Rationing recreation: Making the best of a bad situation

When it comes to rationing recreation opportunities, or limiting or managing use somehow, visitors have varied preferences, and different user groups will benefit depending on the approach used. There is no one-sized-fits-all solution, but there are principles that can help to support the design of a rationing system that benefits a wide range of visitors. 

Photo Credit

USDA photo by Chris Armatas

Colchuck Lake in the Alpine Lake Wilderness in Washington - a challenging recreation management site.

Recreation managers try their best to avoid limiting access to recreation opportunities, but sometimes social, environmental, and policy considerations lead to a choice to ration recreation use. Once the choice to limit recreation has been made, there is considerable effort required to design recreation allocation systems, and there is limited existing research on the topic. This research supports managers with valuable knowledge for designing recreation allocation systems, including an understanding of visitor preferences, and design principles for recreation allocation systems. 

This project is unique in its focus on an important, yet understudied, topic and its co-production approach that brings together the Forest Service Research and Development, Forest Service Wilderness Wild and Scenic Rivers, and the University of Montana. The goal of the project is to create a product that could be used by managers across the country that are grappling with the need of designing a recreation allocation system.