Chad D. Pierskalla

Understanding Relationships Among Recreation Opportunities: A Meta-Analysis of Nine Studies

Outdoor recreation providers intuitively know that visitors engage in particular activities in desired outdoor settings to attain beneficial experiences. There is a lack of understanding among managers and researchers, however, about the relationships that exist between these recreation opportunities. What are the salient inputs (activities and/or settings) that contribute to the production of certain outputs (benefit opportunities)? How does the magnitude of activity and setting effects compare to each other and vary across benefit items? To gain a better understanding of recreation opportunities and their relationships, data from nine benefits-based management pilot-studies were collected, analyzed, and combined using meta-analytic techniques. Two-way analysis of variance was used to test the dependency of twelve benefit attainment items on setting and activity type in each study. Meta-analysis techniques were used to calculate two types of results that were derived from the two-way analysis of variance tests. (1) Fishers inverse chi-square method was used to combine the significance levels derived from ‘F’ statistics; and, (2) the ‘F’ statistic associated with each two-way analysis of variance test was converted into a common metric called an effect size (r) and an average effect size was calculated for each input/output relationship. Six of the twelve benefits examined were significantly affected by a recreational input, particularly activity type. These findings strengthen the argument that not all outcomes require certain types of activity and setting inputs. For a more robust comparison of the benefits, the twelve benefits were categorized based on the type of recreational input affecting them. By focusing on inputs of the production process when categorizing benefits, this research provides a more detailed breakdown of benefits. Suggestions for recreation management and future research are presented in light of these findings.

Mapping Social Change: A Visualization Method Used in the Monongahela National Forest

ABSTRACT Many communities in and around national forests are experiencing social change. It is important for public land managers to keep abreast of this change to provide appropriate forest uses while considering resource impacts, conflict management, and potential partnerships with local communities. The social assessment is one tool used to follow sociodemographic trends, but it can be difficult to wade through the volumes of tables and visual displays to make informed management decisions. To improve decision making, literature suggests presenting information in a usable manner, such as the weather (color isopleth) map. By creating an index of overall social change and presenting the results in the form of an isopleth, social assessments can be made more usable by reducing multiple variables into one composite map. A method is described to compute an overall index and map of social change, followed by a discussion of management implications, limitations, and avenues of future research.

Event Quality Versus Event Quantity: An Evaluation of Fishing Experiences

Events are often evaluated based on what they provide (Gibson, 1986). When applied to fishing success, catching a colorful rainbow trout offers high aesthetic value on a per event basis (event quality). Alternatively, catching a large trout provides an unfolding of events such as pumping and lifting the rod while simultaneously reeling in the fish (event quantity). We propose that “event quality” and “event quantity” are different evaluation measures of trout fishing experiences. Data were collected at Bluestone River located at Pipestem Resort State Park and Harmon’s North Fork Cottages (both in West Virginia) during six trout fishing seasons starting in 2007 and ending in 2011. A total of 142 adult anglers completed the onsite creel survey. Respondents were asked “how eventful would you consider your fishing experience on this river during this trip?” Responses were recorded on a 7-point scale (1 = not much happened or uneventful to 7 = a lot happened or very eventful). Respondents were also asked “how do you rate the overall quality of your fishing experiences on this river during this trip?” Responses were recorded on a 7-point scale (1 = poor to 7 = excellent). The acceptability of five catch-related indicators were measured on a 7-point scale (−3 = very unacceptable to +3 = very acceptable). The specific catch-related indicators included “total number of fish caught per hour,” “proportion of catch consisting of rainbow trout that are greater than four pounds,” “size of the largest trout caught,” “variety of species caught,” and “color and health of rainbow trout caught.” Evaluations of event quality (5.92 ± 1.17) were higher (paired t test = 4.07, p < .001) than evaluations of event quantity (5.47 ± 1.56). Event quantity may be a more sensitive measure. The correlation between event quality and event quantity (r = .601,

A Conjoint Approach in Estimating the Importance of Urban Forests Versus Other Major Tourism Attractions in Urban Tourism Destinations: insights from Washington, DC

The study used a conjoint approach to assess the relative importance of urban forests compared to the major attractions of Washington, DC, a top city destination in the US. Survey data collected through self-administered questionnaires were analyzed using conjoint analysis. Results showed that the attributes of the city that people regarded as important to tourism include timing of visit, physical attractions, events, and urban forests. Respondents expressed that timing of visit is the most important attribute with a relative importance value of 39.55%, followed by events, physical attractions, and urban forests. Despite the fact that Washington, DC is currently being marketed as a business and cultural destination, respondents showed a significant level of awareness that the citys urban forests are integral to its tourism appeal. Gardens were observed to be the preferred form of urban forests. The study also highlighted the need to refocus marketing of Washington, DCs tourism products to emphasize other attractions. These resources can be tapped to expand the citys tourism market and improve its tourism products. Furthermore, the study supports that Washington, DCs urban forests add to its appeal and that tourism managers should consider new strategies to incorporate this resource into the mainstream attractions.

Landowner willingness to engage in long-term timber leases in West Virginia, USA

As global competition increases for wood-based products, the need for more efficient supply chains becomes increasingly important. In the forest products sector, these supply chains involve individuals and firms ranging from private forestland owners with standing timber to factories producing final finished products. Long-term timber leases are one mechanism that can be used to develop access to timber supplies for companies unable or unwilling to purchase land outright for growing timber. To investigate private forest owner opinions and attitudes regarding long-term timber leases, we conducted a survey of landowners from Wetzel county, West Virginia. No long-term leases were reported by respondents, but 24% claimed they would enter a lease under certain conditions. The most frequently listed concern related to long-term timber leases was for the “loss of control”. Results of this survey are discussed in the light of forest management efforts that might be used to improve the social, financial, and environmental benefits for private forest owners.

The Next Step: Strengthening the Social Science Voice in Environmental Governance

ABSTRACT This editorial proposes that the time has come to both individually and collectively take proactive steps to strengthen the social science voice in environmental governance. The ISSRM symposiums, SNR journal, and IASNR society provide an important and necessary “intellectual home” for the human dimensions movement, but we must now leverage this social and intellectual capital into policy and management innovations on the ground. We can learn much from more established professional societies about how to achieve these objectives. Practical strategies advanced include the formation of association policy committees and task forces as well as the drafting of association policy positions and white papers. It is time now to build on the successes of the human dimensions movement by bringing this collective social capital to bear on the most pressing natural resource policy, management, and education issues of our time.