Planning, Participation, and Education Trends
On-line Lesson
Chapter 16 - Planning Procedures and Participation Trends
Outdoor recreation planning is a very dynamic process. The many variables which impact any planning process change constantly. So take any recreation plan as an evolving document, not one carved in stone.
Planning Principles
Define the problem or need.
Identify the desired results of the plan.
Create several options which will achieve the desired results.
Select the best option and implement plan.
Evaluate the progress and outcomes of the plan.
Other Planning Considerations
 |
non-discriminatory |
|
meets Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines. See California Access to Parks Guidelines. |
|
involves public in the planning process |
|
evenly distribute recreation opportunities based on population |
|
evaluate a multiple-use plan |
|
identify managing agency |
|
create buffer areas to protect land from encroachment by development |
Legal Structure
All planning procedures must meet the legal requirements of agency, federal, state, and local laws and ordinances.
|
Organic documents define the purposes, jurisdictions, and limitations of federal agencies. |
|
Federal laws are printed in the U.S. Code of Regulations. |
|
State and local laws |
History of Outdoor Recreation Planning
1924 National Conference on Outdoor Recreation. Was attended by representatives from 128 public and private agencies. Recommended many recreation enhancements.
1962 Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission. Took inventory of national recreation spaces and conducted surveys to determine what people did for recreation and what they wanted to do in the future related to recreation.
1964 Public Land Law Review Commission. Studied public land use issues including recreation and the laws governing them..
1969, 1973, 1979 Nationwide Outdoor Recreation Plans. Required the Secretary of the Interior to formulate and maintain a comprehensive outdoor recreation plan.
1985 Presidents Commission on Americans Outdoors. Was charged to review outdoor recreation in the U.S..
1994 National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (NSRE)
1999 National Recreation Use Pilot Study (USFS)
1999 Outdoor Recreation in America 1999: The Family and the Environment. The 1999 Recreation Roundtable study focuses on two primary issues related to outdoor recreation in society.
|
One is the relationship between outdoor recreation and the public generally, and with particular emphasis on family life. |
|
The second is the relationship between outdoor recreation and the environment. Namely, to what extent does recreation have a positive or negative impact on environmental protection? Is outdoor recreation a potentially harmful "extractive industry" like mining, logging or ranching? Or, is outdoor recreation an ideal way to encourage and develop stronger environmental attitudes and behaviors? |
2000 Recreation Agenda (USFS)
2002 National Visitor Use Report (USFS)
Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS)
The ROS is the main planning and management tool applied by the U.S. Forest Service to designated wilderness areas. In such areas, the restrictions placed on human activities to protect natural processes are just as comprehensive as they are in national parks.
The Recreation Opportunity Spectrum was developed by the U.S. Forest Service as a tool for:
1) managing recreation and tourism on National Forest lands; and
2) integrating recreation and tourism with other (non-recreational) land uses.
Specifically, (ROS) can assist managers by providing guidelines for:
|
taking inventory of the supply of recreation opportunities; |
|
analyzing the effects of other activities on the supply of recreation activities; |
|
analyzing the consequences of management decisions on recreation opportunities; |
|
linking user demand with available opportunities; |
|
identifying complementary roles for regional recreation suppliers; and |
|
establishing standards and guidelines for recreation settings. |
The ROS framework represents a response to the problems faced by land managers in applying the carrying capacity concept to problems of recreation and tourism provision. Although carrying capacity is an attractive concept, it has proven to be notoriously difficult to employ as a management tool. While the ROS addresses ecological carrying capacity (i.e., the idea that the number of people in an area or at a site is directly related to the loss of ecological integrity and biological diversity), ROS is especially effective in its treatment of social carrying capacity (i.e., the idea that the number and type of people in an area or at a site is directly related to its perceived recreational quality).
The ROS framework is based on the idea of a recreation opportunity. A recreation opportunity is a combination of three components of people's recreational involvements: activities, settings, and experiences. A recreation opportunity, therefore, is an activity that yields certain experiences for participants in a specific setting.
To appreciate the usefulness of the ROS framework, consider an activity such as cross-country skiing. Skiing on an urban golf course with one's children is likely to result in experiences that are family- and exercise-oriented. Skiing in the backcountry of Pukaskwa National Park with peers is likely to result in a different set of experiences. Therefore, the same activity, cross-country skiing, can be associated with different experiences in different settings.
