Forest Recreation ManagementForest Recreation Management

Elements of Forestry

Kenneth WilliamsFisheries Extension Specialist Langston University Aquaculture Extension Program

RecreationRecreation

What is a quality outdoor recreational experience for you?

Forest Management as Forest Management as Recreation SociologyRecreation Sociology

4 – categoriesAnticipation – engages imagination and

develops enthusiasmPlanning – preparation for event, getting

supplies togetherParticipation – the activity from departure

to returnRecollection – remembering and telling

about the experience, embellishing

What is recreation?What is recreation?

Requires commitment Self-rewarding, a pleasant experience of

itselfRequires free choiceOccurs during non-obligated time.

Forest Recreation ManagementForest Recreation Management

Extends from small urban centers, large commercial forest lands and very large national forest land holdings.

Forest Recreation ManagementForest Recreation Management

Must handle large numbers of people over extended periods of time without altering the resource base.

Forest Recreation ManagementForest Recreation Management

Forest and wildlife managers usually know more about their subject of specialization.

Not so much is known about recreation users

Forest Recreation ManagementForest Recreation Management

Recreation management is often a reaction to a problem rather than a systematic planning.

Most visible of the multiple–use functions of the forest

Forest Recreation ManagementForest Recreation Management

The product of forest recreation is the satisfaction of individual users. (Are we happy campers?)

3 Management Elements3 Management Elements

The resource

Development of services to offer or enhance the recreational experience.

The recreational consumer

Forest Recreation ManagementForest Recreation ManagementRecreation is a sub-system of all the other

multiple uses of the forestMay coexist with 1 or more of the following

uses - timber harvest, wildlife management, water shed protection or range management

How do you manage for How do you manage for recreation?recreation?

Must enhance recreational opportunities while protecting resource.

Keep people away from sensitive areas– Site hardening– Zoning

How do you manage for How do you manage for recreation?recreation?

Not much time or money spent managing the resource base. Ex. Fertilization

Not much time or money spent directly manipulating visitors.

People Management ActivitiesPeople Management Activities

Enforcement of regulations

Dispersal in areas of concentrated use (campgrounds etc.)

Dissemination of information – environmental education

Master Planning or Management by Master Planning or Management by DesignDesign

The goal is periodic manipulation of the resource base.– Access to roads and trails– Proper roads and trails provide views and

access to high quality landscape features– Can also be directed to avoid highly

environmentally sensitive areas or areas of social congestion or hazards

– Campgrounds and visitors center along roads enhance the outdoor experience.

Area Master PlanningArea Master Planning

Develop program objectivesZone areas for specific recreational

opportunitiesCarefully develop access transportation

systemDevelop sites for the type of recreational

use specified in master plan objectives.

Master PlanningMaster Planning

Although some change may be possible, the existing situation is mostly a given fact.

Planning should only proceed if a problem exists. However, it is an ongoing process.

New recreation areas that are being created require careful planning.

Need planning just to maintain current levels of use.

District or Forest Level PlanningDistrict or Forest Level Planning

Coordinating document – overall targets for the forest in all areas of use.

Resource inventory targets areas with the highest potential for a specific product such as timber production or recreation.

Trade-offs and resource conflicts will occur.

Recreational Opportunities Recreational Opportunities Spectrum (ROS)Spectrum (ROS)

Recreational opportunities classed from 1 – most primitive to 6 – urban with all levels in between creating a continuum of activities.

ROS DescriptionsROS Descriptions

Urban – hiking or biking trails through city parks and residential areas. Many buildings and paved roads.

Rural – land between cities, farmland and small communities. large campgrounds and trailheads on paved roads. Many people, convenient day hikes.

ROS DescriptionsROS Descriptions

Roaded natural - improvements limited to roads, trails and a few structures. May see timber harvest preparations and other people. Can take substantial day hikes.

ROS DescriptionsROS Descriptions

Roaded modified – May see large clearcuts and other logging activity, more chances t o get away from other people, no facilities provided. You are on your own/

ROS DescriptionsROS Descriptions

Semi-primitive – No roads, more isolated from human activity. Recreational activity dependant on the natural scene.

ROS DescriptionsROS Descriptions

Primitive – Most remote parts of the forest, little influenced by people. Environment dominates and dictates recreational opportunities. Safety and comfort depend on woodsmanship.

Limits Of Acceptable Change Limits Of Acceptable Change (LAC)(LAC)

Management tool that reviews resource allocations to prevent uses that would harm recreational visitors experience opportunities.

Depends on clear management objectives.

Management By ObjectivesManagement By Objectives

It means establishing goals or outputs.Used to sort out the most desirable options.

Management By Objectives For Management By Objectives For Forest RecreationForest Recreation

Resource capabilityInstitutional constraintsExisting situationUser preferencescoordination

} = Recreation program objectives

Management Management By ObjectivesBy Objectives

Social SuccessionSocial Succession

Any changes in area development may and often do cause changes in social and management control norms.

If the shift in norms is too great, social succession occurs.

Ex. Campground becomes site for loud, drunken parties. Campers are driven away.

Compatible??

Social SuccessionSocial Succession

Displacement is usually caused by a failure to manage by objectives.

Displacement is movement away from an unacceptable situation.

It can be caused by cumulative subtle changes, such as increased car access, foot bridges over streams etc.

Social SuccessionSocial Succession[other types of movement][other types of movement]

Active migration – people seek a destination suitable to their goals or values. Ex. A white-water canoeist seeks streams that will test their skills.

Social SuccessionSocial Succession[other types of movement][other types of movement]

Passive migration – people select a location because it is convenient. Ex. Langston lake is convenient to campus.

Social SuccessionSocial Succession[other types of movement][other types of movement]

Movements for diurnal requirements of an activity – Ex. People move to different locations on a lake to fish depending on time of day.

Area Planning ProcessArea Planning Process

Inventory area– Social, recreational use, history, economics, legal and

political restraints etc.

Determine band of operation – use management by objectives

Establish program objectives– Experiences to be provided, where and when– Hazards and environmental impacts

Develop and evaluate concept plans– Look at different ways of accomplishing objectives

Area ZoningArea Zoning

Typically, more modern forms of recreational travel tend to invade and displace more primitive modes. Ex. Snow mobiles displace snow shoeing and cross country skiing.

If no zone limits imposed then the snowmobilers displace everyone else.

Compatible??Compatible??

Area ZoningArea Zoning

Wilderness is also an example of displacement. Because of incremental development, roads, trailheads etc. in some areas, it may no longer be a class 1 wilderness experience.

Carrying Capacity SyndromeCarrying Capacity SyndromeCarrying capacity – amount of use a site is

able to maintain at any particular time and also over time.

Carrying Capacity SyndromeCarrying Capacity Syndrome

Why is it an issue?Growing demand for recreational space in

some areas outstrips existing facilities and resources.

Heavily used, depleted or deteriorating recreational sites are already a problem.

Recreational Carrying CapacityRecreational Carrying Capacity

Use that can be supported over a specific period of time by an area developed at a certain level without causing excessive damage to the physical environment or the experience of the visitor.

Capacity may be expressed in design units such as picnic tables, campsites or restroom facilities.

Management PlansManagement PlansFinal plans may never be reached. Changes

may be needed regularly as public demands are dynamic and fluctuating. Also recreational population is increasing.

THE ENDTHE END