7846

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7846
• Author: American River Management Society
• Title: Editor
• USFW Year: Series
• USFW - Doc Type: 1994
• Copyright Material: NO

23

Research Objectives

The fonnulation of research to answer the three questions outlined above took into account the fact that these
400 miles of river encompass segments which differ in terms of the three types of settings referred to in the
literature; the bio-physical, social, and managerial settings. In particular, there is substantial variety in the
natural features; the manifestations of human activity, such as land use, development, darns, channelization,
population density, etc.; and the resulting management contexts and issues. These variations in the recreational
settings over the 400 miles of river are highlighted in the descriptions of river segments in Appendix A.

Given that the MHB has the responsibility to "preserve and protect the.. .recreational values", the task force
defined this research project as a baseline study to determine the recreational values that are at stake. It was
detennined tllat tllese values should be measured in various forms: in attitudinal terms, in the form of
preferences, as satisfaction ratings, and choices of activities and behaviors. A conscious decision was made not
to put the values in dollar terms, such as recreational expenditures, tourism impacts, or willingness to pay. The
development of a profile of river users was also judged to be important for understanding recreational values as
this profile would identify to whom the values accrue.

In addition to constructing a profile of river users, the study is designed to gather information pertinent to sound
management on four major issues: (1) environmental quality within the watershed, (2) development within the
corridor, (3) congestion or conflict in recreational uses, and (4) fluctuation in instrearn flows. These issues
emerged from the process of discussion and interaction undertaken by the management task force as it was
informed by the review of the literature.

Methodology And Conceptual Framework

By investigating the ways in which the MHB could fulfill its responsibility to "preserve and protect
the. ..recreational values of the Mississippi River," the task force was committing itself to determining the
public interest in management decisions. While management decision-making processes have tile potentialLO
degenerate into conflicting agencies pursuing their own strategies for management, the task force recognized that
decisions might impose trade-offs on different groups within the general public which is to be served. The task
force engaged in a cooperative effort to gain better information on what those trade-offs might be.

Four different groups within the population were identifIed based on the values attached to the recreational use of
the river and the stake they would hold in management decisions. IdentifIcation of these four sub-populations
dictated tllat four separate, though similar, questionnaires were designed to gather data from random samples of:
(a) users of tlle river who do not own riparian property, (b) riparian property owners encountered using the river,
(c) riparian property owners, in general, and (d) users of the river who use controlled access sites such as resorts,
outliners, state or federal parks, etc..

The identification of these sub-samples reflects the concern that the major trade-offs imposed by management
decisions might be between recreational users and property owners. The sub-samples would allow examiuation
of similarities and differences, especially between locals who use the river and tourists, and property owners who
use the river frequently for recreation and those who do not. The collection of data at controlled access sites
through the distribution of a self-administered questionnaire was viewed as a cost-effective way of augmenting
the data in a way tllat would focus on tourism activities related to the river, given that this type of user would
tend to be over-represented in this sub-sample. Interviewing users encountered on the river was established as the
backbone of the research because this method would be most conducive to gathering a representative sample of
users, including locals. This was deemed particularly important in light of trends toward leisure close to h?me.

As noted above, the recreational values were to be measured in forms other than dollar values. Accompanying
this decision was a related decision to restrict the scope of public values in this research to use values. That is to
say, values which the public might attach to river management decisions in the form of stewardship motives or
desires to bequeath enviromnental services to future generations (which economists define as existence values) or

Rivers Without Boundaries 1994