Outdoor recreation facilities and services are provided by both the public and private sectors. The literature of recreation generally overemphasizes the role played by the public sector. However it is not fair to assert that the public sector has a greater role to play in meeting the recreational needs of the public. To date, it can only be stated that more attention has been paid to it. This study is descriptive in nature and explores two general topics. First, three studies, two in the United States and one, among private campground operators in British Columbia, review the basic management characteristics and problems of the private recreation sector. A business enterprise operated solely as a campground will seldom earn a profit for the operator. A multiple recreation enterprise, offering boat rentals, fishing, groceries, children's playgrounds as well as camping facilities is more likely to be profitable. The majority of private recreation facilities cluster around public recreation facilities and around other private facilities. This complementary-competitive relationship between the public and private sector must be understood if properly planned and coordinated recreation developments are to make effective use of outdoor recreation resources. The private sector is characterized by unused capacity and to attract more customers, private recreation entrepreneurs need capital to upgrade their facilities. The monopolistic-competition nature of the outdoor recreation market makes it necessary for private operators to differentiate their enterprise from their competitors. But, given the economic uncertainties of private recreation enterprises, expansion plans may require provincial government assistance, such as loan programs and technical advice and integration within a comprehensive recreation plan. The second theme relates to the need to establish a rationale for a division of labor in the provision of recreation facilities between the various levels of government and between government and private enterprise. The market is large enough that no one sector alone could ever satisfy the demand. Within the scope of outdoor recreation, government assumes three roles--promotional, regulatory and developmental. All can affect the private recreation sector. Unfortunately government often fails to recognize this and public recreation policies and programs often produce conflicting and unanticipated effects on the private sector. It is necessary for these government departments responsible for outdoor recreation to assume a leadership role for coordination of all aspects of outdoor recreation. Recreation plans must be comprehensive and include the supply of recreation facilities by the private sector. An analysis of the departmental structures of government of the United States, Canada and British Columbia reveals that outdoor recreation has been genera 11y assigned to resource management agencies such as parks, forestry and agriculture. The resource management agencies lack the legislative authority, finances, and personnel necessary to competently undertake a responsibility for coordination of all aspects of outdoor recreation. These agencies have confined their activities to their traditional areas of competency and therefore large gaps appear in government performance of comprehensive recreation planning and management. The private recreation sector often falls within these gaps. It would appear that a new institutional vehicle is necessary that is not functionally handicapped by preoccupation with policy for the management of public lands. It should then be possible to realize that outdoor recreation has other dimensions beyond the confines of public facilities and requires the establishment of guidelines to clarify the respective roles of government and private business. A survey of private campground operators in British Columbia indicates a readiness to accept government leadership. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

A dissertation of submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters in Recreation and Tourism in the Department of Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand, 2009. / The fundamental aim of the study is to establish the outdoor recreation participation patterns in Umkhanyakude District. In other words the study wants to discover the role played by policy and practice in usage and community involvement in outdoor recreation in the study area. Among other things, the study is also carried out with a purpose of motivating the local community at Umkhanyakude, not only to participate in outdoor recreation activities, but conserve them for future generations to serve their physical, mental, spiritual and emotional needs. It was anticipated that the community would be aware that it is not only about recreation only, but also about boosting the economy of the study area and the entire Province of KwaZulu-Natal. The research study has therefore operated with the following objectives in mind: (a) To established the level of participation in outdoor recreation activities among the Umkhanyakude communities. (b) To investigate the adequacy and provision of outdoor recreation facilities in the study area. (c) To ascertain the strategies or management practices used by the Umkhanyakude Municipality to encourage local communities to be involved in outdoor recreation activities. (d) To indicate the perceived types of policies existing in the study area as well as their level of implementation. (e) To establish the community’s perceived benefits of participating in outdoor recreation activities in the study area. The study has also identified related hypotheses towards finding answers to the research question. The method of collecting, analysing and interpreting data involved computer manipulating of data utilizing the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS). The findings of this study reveal that most of the stated objectives were met, some were supported some were not. Fundamentally, the research project had tried to reveal how policy and practice play a role in addressing outdoor recreation participation, provision, strategic management and community benefits. On the whole, the majority of stakeholders have viewed strategies for benefitting the previously disadvantaged communities as an appropriate policy to address inequalities from the past. In essence the findings are that the people of Umkhanyakude Municipality are positive towards outdoor recreation participation in the future. Whereas the minority of the respondents felt that the provision of facilities was adequate. Some of these recreation facilities were also perceived to be located far away, run down and/or poorly maintained. Another important finding is that whereas recreation officials were of the view that recreation management practices in the study area were good and well implemented, the majority of recreators and local communities thought that the recreation management practices were poor and not in line with recreation development principles. Another set of objectives-based findings indicated that recreation officials thought that the existence of policies and their implementation was good. On the same opinion, the majority of recreators and local communities felt that these policies and their implementation were indeed poor. Additionally, the majority of respondents prominently specified that they would rather benefit from skills development, employment opportunities and infrastructural development. These were more functional variables preferred by respondents than otherwise. Finally, the research inquiry came up with recommendations which sought to ameliorate the negative findings, more specifically on the role of policy formulation and its implementation. Some of these findings relate to factors such as participation, provision, strategic management and community benefits, which have induced recommendations such as development of new strategies, accessibility of outdoor recreation facilities, organising of recreation awareness campaigns, introduce a new curriculum on recreation and tourism.

