During her seven years as a ranger in the Rocky Mountain National Park of northwest Colorado, Steele said she noticed that a typical core area seems to be as big as a tent and about five feet beyond that on all sides. It generally has no vegetation. Steele has been studying backcountry camping since January 1996, because Rocky Mountain National Park officials want to determine the state of their 226 backcountry sites. She has analyzed eight years of data from more than 150,000 campers. Park managers will use the results to help write a wilderness management plan for the park.
Campers tend to return to a site even though officials try to move it elsewhere.
Steele said she's noticed that the longest-lasting camping sites have good soil cover. Good soil is a sign that the trees there should stay alive and free from damage. The camp sites also have no fire scars, black rocks or broken tree branches. Damaged trees and fire scars indicate that people have been chopping down trees for firewood. Long-lasting camp sites don't contain a lot of litter, human feces or other signs of impact.