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55 Recreation Participation Trends (National and Regional) Invited Paper Geocaching: Form, Function, and Opportunity by Ingrid E Schneider and Deborah J Chavez 7 The role technology plays in outdoor recreation is evolving and of ongoing interest One technology-related activity in particular emerged at the start of the 21 st century: geocaching Geocaching involves using a handheld GPS device to find hidden caches in areas based on clues posted on the Internet Geocachingcom, the primary source for geocachers, provides information and guidelines for participating in the activity In 2010, geocaching celebrated its 10 th birthday heralded by nearly 100,000 geocaching com members and nearly 1,000,000 active caches around the world The current estimate of the percent of population of people in the United States of age 16 and older who participate in geochaching is 35 percent (based on sampling for the NSRE described earlier) This is roughly 8 million participants of this age in the United States based on the Bureau of Census population estimate for 2008 Since this is an activity popular with youth, there obviously are many more participants than this 8 million In its simplest form, a geocache is a small, waterproof container with a logbook The logbook contains information from the cache hider and notes from its finders A logbook might contain information about nearby attractions, coordinates to other unpublished (not posted on the Internet) caches, and even jokes Those who take information from the logbook then leave some information too, at least providing the date and time they visited The geocachingcom Web site notes that geocaching is deceptively easy; it is one thing to see where an item is clean bathrooms, and technologies such as satellite and cell phone reception Future developed forest campers will likely continue to demand these types of amenities Developed forest campers perceived many benefits related to family functioning and identified family functioning as an important meaning associated with developed forest camping experiences Quality family interaction was in part attributed to the opportunities camping afforded families to have some “down time” This additional quality family time was used for unscheduled time together as well as to participate in organized programs, campfires, and self- guided trails associated with the campgrounds and nearby facilities and attractions Despite a plethora of “indoor” conveniences, campfires continue to be a center for social experiences in the campsites and were the catalyst for the expression and sharing of stories and even traditions Sharing and hearing stories about camping was seen as a particularly valuable component of the social interactions among campers Managers may want to consider ways to enhance these types of experiences through site construction, visitor interpretation, and organized programming As one example, interpretive sites and trails can incorporate more electronic communications technologies to help attract younger participants Given what we learned from researchers investigating developed forest camping in the 1960s, it is apparent that the technology campers take with them has evolved, while the experiences and meanings have remained largely the same People continue to look to developed camping as a way to comfortably contact nature and to satisfy important human needs for personal restoration and social bonding The motivations that led campers to escape and to travel in social groups to less populated areas for the restorative effects of a camping trip are still very much present Coupled with meanings like emotional attachments to special camping places, the strengthening of social family relationships through memories and stories, and the enhancement of a general appreciation of nature, developed forest camping continues to play an important role within the larger context of outdoor recreation experiences End Invited Paper Ingrid E. Schneider Deborah J. Chavez 7 Ingrid E Schneider, PhD, Professor, Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN; Deborah J Chavez, PhD, Supervisory Research Social Scientist, USDA Forest Service, Riverside, CA

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Page 1: Recreation Participation Trends (National and Regional) · most important motivations for geocaching and that it increased their visitation to parks . At least 80 percent of respondents

55

Recreation Participation Trends (National and Regional)

Invited Paper

Geocaching: Form, Function, and Opportunity byIngridE .SchneiderandDeborahJ .Chavez7

Theroletechnologyplaysinoutdoorrecreationisevolvingandofongoinginterest .Onetechnology-relatedactivityinparticularemergedatthestartofthe21stcentury:geocaching .GeocachinginvolvesusingahandheldGPSdevicetofindhiddencachesinareasbasedoncluespostedontheInternet .Geocaching .com,theprimarysourceforgeocachers,providesinformationandguidelinesforparticipatingintheactivity .In2010,geocachingcelebratedits10thbirthdayheraldedbynearly100,000geocaching .commembersandnearly1,000,000activecachesaroundtheworld .ThecurrentestimateofthepercentofpopulationofpeopleintheUnitedStatesofage16andolderwhoparticipateingeochachingis3 .5percent(basedonsamplingfortheNSREdescribedearlier) .Thisisroughly8millionparticipantsofthisageintheUnitedStatesbasedontheBureauofCensuspopulationestimatefor2008 .Sincethisisanactivitypopularwithyouth,thereobviouslyaremanymoreparticipantsthanthis8million .

