National Outdoor Recreation Assessments - the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission

Parks & Recreation, Jan, 1999 by Carter J. Betz

* Recreation use of Forest Service and National Park Service wilderness should continue to increase in the future, reiterating the management issue of proper carrying capacity for wilderness.

Qualitative Aspects of Recreation

The assessment also examined the more qualitative aspects of outdoor recreation, namely the motivations, preferences, and satisfactions of outdoor recreationists. Tarrant et al. (in press) provide an in-depth look at the factors that define recreation as an "experience," as opposed to the more quantitative perspective of a consumed activity.

The authors analyzed the preference and satisfaction ratings of several thousand visitors to federal recreation areas using data from the Forest Service's onsite customer survey. They also provide a thorough review of the published literature on preferences and expectations for outdoor recreation experiences. Topics covered include participant motivations, visitor encounters, and perceptions and effects of crowding. Conclusions reached include:

* Recent research suggests that the relationship between desired experiences and specific recreation settings may be more complex than outdoor recreation management models often assume.

* The complex nature of experience preferences applies to various settings as well as activities. These preferences are not necessarily static for a particular activity or setting; they may change throughout the duration of a visitor's experience.

* The changing and evolving nature of outdoor recreation in this country guarantees that relevant research on experience preferences and motivations will continue.

* In large part, sampled visitors to federal recreation areas were generally satisfied with the way settings are managed. There were, however, some differences among groups based on the type of setting visited, trip characteristics, gender, and geographic origin.

Implications and Conclusions

The final chapter of the 1998 national recreation assessment attempts to distill the information from the previous chapters into some general findings about the current state and future outlook of outdoor recreation in the United States. The assessment specialists noted the difficulty of this task, given that recreation is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon. Specifically, they mention the endless array of users, activities, settings, and preferences that combine to define outdoor recreation experiences. In any event, the study team did identify five general findings that emerged from the assessment:

* Wilderness benefits are expanding.

* The growth of the outdoor recreation market is expected to continue.

* The private land base for recreation continues to decline.

* There will be an increased demand for nearby recreation resources.

* Resource changes have not been uniform among regions.

Assessment scientists observed a number of important and specific implications while assessing outdoor recreation in the United States. These conditions represent: challenges for future management and resource planning as well as areas of needed research. A constant challenge is gaining and maintaining access to the most desirable recreation places, both public and private. Increasing popularity and demand for special places continues to add to the concern about resource impacts caused by recreationists, especially in fragile ecosystems. As U.S. society, culture, and values continue to change, evolving and new approaches to recreation management are needed to combat shrinking budgets, fiscal conservatism, and declining access to private lands. In response, there has been a growing acceptance and adoption of Benefits-Based Management approaches, which emphasize managing for the experiences and value people derive from recreation. Reliable, high-quality data and information will continue to be a critical component of management: decision-making.