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USGS DDS-43, Recreation in the Sierra

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USGS DDS-43, Recreation in the Sierra TIMOTHY P. DUANE Department of City and Regional Planning and Department of Landscape Architecture University of California 19 Berkeley, California Recreation in the Sierra ABSTRACT Recreation is a significant activity in the Sierra Nevada, which serves INTRODUCTION as a center for a wide range of recreational activities. The Sierra con- The Sierra Nevada region is a popular destination for tains some of the world’s outstanding natural features, and they at- recreationists. Year-round local residents and California resi- tract visitors from throughout the country and the world. Lake Tahoe, dents and nonresidents pursue a wide variety of recreational Yosemite Valley, Mono Lake, and the Sequoia Big Trees attract mil- activities. These pursuits occur throughout the entire region, lions of visitors each year. Recreational activities on public lands alone from the bottom of steep river canyons to the top of the high- account for between 50 and 60 million recreational visitor days (RVDs) est mountain peaks. The mountain range is the natural infra- per year, with nearly three-fifths to two-thirds of those RVDs occur- structure that supports wilderness backpackers, skiers, fishing ring on lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service. The Califor- enthusiasts, off-road vehicle users, naturalists, and many oth- nia Department of Parks and Recreation has the second greatest ers. All individuals who pursue outdoor activities within the number of RVDs, followed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Sierra Nevada rely upon the natural world for an enjoyable National Park Service, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. experience. The ecological conditions of the Sierra Nevada Additional recreational activities on private lands account for millions are therefore important factors influencing patterns of recre- more RVDs that are currently not accounted for by any agency in a ational activity. The frequency, duration, timing, and spatial consistent or reliable format that would allow direct comparisons with pattern of recreational activities will in turn affect those eco- public land recreational use data. Inconsistency in the data classifi- logical conditions. cation and collection methodologies of the various public agencies Ecological, social, and economic conditions for many Si- also limits the usefulness of the recreational activity data that are erra Nevada communities and residents are closely inter- available. This report brings the available data together into a com- twined in the recreation sector. Tourism activity in the region, mon digital format and makes it available for analysis. The role of of which recreation constitutes a significant part, is also de- state and federal agencies in providing recreational opportunities in pendent in part upon the condition of Sierra Nevada ecosys- the Sierra Nevada is summarized, and more specific data provided tems. The assessment in this chapter focuses exclusively on about the types of recreational activities pursued under each agency’s recreational activities on the public lands and public waters jurisdiction. There is significant variation by subregion and recreational in the Sierra Nevada. This recreational activity may be either activity class, moreover, which makes some agencies more impor- local in origin or involve tourism, which is in turn a subset of tant than others for specific types of recreation in specific areas. These all activity related to the travel industry. Tourism that does differences by subregion and recreational activity class must be ac- not involve recreational activities utilizing the natural re- counted for in any assessment of policy scenarios for the Sierra Ne- sources of the Sierra Nevada are not addressed in this report. vada that might affect the availability of future opportunities for Tourism throughout the Sierra Nevada is nevertheless con- recreation. A more detailed assessment of recreational activities in ducted against the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada’s recre- the eastern Sierra subregion is also described to illustrate how sub- ational opportunities, so the two are closely intertwined and regional assessments can provide critical information on user char- include most of the economic activity described by Stewart acteristics and activities at a finer level of disaggregation. (1996) in the tourism and developed recreation sectors. Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project: Final report to Congress, vol. II, Assessments and scientific basis for management options. Davis: University of California, Centers for Water and Wildland Resources, 1996. 557 558 VOLUME II, CHAPTER 19 Unfortunately, there is very limited quantitative informa- There is also a significant level of locally based recreational tion linking specific levels and types of recreational activity activity occurring within the Sierra Nevada. Finally, indoor to specific levels of tourism for the Sierra Nevada as a whole. recreation by both Sierra Nevada residents and visitors oc- The potential impact of changing ecological conditions on curs largely on private lands. Our estimates of recreational recreational activity and specific levels of tourism is there- activity in the Sierra Nevada are therefore conservative: over- fore poorly understood. This is true despite several decades all social, economic, and ecological importance of recreation of work on the topic (Knight and Gutzwiller 1995), including and tourism is much greater than indicated by the activity several studies that were specifically focused on conditions figures reported here. The impact of recreation on social and in the Sierra Nevada (Parmeter 1976; Foin 1977). We there- ecological well-being remains largely unexplored in the Si- fore do not attempt to infer specific responses by the recre- erra Nevada. These linkages are now being explored by local ation sector to alternative management actions or changes in groups and recreation providers in recreation-dependent com- ecological conditions. Recreational activity is a function of munities, however, such as the Tahoe Coalition of Recreation many factors, and for most types of recreation ecological con- Providers (TCORP) and the Coalition for Unified Recreation ditions are not necessarily the dominant factor. The availabil- in the Eastern Sierra (CURES). ity of developed facilities and a wide range of behavioral considerations, including cultural factors, are probably equally important. The institutional arrangements for the provision of recreational opportunities (e.g., whether they are public or private and whether or not there is a fee for the KEY QUESTIONS activity) also influence recreational activity. Finally, aesthetic considerations are important for many types of outdoor rec- This assessment has attempted to answer five basic questions reation in the Sierra Nevada. Aesthetic appeal is not neces- about recreation in the Sierra Nevada. The answers may help sarily consistent with ecological well-being, however, so policymakers, citizens, agencies, and others to evaluate how ecological well-being is not necessary to support many types various future policy alternatives (or other trends) may affect of recreational activities that are dominated by aesthetic con- recreational activities in the region: siderations. This report has several significant deficiencies: (1) it has no 1. What are the current levels and types of recreational ac- reliable information about recreational activities on private tivities in the Sierra Nevada? lands; (2) it does not address the qualitative dimensions of 2. What is the spatial and temporal distribution of those rec- different types of recreational experiences or activities; (3) it reational activities? does not address the impact of recreation on ecological con- ditions; (4) it does not address the impact of public land poli- 3. Who participates in these recreational activities (e.g., age, cies and alternative institutional arrangements upon future gender, residence)? recreational opportunities; (5) it does not discuss the vast lit- 4. Who provides the opportunities for these recreational ac- erature on recreation or recreation’s important historical role tivities (e.g., agency)? in determining the institutional arrangements for land and resource management in the Sierra Nevada. Limited resources 5. What changes are likely to occur in the future in recre- required us to focus on available data in a common format, ational activities and users? which touches on only one dimension of recreation in the Sierra Nevada. Each of these other dimensions is also impor- We are also interested in how the answers to these questions tant, but we were unable to address them within the frame- have changed over time, although we have not attempted to work of this assessment. complete a comprehensive historical analysis of recreation in Significant recreational resources in the Sierra Nevada are the Sierra Nevada; our focus has been on the recent past and located on private lands, however, and a significant level of its implications for the future. David Beesley (1996) discusses recreational activity occurs on those lands. Much of the shore- some of the more important historical events regarding rec- line of the lakes and rivers of the Sierra Nevada is on private reation in the Sierra Nevada, including the designation of land, and recreational activities in the region are often focused several national parks. These events continue to affect land around water resources. The high Sierra resort communities and resource management in the region, so it is clear that
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