National Academies Press: OpenBook

Protecting National Park Soundscapes (2013)

Chapter: Appendix B: Workshop Agenda

« Previous: Appendix A: Workshop Steering Committee Biographical Information
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda." National Academy of Engineering. 2013. Protecting National Park Soundscapes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18336.
×

Appendix B

Workshop Agenda

img
img

Protecting National Park Soundscapes:

Best Available Technologies and Practices for
Reducing Park-Generated Noise

Dates: October 3–4, 2012
Location: National Park Service
1201 Oakridge Drive, Fort Collins, Colorado

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3

08:30

Welcome and Opening Remarks Karen Trevino and Bert Frost, NPS; Gregg Fleming, Volpe Center, DOT

08:50

Workshops and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Proctor Reid, Program Office, National Academy of Engineering

09:00

The TQA Report and Follow-on Projects with the NAE George Maling, Technology for a Quieter America committee chair

09:15

Introductions, Logistics, Workshop Objectives, Agenda Frank Turina, NPS

09:30

Noise Issues in National Parks: An Overview of Park-Generated Noise to Be Addressed in this Workshop
Frank Turina, NPS

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda." National Academy of Engineering. 2013. Protecting National Park Soundscapes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18336.
×

10:20

Effects of Noise on Park Visitors and Wildlife Kurt Fristrup, NPS

10:45

Break

11:00

Acoustical Toolbox: Current NPS Guidance for Park Managers Randy Stanley, NPS

11:15

Buy-Quiet Programs: Government and Private-Sector Initiatives Beth Cooper, NASA

12:15

Lunch

1:00

Buy-Quiet Programs: Progress and Problems; Questions and Discussion
Beth Cooper, NASA

2:00

Breakout Sessions (See Topics and Guiding Questions)

4:30

Wrap-up and Adjourn

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4

08:30

Continue Breakout Sessions

10:00

Breakout Session Leader Report and Discussion (30 minutes presentation and 30 minutes discussion each): Transportation Session Leads: Nick Miller + Kevin Percival

11:00

Break

11:15

Breakout Session Leader Report and Discussion (continued): Facilities/Maintenance
Session Leads: Beth Cooper + Kim Slininger

12:15

Lunch

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda." National Academy of Engineering. 2013. Protecting National Park Soundscapes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18336.
×

1:15

Breakout Session Leader Report and Discussion (continued): Construction
Session Leads: Erich Thalheimer + Jock Whitworth

2:15

Break

2:30

Future Plans

 

• Product(s): Document(s) to provide parks, regions, and divisions with expert information on the best practices in protecting park soundscapes. What prepackaged equipment noise reduction options already exist and should be made known to NPS? How can NPS incorporate noise specifications to provide the best buy-quiet guidance to the parks and regions? What guidance can be provided to help parks estimate benefits of quieter products, quieter or changed operations, and noise-sensitive transportation planning and design?

 

• Follow-up Forums: Depending on the outcome of this workshop, follow-on workshops and/or webinars could be conducted. Topics that could be addressed include additional noise sources, specific noise sources, training needs for parks, communication with stakeholders.

3:30

Summarize and Review Conclusions/Results of Workshop

4:00

Adjourn

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda." National Academy of Engineering. 2013. Protecting National Park Soundscapes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18336.
×
Page 43
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda." National Academy of Engineering. 2013. Protecting National Park Soundscapes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18336.
×
Page 44
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda." National Academy of Engineering. 2013. Protecting National Park Soundscapes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18336.
×
Page 45
Next: Appendix C: Workshop Attendees »
Protecting National Park Soundscapes Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $32.00 Buy Ebook | $25.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

America's national parks provide a wealth of experiences to millions of people every year. What visitors see—landscapes, wildlife, cultural activities—often lingers in memory for life. And what they hear adds a dimension that sight alone cannot provide. Natural sounds can dramatically enhance visitors' experience of many aspects of park environments. In some settings, such as the expanses of Yellowstone National Park, they can even be the best way to enjoy wildlife, because animals can be heard at much greater distances than they can be seen. Sounds can also be a natural complement to natural scenes, whether the rush of water over a rocky streambed or a ranger's explanation of a park's history. In other settings, such as the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, sounds are the main reason for visiting a park.

The acoustical environment is also important to the well-being of the parks themselves. Many species of wildlife depend on their hearing to find prey or avoid predators. If they cannot hear, their survival is jeopardized—and the parks where they live may in turn lose part of their natural heritage. For all these reasons it is important to be aware of noise (defined as unwanted sound, and in this case usually generated by humans or machinery), which can degrade the acoustical environment, or soundscape, of parks. Just as smog smudges the visual horizon, noise obscures the listening horizon for both visitors and wildlife. This is especially true in places, such as remote wilderness areas, where extremely low sound levels are common. The National Park Service (NPS) has determined that park facilities, operations, and maintenance activities produce a substantial portion of noise in national parks and thus recognizes the need to provide park managers with guidance for protecting the natural soundscape from such noise. Therefore, the focus of the workshop was to define what park managers can do to control noise from facilities, operations, and maintenance, and not on issues such as the effects of noise on wildlife, noise metrics, and related topics.

To aid in this effort, NPS joined with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and with the US Department of Transportation's John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center to hold a workshop to examine the challenges and opportunities facing the nation's array of parks. Entitled "Protecting National Park Soundscapes: Best Available Technologies and Practices for Reducing Park- Generated Noise," the workshop took place October 3-4, 2012, at NPS's Natural Resource Program Center in Fort Collins, Colorado. Protecting National Park Soundscapes is a summary of the workshop.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!