as an informational kiosk to inform
hikers why it is important to stay on the trail, were presented
at the end of the class.
Clark said that, although not every solution is feasible for
the park service, the community-based research model is important
for each student to learn, no matter what their field of study.
This year’s class consists of nine students, with majors
ranging from international business to anthropology.
J
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