To estimate the contribution of outdoor recreation on rural property sales in Mississippi, information was collected from lenders and appraisers associated with the Federal Land Bank, Mossy Oak Properties, and Rutledge Investment Company on properties sold from 2003-2008 in three regions of Mississippi: Mississippi Delta/Hills Region, North Mississippi Region and South Mississippi Region. Property sales information was collected on 102,747 hectares (ha) of rural properties valued at $475.1 million. Hedonic regression analysis was used to quantify the contribution of outdoor recreation on Total Sale Value (TSV). Outdoor recreation contributed $160.6 million of the TSV. Forests comprised 71% of land coverage statewide. Attributes that were related to TSV statewide were row crop lands, bottomland hardwood forests, mixed pine-hardwood forests, planted pine forests, pasture/fallow fields, natural pine forests, upland hardwood forests, cutover woodland forests, and overnight sleeping quarters. Attributes related to TSV varied across the three regions. Statewide, hunting was expected to be conducted on at least 96% of the properties sold. In the Mississippi Delta/Hills Region, outdoor recreation contributed the greatest percent increase in land value (55.4%) and properties leased for a greater value ($58.70 per ha). Information provided by this study will encourage rural property owners to justify enhancements of wildlife habitats, provide recreational opportunities, and enhance their income. Rural land appraisers will use the information to appraise lands more accurately, and resource and regulatory agencies will use it to protect wetlands and other sensitive lands or mitigate for adverse impacts.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wyoming, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on May 28, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-99).

No description available.

A long standing program of research has found consistent and substantial evidence of the underrepresentation of people of color in national parks and has identified potential reasons for this underrepresentation and barriers to participation. However, little research has examined cases where the National Park Service (NPS) has begun to successfully address diversity issues and engage diverse audiences. Through exploration of programs that successfully engage diverse youth, this study identifies promising practices that can be incorporated into NPS diversity programs across the national park system. The study was conducted in two phases. Phase one examined the current state of knowledge and learning needs of the NPS related to relevancy among new and diverse audiences through the use of qualitative interviews with NPS staff and select individuals outside the NPS. The findings from the interviews were used to develop a conceptual model based on key themes for successful engagement. The model was then applied in phase two of the study through the examination of relevancy programs within the NPS. Phase two used case study research techniques to explore programs designed to engage youth of color at two NPS units, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area. This research examined how programs at the two study areas were successful at engaging youth of color. A model of deep engagement was developed, building on the model developed in phase one. The model of deep engagement highlights six processes through which parks can more effectively engage diverse and traditionally underserved audiences.

Call number: LD2668 .P7 1975 W8

This study was concerned with the investigation of both the leisure orientation and the outdoor recreation participation of two samples of Utah residents. One sample consisted in part of Professional, Manager and Laborer nonfarm respondents. The other sample consisted of farm respondents, who were both full and part-time farmers. The part-time farmers also held other full-time Professional, Manager and Laborer occupations. The author had three major objectives in this study: (1) to examine the leisure orientation of the respondents from an occupational perspective; (2) to examine the participation in outdoor recreation activities from an occupational perspective; and (3) to examine the enjoyment level of the outdoor recreation activity also from an occupational perspective. Four hypotheses were formed. These were: (1) nonfarm respondents will be more leisure oriented than farm respondents; (2) nonfarm Professionals will have high participation rates in outdoor recreation activities; (3) nonfarm Managers will have high participation rates in outdoor recreation activities; and (4) nonfarm Laborers will have low participation rates in outdoor recreation activities . Leisure orientation was measured by a modified Burdge leisure orientation scale. The citations for validity and reliability of the scale are indicated in the study. The measures of outdoor recreation participation in various activities and the level of enjoyment of the activity are defined operationally. Two of the four hypotheses were supported by the data. The first hypothesis was supported that nonfarm respondents will be more leisure oriented than farm respondents. A mean score of 20.6 was found for the nonfarm respondents and a mean score of 18.6 was found for the farm respondents. The second and third hypotheses were not supported by the data. That is, the nonfarm Professional and Manager were not found to have "high" participation rates in outdoor recreation activities as defined operationally. The fourth hypothesis was found to be supported, with the nonfarm Laborers having "low" outdoor recreation participation rates as defined operationally.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) offers over 25 different outdoor recreational and outreach educational programs that target different audiences and utilize different types of delivery systems. This study was an evaluation of an educational program called Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW). The evaluation produced a measurement instrument that evaluated program effectiveness and tested the instrument on past participants. The questionnaire determined respondents’: (1) history of program participation, (2) knowledge of TPWD’s mission and purpose, (3) level of involvement in selected outdoor recreational activities before and after program participation, (4) knowledge of basic outdoor recreational regulations and behaviors, (5) level of compliance with a variety of outdoor recreational behaviors, (6) attitudinal position on opposing statements on outdoor recreational ethics or behaviors, and (7) demographic characteristics. The two groups surveyed were all participants of BOW between 1993 and 1998 (n = 1,240) and the control group (n = 61) made of women who had signed up for the program but had not yet attended. Sampling error for the participants was high, but met the statistically acceptable range of repeatable results at +/- 3%. The only demographic difference (P ≤ 0.05) between groups was age, i.e., BOW participants were older (χ2 = 46.3) than the control group (χ2 = 40.8). Chi-square tests showed differences in awareness of the missions and goals of TPWD. GLM tests detected no differences (P ≤ 0.05) between the participants and the control group in general outdoor knowledge, behavior given various outdoor recreational scenarios and ethical positions on dichotomous statements. However, there were differences between groups on some items within each of those categories. On those items the r2 value (≤ 0.02) showed that the difference found between groups had little to do with program participation. Respondents’ comments focused on the BOW program, the questionnaire, and TPWD. Study findings are discussed in the context of the program evaluation process. Several recommendations for future program evaluations and concluding remarks are included in this thesis.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stevens Point, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 27-31).

No description available.

This study used Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice and analyzed African Americans’ under-representation at parks and in outdoor recreation. It focused on Cedar Hill State Park (CHSP) located in Cedar Hill, Texas and investigated local African Americans’ non-visitation to the park. The study also explored how fear of racism impacts middle class African Americans’ travel choices and how they negotiate constraints associated with racism. This study is guided by four research questions: (1) What factors prevent local African Americans’ visitation to CHSP? (2) How does Bourdieu’s concepts and theory explain African Americans’ non-visitation to CHSP and other outdoor recreation sites? (3) How does racism impact middle class African Americans’ travel choices? and (4) How do they negotiate fear of racism when they travel? A qualitative research approach was employed in this study. Archival method, site visits, and fact-to-face interview with 13 local African Americans were conducted. Data collection was implemented from October 2012 to March 2013. The collected data provided rich information related to the phenomenon under investigation. First, racism was interwoven with the history of local community and Texas state parks. There has been a rapid increase of Black populations and white flight at cities around CHSP. Many incidents of racial discrimination were found in the history of the community and Texas state parks. Second, this study identified that (1) lack of information and encouragement, (2) lack of interest/cultural irrelevance, (3) lack of attraction, and (4) fear of racism were four main reasons African Americans do not visit CHSP or other state and national parks. These four reasons were closely interrelated with each other and commonly held racism as an underlying theme. The findings illustrated that racism is a foundation of the under-representation issue.