The COVID-19 pandemic presents not only a global health crisis but has also disrupted the daily lives of people around the world. From a leisure perspective, urban outdoor enthusiasts are one group particularly impacted by the pandemic and the subsequent institutional response. Stay-at-home orders and physical distancing recommendations serve as potential inhibitors to outdoor recreation activities central to the lifestyles and wellbeing of outdoor enthusiasts. In urban areas, where these orders and recommendations are most restrictive, the potential impacts on recreation behavior are most consequential. This study provides an empirical analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the recreational behaviors of outdoor enthusiasts across urban and rural communities. Results suggest that the frequency of outdoor recreation participation, distance travelled to participate in outdoor recreation and distance travelled beyond roads during outdoor recreation have declined significantly more among outdoor enthusiasts residing in urban areas than urban clusters or rural areas.

Resource degradation resulting from visitor behavior continues to be a significant concern for land managers, and effective educational messages such as those promoted through Leave No Trace, which target depreciative behaviors, are imperative. This study examined psychological and knowledge variables that were hypothesized to influence future Leave No Trace behavioral intent of visitors in Rocky Mountain National Park. Data were obtained from an on-site survey administered to individuals (n = 390, response rate 74%) in the Bear Lake corridor of the park. Results of a multiple regression analysis revealed that perceived effectiveness of Leave No Trace practices is a significant predictor of future behavioral intent (β > .21, p < .001, in all cases). Frontcountry visitors like those at Bear Lake are more likely to practice Leave No Trace if they perceive the practices to be effective at reducing impacts.

Impact to protected area resources due to uninformed or depreciative visitor behavior continues to be a principal concern for managers. Leave No Trace (LNT) is a prevalent educational strategy for mitigating such impacts. Through on-site surveys, this study examined frontcountry visitor attitudes toward Leave No Trace (LNT) practices, and self-reported knowledge concerning LNT in three Wyoming state parks to determine factors that influenced their behavioral intent to practice LNT. Results suggest that attitudes toward perceived effectiveness of LNT practices and appropriateness of LNT practices are significant predictors of behavioral intent. If education-based communication efforts focus on why LNT practices are appropriate and effective, there is an increased likelihood of meaningfully influencing behavioral intent.

Leave No Trace is the most prominent educational message used to influence behaviors of protected-areas visitors with the end-goal of sustaining or improving resource conditions. The vast majority of previous research regarding Leave No Trace has focused on backcountry-overnight visitors. However, by sheer numbers alone, day-users are by far the largest user group of protected areas and research regarding this user-group is insufficient. The purpose of this study was to compare day-users’ perceptions (perceived knowledge, awareness and support, and attitudes) of Leave No Trace with those of overnight users. Results indicate that day-users’ and overnight users’ perceptions of Leave No Trace are largely congruent, and suggest that similar messaging approaches may be employed in day-use and backcountry areas in the future.

The continued demand for outdoor recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic presents a challenge to park and protected area managers. Numerous strategies have been suggested to reduce the risk of transmission among outdoor recreationists; however, evaluations of acceptability of these strategies and their impacts on perceptions of visitor density have not been empirically examined. The purpose of this study is to examine how varying levels of protective face mask use influence acceptability of visitor density among avid outdoor recreationists. A visually based online survey distributed through the Leave No Trace email list and a resulting linear mixed model reveal a significant interaction between visitor density and levels of mask use, indicating that outdoor recreationists have different acceptable thresholds for visitor density under different levels of mask use. These findings provide park and protected area managers with the ability to make more informed policy recommendations and align messaging to visitors regarding COVID-related protective measures.

(2011). Revisiting ‘Beyond Leave No Trace’. Ethics, Policy & Environment: Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 231-237.