Visitor Experiences and Resource Protection at Antelope Island State Park Mark W. Brunson Tiffany Christensen Institute for Outdoor Recreation and Tourism College of Natural Resources Utah State University Professional Report IORT-PR1999-1 Mission Statement of the Institute for Outdoor Recreation and Tourism: The Institute for Outdoor Recreation and Tourism (IORT) conducts a program of research, extension, and teaching for the benefit of the people of Utah, our country, and the world, directed at improving our understanding of the relationships between outdoor recreation and tourism, natural resources management, community economic vitality, and quality of life. Through statewide collaboration and cooperation, IORT will be a source for the creation, communication, and transfer of knowledge on resource-based recreation and tourism issues affecting social, economic, and environmental systems, in order to assist Utah’s citizens in making decisions that enhance both community and resource sustainability. Institute for Outdoor Recreation and Tourism College of Natural Resources Utah State University 5220 Old Main Hill Logan, Utah 84322-5220 (435) 797-7094 or 797-2530 E-mail:
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[email protected] Executive Summary This report describes results of a survey of visitors to Antelope Island State Park which was conducted in May-October 1999. The survey was intended to measure visitors’ satisfactions, preferences, and concerns regarding their experiences at Antelope Island and management actions taken at the park. Particular attention was paid to experiences in the backcountry areas of the park (i.e., the 80% of Antelope Island located south of the buffalo fence), which are managed to provide limited outdoor recreation opportunities in a setting which preserves many of the natural conditions which prevailed around the Great Salt Lake prior to European-American settlement.