Initssimplestform,ageocacheisasmall,waterproofcontainerwithalogbook .Thelogbookcontainsinformationfromthecachehiderandnotesfromitsfinders .Alogbookmightcontaininformationaboutnearbyattractions,coordinatestootherunpublished(notpostedontheInternet)caches,andevenjokes .Thosewhotakeinformationfromthelogbookthenleavesomeinformationtoo,atleastprovidingthedateandtimetheyvisited .Thegeocaching .comWebsitenotesthatgeocachingisdeceptivelyeasy;itisonethingtoseewhereanitemis

cleanbathrooms,andtechnologiessuchassatelliteandcellphonereception .Futuredevelopedforestcamperswilllikelycontinuetodemandthesetypesofamenities .

Developedforestcampersperceivedmanybenefitsrelatedtofamilyfunctioningandidentifiedfamilyfunctioningasanimportantmeaningassociatedwithdevelopedforestcampingexperiences .Qualityfamilyinteractionwasinpartattributedtotheopportunitiescampingaffordedfamiliestohavesome“downtime .”Thisadditionalqualityfamilytimewasusedforunscheduledtimetogetheraswellastoparticipateinorganizedprograms,campfires,andself-guidedtrailsassociatedwiththecampgroundsandnearbyfacilitiesandattractions .

Despiteaplethoraof“indoor”conveniences,campfirescontinuetobeacenterforsocialexperiencesinthecampsitesandwerethecatalystfortheexpressionandsharingofstoriesandeventraditions .Sharingandhearingstoriesaboutcampingwasseenasaparticularlyvaluablecomponentofthesocialinteractionsamongcampers .Managersmaywanttoconsiderwaystoenhancethesetypesofexperiencesthroughsiteconstruction,visitorinterpretation,andorganizedprogramming .Asoneexample,interpretivesitesandtrailscanincorporatemoreelectroniccommunicationstechnologiestohelpattractyoungerparticipants .

Givenwhatwelearnedfromresearchersinvestigatingdevelopedforestcampinginthe1960s,itisapparentthatthetechnologycamperstakewiththemhasevolved,whiletheexperiencesandmeaningshaveremainedlargelythesame .Peoplecontinuetolooktodevelopedcampingasawaytocomfortablycontactnatureandtosatisfyimportanthumanneedsforpersonalrestorationandsocialbonding .Themotivationsthatledcamperstoescapeandtotravelinsocialgroupstolesspopulatedareasfortherestorativeeffectsofacampingtriparestillverymuchpresent .Coupledwithmeaningslikeemotionalattachmentstospecialcampingplaces,thestrengtheningofsocialfamilyrelationshipsthroughmemoriesandstories,andtheenhancementofageneralappreciationofnature,developedforestcampingcontinuestoplayanimportantrolewithinthelargercontextofoutdoorrecreationexperiences .

End Invited Paper

Ingrid E. Schneider Deborah J. Chavez

7IngridE .Schneider,Ph .D .,Professor,ForestResources,UniversityofMinnesota,St .Paul,MN;DeborahJ .Chavez,Ph .D .,SupervisoryResearchSocialScientist,USDAForestService,Riverside,CA .

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Recreation Participation Trends (National and Regional)

purposeofthisprojectwastoprofilegeocachersandtheiractivity .Notably,thesamplesreportedaresmallandnotrepresentativeofallgeocachersacrosstheUnitedStates .However,manyoftheissuesidentifiedinthesestudiescanhelpinbetterunderstandingthisgrowingusergroupandtheirimpactonpubliclands .

Methods

Tofindoutmoreaboutgeocachers,anelectronicallyadministeredsurveywasdevelopedanddisseminatedtogeocachersinMinnesota(MN)andMichigan(MI)in2003and2004,respectively .PotentialrespondentsweregeocachersdrawnfromtheappropriateStateGeocachingAssociation(n=235inMNandn=480inMI) .DuetothefewMinnesotaassociationmembersatthattime,thatlistwassupplementedbycacherswhofoundacacheinthesevencountymetropolitanMinnesotaarea,aswaslistedonlineatwww .geocaching .com .

