Treesearch

Vermont's travel and tourism industry is not keeping pace with the nation-wide growth in the travel industry. While travel indicators such as domestic travel expenditures, tourism generated employment, payroll and tax receipts have been steadily increasing across the United States, these indicators in Vermont peaked in 1978 and have declined ever since. The state tourism industry experts have attributed this downward trend to weather, the cyclic nature of the U.S. economy, Canadian exchange rate, increasing state tax burden, size of state travel and tourism budget, and overall tourism...

The Penobscot River has been the focus of a major Atlantic Salmon restoration effort for the last 25 years. The river has received national and international attention with the proposal of an additional 38-megawatt hydroelectric facility on its main stem. This study was conducted in response to a need to identify recreation enhancement and mitigation options related to licensing of the proposed facility. Our research to date describes recreation use patterns and preferences, and associated perceptions of recreation experiences and constraints. Detailed findings are published in Maine...

Contemporary approaches to determining and managing carrying capacity of national parks and similar areas focus on indicators and standards of quality. The National Park Service is currently developing the Visitor Experience and Resource Protection process which adopts this approach to carrying capacity. This process is being applied to Arches National Park, Utah, through a two-phase research program aimed at identifying indicators and standards of the quality of the visitor experience.

This study examined visitor perceptions and attitudes towards their experience at a national wildlife refuge which limits access to its barrier beach during the nesting season of the threatened piping plover. It determined attitudes towards the closure, as well as what factors influenced these attitudes. It also examined how willingness to pay for refuge protection related to overall experience rating and attitudes towards wildlife protection and crowding. The data were gathered in 1993 in a self-administered user survey. The results indicate visitor support for the refuge and the beach...

The angler specialization concept was studied using the expectancy model of motivation. An exploratory study of' Lake Ontario salmon and trout anglers was conducted to test the relationships between the variables of the expectancy model of motivation and actual angling participation.

Although fish and wildlife are common property resources owned by the public as a whole, agencies charged with decision-making about them often respond to pressure from special interest groups. While we have substantial information about the characteristics and motivations of special interest group members, we have far less knowledge about the attitudes of the general public. This study reports the results of a November, 1993 survey of the general public in Vermont regarding their attitudes about wildlife. Results indicate that Vermonters as a whole are extremely interested in wildlife,...

This paper examines predictors of boater behavior in a specific behavior situation, namely the percentage of raw sewage discharged from recreational vessels in a sanitation pumpout facility on the Chesapeake Bay. Results of a multiple regression analysis show knowledge predicts behavior in specific issue situations. In addition, the more specific the behavior indicator, the better predictive ability that indicator will have on behavior.

Crowding research has suggested expectancy theory as one explanation to perceptions of crowding expressed by participants in outdoor recreation activities. Expectancy theory states that an individual enters into an activity with a preconceived set of expectations for the outcome of the experience. In this study, anglers fishing on the opening day of Pennsylvania's trout season were surveyed in an effort to determine if level of expected contacts influenced perceptions of crowding. Anglers were assigned to one of two groups, those with prior experience fishing the site on opening day and...

The Corps of Engineers will be implementing a new user fee at day-use areas during the next two years. This paper presents the procedures used to estimate the revenue that the new fee would generate at six Corps projects located across the U.S. The results suggest that revenues will fall well short of the naive projection calculated on the assumption that the new fee will not affect the current level of visitations.

Research was undertaken to identify the opinions of what people saw in slides of managed and unmanaged landscapes. Most people were attracted by natural landscape features. Clearcuts were reported less frequently than roads, but dislike of them was more than 30 percent greater. Natural openings, bare areas, and sparse tree cover also were disliked.