Studies in Outdoor Recreation: Search and Research for Satisfaction

Preface to the Third Edition

xi Preface to the Third Edition This book is a study of the social science research in outdoor recreation — the use of parks and related areas and the characteristics, attitudes, and behavior of people who visit them. A large number of theoretical and empirical studies in outdoor recreation have been conducted over the past several decades, but these studies have been highly diverse in disciplinary approach and methods, and widely dispersed over space and time. With the exception of normally cursory reviews at the beginning of most published papers, little effort has been devoted to integrating this expanding scientific and professional literature. This study attempts to synthesize this literature, and develop and present a body of knowledge on major outdoor recreation management and research issues. The book is designed for students, scholars, and managers of parks and related outdoor recreation areas. For students, the book provides a historical perspective, introduces a number of important issues and concepts, and provides entrée into the scientific literature. For scholars and researchers, the book integrates and synthesizes the literature on a number of important topics, including attention to theoretical and methodological issues. For managers, the book develops the practical implications of outdoor recreation research, and concludes with a chapter on principles and practices of outdoor recreation management based on the scientific and professional literature. The first edition of this book was written while I was on sabbatical leave at Grand Canyon National Park, and was published in 1986. Sabbatical leaves present unusual opportunities to read, think, and write, but I had no intention of writing a book. The manuscriptthatwaspublishedasthefirsteditionwasmorelikealonglettertomyself, attempting to organize and understand a diverse academic literature. The second edition,writtenin1997/98whileIwasonsabbaticalleaveatYosemiteNationalPark, and published in 1999, gave me an opportunity to be more purposeful. I revised and updated the original nine chapters, and added four new chapters. This edition was illustrated more fully with tables and figures, and I added important new material on issues of race/ethnicity and gender, and their relationships to outdoor reaction. This edition concluded with a new section, “Notes on Sources: A Guide to the Social Science Literature in Outdoor Recreation,” an outline of how the scientific literature xii PREFACE in outdoor recreation is organized, and where this material can be found. Now I find myself on sabbatical leave again, with advances in the literature demanding a third edition of the book. And I’m continuing my visits to the national parks to carry on my own program of research and for inspiration as needed. Once again, I have revised and updated all of the existing chapters, and I have added a fourteenth on the important issue of sense of place. I hope this new edition is more useful and more readable. I am grateful to a number of people and institutions for helping make this book possible. First and foremost, the book could not be attempted without the strong program of research and writing conducted by my colleagues in outdoor recreation research. Findings from the hundreds of studies cited in this book make it possible to develop an emerging body of knowledge. The generous sabbatical program of the University of Vermont provided me the time needed to conduct the study. I am grateful to Lawrence Forcier, former Dean of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, and Mary Watzin, current Dean, for their encouragement and support. Several graduate students and staff in the Park Studies Laboratory at the UniversityofVermonthelpedmepreparethisneweditioninmultipleways.Graduate Research Assistants Carena van Riper, Kelly Goonan, Peter Pettengill, and Nathan Reigner conducted searches of the academic and professional literature on several of the topics addressed in the book. Graduate Research Assistant Rebecca Stanfield McCown conducted literature searches on the topics of race/ethnicity and gender and prepared initial drafts of the revisions on these topics in Chapter 2. Staff member William Valliere participated in the literature searches and prepared the book’s tables and figures. Postdoctoral Associate Laura Anderson also participated in the literature searches and prepared initial drafts of the revisions of Chapters 10 and 11 and the new Chapter 12. William Valliere, Laura Anderson, and Rebecca Stanfield McCown helped prepare the book’s extended bibliography. Administrative Assistant Marcie Newland prepared the electronic copy of the manuscript. Others have been helpful as well. Laurie Kutner, Reference Librarian at the University of Vermont, advised me on the Guide to the Social Science Literature in Outdoor Recreation at the end of the book. Mary Braun, Acquisitions Editor for Oregon State University Press, kindly arranged for...