Date of Award

Summer 1984

Degree Type

Major Paper

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Marine Affairs

Abstract

With the creation of a National Seashore, we incur the responsibility of maintaining and preserving it. Since the establishment of the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1961, the use of off-road vehicles (ORV's) has increased dramatically. These vehicles damage the fragile ecosystems of the seashore. The National Park Service Cooperative Research Unit at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst was commissioned to undertake a five year study of the many facets of off-road vehicle impact on beach and dune as well as salt marsh and tidal flats.

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