Recreation visitor research: studies of diversity

Abstract

In 1987, the Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS) chartered a research work unit to examine outdoor recreation in the wildland-urban interface. The new work unit was established to address the needs of the increasingly diverse recreation visitors to national forests. The four forest supervisors in southern California observed that in the past, most recreation visitors were White.¹ However, that percentage was changing with an increase in diverse visitors. In particular, they noted the increasing numbers of Latino visitors. They also observed that the diverse visitors were recreating in different ways compared to White visitors. The supervisors expressed concern that the needs of the diverse visitors may not be being met because the sites were often developed with White visitors in mind, and thought it was beneficial for PSW to provide scientific information about the diverse outdoor recreation visitors who were using USFS lands for outdoor recreation. The research work unit has emphasized applied research in response. We report 16 studies grouped into six major topical headings: international studies, syntheses of studies, management studies, environmental belief studies, communication studies, and measurement studies.

¹Please note that throughout this document we will use a variety of terminology when discussing racial and ethnic groups. We often use the term "White," for example in place of Caucasian or European-American and other terms. We often use the term "Latino" in place of Hispanic, Chicano, Mexican American, Central American, etc. We sometimes use the term "Hispanic." We use African American in place of Black. We understand that people have strong preferences for a particular term, and do not wish to offend any reader with our choices.

Titles contained within Recreation visitor research: studies of diversity

• Introduction
• The dual role of local residents in the management of natural protected areas in Mexico
• Use of the recreation opportunity spectrum in natural protected area planning and management
• Constraints to leisure travel and visitation to natural areas: An international comparison of four cities.In: Chavez, Deborah J.; Winter, Patricia L.; Absher, James D., eds
• Serving the needs of Latino recreation visitors to urban proximate natural resource recreation areas
• Diverse users of four urban national forests: participation, preferences, and perceptions
• Race, ethnicity, recreation, and leisure: An assessment of research gaps
• Management assumptions and program realities: a case study of non-commercial fern gathering
• Southwesterners’ views of threatened and endangered species management: does ethnic/racial diversity make a difference?
• Physical activity among Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic/Latino white visitors to urban-proximate public lands
• Outdoor recreation and nontraditional users: results of focus group interviews with racial and ethnic minorities
• Perceptions of agriculture and natural resource careers among minority students in a national organization
• Connecting Latinos with nature
• Wildland recreationists’ natural resource management purposes and preferences: a connection to environmental identity
• Forest visitation, media consumption, and diverse publics: lessons for outreach
• Routes to communication about outdoor recreation with diverse publics: what we know about media
• Approaches to measuring cultural diversity in recreation

Citation

Chavez, Deborah J.; Winter, Patricia L.; Absher, James D., eds. 2008. Recreation visitor research: studies of diversity. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-210. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. 216 p.