• Kroger, Andrew
  University of Maine Graduate School
  

There is great societal demand for a wide array of recreational activities throughout forested mountainous areas. The mountain based recreational activities can include hiking, mountain biking, skiing, driving, and much more. In order for many of the outdoor activities that society engages in to take place, an infrastructure must be created within the forest that alters the ecosystem. The infrastructure created for these activities typically consists of trail networks and often some type of building construction. Different mountain recreational activities result in a wide range of impacts and intensities of impacts on a site. The creation of a ski resort involves dramatic alterations of an area because it encourages a high volume of visitors to a limited area. Alterations involve the removal of many trees, maintenance trails, changes to soils and water drainage patterns, and extensive building and lift construction.