Recreational Use Studies: Involving Communities in Determining the Benefits of Recreational Areas

Session: 26. - Valuing Great Lakes Coastal Sand Dunes: New Science and Approaches

Lori Booth, Surfrider Foundation, [email protected]

Abstract

Americans have been drawn to the coast for work and play since our country was founded, and over the last two centuries, coastal tourism has emerged as the dominant economic engine of the coast. Yet until recently we knew more about bacteria in coastal waters than about the people who use these resources. Driven by emerging uses of the ocean in Oregon in 2008, the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation, in partnership with state agencies and other NGOs, developed a process to involve the public in surveys that mapped and valued coastal recreational activity. The resultant data helped to quantify potential impacts of proposed commercial projects on fishing, surfing and other recreation interests in coastal communities, and advised ocean planning processes which ultimately set aside key areas for recreational use. In addition to being replicated in Washington state, and the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of the United States, Surfrider Foundation’s model of collecting recreational use data from the public was adapted for use in the “How You Dune” survey conducted by the Michigan Environmental Council in 2017, which gathered public use data to characterize the uses and values of Great Lakes coastal sand dunes.  

1. Keyword
economic impact

2. Keyword
public participation

3. Keyword
coasts

4. Additional Keyword
valuation

5. Additional Keyword
recreational use