Recreation opportunities can be described (Driver and Brown, 1983) as the result of combinations of land and natural resources, personnel resources, and financial (capital and operating) resources created by an agency such as Parks Canada. The supply of recreation opportunities is affected by social, economic, and political factors; it occurs within, and is limited by, the legislative and policy culture of the agency.
The ROS framework offers managers a tool that links settings to activities and experiences. Since national park managers must be concerned with managing settings, the potential usefulness of the ROS is evident. By firmly linking activities with the settings they require, the ROS connects those activities to areas and sites in ways not possible by an activity-based framework.
The ROS framework focuses on three items concerning recreation opportunities
.
supply,
demand, and
diversity.
Supply
Supply is defined as the type and number of opportunities that can be offered by an agency, based on the nature of the area under consideration. Supply is more than merely the potential and constraints of the natural environment. Supply is affected by human modifications to the natural environment. The original (Clark and
Stankey, 1978) version of the ROS divided land areas:
1.wilderness,
2.semi-primitive non-motorized,
3.semi-primitive motorized,
4.roaded natural,
5.rural, and
6.urban.
These opportunity areas can only support specific kinds of recreation activities and experiences owing to certain physical (e.g., size), social (e.g., encounters with other people), and managerial (e.g., legally designated wilderness area) characteristics. In the examples cited, the ROS class would likely be wilderness, in which one could hike and experience solitude. However, few other people and no motorized vehicles would be encountered.
Demand
Demand is defined as the type and number of opportunities people want. Determining demand can be difficult.
Demand for opportunities is indicated by how people use existing opportunities. Surveys and other social science research techniques may be required to determine what kind of opportunities people would like to have in a park. Information on demand and how people use national park settings, or on what opportunities they would like to have access to, is not readily available
in many state and national parks.
Diversity
The diversity element recognizes that people who come to parks differ in their interest in activities, expectations, experiences, and preferences of settings. Diversity in ecological conditions is a characteristic of the natural environment. The ROS framework acknowledges these different aspects of diversity and uses them to assess recreation opportunities.
Source: Parks Canada ROS
State Planning
Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP)
The State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) is designed to provide a relatively short synopsis of outdoor recreation supply,
demand and issues as they relate to a specific State of Iowa. SCORP lists issues concerning recreation opportunities within the state and actions
needed to help resolve these issues. It also lists programs that are currently in place and being used to help increase and improve the types of
recreation opportunities available.
Counties, cities and towns use SCORP as a reference in preparing grant applications for Land and Water Conservation Funds and Resource
Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program funds. SCORP lists recreation opportunities by region of the state and also shows areas of need
based on population for a variety of activities. The list of issues and needed actions can be used by the legislature in their planning process.
LAWCF is a 50/50 matching grant to develop outdoor recreation facilities and areas. To qualify for any LAWCF a state must create and maintain a Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) and update it every five years. LAWCF has not been adequately funded by Congress for over a decade. The LAWCF has historically been funded from royalties paid by companies drilling for oil and gas n the continental shelf. A new bill (Conservation and Reinvestment Act, CARA) is proposed to replace the LAWCF, is up for a vote in 2000.
|
SCORP (Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan) Alaska's Outdoor Legacy, 1997-2002 |
|
Wisconsin Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) |
Local Planning;
Local planning is conducted by either a city public planning department or a park and recreation department. They all use some form of the following procedures.
Collect data about a need
Project future park and recreation needs based on population or current recreation facilities.
Create short and long term planning proposals.
Site Planning
Before you begin to design a recreation area or facility you need to know how it would fit into the overall demands or needs of the community and its citizen's or leisure service consumer's. A Master Plan is a comprehensive document that identifies an organizations' planning; land acquisition; development and management of the resources, programs and facilitys' needs. It is used to guide the decision making process for the sponsoring organization for 5 to 10 years. The Master Plan is a culmination of a wide range of information collection techniques. The Master Plan has two basic components: data collection and data utilization. The primary goal of a Master Plan is to "Plan With, Not For" the community. To allow the community leaders to make both short-term and long range decisions regarding parks and recreation based on researched facts which eliminates or greatly reduces the impact of personal bias or special interests.
Participation Trends
The goal of outdoor recreation is to provide the facilities and services to promote outdoor recreation opportunities for all. Identifying participation trends allows the resource managers and private enterprise to prepare to meet the needs and wants of the resource users. It also allows the resource managers to protect the resources from overuse.
Deterrents to Outdoor Recreation Participation - Top Five Reasons
52% Lack of time
43% Area too crowded
37% Lack of money
32% Ignorance about opportunities
30% Recreate mostly at residence
Overall Participation In Outdoor Recreation - National Survey on Recreation and the Environment. In 1994 and 1995, the National Survey of Recreation and the Environment (NSRE) was accomplished by interviewing approximately 17,000 Americans over age 15 in random-digit-dialing telephone samplings. The primary purpose was to learn about the outdoor recreation activities of people over age 15 in the United States. They were asked about their participation in 62 specific recreation activities.
Results show that 94.5 percent of Americans participated in at least one of the surveyed forms of outdoor recreation in 1994. That percentage translates into 189 million participants nationwide. Walking is the single most popular activity, with about 134 million participants. Other activities with over 100 million participants include visiting a beach, gathering outdoors with the family, and sightseeing.
Population Distribution
The population continues to:
|
shift from rural to urban areas |
|
shift from the middle of the country to the coasts |
|
shift from the North to the South (sunbelt, Southwest and Florida) |
Socio-Demographic Influences
|
There is a strong relationship between certain socio-demographic factors and a persons choice fo recreation activities. These factors include:
Special Populations People with disabilities number over 39 million in the United States. Disabilities may be physical or mental. As a result of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, more outdoor areas are providing accessible opportunities. |
Wheelchair in Grand Canyon, NP |
||||||||
|
Wheelchair Hikers Prove Critics of Mountain Club Accessibility Wrong August 18, 2000 - ASSOCIATED PRESS/ Salt Lake Tribune BETHLEHEM, N.H. -- When the federal government made a hiking club put ramps and grab-bars in a remote mountain hut, critics said no one in a wheelchair would -- or could -- ever get there. But Craig Gray, Nicole Haley and Geoff Krill proved them wrong. The three and two others on crutches, aided by about 17 family, friends and volunteers, completed the exhausting, round-trip journey Thursday to the summit of the 3,800-foot Gale River trail. "I've always been up for a challenge," said Gray, 44, of Scarborough, Maine. A business consultant, he was making his first climb since he suffered a spinal injury 21 years ago that put him in a wheelchair. "Society generally tends to underestimate the abilities of people with disabilities," he said after completing the 9.2-mile round trip. "It was probably a little tougher than I thought, but not at all insurmountable." Along the way they traversed roots that protruded across the trail and navigated around boulders that frequently blocked the way; they crossed water and climbed steep, rocky inclines and encountered lots of mud. But there was no carrying. Each wheelchair had protruding bars in front that volunteers lifted like a rickshaw -- back wheels still on the ground -- to clear rocks and roots. One person in the back handled straps to brake the chair. The occupant did the pushing on the wheels. Haley, making her first climb in a wheelchair, acknowledged they could have climbed easier trails, but "the reason we chose this mountain was because of the hut." She saw a newspaper story about how it had been made accessible for wheelchairs. Accessibility became an issue as the Appalachian Mountain Club was undertaking a $400,000 renovation of the hut, the most remote of the AMC's White Mountain hut network. Walter Graff, deputy director of the AMC, said initially the club believed the remote hut would not fall under requirements of the 1988 Americans with Disabilities Act. But the U.S. Forest Service said accessibility was required. |
|||||||||
|
|
Adventure Recreation Adventure pursuits should provide "an inherently meaningful human experience that relates directly to a particular outdoor environment - air, wind, water, mountains, rocks, rivers, ice, snow etc." Jensen, 1995. Adventure recreation is growing at a tremendous rate for many recreation activities including rock climbing, whitewater rafting, canoeing, and kayaking. Not all risk is planned or positive. The NPS Morning Report lists the most current accidents, fatalities, and rescues in the national park system. |
Educational opportunities involved the consumers (participants) and the producers (educators, guides, businesses, professional associations, government agencies).
Consumer education promotes a positive outdoor experience for the individual and protects the natural resources. The greater a participant's knowledge about the activity and environment, the greater their satisfaction with the experience. Outdoor education, environmental education, or interpretation focuses on a persons interaction with nature or the environment. According to Hooper (1980), outdoor education can be taught as a "multi-disciplinary approach," based on teaching the interrelationships between people and natural and man-made environments. The approach includes four elements.
|
Interpretive hike at Chaco Culture, NHP |
Leave No Trace
The foundation of all outdoor education is the "Leave No Trace" principles. Several government and non-for-profit organizations promote these ethics.
The mission of the Leave No Trace (LNT) program is to promote and inspire responsible outdoor recreation through education, research, and partnerships.