Aquestionnairewasdesigned,pre-tested,andelectronicallyimplementedviaZoomerang©usingamodifiedDillman(2000)technique .Thequestionnaireaddressedexperiencewithgeocaching,preferencesforgeocachingexperiences,environmentallyappropriatebehaviors,anddemographics .Demographicsincludedage,gender,income,andeducationlevel .

Morethan50percentofgeocachersrespondedtothequestionnaires(MN62percentresponserate,MI52percentresponserate) .Descriptiveanalysisprovidedmeans,standarddeviations,andfrequencies .

Findings

Therespondentsrangedinagefrom18to70years,withameanagenear40(39yearsinMN,43yearsinMI) .Thevastmajorityofsurveyrespondentsweremale(85 .6percentinMN,72percentinMI)andWhite(96 .1percentinMN,97percentinMI),highlyeducated(47 .7percentcollegedegree,14 .4percentadvanceddegreeinMN,39percentcollegedegree,16percentadvanceddegreeinMI),andreportedanincome>$75,000inMNand>$50,000inMI .

Atthetimeofthesurvey,respondentsmostfrequentlyindicatedtheyhadparticipatedingeocachingfor1to2years .Respondentsweretypicallywithmembersoftheirimmediatefamilywhengeocaching(48 .1percentinMN,52 .8percentinMI)oralone(24 .8percentinMN,20 .8percentinMI) .Themajorityofrespondentsindicatedtheyalwaysfoundcaches(66 .9percentinMN,66 .3percentinMI) .Almosthalfhadhiddenatleastonecache(48percent

ontheGPSunit,butitisadifferentstorytogetthere .Afterfindingthecache,participantsareaskedtoplaceitbackwhereandhowtheyfoundit .Afterreturninghome,thecachefinderpostsanemailtothecacheownerviageocache .comtoletthemknowthecachewasfoundandcommentsontheconditionofthecache .Appropriatelyplacedandwell-maintainedcachesarerecommendedbywww .geocaching .com .

Withemergentactivitiescomenewchallengesandopportunitiesforlandmanagersandplanners,e .g .,off-trailtravel,disturbednaturalareas,abandonedproperty,andmorevisitors .Althoughgeocachinghasexistedforadecade,fewempiricalstudiesofgeocachersexist(Chavezandothers2004,O’Hara2008) .Assuch,littleisknownaboutthisusergroup,theirbehaviors,andpreferences .Thus,the

Example of cache contents. (USDA Forest Service file photo)

Example of a micro (small) cache. (USDA Forest Service file photo)

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Recreation Participation Trends (National and Regional)

togetoutandwalk,aswellastopushthemselvesphysicallytofindthecache .GiventheobesityepidemicintheUnitedStatesandemphasisonphysicalfitnessbygovernmentandnon-governmentorganizations,geocachingparticipants’motivationforexerciseisverypromising .Participants’physicalhealthchanges,ifany,andtherealizedhealthbenefitswouldbeofinterestinfutureresearch .

Communicationandprogrammingimplicationsareevidentwiththisactivity .First,electroniccommunicationisalmostmandatorywithgeocachers,giventheinternetdependencyforcachecoordinates .Whiletypicalcommunicationmethodsofonsitesignsandbrochuresmaybeofuse,immediateandreal-timemessagescanbedeliveredonmanagementWebsites,throughwww .geocaching .com,andalocalgeocachingorganizationWebsiteifoneexists .Theuseofcachesthemselvesforinformationoreducationmaybeofinterest .Forexample,theuseoftheRegisterofBigTrees(whicharemaintainedbypublicforestryagenciesdescribingthelocationofthelargestspecimensofvarioustreespecies)ascachesmayimprovepeople’sunderstandingandappreciationofthetrees(Wright2003) .Researchonoptimizingmessaginganddeliverywillbeessentialasthis,andother,technologically-drivenactivitiesevolve .Second,giventhemaledominanceoftheactivity,single-sexprogrammingcouldprovideopportunitiestoovercomeconstraintsrelatedtotechnologyaswellastheoutdoorsforwomen .

