Studies in Outdoor Recreation: Search and Research for Satisfaction

9. Recreation Conflict Goal Interference and Social Values

206 9 Recreation Conflict Goal Interference and Social Values Conflict in Outdoor Recreation Early descriptive studies of outdoor recreation often found substantial conflict among participants in different recreation activities. Canoeists in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Minnesota, for example, were found to be relatively tolerant of meeting other canoeists, but to dislike meeting motorboaters (Lucas 1964b, c). Similarly, visitors to several Western wilderness areas were found to be more tolerant of meeting backpackers than stock users (Stankey 1973, 1980a). And a study of four types of trail users in Ohio—hikers, horseback riders, bike riders, and motorcycle riders—developed “compatibility indexes” among these activities by asking participants how desirable it would be to encounter other types of trail users (McCay 1976, McCay and Moeller 1976). The highest compatibility ratings for three of the four types of trail users were meeting their own kind. Research has continued to identify and study many types of conflict in outdoor recreation, and conflict appears to be expanding as demand for outdoor recreation continues to grow, as technology and innovation contribute to development of new recreation equipment and activities, and as contemporary lifestyles become increasingly diverse (Devall and Harry 1981, Owens 1985, D. Williams 1993, W. Hendricks 1995, Watson 1995a). Representative examples of conflicting recreation activities include canoeists and motorboaters, hikers and motorcyclists, hikers and mountain bikers, cross-country skiers and snowmobilers, hikers and stock users/ horseback riders, fishers and water skiers, hunters and non-hunters, and skiers and snowboarders. Studies documenting and describing these conflicts are summarized in Table 9-1. A distinctive finding is the asymmetric or “one-way” nature of such conflict. That is, participants in one activity may object to the presence or behavior of participants in another activity, but the reverse is not true, at least not to the same degree. RECREATION CONFLICT 207 Table 9-1. Examples of recreation conflict Study Conflicting groups Lucas 1964b & c Canoeists and motorboaters Brewer and Fulton 1973 Hikers and motorcyclists Knopf et al. 1973 Canoeists and anglers Knopp and Tyger 1973 Snowmobiling and cross-country skiers Stankey 1973 Canoeists and motorboaters Hikers and stock users Driver and Bassett 1975 Canoeists and anglers McCay and Moeller 1976 Hikers, horseback riders, bikers, motocyclists Lime 1977 Canoeists and motorboaters B. Shelby 1980b Motorized rafts and oar-powered rafts Stankey 1980a Hikers and stock users Gramann and Burdge 1981 Anglers and water skiers Noe et al. 1981; Noe et al. 1982 ORV users and nonusers Adelman et al. 1982 Canoeists and motorboaters Jackson and Wong 1982 Cross-country skiers and snowmobilers McAvoy et al. 1986 Boaters and commercial boaters S. Moore and McClaran 1991 Hikers and pack stock users Watson et al. 1991a; Watson et al. 1991b Hikers and mountain bikers Ivy et al. 1992 Canoeists and motorboaters Watson et al. 1994; Watson and Niccolucci 1992a hikers and stock users P. Williams et al. 1994 Skiers and snowboarders Blahna et al. 1995 Hikers and horse users Horse users and llama users Gibbons and Ruddell 1995 Backcountry skiers and helicopter skiers Ramthun 1995 Hikers and mountain bikers Vaske et al. 1995a Hunters and non-hunters Jacobi et al. 1996 Hikers and bikers R. Moore et al. 1998 Walkers, runners, in-line skaters and bicyclists Thapa and Graefe 1999, 2003, 2004 Skiers and snowboarders Vaske et al. 2000; Vaske et al. 2004 Skiers and snowboarders Carothers et al. 2001 Hikers and mountain bikers Cessford 2002 Hikers and mountain bikers S. Jackson et al. 2003 Skiers and snowmobilers Vitterso et al. 2004 Cross-country skiers and snowmobilers Vaske et al. 2007 Skiers and snowmobilers Mann and Absher 2008 Hikers and mountain bikers 208 STUDIES IN OUTDOOR RECREATION Motorized versus nonmotorized recreation activities are a classic example (Lucas 1964b, c, Knopp and Tyger 1973, Stankey 1973, Lime 1977b, B. Shelby 1980b, Noe et al. 1981, Adelman et al. 1982, Noe et al. 1982, Ivy et al. 1992, S. Jackson et al. 2003, Vitterso et al. 2004, Vaske et al. 2007). The latter group often objects to the presence or behavior of the former group, but the reverse is not the case, at least not to the same degree. However, it should be noted that this asymmetric pattern is not universal. For example, studies of skiers and snowboarders have found substantial conflict flowing in both directions (Vaske et al. 2000, 2004). This chapter describes theoretical models of the types of conflict described above, followed by a series of empirical studies of...