Roger L. Moore

Attachments to recreation settings: the case of rail-trail users.

Abstract The authors explore the nature of place attachment (the extent to which an individual values or identifies with a particular environmental setting) and develop a model to help explain how such relationships with recreation settings form. This model is then tested with a sample of users of three “rail‐trails” (multiuse recreation trails constructed on unused railroad rights‐of‐way). Results support the literature, suggesting that place attachment has at least two dimensions: a place dependence, reflecting the importance of the place in facilitating a users activity, and a more affective place identity, reflecting an individuals valuing of a setting for more symbolic or emotional reasons. Analysis reveals that place identity can best be predicted by how long users have been associated with the trail, the importance they ascribe to their trail activity, and their level of place dependence. Level of place dependence is best predicted by the distance between the trail and the users home and users’ ...

Outdoor recreation net benefits of rail-trails.

Net economic values were estimated with the individual travel cost method for user samples from three rail-trails in geographically diverse regions of the U.S. Estimates of rail-trail demands were ...

Gender-Based Differences in Birdwatchers' Participation and Commitment

This study explored possible gender-based differences in birdwatching participation and commitment using a sample of North Carolina birding organization members. Within the theoretical contexts of recreational specialization and symbolic interactionism we examined whether male and female birdwatchers differed in objective measures of participation such as frequency of participation, birding skills, monetary investment, and years of participation. We then examined differences between men and women in their psychological commitment to birding and why they first decided to get involved in the activity. Findings indicated that men were significantly more involved in birding in terms of their objective behavior and skill level. They were also slightly more committed to birding than were the women, although these differences were less pronounced than for behavior and skill. Numerous differences in why men and women initially decided to become involved in the activity were also found. Implications for both future research and management are discussed.

Educational Travel and Global Citizenship

Abstract We examined whether participation (n = 623 students) in educational travel programs influenced support for environmental policies across different citizen types (justice-oriented, participatory, personally responsible, and non-citizen). Findings showed that (1) participation increased support for environmental policies across all groups, (2) justice-oriented citizens reported the highest support, while non-citizens demonstrated the lowest support, and (3) significant interaction effects suggest these main effects cannot be interpreted without considering the effects of (a) destination/country and (b) student major. If educational travel programs are to respond to calls to foster global citizenry, they should focus less on promoting personal responsible citizenry and more on a critical assessment of the justice issues surrounding global environmental problems.

Social-Psychological Factors Influencing Recreation Demand Evidence From Two Recreational Rivers

Traditional methods of estimating demand for recreation areas involve making inferences about individuals’ preferences. Frequently, the assumption is made that recreationists’ cost of traveling to a site is a reliable measure of the value they place on that resource and the recreation opportunities it provides. This assumption may ignore other important social-psychological factors influencing individuals’ behavior. In this study, the authors augment a traditional travel cost model with several of these factors, namely, individuals’ social-psychological attachment to the resource and their motivations for recreating there. Using data collected from two visitor use surveys of recreational rivers, the authors find that individuals’ affective and emotional attachments to recreation settings as well as certain desired recreation experiences have significant effects on recreation demand. These results reveal that various social-psychological constructs can be incorporated into a traditional travel cost model to create empirically and theoretically more robust estimates of recreation demand.

Perceptions of Community Benefits from Two Wild and Scenic Rivers

Wild and Scenic Rivers provide a host of psychological, social, ecological, and economic benefits to local communities. In this study, we use data collected from recreational users of two Wild and Scenic Rivers to examine perceptions of the benefits provided by the rivers to local communities. Our purposes are (1) to determine if similar perceptions of community benefits exist across the two rivers, (2) to determine if individuals’ proximity to the rivers are related to the benefits they perceive, (3) to determine if individuals’ prior recreation experience on the river is related to variations in perceived benefits, (4) to determine if users’ sociodemographic characteristics are related to perceived community benefits, and (5) to determine if the influence of these characteristics on perceived community benefits is similar across the two resource areas. Perceived benefits were found to be analogous across both rivers as individuals consistently ranked ecological/affective benefits as well as tangible benefits similarly. Recreationists living further from the river ranked ecological and affective benefits as significantly less important than those individuals living closer to the river. Women perceived the community benefits produced by the resource areas to be significantly more important when compared to men. Significant relationships were also found between perceived benefits and recreationists’ previous use of the river, their age, and their level of education. With the exception of resource proximity and prior use history, the effects of user characteristics on perceived community benefits were not statistically different across the two rivers. These findings imply similar patterns of perceived community benefits exist across distinct resource areas and that the relationships between user characteristics and perceived benefits are also similar across the study rivers.

A Mixed Logit Model of Visitors' National Park Choices

The purposes of this study were twofold. The first estimated a mixed logit model of South Korean National Park choices to determine how park size and miles of trail affected the choice patterns of visitors to the 18 parks in the system. The second applied the resulting choice model to simulate how the distribution of visits would change in response to two hypothetical but possible scenarios. One scenario involved the hypothetical changes in the miles of park trails and the other related to an increase in future visits to the 18 national parks. Motivating this study, in part, was the anticipated increase in national park visitation due to 2002 legislation converting the Republic of South Koreas six-day work week to five days and thereby reducing time constraints for vast numbers of potential visitors. The article illustrates the value of mixed logit modeling to understanding how management changes may affect visitation.

Potential measures for linking park and trail systems to public health.

Executive Summary: The connection between the outdoor environment and general well-being has been intuitively recognized for centuries. Recent research has built a body of knowledge supporting the role of parks and trails in public health regarding physical, mental, social and ecological health domains. However, different populations and communities use parks and trails in varying ways and to different degrees. Understanding these differences can play an important role in guiding systematic park and trail system planning for maximizing beneficial health outcomes. In light of this, a collaborative process involving the National Park Service (NPS) Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) and North Carolina State University (NCSU), with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was used to identify potential health measures associated with public parks and trails that could be used for future surveillance, advocacy, and planning. This literature review is the initial step in the process of recommending measures that are both valid and feasible for practitioner and planning use. A systematic strategy was utilized to search for studies that incorporated measures of health or well-being related to parks and trail system planning. A total of 37 study measures were identified that focused on one of five health categories: physical, psychological, social, ecosystem services, and the built environment. Current practices for allocating parks and trails in the planning process are not based on empirical evidence and may or may not support the goals of public health and well-being that were a large part of the original impetus for providing public parks and trails. The health problems agencies are trying to address are not going away, and may be exacerbated by new ones as cities continue to grow and change. The intent of this study is to identify validated metrics, which link parks and trails to public health goals. The collection of park and trail data related to these public health outcomes could be used to inform policies, practices, guidelines, and other strategies for the allocation and management of parks and trails. Results from this research have four important implications for professionals and advocates in the fields of parks, recreation, trails, greenways, open space, and health: (1) to help make the case for public health goals related to park and trail system planning; (2) guide practitioners in their efforts to provide health-related recreation opportunities; (3) support community recreation and conservation projects; and (4) encourage more productive conversations among planners, advocates, managers, and researchers.

Bringing Business Experience to the Nonprofit Sector: What Works and What Doesn’t

Five distinguishing characteristics of non profit organizations are identified and explored. They are: a different and more complex environment, more altruistic purposes with strong traditions, importance of motivating and rewarding volunteers, staff structures that exist in parallel with volunteer structures, and frequent short‐run/annual budget orientations as opposed to effective strategic planning. The authors reject the notion that non profit management should be different from that in the private, for‐profit sector, but emphasize that these five characteristics must be recognized and addressed before attempting to directly apply business experience to nonprofit environments.