Publication Date

5-2025

Date of Final Oral Examination (Defense)

2-12-2025

Type of Culminating Activity

Dissertation

Degree Title

Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy and Administration

Department

Public Policy and Administration

Supervisory Committee Chair

Emily Wakild, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Monica L. Hubbard, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Vicken Hillis, Ph.D.

Abstract

Recreation on public lands has never been higher. Agency budgets dedicated to the ecological health of recreation areas have not kept pace with recreation growth. Recreation managers have been calling for a paradigm shift in recreation management. Using a social-ecological systems (SES) approach, I ask, can non-consumptive recreationists (i.e., hikers, runners, mountain bikers, and equestrians) improve ecological health asynchronously while taking part in their recreation endeavors? I call these asynchronous ecologically beneficial actions regenerative recreation.

This project examines non-consumptive recreation users' environmental attitudes as initially suggested by Dunlap and Heffernan (1975), and their willingness to take part in ecologically regenerative actions (e.g., pulling weeds, planting seeds) in response to hortatory policy nudges (e.g., signage and educational materials). The study was locale focused, and utilized users of the Ridge to Rivers trail system (R2R), a recreation area near Boise, Idaho. Willingness to engage in regenerative recreation was examined with both a survey instrument and a series of field experiments.

Results showed that survey respondents held relatively high pro-environmental attitudes broadly as shown by responses related to the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP; Dunlap et al., 2000), and locally, as shown by responses to series of survey questions related to the R2R system and the Boise Foothills. Pro-environmental attitudes, as quantified by the NEP, significantly predicted user willingness to engage in regenerative recreation. Survey respondents indicated a high willingness to partake in regenerative recreation while recreating, with moderating variables being the perceived cost of doing the action, user type, history of volunteering, and, potentially, gender. In contrast, uptake of regenerative recreation actions was comparatively low when users were observed in the field. A total of 24 out of 721 (3.33%) took part in one of the two regenerative actions (i.e., pulling invasive weeds or checking for invasive weed seeds). User type was a moderating variable of field experiment regenerative action uptake, with hikers partaking more often than mountain bikers or trail runners. Cost of the action was also a moderating factor, with more users taking part in the medium-cost action of checking for goathead (Tribulus terrestris) nutlets/ seeds compared to the higher-cost action of pulling goatheads.

The relatively low uptake of regenerative actions in the real-world should not discourage land managers from applying hortatory policy nudges to guide recreationists to take part in ecologically regenerative actions. Substantial ecologically positive results may be seen with relatively few participants, as was observed in this study. Policy tools suggested here have the potential to be further developed and applied not only by locale based recreation agencies, but also by agencies with increased authority and discretion such as the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and National Park Service (NPS).

DOI

10.18122/td.2377.boisestate

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