Maintenance - ABR Incident Report
The Algonquin Backcountry Recreationalists encourage campers to formally report backcountry maintenance needs, incidents and commentary to park management.
In support of Algonquin Park's new "Forestry-Recreational Visitor Comment Management System", in July of 2008, we produced the Algonquin Backcountry Recreationalists Incident Report.
You can download the report form here in PDF format, print-up a number of copies and carry them with you on your backcountry trip.
The form provides locations to record a variety of information .. an incident location map sketch, an incident diagram, GPS co-ordinates, detailed commentary and photo availability information.
These Incident Report forms can be used to record backcountry field notes. They can then be finalized at home, combined with photos (hardcopy prints or online image files) and forwarded to the park office. Alternatively, they can simply be dropped-off at an access point or park administration office when leaving the park.
The ABR hopes that copies will also be forwarded to us, so we can monitor the scope of feedback.
Improving Feedback
At our February 29th (2008) meeting with Algonquin Park management in Barrie, and from subsequent phone conversations, it appears that the ABR's promotion of combining a campsite numbering system with a maintenance-need feedback process will be supported by the park's own "campsite maintenance database", which is close to being completed this year.
Over the past couple of years, the park has established a database combining their old system of "long-worded position descriptions by lake" (example: "second site south of Chipmunk Creek") with precise GPS co-ordinates for almost all of the campsites.
The park is also preparing a five character designation for each campsite (example: "DIC-11 for Dickson Lake campsite number eleven"). These identifiers will appear on special copies of park "values maps", to be kept at each access point office, so that campers can identify where they had camped when they report a maintenance need or a complaint upon leaving the park.
The ABR has recommended that to best utilize the involvement of campers in reporting maintenance requirements (example: a tree fallen across a campsite or a damaged latrine) it is preferable to also have an on-site indication of its actual "maintenance number". This will eliminate any confusion at to exact location and will allow a camper to feedback a detailed report should they leave the park after-hours or away from an access office.
The park hopes to have their campsite numbering system completed sometime this year (2008).