USDA Forest Service rangeland recreation: site identification, visitor characteristics and activities, and a travel cost model

Abstract

Little is known about rangeland recreation (The Heinz Center 2002). The Society for Range Management (2005) defines rangelands as areas dominated by self-propagating grasses, grass-likes, forbs, shrubs, and dispersed trees. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (FS) National Forest System (NFS) uses this description as a working definition of rangelands (Bryant, pers. comm., 2005), applicable to agency land management decisions. Vavra (1995) identified social aspects, such as recreation, as the least studied component of rangeland science and management. Disparate sustainability assessment efforts have cited the need for rangeland recreation information (The Heinz Center 2002, Tanaka et al. 2003, USDA Forest Service 2004). Monitoring recreation demand will become increasingly important as competing stakeholder pressures on public rangelands expand. This study assesses recreational activities pursued on NFS rangelands; analyzes demographic information associated with people recreating on NFS rangelands; and estimates benefits of NFS rangeland recreation. A prerequisite for achievement of these objectives was identification of NFS rangeland recreation sites in the USDA Forest Service National Visitor Use Monitoring (NVUM) program (English et al. 2002). Given the need to maximize inclusion of NVUM rangeland recreation sites, and varying size of NFS rangeland recreation sites, a 200-meter grid was chosen for classifying vegetation types within which NFS developed rangeland recreation sites occur. The top three NFS rangeland recreation activities, in order, are hiking or walking, hunting, and viewing scenery. Most individuals recreating on rangelands are white and male, with more than 50 percent between the ages of 31 and 50. The average per trip consumer surplus for NFS rangeland recreation in the western United States was $65.68. This figure rose to $104.48 for the Pacific Coast region but fell to $62.68 for the Rocky Mountain region. Analyses results reported in this study provide the first assessment of NFS rangeland recreation. Percentages and values reported in this study are very likely lower than actual numbers for several reasons. Issues include incomplete data, vegetation type generality within the NLCD information, and ambiguity associated with definitions of rangelands. These issues must be addressed for improved assessment of NFS rangeland recreation.