Year of Award

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Science (MS)

Degree Name

Recreation Management

Department or School/College

Society and Conservation

Committee Chair

Dr. William L. Rice

Commitee Members

Dr. Jennifer M. Thomsen, Dr. Christopher A. Armatas

Keywords

place attachment, stewardship, Leave-No-Trace, leisure identity, recreation management, structural equation modeling

Publisher

University of Montana

Subject Categories

Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration

Abstract

As outdoor recreation participation increases in the U.S., and many communities in the American West are experiencing rising amenity migration, park and protected area managers face significant challenges to balance both providing for visitors’ desired experiences and protecting the natural resources on which these experiences depend. Confronted with declining management capacity, agencies are increasingly looking to engage both newer and established recreationists in stewardship behaviors to help maintain these areas and improve human-environment relationships. One barrier to community involvement in stewardship efforts is the need to better understand the connection between recreationists’ antecedent conditions and their motivations to steward. Past research has examined the place attachment of visitors, or the relationships they have with a particular natural area, as well as the concept of leisure identity salience, which explains how participation in leisure activities functions as a self-affirmation process. However, little is known about how leisure identity salience relates to stewardship. This study addresses this research gap by examining these concepts in a wildland recreation setting within a growing, amenity migrant-attractant community in the western U.S., to answer the following research question: To what degree do the place attachment and leisure identity salience of visitors relate to local environmental stewardship behavioral intentions among visitors? Data were collected from an on-site visitor survey in the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Wilderness in Missoula, MT (USA), and structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationship between variables. Results found that one dimension of place attachment, identification with place, was predictive of willingness to engage in place-specific proactive stewardship behaviors. One’s leisure identity was found to predict willingness to engage in Leave-No-Trace behaviors. In addition, a suggestive predictive relationship was revealed between recreationists’ leisure identity and place-specific proactive stewardship behaviors. It is clear that the meaning visitors generate from 1) a recreation place and 2) the leisure activities they participate in while in this place have a powerful influence on behavior. Managers should target identity when designing messaging strategies to encourage stewardship behaviors and employ creative partnerships with recreation organizations to better engage the local community in collaborative land management.

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© Copyright 2023 Elena Rene Thomas