Here's one scenario that would preserve privacy, let people know where they're at, let them scream for help, and never let them be tracked in the park by name, address, and other personal identifying information.
Rig a GPS locator in a small belt/shirt/pocket worn box with a walkie talkie and/or cell phone built in. In big LCD numbers, your GPS location coordinates are listed on the exterior of this little box. This is great if you're a GPS guru, and great if you're a clueless schmuck. When people show up at the park, you hand them out. They are set to only work within the boundaries of the park (rig the GPS to not display coordinates outside of the range of the park, thus discouraging theft).
Also configure the GPS devices so no one can ever retroactively track them i.e. don't put a device in them that could be monitored by a future entity who wants to invade people's park exploration privacy.
Finally, they've got a phone built in to the device. If they're smart enough to breathe, they can call on the phone. When you ask, "Where are you?" They can read/push a button to transmit their coordinates on the LCD display to you, and voila, you can locate those people who are obviously lost, and you leave others in peace and free to roam the park.
I'm not an engineer, but this should be workable, and you don't have any problems rigging up electronics in the forest (aside from a possible few cell phone towers if you want to give them a GPS-cell phone combination device).
The technology exists already to do this. It could probably be assembled from off-the-shelf parts, and you basically have a model for which the user MUST ASK for help, and therefore you don't intrude on their privacy.
Now, if you wanted to get aggregate statistical data on which people went to which areas of the park, you could do that, too, and you wouldn't violate anyone's privacy. What I've just outlined is merely a box that lists GPS coordinates and lets you call a ranger station. No names and/or identities are associated with anything.
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Here's one scenario that would preserve privacy, let people know where they're at, let them scream for help, and never let them be tracked in the park by name, address, and other personal identifying information.
Rig a GPS locator in a small belt/shirt/pocket worn box with a walkie talkie and/or cell phone built in. In big LCD numbers, your GPS location coordinates are listed on the exterior of this little box. This is great if you're a GPS guru, and great if you're a clueless schmuck. When people show up at the park, you hand them out. They are set to only work within the boundaries of the park (rig the GPS to not display coordinates outside of the range of the park, thus discouraging theft).
Also configure the GPS devices so no one can ever retroactively track them i.e. don't put a device in them that could be monitored by a future entity who wants to invade people's park exploration privacy.
Finally, they've got a phone built in to the device. If they're smart enough to breathe, they can call on the phone. When you ask, "Where are you?" They can read/push a button to transmit their coordinates on the LCD display to you, and voila, you can locate those people who are obviously lost, and you leave others in peace and free to roam the park.
I'm not an engineer, but this should be workable, and you don't have any problems rigging up electronics in the forest (aside from a possible few cell phone towers if you want to give them a GPS-cell phone combination device).
The technology exists already to do this. It could probably be assembled from off-the-shelf parts, and you basically have a model for which the user MUST ASK for help, and therefore you don't intrude on their privacy.
Now, if you wanted to get aggregate statistical data on which people went to which areas of the park, you could do that, too, and you wouldn't violate anyone's privacy. What I've just outlined is merely a box that lists GPS coordinates and lets you call a ranger station. No names and/or identities are associated with anything.