Asgeocachingappearstobeafamilyactivity,socialgroupresearchisofinterest .Researchdocumentsthatfamilyleisureandrecreationenhancesfamilysatisfaction(Orthner1975,1976)aswellascouplesatisfaction(HolmanandEpperson1984;HolmanandJacquart1988) .However,theleisureexperiencewithingroupsvariesamonggroupmembersbyageandfamilyrole(Martinsonandothers2002) .Thus,understandingifandhowleisureisexperiencedwithingeocachingfamilygroupsisofinterest .O’Hara(2008)positivelynotestheflexibilityofgeocachingforparticipationandinclusivitytocreateapositivesocialenvironment,regardlessofgroup .Similarly,understandingifandhowtechnology-basedgroupleisureisexperiencedisofinterest .Theintegrationoftechnologymaydramaticallychangetheoutdoorrecreationexperience .GPSusecouldcrossovergenerationaldividesassociatedwithtechnologyandenhancefamilyopportunitiesintheoutdoors .Also,asgeocachingbringsdecisionsregardingdirections,technology,aswellashand-heldcontrols,theopportunityformaritalandfamilyconflictpresentsitself(Imber-Black2001) .Assuch,exploringtheactualeffectofgeocachingexperiencesonfamilycohesionandgroupdynamicswouldbeenlightening .Beyondthefamily,thesocializationandpatternsofthegeocachinge-communitydeservesattention

inMN,55percentinMI) .

ThemajorityofrespondentsinbothStatesagreedonthemostimportantmotivationsforgeocachingandthatitincreasedtheirvisitationtoparks .Atleast80percentofrespondentsinbothStatesagreedthatimportantmotivationsforgeocachingweretoexperiencenature,getawayfromtheusualdemandsoflife,getphysicalexercise,andtesttheirskills .Morethan95percentofrespondentsinbothStatesagreedorstronglyagreedthatgeocachinghadincreasedtheirnumberofvisitstoparksandrecreationareas .

Regardingenvironmentallyresponsiblebehavior,thevastmajorityofgeocachersinbothStates(85percent)concurredthatitwasimportanttopackouteverythingtheybroughtin,removedogfeces,andcontrolpets .However,alowernumberofcachers(65percent)identifiedthatitwasimportanttostayontrails .

Implications for the Future

ResultsfromtheelectronicallyadministeredquestionnaireindicatethatMidwesterngeocachingparticipantsaresimilartooutdoorrecreationistsinotheractivitygroups,althoughmoremaledominated(Cordellandothers1999) .Theseresultsarealsocomparabletothecomputergamingarea,wheremaleshavedominatedastechnologyemerges(BryceandRutter2003) .Ifthegenderdividecontinuesingeocaching,itwillbeinterestingtofollowandcomparewithInternetandcomputergamingparticipationwhere,astheinnovationdiffuses,thefemalepresencehasgrown(SchumacherandMorahan-Martin2001) .

Amongtheserespondents,geocachinghasledtoanincreaseduseofpubliclands .Knowingmoreabouttheincreaseinvisitationintermsofnumberofvisitsordurationwouldbemeaningful .Furtherinformationonthecachingexperienceswouldalsobehelpful,suchasbetterunderstandingtheimportanceofthehunt,factorsinfluencingpositiveexperiences,anddurationofexperiences .Similarlyofinterestisdeterminingwhatpercentofgeocachersarenewoutdoorrecreationists,andwhethernewuseoftechnologyintheoutdoorsmayresultinvisitorconflicts .Further,thefactthatgeocacherstypicallygoofftrailatsomepointmayresultinnegativefeelingstowardthem .Subsequently,theimpactofthisnewexperienceopportunityonvisitorconflictlevelsdeservesattention .

Motivationsforgeocachingaresimilartootheroutdoorrecreationactivities,andholdpromiseforphysicalactivityopportunities .O’Hara’s(2008)interviewswithEnglishgeocachersindicatedthatthisactivitymotivatedrespondents

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Recreation Participation Trends (National and Regional)

HvenegaardandManaloor2007,RomeroandStangel1996) .

