Spatially explicit values on the Pike and San Isabel National Forests in Colorado

Abstract

The study of human values in relation to natural resources is rich and several decades old. This study represents the study of human values in relation to a National Forest in Colorado utilizing two methods: R-methodology, in the form of a survey with a mapping component, and Q-methodology, using respondents' own language to discover the discourses that prevail in one county of Forest constituents regarding their forest values. The survey was also a validation effort of a methodology first applied to the Chugach National Forest in Alaska in 1998. The survey methodology could be validated using five statistical analyses. Generally, the values respondents held as most important in relation to the Pike and San Isabel National Forests (PSI) were aesthetic, future, biodiversity and recreation values. The survey sample had been stratified to discover differences between urban and rural populations, which were relatively few. Survey respondents were also asked regarding their attitudes and preferences in relation to issues specific to the PSI. The 658 respondents (33%) indicated 2680 places on the PSI that were important to them, what value they represented, and the intensity with which they were valued. The Q-study resulted in five discourses. Q-methodology is a more multidimensional research approach than R-methodology, allowing the researcher to explore the combination of values that each discourse contains in addition to the general trend that the survey brought to light. The combination of survey, mapping component and Q-study are concluded to provide potentially helpful tools for place-based collaboration.