From landscapes to soundscapes: understanding and managing natural quiet in the national parks.

Abstract

Research at Muir Woods Natural Monument suggests that soundscapes are an important component of parks and outdoor recreation, that human-caused noise is a potentially important indicator of quality for park soundscapes, and that visitors have normative standards for the maximum acceptable level of human-caused noise in parks. Formulating indicators and standards of quality may be a useful way of understanding and managing park soundscapes.