Study Area Rationale

The Florida National Scenic Trail (FNST) is a nationally designated scenic trail covering over 1,500 miles from Big Cypress National Preserve to Gulf Islands National Seashore. Of the 11 national scenic trails, it's one of only three that is entirely contained within one state. My study area focuses on a portion of the trail running just over 80 miles through St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and Apalachicola National Forest. Why have I chosen not only this trail but this particular section. My reasoning is two fold.

I. Visitor Use and Experiences
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It's estimated that over 300,000 people use the trail in some capacity each year (pdf source). Most of these visits are day hikers but there is also the occasional through hiker. Inevitably, these visitors take photos or videos and share them in some capacity with family, friends, and the internet in general. For some this is the closest they may get to experiencing the trail for themselves due to physical limitations or geographic location. For those individuals, there isn't an interactive experience available to learn what the trail has to offer. Photos and videos of the trail and the area are generally limited to individual accounts across various websites. Even those that are found don't give a complete picture. A single snapshot, or even a small album, can't possibly tell the whole story. It is my intent through this course (and beyond!) to not just review and aggregate the information currently available, but to develop a plan for the generation of a new, immersive experience. While the study area for this time frame is limited in scope, the ultimate goal would be to replicate the results of the work you'll see detailed here across the entirety of the trail.

II. Personal Experiences
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I've worked in the Florida panhandle a little over 5 years now and I am still learning new natural resource related things. Every. Single. Day. While I freely admit to having a keener interest in the world around me than most might, I believe that most people have an interest in the natural world around them. Given that the world is becoming more and more digital, I believe there needs to be a variety of new ways to connect the general public with outdoor experiences. For some, a digital experience with the natural world might be as far as they take the journey. For others, they may take the path that leads them to actually get outside. To start this project off right, I wanted a study area that had the ability to captivate individuals. The portion of the FNST that I selected travels through swamps, past 400 year old trees, across meadows, through habitat of multiple endangered species, bear(!) country, and has never failed to impress those that I share it with.

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