The impact of recreational use and access on biotic and abiotic disturbances on areas protected by local communities and a state conservation agency

•Local communities create protected areas that augment large-scale protection efforts.•Direct democracy provides a novel means for communities to create protected areas.•Intensive recreation on local protected areas could compromise conservation benefitmmmms.•We compared local protected areas in California, USA, to areas protected by the state.•Invasive plant cover on local protected areas was not different to state areas.