Sound Disturbance

This map shows a buffer zone (orange) representing the areas in the park that are considered at risk of experiencing noise pollution as well as disturbance to the fauna and visitors of the park.

​

We used estimates outlined by Liikonen et al. (2007), to determine the size of the buffer zone. It extends 150m on each side of the expected trail in forested areas and 300m on either side of the trail in open areas, as sound travels farther in open lands. For comparison purpose, a buffer zone of 5m was applied to the hiking trails (red).

As described in the overview, noise pollution can be almost as harmful as chemical pollution. Estimations of sound impact by motorized vehicles is incredibly higher than the impact by normal usage of hiking trails; even though the density of hiking trails within the park is much higher than the density of the motorized vehicles trails.

Figure 5. 

Figure 6