The program is managed by LNT Inc., a non-profit organization located in Boulder, Colorado. LNT Inc. oversees memberships, marketing, fundraising and program development efforts. The
National Outdoor Leadership School
(NOLS) maintains the educational component of Leave No Trace by offering LNT educational courses, developing educational materials and supporting the efforts of course graduates who teach LNT to the public.
Leave No Trace Principles:
1. Plan ahead and prepare
|
Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you'll visit. |
|
Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies. |
|
Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use. |
|
Visit in small groups. Split larger parties into groups of 4-6. |
|
Repackage food to minimize waste. |
|
Use a map and compass to eliminate the use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging. |
2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces
|
Durable surfaces include established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow. |
|
Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams. Good campsites are found, not made. Altering a site is not necessary. In popular areas: |
|
Concentrate use on existing trails and campsites. |
|
Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy. |
|
Keep campsites small. Focus activity in areas where vegetation is absent. |
|
In pristine areas: |
3. Dispose of Waste Properly
|
Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. Pack out all trash, leftover |
|
Deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp, and trails. Cover |
|
Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products. |
|
To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of |
|
4. Leave What You Find
|
 |
5. Minimize Campfire Impacts
|
Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the backcountry. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle |
|
Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires. |
|
Keep fires small. Only use sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand. |
|
Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, then scatter cool ashes. |
6. Respect Wildlife
|
Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them. |
|
Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators |
|
Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely. |
|
Control pets at all times, or leave them at home. |
|
Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter. |
7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors
|
Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience. |
|
Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail. |
|
Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock. |
|
Take breaks and camp away from trails and other visitors. |
|
Let nature's sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises. |
|
Other LNT Principles for Specific Activities
|
Interpretive sign at Canyon De Chelly National Monument |
BLM Leave No
Trace
Leave No Trace is a national outdoor skills and ethics education program. The activities in this booklet were created to help share the value and importance of
Leave No Trace principles with young people; many can be adapted for adults. The following information describes how the activities are designed and how to fit
them to your personal needs.
Why Leave No Trace? Between 1965 and 1980, backcountry visits jumped from 4 million visitor days per year to 10 million per
year. A visitor day is a 12 hour stay by one person. In 1984 the number grew to 15 million visitor days up 275 percent in less than 20 years. As cities grow and populations encroach upon
wildlands and recreation areas, we must do more than just pick up litter and extinguish campfires; we must learn how to maintain the integrity and character of the
outdoors for all living things. However, Leave No Trace is not simply a program for visiting the backcountry, it is a way of life, and learning Leave No Trace
concepts begins at home.
The knowledge and concepts enabling visitors to Leave No Trace are easily taught both before and during outings. With a little preparation, you can teach people
the value of our reviving natural areas and methods to preserve them for future generations.
Incorporating Leave No Trace skills contributes to a safe and fun outdoor trip.
Leave No Trace methods help preserve primitive resources for today and tomorrow.
What's Included? This Leave No Trace packet will aid you in preparing and presenting fun, and easy-to-learn Leave No Trace activities. Teaching materials
include Background Information, Quick Concept activities, and Activity Plans.
Background Information provides essential information required to successfully conduct basic Leave No Trace training.
Quick Concepts are easy-to-organize activities to help you teach Leave No Trace concepts. The
activities require minimal preparation. Each Quick Concept
activity requires about 15-30 minutes to complete.
Activity Plans are detailed teaching blueprints. They are more in-depth than Quick Concepts and require more preparation. Your group will need about 45-75
minutes to complete each activity.
All activities are designed to be interactive and permit participants to actually see, experience, or become personally involved in the benefits of Leave No Trace.
Additional Reading: Boy Scouts destroy
dinosaur fossils.
An excellent interpretive BLM site is the Paria Canyon - Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness web site. All of the federal land management agencies (NPS, BLM, USFS, USFWS, etc.) have created interpretive information and in many cases school curriculum. Other not-for-profit organizations (Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, Izak Walton League, American Rivers, etc) have developed interpretive information. |
 |
National Association for Interpretation
The National Association for Interpretation (NAI) is dedicated to the advancement of the profession of interpretation (on-site informal
education programs at parks, zoos, nature centers, museums, and aquaria). NAI has a rich history and currently serves 4,200 members in the United
States, Canada, and twenty other nations. The National Association for Interpretation certifies heritage interpreters and specialists in four
categories:
|
Certified Heritage Interpreter |
|
Certified Interpretive Guide |
|
Certified Interpretive Manager |
|
Certified Interpretive Planner |
The following national organizations offer professional outdoor recreation training programs.
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
Copyright
2000. Northern Arizona University, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