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Research into the use of natural resources and protected areas for the pursuit of outdoor recreational opportunities has been examined by a number of researchers. One activity with growth in recent years is river recreation, the use of rivers for rafting, kayaking, canoeing and instructional purposes. These many uses involve different groups of individuals, creating management complexity. Understanding the various inputs is critical for effective management The Lower Kananaskis River, located in Kananaskis Country in Southwestern Alberta, was area chosen to develop an understanding the inputs necessary for effective management. Specifically, this study explored the recreational use of the river in an effort to create recommendations on how to more effectively manage use of the Lower Kananaskis River and associated day-use facilities in the future. Kananaskis Country is a 4,250 km2 multi-use recreation area located in the Canadian Rocky Mountains on the western border of Alberta. Since its designation, the purpose of the area, has been to protect the natural features of the area while providing quality facilities that would complement recreational opportunities available in the area. Over the years, the multi-use goal of the area has led to issues surrounding the management of the recreational opportunities available, including the multiple use of the Lower Kananaskis River. The Lower Kananaskis River is a section of the larger Kananaskis River, one of six rivers flowing through Kananaskis Country. The Kananaskis River flows for 84 km. northward in the Kananaskis Country from the Upper Kananaskis Lake through the development of the Lower Kananaskis Lake and Barrier Lake to the Bow River. This thesis was only concerned about a small section of this river, the lower portion. The Lower Kananaskis River is a 2 km stretch of the river located within Bow Valley Provincial Park, with an additional 4 km of river outside of the park that many users utilize. This river has become a widely used and well-known recreational paddling destination in Kananaskis Country and Bow Valley Provincial Park and with this has come concerns over its use and management. A mixed methods approach was implemented to examine current use levels Both surveys and participant observations were used to develop a better understanding of current use levels (i.e. time, type) and to gather information from users. At the same time, structured interviews were held with key policy leaders to further explore current management issues and concerns surrounding the Lower Kananaskis River. Analysis of the data collected from river users revealed that the area is widely used by both commercial and recreational users. These two groups of users have learned to adapt to one another’s activities. Both groups expressed high level of satisfaction, but continued growth in use will probably pose problems with user’s experience and satisfaction. In many cases, users also recognized the need for improvements to river infrastructure both on and off the river. Users indicated that changes were needed in the parking areas to accommodate all of the vehicles and users, work was needed at the put-ins and take-outs to accommodate the increases in users along with work on the river features and at the day use sites. Users also recognized that the area is becoming more widely used and feel that changes are needed in how the area is maintained and managed in order to deal with its continued growth. The interviews with policy leaders emphasized the well-known nature of the issues of the area and emphasized issues within the current management structure. Policy leaders were more critical of the current management structure of the river than the users. The critical comments from the policy leaders were expected, as they are more aware of the management issues than recreational users. The policy leaders made many insightful comments for change in the interviews and recognize that park management has shown low levels of understanding and responses to the expressed needs of the users, and recommendations of previous research. This research found several examples of management ineffectiveness. It was concluded that the low levels of response from management is due to the lack of management capability. With the continued growth of the area new management demands can be expected. This in tern will require improved management framework and guideline. With this, it was recommended that increased management capability is required. In order to assist in the development of this capability the research developed an adapted outdoor recreation management framework. Application of this framework would help to ensure that the area is managed more effectively in the future.

