Understanding the constraints of persons with disabilities has long been a concern of natural resource managers, particularly since the inception of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This study examines National Forest visitation and perceived constraints of recreationists in relation to the presence of a person with a disability in one's household. Data were collected through telephone surveys of the general population in three western states. The respondents were segmented into groups based on disability status (personal or within household) and whether the disability hampers their recreation in National Forests. Results showed that 40% of respondents living in a household that included a person with a disability were not constrained by the presence of a person with a disability regarding their National Forest visitation. Being constrained from National Forest use was largely a function of the importance attached to key disability-related constraints. Regression analysis showed that the presence of a disability, age, and other demographic factors influenced these constraints. The existence of a personal disability was a much greater constraint to outdoor recreation visitation than the presence of a person with a disability in one's household.

The provision of high-quality national park tourism services depends on an understanding of the role of the national park brand in visitors’ decision-making on visiting parks. The consideration of forest recreation and park brand awareness not only helps to increase the quality of visitors’ experiences but also assists in the management of natural park resources. This study explored whether national park affinity can explain differences in visitor satisfaction with the national park trip, tourism services and facilities, visitor loyalty, and perceptions of recreation quality as well as visitor expenditures. This study classified 400 on-site visitors to the Khao Yai National Park into three national park affinity segments. The results indicated that about two-fifths of respondents had a low national park affinity with less satisfaction with the national park tourism facilities and services and visitor management. This segment reported lower visitor loyalty and that visitors felt more crowded, while no differences in expenditures for the trip were found between the affinity segments.

Coastal zones across the world are often listed as protected areas as a result of their sensitive ecosystems and frequent social uses. One category of protected area that allows for protection and use is a geopark. A geopark combines geological heritage conservation with sustainable development and must include meaningful geological characteristics, and scientific content. Geoparks can stimulate the coastal economy through the appreciation of the heritage and development of sustainable tourism, along with environmental protection and interpretation. There are geoparks on islands and coastal areas in many continents. Fernando de Noronha archipelago (Brazil), has relevant geodiversity and the potential to join the Global Geoparks Network (GGN). For the creation of a geopark, it is important to acknowledge its geological heritage and relevance. This has already been done in Fernando de Noronha by the Geological Service of Brazil (CPRM), through the identification of the geosites in the island. The goal of this case study is to present actions that have been carried out and that may help on the report development for the proposed Geopark, as well as present the benefits that a geopark can bring to a coastal area. Opportunities for improving the economy with geoproducts and geofood are presented.

This paper focuses on the development of a systematic data collection effort that allows managers to better understand the visitors to marine resource areas managed by NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (NMS). Through the National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Counting Process (NMS-COUNT), resource managers will gain valid and reliable data and data collection methodologies to advance predictive capability and understanding of visitors. While various federal and state agencies and Coastal Treaty Tribes collaborate in the management of coastal and marine areas, there is little compatibility in methods for estimating visitation. The NMS-COUNT process offers an iterative framework that allows local management and stakeholders to contribute to the understanding of visitor use at an NMS unit throughout each phase of the process. Building off the Interagency Visitor Monitoring Framework, the NMS-COUNT process focuses on visitation estimates and direct communication with managers and researchers to develop and implement the most efficient methodology.

Understanding perceptions of water quality held by residents is critical to address gaps in public awareness and knowledge and may provide insight into what defines communities that are more/less resilient to changing water conditions locally. We sought to identify spatial patterns of water quality perceptions gathered in a survey of Southern West Virginia (WV) residents during spring/summer 2018. Using over 500 survey responses across 15 counties, we calculated spatial autocorrelation metrics and modeled the relationships between overall water quality perceptions and county-level socioeconomic endpoints, such as poverty rate, per capita income, and education level. We identified significant differences across counties labeled as socioeconomically “transitional”, “at-risk”, and “distressed”, as it pertained to responses for water quality perceptions, education level, and income level. We also found significant positive relationships between overall water quality perceptions, elevation, and income level. We calculated an empirical semivariogram and fit an exponential model to explain a significant autocorrelation pattern within a range of 104.2 km. Using that semivariance function, we created a kriging interpolation surface across the study area to identify significant clusters of water quality perceptions. This work highlights the influence of location on water quality perceptions within Southern West Virginia, but the analytical framework should be considered in further research, when samples are spread across large areas with varying socioeconomics.