Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

1. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning John M. Baas, Ph.D Timberline Associates

2. Overview • Background • Organization of Best Practices Guide • Where to obtain information • Best practices examples • Work in progress • How to contribute Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

3. Background • No single source of published information on recreation resource planning. • Purpose of project to develop an internet-based “best practices” guide on recreation resource planning. • Project started in 2007, NARRP sponsorship initiated in 2008. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

4. Principles • Don’t re-invent the wheel. • Focus on area-wide, not site level planning. • Focus on rapid dissemination, self-published chapters available online. • Adhere to QA/QC principles. • Target toward early career professionals. • Strive for diversity of authors and viewpoints. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

5. Organization of Chapters • Chapter 1, Introduction • Chapter 2, Principles • Chapter 3, The Planning Process • Chapter 4, Scoping • Chapter 5, Studies and Inventories • Chapter 6, Estimating Supply and Demand • Chapter 7, GIS Applications Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

6. Organization of Chapters • Chapter 8, Collaborative Planning and Public Outreach • Chapter 9, Managing the Recreation Planning Process • Chapter 10, Analyzing Alternatives • Chapter 11, Planning and Decision-making • Chapter 12, Plan Implementation • Chapter 13, Emerging Issues • Chapter 14, Case Studies Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

7. Accessing the Best Practices Guide • http://www.narrp.org Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

8. Best Practices Examples Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

9. Example 1: Recreation Capability Modeling for Spring Mountains NRA Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

10. Recreation Capability Modeling for Spring Mountains NRA • GIS-based model focused on trail and facility development. • Potential recreation development constrained by several major factors. • Model for “coarse filtering” of recreation capability. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

11. Spring Mountains NRA Regional Setting Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

12. Recreation Activities Modeled • Highly developed summer and winter campgrounds. • Summer and winter picnic areas. • Winter campgrounds. • Designated summer and winter camping. • Trailheads. • Low and High mileage trails. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

13. Importance Ratings Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

14. Landscape Criteria- Low Mileage Trails Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

15. Capability Assessment • Identify the relevant landscape criteria. • Identify the importance of each criterion. • Use capability criteria to estimate the capability for the entire project area. • Multiply capability criteria ratings by importance. • Sum the ratings to generate capability scores for the entire landscape. • Break the scores into 4 categories ranging from no to high capability. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

16. Recreation Capability Modeling Conclusions • Data manipulation steps time consuming. • Model works reasonably well for area-wide planning, but doesn’t replace site level analysis. • Model useful for identifying trail corridors, but not specific alignments. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

17. Example 2: Framework for Planning for and Determining Visitor Capacity Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

18. Background • Forest Service LAC Draft policy (1980). • Visitor Capacity was solved (1980-90s). • 1999 Recreation Capacity Congress. • 2000-2002 Federal Interagency Task Force on Visitor Capacity on Public Lands and Waters. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

19. Definition • Visitor capacity is the supply, or prescribed number, of appropriate visitor opportunities that will be accommodated in an area. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

20. When to make a visitor capacity decision Post Mature – Not Ripe Ripe Level 3 Analysis – Extraordinary Level 2 Analysis – Ordinary Level 1 Analysis – Modest Visitation Premature- Not Ripe Time Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

21. Adaptive Visitor Capacity Management Unacceptable B C D Capacity Range At Risk A Level of visitation Visitation Acceptable Time Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

22. The level of analysis increases longer you wait. Post Mature – Not Ripe Level 3 Analysis – Extraordinary Level 2 Analysis – Ordinary Level 1 Analysis – Modest Ripe Visitation Premature- Not Ripe Time Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

23. How to make a capacity decision • Sound professional judgment. • Full consideration of important information. • Use Public Planning Process. • Disclose capacities within alternatives. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

24. What is the hard part about making a visitor capacity decision? Need for clear and meaningful: • management goals and objectives • desired recreation opportunity • desired future conditions • management zones The devil is not in the details. It is in not being detailed. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

25. Example 3: Recreation Resource Standards and Monitoring Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

26. Why Monitor? • Needed component of a long-term management strategy. • Helps maintain acceptable range of social and resource conditions. • Provides a basis for appropriate management responses. • Allows for adaptive management. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

27. Indicators and Standards • Indicators: variables that define the social and resource conditions of an area • Standards: minimum accepted condition of an indicator Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

28. Social Indicators and Standards Example Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

29. Biophysical Indicators and Standards Example Indicator: Number of new user created campsites Standard: No more than 10% increase per year over 2010 baseline number Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

30. Conclusions about Standards and Indicators • Often the forgotten element in planning. • Difficulty in choosing standards and indicators is common. • Transparency is important. • There are a lot of “how to” examples. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

31. Example 4: Content Analysis of Public Comments Black Hills Travel Management Plan EIS Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

32. Background • Forest Service received approximately 700 letters and e-mails with 2,000 comments • Comments assigned to 16 categories • Identified four issue areas: • Effects on natural and cultural resources • Effects on recreational opportunities • Effects of transportation system design on management capabilities • Social and economic concerns Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

33. Content Analysis Guidelines • Need a home for everyone’s comment. • Categories should be well-defined. • Need a transparent way of progressing from comments to major categories, to issues. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

34. Add motorized routes Remove motorized routes Off-road opportunities Accessible (ADA) opportunities Environmental concerns Enforcement concerns No off-road opportunities Special use permits Big game retrieval Roads versus trails General disagreement Multi-use conflicts Partnership/cooperation Duplicate records Forms with nocomments Comment Categories Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

35. Work in Progress • GIS applications for analyzing wildlife habitat constraints. • Rapid recreation capability assessment. • Social networking tools for public outreach. • Economic sustainability analysis for facilities planning. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

36. Conclusions Black Hills Travel Management Content Analysis • Analysis addressed a controversial topic with many comments. • Clear distinction made between comment categories. • Clear link between comments, categories, and issues. Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

37. A Special Thanks to Contributors! • More than 50 recreation planning professionals have contributed to the guide thus far • Contributions for today’s examples from: • Kevin Gabel, Entrix • Sergio Capozzi, AECOM • Dr. Glenn Haas, Aukerman Haas and Associates • Tom Willems, Black Hills National Forest • Bob Rinehart, New York Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning

38. Questions/Want to contribute? • For more information about this project please contact: John Baas at jbaas@timberlineassoc.com Best Practices in Recreation Resource Planning