Methods

Thispaperreviewsthegrowth,economicimpacts,andconservationorientationofwildlifefestivals .Datawereobtainedfromacomprehensiveliteraturereview,analysisofInternetsites,andpersonalparticipationinsomestudies(e .g .,HvenegaardandManaloor2007) .

Results

Recently,wildlifefestivalshavegrownrapidlyinnumber .InNorthAmerica,from1992to2002,thenumberofknownfestivalsgrewfrom10to240(Decrayandothers1998,DiGregorio2002,Lawton2009) .InCanada,over80wildlifefestivalswereofferedin2009 .Wildlifefestivaltouristsaregenerallyolder,moreeducated,andmoreaffluentthanthegeneralpopulation(Lawton2009) .

Table4 .14summarizestheexpendituresgeneratedbyvisitorswithinagivenlocalareaofseveralNorthAmericanwildlifefestivals .Whileformaleconomicimpactstudiesshouldincludeonlynewspendinginalocalareabynon-residents(seeKimandothers(1998),andChamblissandothers(2009)forgoodmodels),anumberofthestudiesuseddataandmethodsinconsistentwiththisstandard .

Regardless,totallocalexpendituresperfestivalrangedfromabout$10,000tomorethan$1millionUSD .Averageexpendituresperpersonpertriprangedfrom$8to$761USD .Significantdriversoflocaleconomicimpactincludethenumberofparticipants,needtostayovernight,lengthofstay,affluenceofparticipants,typesofactivities,andabilityoflocalcommunitiestomeetvisitorneeds(HvenegaardandManaloor2004) .

Afewstudieshaveexpandedeconomicanalyses .Rockport,TexashoststheHummer/BirdCelebrationeachyearinSeptember .The4,500festivalvisitorsspendanaverageof$383 .70USDperperson,foratotalof$1,276,548USDinthelocalcounty(Kimandothers1998) .Ofvisitors,71percentwerenon-residents(spending$344 .94USDperperson)and29percentwereresidents(spending$133 .69USDperperson) .Usingaregionalinput-outputmodel,Kimandothers(1998)estimatedatotaleconomicmultiplier(thenumberoftimesthatmoneyisspentoveragaininthelocalarea)of2 .28 .Thus,thecountyreceivedanadditional$144,638USDinindirectexpenditures(businesses

(ScottandJohnson2003) .

Ourresearchindicatesthatgeocachingtakesseveralforms,islinkedtotechnology(e .g .,Internet,GPS),isofgrowinginterest,getspeopleoutdoorsandactive,andhasthepotentialtochangehowlandsareusedbymembersoftherecreatingpublic .Assuch,geocachingprovideschallengesandopportunitiestothosemanaginglandsthegeocachersuse .Anumberofresearchopportunitiessimilarlyexisttobetterunderstandtheactivity,thegeocachers,andofferadvicetotheresourcemanagerswhoprovidethelandsforthistechnologydependentactivity .

End Invited Paper

Invited Paper

Wildlife Festivals in North America: Growth and Economic Importance byGlenT .Hvenegaard8

Introduction

Festivalsareannualpubliccelebrationsoflocalfeaturesofinterestlastingashorttime(Getz1997) .Wildlifefestivalscanfocusonallwildlifeoronparticulargroupsorspecies(e .g .,birds,mammals,fish,andinvertebrates) .Festivalsattractmostlylocalandregionalvisitors,arefacilitatedbyvolunteers,andofferavarietyofsocial,recreational,andeducationalactivities .Organizershostwildlifefestivalsforanumberofreasonsusuallyincludingenhancementofacommunity’simage,generationofeconomicimpacts,providingrecreationalopportunities,developingalocalsenseofcommunity,andhelpingconservewildlife(Polson1993,

Glen T. Hvenegaard

8GlenT .Hvenegaard,ProfessorofEnvironmentalStudiesandGeography,UniversityofAlberta’sAugustanaCampus,Camrose,AlbertaT4V2R3Canada .


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