<p>For well over two decades, land management agencies in the U.S. have experienced trends of flat if not otherwise declining budgets with which to fulfill their respective missions. Consequently, public land management agencies at various levels have sought creative strategies such as using volunteers to extend quality services without incurring added expense. An increasingly popular form of multi-day volunteer engagements, often referred to as a volunteer vacation, is nearly absent from the literature when it comes to domestic project settings as opposed to international and often exotic locales.</p> <p>A qualitative research study was conducted in the summer of 2013 on volunteers participating in weeklong trail maintenance service-trips on National Forest land in Montana and Idaho. Two non-profit organizations (The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation and The Selway-Bitterroot Frank Church Wilderness Foundation) allowed researchers to conduct semi-structured interviews with 26 volunteers on their motives, experiences, preferences, and other aspects related to their overall volunteerism.</p> <p>Results suggest that respondents are motivated to participate for many reasons including: an environmental ethic, a social experience, personal development, immersion in nature, and receiving a facilitated backcountry experience. Understanding these motivations can assist managers and other nonprofits with capacity building objectives such as marketing and retaining volunteers.</p> <p>Other findings indicate volunteers acknowledge a high degree of self-interest with respect to preferences for project tasks, scheduling, and desired set of experiences before committing to service. This finding supports theories in the volunteerism literature suggesting that contemporary volunteering is trending towards the reflexive and away from the collective. This has recently been denoted by a preference for volunteer engagements that are concentrated and short-term (episodic) as opposed to ongoing (traditional).</p> <p>This study concludes with a proposal to expand the voluntourism definition to include domestic volunteer vacations in addition to the normative international volunteer vacation models. Also, a recommendation is issued to reconsider the prevailing set of associations for the new styles of volunteering. This comes from finding that episodic volunteers may also demonstrate many of the attributes of traditional volunteers such as a desire to form enduring ties to the organization.</p>

Recent data shows that three quarters of nonresident vacationers to Montana are primarily attracted to characteristics of public lands such as national parks, mountains and forests, and open space. Thirty-five percent of Montana is public land, therefore understanding what values those visitors have for these public lands is very important and has not been analyzed in previous research. This study used panel survey methodology to identify a set of respondents who are not Montana residents but have visited the state. One component of the study used Borrie, Freimund, and Davenports National Parks Values Scale and Winters Natural Area Values Scale, as a basis for determining value statements. A mean value score for each of the 41 values statements relevant to Montanas public lands was identified. The study also identified recreation activity participation and public land visitation. A priori segmentation of user groups based on participation of these activities developed three cluster groups: non-motorized active, motorized, and passive. An analysis of variance identified value differences between the groups. Results indicate most respondents agreed with the value statements from the two scales. However, when the clustered groups were compared, there were 17 value items that showed significant differences. Using the Bonferroni post hoc test, the greatest differences were found between the non-motorized active and passive groups. With nonresident vacationers of 5.1 million visitors per year, identifying the values nonresident visitors have for Montanas public lands are important for understanding how values influence destination decision-making, how values influence recreation activity participation, and how tourism marketers can use values when developing marketing strategies.

Thesis (B.A.Hons.) - Dept. of Politics, University of Adelaide, 1978.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto (Canada), 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Texas at Dallas, 2009. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 399-406)

Diss.--Mainz. / Includes bibliographical references.

Akademisk avhandling--Uppsala. / Extra t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Summary in English. Bibliography: p. 183-188.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1958. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-194).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Diss.--Mainz. / Includes bibliographical references.