A New Research Strategy to “Ignite” the Science of Outdoor Recreation

A new research strategy to “ignite” the science of outdoor recreation

Monika Derrien, Lee Cerveny, & Anna Miller

National Outdoor Recreation Conference May 7, 2019 Rapid City, SD 2 Once upon a time... 3 Igniting the Science of Outdoor Recreation (ISOR)

Community of Practice 4 5 ISOR Process

Assessment Outdoor Recreation Workshop 240 responses Research Strategy General Technical Report Management 88 participants • 9 Research Focus Areas challenges Information 17 working • 50+ Contributors Information Needs papers needs Thematic Areas # Contributors Definitions Implementation Strategies What is it? Building a • A document that prioritizes research directions community of for outdoor recreation on US public lands. practice • The product of extensive interagency dialogue and revision. • A strategic framework to be adapted and implemented by agencies. 6 What is a Research Focus Area?

• Identifies and guides national recreation research priorities • Developed through: • Sustainable recreation and tourism assessment • Golden workshop • Monthly coordination calls • 9 writing leads and teams • Review and revision process 7 Research Focus Areas

1. Integrated social-ecological planning frameworks 2. Organizational culture 3. New visitation drivers 4. Measuring and monitoring visitor use 5. Health and well-being 6. Diverse people-place-activity connections 7. Integrated cultural resource management 8. Public lands in the tourism economy 9. Recreation and environmental change RFA 8 1 Integrating outdoor recreation planning into a social-ecological planning framework

Research topics to address management needs: Traditional public land management • Assess methods of integrating recreation into is highly segregated by disciplinary programs, and recreation is often a existing socio-ecological planning frameworks. secondary consideration. • Measure key interactions between recreation and other uses. This RFA aims to: • Integrate key approaches in disciplinary • Advance knowledge and recreation research to assist decision making. practice for integrating multiple uses and resources into planning processes. RFA 9 2 Transforming organizational culture to enhance capacity for outdoor recreation management

Research topics to address management needs: A lack of adaptive approaches and • Evaluate efficacy of new financing, partnership, low organizational resilience has made sustainable recreation and personnel strategies to build capacity. practices difficult to implement. • Analyze organizational cultures and dynamics, and their relationship to recreation This RFA aims to: management practices. • Transform organizational culture to • Pilot partnerships to facilitate joint production enhance capacity for and resilience in recreation management. of research approaches and knowledge. RFA 10 3 Understanding new drivers and characteristics of demand for outdoor experiences

Research topics to address management needs: Land managers need better information about changing • Analyze how regulatory and management recreational use patterns, so that approaches might respond to visitation changes. they can to adaptively manage recreation resources and access • Examine how outdoor landscapes are imagined, for a diverse public. commoditized, and consumed in the media. • Model how social media and crowdsourcing This RFA aims to: apps influence visitation patterns. • Understand drivers of demand for outdoor recreation experiences, and anticipate new patterns of recreation participation. RFA 11 4 Measuring, monitoring, and forecasting visitor use and distribution across public lands

Research topics to address management needs: Managers lack visitation data • Develop methods that measure visitation at necessary for understanding long- and short-term recreation trends, relevant spatial and temporal scales. as well as projected changes. • Characterize relationships among visitor volumes and experience, and ecological processes.

This RFA aims to: • Synthesize visitation monitoring protocols, best • Develop methods for collecting practices, and database design. accurate and reliable visitation data that can be integrated across agency jurisdictions and is available at relevant spatial and temporal scales. RFA 12 5 Understanding the health and well-being benefits of outdoor experiences to people

The benefits of outdoor Research topics to address management needs: experiences need to better • Assess the health benefits conferred by outdoor understood so that managers can experiences, and their causal mechanisms. design programs, facilities, and spaces that maximize benefits for • Evaluate programs run collaboratively by health diverse visitors. providers and land managers.

This RFA aims to: • Synthesize best practices for health-oriented • Improve understanding of the outdoor recreation programs and spaces. health and well-being benefits of nature-based outdoor experiences. RFA 13 6 Understanding and fostering connections among people, nature, and public lands

Research topics to address management needs: Public land visitors have wide- • Examine institutional and cultural barriers that ranging recreation behaviors, limit participation in recreation activities. preferences, motivations, and different meanings they attach to • Analyze how visitors create meanings from places and activities. outdoor experiences, places, and activities.

• Assess tools that promote learning about This RFA aims to: different groups’ desired outdoor experiences. • Understand, encourage, and manage for diverse uses of public lands. RFA 14 7 Enhancing heritage, shared stewardship, and connections to place

Cultural resources are often Research topics to address management needs: managed separately from outdoor • Assess models for integrating natural and recreation and natural resources, resulting in missed connections for cultural resource management. visitors experiences in cultural • Develop management integration tools to forge landscapes. heritage connections on public lands. This RFA aims to: • Formulate best preservation and management practices for heritage sites, landscapes, and • Assess opportunities to integrate cultural resources with outdoor activities as they relate to outdoor recreation. recreation and natural resource management programs. RFA 15 8 Planning for sustainable tourism and the role of public lands in the tourism economy

Research topics to address management needs: Land management agencies don’t • Analyze emerging tourism niches and how they view themselves as tourism providers and don’t engage with relate to visitor demand on public lands. regional or local tourism entities. • Identify key public lands in regional tourism systems through network analyses and systems mapping.

This RFA aims to: • Develop metrics for assessing and monitoring the sustainability of tourism on public lands. • Understand and assess sustainable tourism as a local and regional development strategy in relation to public lands. RFA 16 9 Recreation in the context of environmental change

Environmental changes such as Research topics to address management needs: climate change, altered fire regimes, and invasive species • Develop recreation planning tools that help introductions all contribute anticipate and adapt to environmental changes. toward changing conditions for recreational settings and • Model how visitors adapt to environmental changes opportunities. by substituting locations, timing, activities.

This RFA aims to: • Model the effect of recreation on the biophysical environment on multiple scales. • Achieve a better understanding of the implications of large- scale environmental change for recreation use. 17 Research Focus Areas

Restructure research incentives • Devote resources to knowledge synthesis and translation • Shift from “science delivery” to “science co-production” mindset Develop translatable and transferable methods • Employ replicable and transferable data collection methods • Leverage spatial tools and data dashboards to aid integration with other disciplines • Deepen knowledge of cultural, ethnic and generational trends Make new friends • Invest in cross-sector partnerships: healthcare, tourism, transportation, economic development • Promote inclusion of academic and industry science alongside agency efforts • Form communities of practice that network managers and researchers 19 Join us! • What’s missing? • What’s next? • Research Strategy review • Strategy published late 2019 • Community of practice • Journal special issues • 2020 symposium https://sites.google.com/view/igniting-science-outdoor-rec/home To get involved: [email protected]