Geographic Analysis of the Compactness of National Park Unit Boundaries

Abstract

Although comprised of America's most iconic and varied ecosystems and landmarks, the boundaries of national parks have received little attention. This study uses boundary data from the National Park Service and other sources with compactness measures calculated using Geographic Information Systems. Using two common measures of compactness, the Polsby‐Popper and Reock methods, this study aims to answer several research questions: how are the type, location, and age of park units related to compactness, and how are changes in park boundaries related to changes in compactness? Compactness was found to vary between the types of national park units, as well as based on the location of parks within the country. Individual parks have become less compact over time. Due to the significance of national parks to ecosystem conservation, results of this study have crucial implications, providing some direction for future studies and federal regulation as well as overall conservation effort.