| Description |
Glaciers have been retreating since the end of the little ice age, and their retreat "has increased dramatically since the 1980s. Some of the glaciers that are retreating are" "within national parks and are main visitor attractions. For example, visitors come from" "around the United States to experience Exit Glacier at Kenai Fjords National Park (KEFJ)" "and due to its accessibility, Exit Glacier provides a unique experience for visitors to" "easily approach and view a glacier. Exit Glacier has, however, been retreating, decreasing" "in volume, and continuing to move away from the original trail that initially led park" "visitors to the glacier. This study investigated this phenomenon with the purpose to" "understand how Exit Glacier’s potential continued retreat might influence visitor" "behavior, experiences, and preferences. The researcher used onsite quantitative" "questionnaires (n = 539) and computer-altered photographs of potential glacier recession" "(n = 10) to identify visitor responses to Exit Glacier’s retreat. The results indicate that" "visitors found current conditions moderately acceptable and found extreme recession" "primarily unacceptable. Visitors were most likely to be displaced during extreme" "recession and as visitors’ beliefs in climate change increased their acceptability of" "recession conditions decreased." |