Research into the use of natural resources and protected areas for the pursuit of outdoor recreational opportunities has been examined by a number of researchers. One activity with growth in recent years is river recreation, the use of rivers for rafting, kayaking, canoeing and instructional purposes. These many uses involve different groups of individuals, creating management complexity. Understanding the various inputs is critical for effective management The Lower Kananaskis River, located in Kananaskis Country in Southwestern Alberta, was area chosen to develop an understanding the inputs necessary for effective management. Specifically, this study explored the recreational use of the river in an effort to create recommendations on how to more effectively manage use of the Lower Kananaskis River and associated day-use facilities in the future. Kananaskis Country is a 4,250 km2 multi-use recreation area located in the Canadian Rocky Mountains on the western border of Alberta. Since its designation, the purpose of the area, has been to protect the natural features of the area while providing quality facilities that would complement recreational opportunities available in the area. Over the years, the multi-use goal of the area has led to issues surrounding the management of the recreational opportunities available, including the multiple use of the Lower Kananaskis River. The Lower Kananaskis River is a section of the larger Kananaskis River, one of six rivers flowing through Kananaskis Country. The Kananaskis River flows for 84 km. northward in the Kananaskis Country from the Upper Kananaskis Lake through the development of the Lower Kananaskis Lake and Barrier Lake to the Bow River. This thesis was only concerned about a small section of this river, the lower portion. The Lower Kananaskis River is a 2 km stretch of the river located within Bow Valley Provincial Park, with an additional 4 km of river outside of the park that many users utilize. This river has become a widely used and well-known recreational paddling destination in Kananaskis Country and Bow Valley Provincial Park and with this has come concerns over its use and management. A mixed methods approach was implemented to examine current use levels Both surveys and participant observations were used to develop a better understanding of current use levels (i.e. time, type) and to gather information from users. At the same time, structured interviews were held with key policy leaders to further explore current management issues and concerns surrounding the Lower Kananaskis River. Analysis of the data collected from river users revealed that the area is widely used by both commercial and recreational users. These two groups of users have learned to adapt to one another’s activities. Both groups expressed high level of satisfaction, but continued growth in use will probably pose problems with user’s experience and satisfaction. In many cases, users also recognized the need for improvements to river infrastructure both on and off the river. Users indicated that changes were needed in the parking areas to accommodate all of the vehicles and users, work was needed at the put-ins and take-outs to accommodate the increases in users along with work on the river features and at the day use sites. Users also recognized that the area is becoming more widely used and feel that changes are needed in how the area is maintained and managed in order to deal with its continued growth. The interviews with policy leaders emphasized the well-known nature of the issues of the area and emphasized issues within the current management structure. Policy leaders were more critical of the current management structure of the river than the users. The critical comments from the policy leaders were expected, as they are more aware of the management issues than recreational users. The policy leaders made many insightful comments for change in the interviews and recognize that park management has shown low levels of understanding and responses to the expressed needs of the users, and recommendations of previous research. This research found several examples of management ineffectiveness. It was concluded that the low levels of response from management is due to the lack of management capability. With the continued growth of the area new management demands can be expected. This in tern will require improved management framework and guideline. With this, it was recommended that increased management capability is required. In order to assist in the development of this capability the research developed an adapted outdoor recreation management framework. Application of this framework would help to ensure that the area is managed more effectively in the future.

No description available.

Powder snow is becoming an increasingly sought-after resource in the backcountiy areas of British Columbia. This thesis focuses on conflicts between backcountiy skiing, helicopter skiing, and snowmobiling in British Columbia, with particular emphasis on the social-psychological causes of the conflicts. The relative susceptibility to conflict of each activity is addressed through an examination of the literature on outdoor recreation conflict, and a series of statements are developed which are aimed at identifying the socialpsychological causes of conflict for each individual activity. The statements developed out of the literature are applied to a case study based on research done in the Revelstoke region of British Columbia. Surveys were distributed to backcountiy skiers, helicopter skiers and snowmobilers and, in this thesis, the survey data is presented and analysed with a view to developing an understanding of the differences between the demographic profiles and attitudes of participants in each of the three winter activities. In the case of backcountiy skiing, helicopter skiing, and snowmobiling, it is evident that there exists a sort of "hierarchy of conflict" with backcountiy skiing being much more susceptible to conflict than either of the other activities. This difference in susceptibility is explained through an examination of the qualities of each activity which make it more or less susceptible to conflict, and it is demonstrated that the susceptibility to conflict of outdoor recreation activities can be predicted through the examination of a set of particular characteristics inherent to each individual activity. Finally, the policy governing commercial recreation in British Columbia is examined in terms of its efficacy in identifying and preventing potential conflicts. Some suggestions are made for improving policy and policy development. The conflicts between backcountiy skiing, helicopter skiing, and snowmobiling can be seen as a microcosm of the kinds of conflicts which arise between competing users of any natural resource. Some of the findings of this thesis have very broad implications, including the demonstration of the following: the apparent dichotomy between environmental impact and economic interests; the globalisation of the economy; the importance of public participation in the development of policy; the inadequacy of zoning as a means of conflict prevention; the need for an evolution from a "frontier" mentality to future planning; the importance of responsibilities, as well as rights; the need for more tools for managing conflicts.

Thesis (M.S.)--Indiana University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-60). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.