A World of Watchers

Birding social world• Contains a diversity of birders

• Participation occurs in a diversity of birding forms

• Engagement happens for diverse reasons or motivations

Thus, understanding (even detecting) birding is problematic.

Eubanks, Ditton, Stoll 2001

• Birders are independent actors, negotiating alliances on an individual basis.

• Birders are self-anointed, taking on self-determined roles.

• Memberships and formal alliances are accepted only when specific needs are perceived to be served.

• Birding relationships are optional; in hunting and fishing they are mandatory.

70.4 million Cordell birders46 million USFWS bird observers40.3 million residential bird observers18.3 million nonresidential bird observers1 million Nature Conservancy members600-700 thousand NAS members400 thousand purchased Sibley30 thousand Cornell Lab supporters22 thousand ABA members

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Casual Active Committed

Delaware Bay

GTCBT

RGVBF

Platte River

Combined

Blue Jay Eastern Bluebird Indigo Bunting Cerulean Warbler

Avid

Uninitiated

Casual

Active

General Population (Disengaged)

© Heil, Eubanks,Putegnat

© Heil, Eubanks,Putegnat

Uninitiated

Casual

Active

Avid

© Heil, Eubanks,Putegnat

Avid

Active

Casual

Uninitiated

© Heil, Eubanks,Putegnat

Highly

Specialized

Moderately

Specialized

Weakly

Specialized

Non-

Specialized

Primary

Recreationist

Secondary

Recreationist

Peripheral

Recreationist

Incidental

Recreationist

Avitourist Nature Tourist Experiential

Tourist

General

Tourist

Committed

Birder

Naturalist

Wildlife Viewer

General Nature

Traveler

Adventure

Traveler

Cultural/Historical

Traveler

Leisure

Traveler

Business

Traveler

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Spring Summer Fall Winter

General Tourist

Experiential Tourist

Nature Tourist

Avitourist

Motivation DBSA MPSA* GTCBT RGVBF

Experience the sights, smells, and

sounds of nature60.2 4.39 55.4 52.0

To be outdoors 55.0 4.22 54.7 51.1

To see new species 27.6 3.45 34.5 35.8

To improve skills 21.1 2.92 22.3 31.3

To get away from the demands of life 20.4 3.28 26.6 18.8

To see as many species as possible 19.0 2.85 22.6 20.9

For family recreation 13.2 3.06 17.2 11.1

To do something creative 9.6 2.47 10.9 5.5

To be with friends 6.7 2.74 9.0 5.9

To be alone 3.0 2.13 2.1 1.8

To get away from the family 1.8 1.45 1.4 0.0

To gain the respect of others 1.2 1.36 1.4 0.5

Motivations

Eubanks, Ditton, Stoll 2001

Recreation is the

pathway of

choice for

Americans who

find their way to

nature

Recreation

endows nature

with value

People conserve

only that which

they value

Wildlife

conservation is

intrinsically

linked to wildlife-

related

recreations

Marketing, public relations, and media budgets for nature conservation, education, and tourism development will never approach that of competing interests.

The opportunities in urban society, therefore, are limited to formal (classroom) and informal (in situ) settings.

The connections made through outdoor recreation (particularly nature related) are critical to developing a lifelong relationship with the natural world.

Therefore recreation has become the pathway of choice for urban Americans who find their way to nature.

Venue/Resource

Food, Lodging, Transportation

Rental

Outfitter/GuideRetail

Wholesale

Manufacture

Promotional (TPT)Recreational InformationalEducationalThematicAdvocacyVirtual

Non-Motorized

• Walking

• Hiking

• Jogging

• Hike & Bike

• Bike (road, mountain)

• Greenway

• Horse

• Snow

Cross-Country

Snowshoe

Sled

Motorized

• Auto (scenic byway)

• ATV

• Snowmobile

• Motorbike

Non-Motorized

• Canoe

• Kayak

• Underwater

Motorized

• Boat

• Jet Ski

The connection of beginnings to ends (a destination)

is a road (conveying people). The connection of all points between beginnings and

ends (a collections of destinations) is a map

(conveying information). The connection of all experiences between

beginnings and ends is a trail (conveying

experiences).

Experiential trails are thematic itineraries;

a method of arraying experiences along a

linear path…

The trail is a metaphor for the nature (culture, history) quest.

Zone of Influence

Applied Site Assessment Protocol

Intrinsic Values

Extrinsic Values

Modifiers

Waypoints

WaypointA generic title applied to

all interpretive destinations

Waypoints are chosen and categorized through the process of site selection. In the case of Fermata Inc., the company’s proprietary Applied Site Assessment Protocol (ASAP) is used to identify and type waypoints.

General Waypoints

• Administration

• Communications/Outreach

• Conservation

• Education

• Recreation Specialized Waypoints

• Gateway

• Portals

• Icons

PortalA site, species, or spectacle that ushers the public into the natural world.

GatewaySituated near major transportation routes or junctures (interstate highways, airports), gateways serve as the communication hubs for the region in general. Gateways interlink with the region’s waypoints in delivering information to the traveling public. Gateway communities are adjacent to public lands.

PrintRadioTelevision Interpretive

Signage Interpretive print

(guides, brochures, maps)

Audio guides

WebWeblog

• Itineraries

• Maps

• Guides

• Audio

• RSS Feeds

Google Earth Location-aware media SmartPhone apps Codes/Tags NFC Streaming HTML 5 Emerging hardware Transponders

Stream (web-based)• Web

• Download (pdf)

Apps• Iphone

• Android

• Blackberry

Ted Lee Eubanks, Founder and PresidentPO 5485

Austin, Texas 78763-5485(512) 391-0095

www.fermatainc.comtedleeeubanks@fermatainc.com

•© All Rights Reserved