Photo of two men kneeling and noting measurements

Monitoring

Last review/updated October 1, 2008

Products
Summary Notes
Monitoring Group
Counter Graphs

The documents below are available in PDF format. If you do not have a PDF reader you can download it from www.adobe.com.

Products

  • Hummingbird Forest Recreation Area Concept Plan. This plan was prepared with the active participation of both the Bighorn Backcountry Monitoring Steering Committee and the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee endorsed the overall direction of the concept plan on November 26, 2003. The Steering Committee endorsed the concept plan on May 5, 2004.

  • Recreational Trail Monitoring. Alberta Sustainable Resource Development's trail monitoring program, based on recommendations from the Bighorn Advisory Group. February 2003. View Report
    Size:16 KB

  • Monitoring Group Terms of Reference
    Size:117 KB

Summary Notes

The summary notes from Monitoring Group meetings are listed below.

Monitoring Group

The Monitoring Group is comprised of a Standing Committee and a Steering Committee. The Standing Committee members were chosen by the user group to represent their user group as well as other user types and the community as a whole. The Steering Committee consists of provincial government members.

Counter Graphs

The following graphs show the general trail usage in the Bighorn Backcountry. The raw data on these graphs are only baseline and preliminary data for considering the overall impact on trails within the Bighorn Backcountry. The number of users on a trail is only one factor of many used for evaluating trail conditions and future maintenance or timing restrictions.

More than one graph may be shown for the same trail. Generally, the calendar year is divided into the summer season (July and August), the fall hunting season (September through and including November), and snow vehicle season (December through and including April). Adverse weather and frozen ground conditions may affect the date or gathering of data from trail counters.

Two types of counters are being used to measure the usage: Infrared Trail Counters and Off-Highway Vehicle Counters. The Infrared Trail Counters measure warm objects passing through an emitted beam. The counter cannot distinguish between a human or an animal, and the graphs below indicate the average number of infrared detections.

The Off-Highway Vehicle Counters make use of the magnetic field when a metallic object passes through the field. The graphs below indicate the average number of off-highway vehicle detections.

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