Red River Gorge Limits of Acceptable Change

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Overview of Visitor Impacts
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Some impacts are clearly illegal and intentional

• Graffiti
• Vandalism
• Litter
• Looting of artifacts

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Graffiti
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Vandalism
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Litter from campsites and tossed off cliffs
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Looting of archaeological sites
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Most impacts are not intentional

• Most visitors dont want to cause impacts to the
  resources
• Impacts caused by lack of knowledge of Leave No
  Trace techniques
• Frequent concentrated use

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Erosion from user-created trails

• User-created trails go to
• camping areas
• vistas
• climbing areas
• fishing holes

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MILES AND MILES OF USER CREATED TRAILS TO REMOTE
CLIFFLINE
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Large campsites
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Heavily used campsites
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Sanitation Problems
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Many rock shelters have camping use
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Many Rock Shelters are close to roads
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Chalk from climbers
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Some climbing routes have bolts drilled into the
cliff face
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Bare ground at climbing areas
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Bouldering Impacts loss of vegetation
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Are some areas getting too crowded?
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Gorge