Public Land Recreation Research Partnership (PLRRP)

People engage in recreation in hopes of receiving beneficial outcomes. The desired outcomes, and how best to achieve them, will vary by individuals. Recreation managers can enhance the opportunities for individuals to realize their desired benefits. Crucial to doing so is understanding the benefits desired and how potential management actions could positively or negatively impact attainment. This project seeks to advance previous research that examined the relationship between attainment of desired benefits and management actions. In addition, if individuals within specific communities receive benefits from recreation, related research questions include whether a change could be detected at the community level and if management actions can increase the extent of positive change. This project also seeks to build on research that addresses the ability to measure and influence community-level beneficial outcomes. The expected impacts of this project are increased effectiveness of recreation management and enhanced beneficial outcomes to individuals and communities.

The Public Land Recreation Research Partnership (PLRRP) is a national consortium of researchers that focuses on studying recreation issues associated with Bureau of Land Management public lands. Dr. Peter J. Fix, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Dr. T. Timothy Casey, Colorado Mesa University, are principal ;investigators who take the lead on different projects. The PLRRP collaborates with investigators at universities throughout the western United States to conduct research at specific locations. This team provides technical assistance to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and has developed a research center to assist the various field offices in gathering and analyzing data.

Recreation management within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employs a framework called Outcomes Focused Management (Driver, 2009). The specific procedures BLM recreation managers are to follow are outlined in the BLM handbook H-8320-1 (USDI Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management, 2014). The BLM handbook H-8320-1 provides guidance for all BLM offices nation-wide for the use of surveys to obtain input from visitors and focus groups to obtain information from relevant community stakeholders.

Final PLRRP Reports conducted at the following BLM lands and field offices can be accessed below:

Montana

Nevada

New Mexico

Texas

Wyoming

Sources:

  • Driver B. L. (ed.). (2009). Managing to Optimize the Beneficial Outcomes of Recreation. State College, PA: Venture Publishing.
  • United States Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management. (2014). Planning for Recreation and Visitor Services. BLM Handbook H-8320-1. Retrieved from: BLM website - handbook

Funding for the PLRRP was provided by the USDI Bureau of Land Management through assistance agreements L12AC20032 and L17AC00316, and the USDA Hatch Multi-state project NE 1962 Outdoor Recreation, Parks, and Other Green Environments: Understanding Human and Community Benefits and Mechanisms.

Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture