Body mass mediates spatio-temporal responses of mammals to human frequentation across Italian protected areas.

Protected area (PA) networks are a pivotal tool to fight biodiversity loss, yet they often need to balance the mission of nature conservation with the socio-economic need of giving opportunity for outdoor recreation. Recreation in natural areas is important for human health in an urbanized society, but can prompt behavioural modifications in wild animals. Rarely, however, have these responses being studied across multiple PAs and using standardized methods. We deployed a systematic camera trapping protocol at over 200 sites to sample medium and large mammals in four PAs within the European Natura 2000 network to assess their spatio-temporal responses to human frequentation, proximity to towns, amount of open habitat and topographical variables. By applying multi-species and single-species models for the number of diurnal, crepuscular and nocturnal detections and a multi-species model for nocturnality index, we estimated both species-specific- and meta-community-level effects, finding that increased nocturnality appeared the main strategy that the mammal meta-community used to cope with human disturbance. However, responses in the diurnal, crepuscular and nocturnal site use were mediated by species' body mass, with larger species exhibiting avoidance of humans and smaller species more opportunistic behaviours. Our results show the effectiveness of standardized sampling and provide insights for planning the expansion of PA networks as foreseen by the Kunming-Montreal biodiversity agreement.

Leveraging big data for outdoor recreation management: A case study from the York river in Virginia.

Outdoor recreation is important for improving quality of life, well-being, and local economies, but quantifying its value without direct monetary transactions can be challenging. This study explores combining non-market valuation techniques with emerging big data sources to estimate the value of recreation for the York River and surrounding parks in Virginia. By applying the travel cost method to anonymous human mobility data, we gain deeper insights into the significance of recreational experiences for visitors and the local economy. Results of a zero-inflated Negative Binomial model show a mean consumer surplus value of $26.91 per trip, totaling $15.5 million across nearly 600,000 trips observed in 2022. Further, weekends, holidays, and the summer and fall months are found to be peak visitation times, whereas those with young children and who are Hispanic or over 64 years old are less likely to visit. These findings shed light on various factors influencing visitation patterns and recreation values, including temporal effects and socio-demographics, revealing disparities that warrant targeted efforts for inclusivity and accessibility. Policymakers can use these insights to make informed and sustainable choices in outdoor recreation management, fostering the preservation of natural resources for the benefit of both visitors and the environment.

The Intersection of Geriatrics, Climate Change, and Wilderness Medicine: Education is Critical.

According to the US Census, for the first time in history, older adults are projected to exceed the number of children by 2035. These seniors are headed to the outdoors in increasing numbers and face unique risks. They benefit from careful pre-event evaluation planning to maintain their health in wilderness environments. Climate change is affecting all of us, but seniors are considered an especially vulnerable group. This vulnerability needs to be addressed not only when older adults head into the wilderness but also when the wilderness "comes to them" in areas where wilderness medicine and disaster medicine overlap. Education of both providers and patients is vital. This article aims to discuss the special needs of older adults/seniors /elders (defined as those over 65 unless otherwise indicated) in the wilderness as well as the vulnerability of older adults to climate change, both during planned wilderness activities and when the wilderness "comes to them" because of climate change, and to identify opportunities for education and adaptation of patients and education of physicians and wilderness and disaster responders to care for these older patients. The PubMed and Google Scholar Database search engines were utilized to review relevant English language publications between 2000 and 2023 that addressed individuals over 65 and explored the overlap of geriatrics (aged over 65), wilderness and disaster medicine, and climate change and create a perspective summary. Because of increased numbers of older adults heading into the wilderness for outdoor activities or having wilderness thrust upon them due to climate change, cross training of all specialties including the fields of emergency, geriatrics, wilderness medicine, and disaster medicine is needed in collaboration with other organizations and search and rescue. Response agencies must recognize that training in wilderness medicine provides a background for practitioners working in dangerous and remote settings and ought to seek out individuals with such skills when placing responders in the field. Climate change is making these intersections and the need for this education more urgent with time.

Leisure-time physical activity trajectories from adolescence to adulthood in relation to several activity domains: a 27-year longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Insufficient physical activity (PA) levels among adolescents and adults make promoting PA a public health priority. Although most people exhibit low or decreasing levels of PA, other groups increase or maintain high levels of activity. These different groups may engage differently in activity domains during their leisure time. This study aimed to identify distinct trajectories of leisure-time vigorous physical activity (LVPA) and to explore whether these trajectories are characterised by differences in four activity domains (participation in organised sports clubs, diversity in leisure-time activities, outdoor recreation, and peer PA) over the life course. METHODS: Data were drawn from the Norwegian Longitudinal Health Behaviour Study. The sample of participants (n = 1103, 45.5% female) was surveyed 10 times from age 13 years in 1990 to age 40 years in 2017. LVPA trajectories were identified using latent class growth analysis, and mean differences in activity domains were studied using the one-step BCH approach. RESULTS: Four trajectories were identified: active (9%), increasingly active (12%), decreasingly active (25%), and low active (54%). Overall, this analysis showed a declining tendency in LVPA from age 13 to 40 years except for the increasingly active trajectory. Belonging to a trajectory with a higher LVPA level was related to higher mean levels of the included activity domains. Compared with those in the increasing trajectory, people belonging to the decreasing trajectory reported higher mean participation levels in and age at becoming a member of sports clubs, diversity in leisure-time activities, and best friend's activity level during adolescence. However, in young adulthood, people in the increasingly active trajectory reported significantly higher mean levels for the same variables. CONCLUSIONS: The development of LVPA from adolescence to adulthood is heterogeneous, suggesting the need for targeted health promotion initiatives. The largest trajectory group included more than 50 percent and was characterized by low levels of LVPA, less engagement in PA domains and fewer active friends. There seems to be little carry-over effect of engagement in organised sports in adolescence regarding level of LVPA later in life. Changes in social surroundings throughout the life span, such as having friends who are more or less engaged in PA, may assist or hinder health enhancing engagement in LVPA.

Making outdoor field experiences more inclusive for the LGBTQ+ community.

Outdoor field experiences have not historically been welcoming to marginalized communities. Recent calls to address the lack of diversity in outdoor field experiences have accelerated efforts to make programs more inclusive for multiple marginalized identity groups. Despite these efforts, many cultural and procedural changes are still needed to support the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning (LGBTQ+) community when participating in outdoor field experiences. Here we use results from a survey of leaders from 17 outdoor programs and expertise gained from our own experiences cultivating inclusion in field programs to outline strategies that outdoor field experience providers can use to foster greater support for the LGBTQ+ community. We define key terminology to increase awareness of LGBTQ+ identities and pronouns. We then highlight important actions that field experience leaders can take to make their internships, education programs, and trips more accessible and inclusive for the LGBTQ+ community. We use results from our survey of outdoor programs to highlight practices currently being used to support LGBTQ+ inclusion and accessibility and synthesize how current practice aligns with our overall recommendations. The LGBTQ+ community deserves to be welcomed into outdoor field experiences and to participate fully as students, researchers, educators, recreators, and professionals.

The significance of green exercise for the health and wellbeing of Italian immigrants in Norway: a mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND: Green exercise (physical activity in presence of nature) has beneficial effects for health and wellbeing. Green exercise is a popular form of recreation in the Nordic countries, but participation is lower among the immigrant population from non-Western countries. However, no attention has been given to immigrants from the European Economic Area regarding this topic. Given the cultural and structural differences that surround green exercise in Italy and Norway, the case of the Italian immigrants in Norway is of interest to enrich our understanding of green exercise and its significance for health and wellbeing among immigrants in the Nordic countries. METHODS: This convergent mixed methods study investigated the pathways that link green exercise to health and wellbeing among Italian immigrants in Norway. Quantitative data were collected through an online survey (n = 321), which was oversampled to better reflect the sociodemographic profile of the reference population. Logistic regression was used to model the association of green exercise with self-rated health (SRH) or satisfaction with life (SWL) before and after controlling for selected confounders (age, gender, educational level, language proficiency, social support, and childhood experiences with green exercise). Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews (n = 14) and analysed thematically. Merging of the two strands was done using a simultaneous bidirectional approach. RESULTS: The logistic regression found a significant bivariate association of green exercise with both SRH and SWL, though the association remained significant only for SWL after controlling for confounders. From the thematic analysis, three themes were identified: Green exercise opportunities contributing to overall satisfaction, Closeness to nature, and Embracing a new lifestyle. The integrated findings indicate that green exercise supported the immigrants' wellbeing, especially by providing stress relief, though socioeconomic status and acculturation may have a major impact on general health. Familiarity, appreciation of nature benefits, social support, and acculturation were identified as facilitating factors. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides novel insights into how green exercise supports health, wellbeing, and inclusion among immigrants to the Nordic countries and emphasizes the importance of developing culturally adapted strategies to enhance this health-promoting activity among immigrant populations.

Support for management actions to protect night sky quality: Insights from visitors to state and national park units in the U.S.

Light pollution is a global phenomenon where anthropogenic light sources continue to grow unabated, affecting both social and ecological systems. This is leaving parks and protected areas as some of the last vestiges of naturally dark environments for protecting views of the night sky. Yet, even parks and protected areas have outdoor lighting. Alternative lighting practices are needed to reduce or prevent light pollution from within parks. However, making parks darker may not be desirable for some visitors if they believe it will reduce navigability, safety, or restrict how they recreate (e.g., requiring the use of red-light flashlights after dark and before dawn). How visitors will respond to alternative lighting practices that park managers can implement is still unknown. We used an on-site intercept survey at nine state and national park units in Utah, U.S., to investigate nighttime visitors' support or opposition to management actions to protect night sky quality and their interest in learning about topics related to night skies. Further, this study also segmented visitors into two groups: those 'dependent' on the dark sky as a resource and those whose activities did not depend on a dark sky. Defining what a 'dark sky dependent' visitor is, which has yet to be done in the literature, is a fundamental step to furthering night sky research and management efforts. Across nine parks and protected areas, 62% of nighttime visitors participated in dark sky dependent activities. Findings indicate broad support for management actions designed to improve night sky quality, with between 74% and 89% of all visitors supporting seven different management actions. There was stronger support from dark sky dependent visitors for some elements of alternative lighting practices, but there was still strong support for those who do not participate in dark sky dependent outdoor recreation. Additionally, between 57% and 75% of visitors were interested in learning more about topics related to night skies. This research indicates most visitors would welcome actions to preserve the quality of the rapidly dwindling naturally dark experiences offered by parks and protected areas.

Evaluation of a Nature Prescription Program in Schools to Increase Nature-Based Physical Activity and Time Spent Outdoors: Implementation of the Kids in Parks TRACK Rx Program by the School Nurse.

This study assessed the effectiveness of the TRACK Rx program. Track Rx is a program for healthcare professionals to counsel and prescribe outdoor physical activity (PA) to children. The program was implemented by a school nurse to increase children's time spent outdoors, increase a child's nature-based PA, and increase parents' intention for their child to spend time outdoors. Parents/guardians of children in 1st-3rd grade (intervention = 51; control = 27) completed a baseline and 3-month follow-up survey. Children's nature-based PA significantly increased on the weekend in the intervention group compared to the control group. There was no significant change in the other study variables. Parental trust in the school nurse was similar to parent trust in their child's primary health care provider. School nurses can implement TRACK Rx and other nature and nature-based PA prescription programs throughout the school (classroom, physical education, recess, and after-school programming).

Impact of plastic pollution on outdoor recreation in the existence of bearing capacity and perspective management.

Large-scale increases in plastic waste, greenhouse gas emissions, and fossil fuel depletion all have negative consequences for the environment. Plastic pollution can lead towards negative impacts on outdoor recreational activities. China and the European Union, as world leader in recycling and reuse, are tackling this issue by putting in place measures to counteract this trend for better outdoor recreational activities. As China and EU nations are most attracted by the tourists it is possible that recreational spot can have harmful effects upon wild and human life. So, we analyze the impacts of plastic waste recycling and reuse on outdoor recreation. It is possible to speed up the circular process if industry reduces its resource and energy consumption while also being able to handle plastic waste responsibly, utilize renewable energy sources, generate jobs, and contribute to economic growth, among other things. This research investigates the transition to sustainability in the European Union nations and China between 2000 and 2020 via the prism of resource and energy productivity in the EU nations and China. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Model, as well as the estimator Driscool Kraay, are employed in this study. There is a statistically significant relationship between plastic recycling and valorization because of plastic pollution leads toward negative impacts on outdoor recreation, as well as resource productivity, according to the data. Increased energy tariffs, insufficient investment in research and development, a lack of job opportunities, and other factors all act as roadblocks to the implementation of circular growth strategies.

Greenspace and park use associated with less emotional distress among college students in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected many people's psychological health. Impacts may be particularly severe among socially vulnerable populations such as college students, a group predisposed to mental health problems. Outdoor recreation and visits to greenspaces such as parks offer promising pathways for addressing the mental health challenges associated with COVID-19. During the early stages of the pandemic (March-May 2020), we surveyed 1280 college students at four large public universities across the United States (U.S.) to assess how, and why, outdoor recreation and park use changed since the emergence of COVID-19. We also measured students' self-reported levels of emotional distress (a proxy for psychological health) and assessed potential demographic and contextual correlates of distress, including county-level per capita park area and greenness, using generalized linear models. We found that 67% of students reported limiting outdoor activities and 54% reported reducing park use during the pandemic. Students who reduced their use of outdoor spaces cited structural reasons (e.g., lockdowns), concerns about viral transmission, and negative emotions that obstructed active lifestyles. Students who maintained pre-pandemic park use levels expressed a desire to be outdoors in nature, often with the explicit goal of improving mental and physical health. Emotional distress among students was widespread. Models showed higher levels of emotional distress were associated with reducing park use during the pandemic and residing in counties with a smaller area of parks per capita. This study of U.S. college students supports the value of park-based recreation as a health promotion strategy for diverse populations of young adults during a time of crisis.

Physical environmental opportunities for active play and physical activity level in preschoolers: a multicriteria analysis.

BACKGROUND: Active play opportunities seems to influence the level of physical activity during childhood. However, a gap remains about which environmental opportunities including the daycare physical environment could have a positive impact on the level of physical activity in preschoolers. OBJECTIVES: (1) To develop an index to measure the environmental opportunities of free active play for preschoolers of middle-income countries; (2) to check the relationship and contribution of the index to explain objectively the level of physical activity. METHODS: A quantitative, cross-sectional, exploratory study with 51 preschool children. The established criteria for the index according to the literature were: (1) Outdoor time on typical days of the week. (2) Outdoor time on a typical weekend day. (3) The presence of internal space and external environment in the child's home that allows playing. (4) Presence of patio with space for games at the school. (5) Presence of a playground with a toy at the school. We applied multi-attribute utility theory for the determination of the multicriteria index of physical environmental opportunities. Pearson's correlation analysis and simple linear regression were used to verify the association between the index and the physical activity level. RESULTS: The index showed a positive correlation with the level of physical activity, e.g., the average time of MVPA (r = 0.408, p = 0.003). The univariate linear regression demonstrated that the quality of physical environmental opportunities for physical activity explained 20% of the preschooler's classification as active and 16% of the time in moderate to vigorous physical activity (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Physical environmental opportunities for active play have a positive effect on physical activity in preschoolers and should be encouraged in different social segments.

Attendance trends threaten future operations of America's state park systems.

This research examines how the operating expenditures of America's state park systems will be affected by a continued growth in attendance consistent with observed trends as well as potential climate futures. We construct a longitudinal panel dataset (1984-2017) describing the operations and characteristics of all 50 state park systems. These data are analyzed with a time-varying stochastic frontier model. Estimates from the model are used to forecast operating expenditures to midcentury under four different scenarios. The first scenario assumes annual attendance within each state park system will continue to grow (or decline) at the same average annual rate that it has over the period of observation. The subsequent scenarios assume statewide annual mean temperatures will increase following the RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 greenhouse gas emissions trajectories. Operating expenditures under a scenario where annual growth in attendance stays consistent with observed trends are forecasted to increase 756% by midcentury; this is an order of magnitude larger than projected expenditures under any of the climate scenarios. The future climate change scenarios yielded increases in operating expenditures between 25% (RCP2.6) and 61% (RCP8.5) by 2050. Attendance is the single largest factor affecting the operations of America's state park systems, dwarfing the influence of climate change, which is significant and nontrivial. The future of America's state park systems will depend upon increased support from state legislatures, as well as management actions that generate funds for the maintenance of existing infrastructure and facilities, and the provisioning of services.

Visualizing social-ecological intensities for management of recreation visitors in a multiuse system.

Accounting for the variation of visitor conflicts and ecological disturbance of outdoor recreation activities across space and time can cause difficulty for managers seeking to make decisions in social-ecological systems (SESs). We develop a method to quantify and visualize social and ecological intensities resulting from outdoor recreation. We demonstrate the utility of our method at Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, where we conducted onsite surveys for an entire year of recreationists participating in consumptive (i.e., hunting), intermediate-consumptive (i.e., fishing) and nonconsumptive (e.g., hiking) activities. We use survey results and combine them with expert consensus by engaging refuge managers and scientists (i.e., Delphi method) to chart patterns in social (e.g., visitor conflicts) and ecological (e.g., damages to natural resources) intensities across multiple spatial and temporal scales. We highlight unexpected patterns that are revealed by collectively considering multi-activity groups through space and time and combining different survey methods (onsite, Delphi method). Based on the consensus reached using the Delphi method, the consumptive group had the greatest potential for social conflicts and ecological disturbances. Social and ecological intensities (i.e., hotspots) of recreation varied across lake types and seasons, highlighting high-intensity areas and periods on the refuge. Accounting for diverse outdoor recreation activities and coinciding social and ecological intensities will allow managers of SESs the ability to concomitantly preserve ecological resources, prioritize conservation efforts, and minimize visitor conflicts. We demonstrate the utility and ease of use of this technique, which can be implemented by managers and scientists within their respective SES of interest.

Demand for outdoor recreation in a time of a pandemic / La demande pour des espaces de nature en situation de pandémie

INTRODUCTION: The extent of the health benefits of contact with nature came to the fore during the health crisis. However, studies do not fully appreciate the effect of the type of natural environment to which individuals are exposed. The studies often use a very vague category of "green space" for the purpose. PURPOSE OF RESEARCH: We apply social sciences analytical concepts to analyze demands for recreational uses of both forests and ocean beaches in a time of sanitary crisis. Our studies use data from two regional surveys applied to a representative sample of the Aquitaine population. RESULTS: We underline the social inequalities with regard to access to forest and ocean beaches, even though outdoor recreation is free of charge most of the time. We also identify salient differences between uses, motivations, and risk perceptions in both of the natural settings. We discuss how such discrepancies are inherited from previously constructed social representations. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that public health studies could benefit greatly from the achievements of several decades of research in the field of outdoor studies.

Introduction: La crise sanitaire que nous traversons est une occasion de mettre en lumière l'étendue des bienfaits sur la santé que procure le contact avec la nature. Dans ce contexte, néanmoins, les études négligent encore très souvent l'impact du type de milieu naturel que les individus fréquentent, retenant pour l'occasion une catégorie très générale d'« espaces verts ¼. But de l'étude: À travers deux enquêtes quantitatives portant sur la fréquentation des forêts et des plages océanes en Aquitaine, nous analysons, à l'aide d'outils empruntés aux sciences sociales, la façon dont chacun des deux espaces a répondu à des demandes spécifiques durant la première année de l'épidémie de COVID-19. Résultats: Nous montrons que les espaces se distinguent du point de vue des publics qui les fréquentent, des usages qu'ils permettent, mais aussi des attentes et des perceptions dont ils sont l'objet en matière de risques de contamination. Plus accessibles que d'autres formes de loisirs, les activités de plein air n'en demeurent pas moins un cas d'inégalité environnementale. Chez nos enquêtés, la forêt bénéficie d'une image plus positive que le littoral en termes de bien-être et de bénéfices pour la santé, y compris au niveau des risques de contamination par le SARS-CoV-2. Ces résultats renforcent l'idée qu'il existe effectivement des spécificités à la « santé verte ¼ (Green Health), d'un côté, et à la « santé bleue ¼ (Blue Health), de l'autre. Savoir d'où proviennent ces différences de représentations demeure une question ouverte, en émettant toutefois l'hypothèse que les croyances sont, au moins en partie, héritées de références constituées antérieurement à la pandémie, notamment sur la nature et le poids des fonctions environnementales. Conclusions: Les rapports que les individus entretiennent avec la nature résultent d'entrelacs complexes de facteurs environnementaux et sociaux. Ces relations influent sur les bénéfices qu'ils retirent de la fréquentation des espaces naturels. Dans ces conditions, les travaux de santé publique pourraient tirer profit des acquis obtenus depuis maintenant plusieurs décennies par les recherches en sciences sociales sur les activités de plein air.

Weather and climate in the assessment of tourism-related walkability.

Walking is an important outdoor recreational and tourism activity, both in natural surroundings and in urban settings. Walkability is the extent to which the built environment promotes walking, and addresses issues such as comfort, connectivity, safety and aesthetic values. The paper explores a relatively overlooked domain of recreation- and tourism-related walkability: the extent to which weather and climatic conditions are incorporated into assessments of walkability and their influence on walking behaviour. Following a discussion of the assessment of walkability, the results of a scoping review of weather- and climate-related variables in walkability articles published up to June 2018 are presented. The review indicates there is little research on walkability from a tourist perspective, although there is substantial interest in walking for leisure and recreation. Four major themes were identified. The descriptive theme focuses on the general importance of weather and climate to walkability; the passive analyses the weather and climate conditions as barriers to, or as promoters of, walking; proactive studies refer to adapting to and managing weather, such as provision of shade or snow-clearing. The proactive perspective gains less attention than the passive analysis. Finally, statistical controlling was only employed by a minority of studies that adjusted their results to the impacts of weather conditions. The work concludes that the sub-field has been poorly served with respect to concept and variable definition and consistency of use mean that present knowledge is of limited scientific value. Strategies for future research are suggested.

Is it safer at the beach? Spatial and temporal analyses of beachgoer behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tourism localities worldwide continue to grapple with how best to sustain coastal visitation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emerging epidemiological science illustrates the risk of disease transmission is lower outdoors than indoors, and exposure is likely lower in outdoor, coastal environments due to dispersion and dilution of respiratory droplets through regular air flow. That said, it remains unclear how beachgoer behavior affects the likelihood of disease transmission. During summer 2020, we analyzed publicly-available beachcam video data and collected unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery at the recreational beach oceanfront in Virginia Beach, U.S.A. Data were collected over 24 days, documenting tourists' and recreationists' behaviors related to the public health guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Public Health and City of Virginia Beach. Specifically, using a sample test area of beach and adjoining boardwalk, we investigated diurnal patterns of beach and boardwalk use, the location and density of use, as well as the presence of face coverings (i.e., masks) on boardwalk users. Results from beachcam analyses indicate a curvilinear trend in beach use, peaking in the mid-afternoon, while boardwalk use remained consistent throughout the day. Beachcam observations were corroborated by UAV photography and spatial analysis, indicating concentrated use of the beach adjoining shoreline above high tide, with onethird of the landward adjacent upper beach vacant. Among boardwalk pedestrians, few (8.7%) were observed wearing facial coverings. These findings point to both indirect and direct strategies coastal managers can implement to communicate when, where, and how to reduce the potential for transmission while accessing beach amenities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assessing conflicts between winter recreational activities and grouse species.

Mountain environments provide habitats for many wild animal species and are of great importance to recreational activities. In the European Alps, winter recreation activities such as ski mountaineering are becoming increasingly popular, which may lead more often to disturbance of Alpine wildlife. Assessment of ski mountaineering activities and related potential conflict zones is needed to implement protection measures and to guide skiers towards nature-friendly behaviour in sensitive locations. Yet basic data regarding frequencies of ski mountaineers is still missing at regional scale. For the Region of the Tyrol (Austria), this study therefore aimed to advance methods of assessing ski mountaineering activities for use in the spatial analysis of conflict zones with grouse species. We overlaid high-resolution information on the spatial and temporal distribution of ski mountaineers from crowd-sourced data (Strava) with distribution maps of capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus L.) and black grouse (Tetrao tetrix L.). Our results indicate that ski mountaineering activities affected 10.3% of the distribution area of black grouse and 8.6% of the distribution area of capercaillie. The raw crowd-sourced data was pre-processed with local information on skiing resorts, cross-country trails and infrastructure and use of the tested method was validated, with good spatial resolution (0.076 km2 per minimum mapping unit) for large study areas. We identified four intensity classes of ski mountaineering activity, which were randomly distributed in the study area. The spatial distribution of ski mountaineering activities showed an accumulation of activities in the south of the Inn valley. Our results could provide a valuable basis for developing mitigation measures and strategies in order to reduce the disturbance of Alpine wildlife by ski mountaineering.

Amenity Migration and Public Lands: Rise of the Protected Areas.

Rural amenity migration, or the relocation for quality of life purposes as opposed to monetary enhancement, has been occurring for decades and has been particularly pronounced in the American West where the phenomenon peaked in the 1990s. Researchers have illustrated that some places are more attractive for migrants than others and that certain regional amenities hold considerable influence on where migrants relocate. Increased migration levels typically result in increased economic growth indicators, making amenity migration an attractive rural development strategy. But comprehensive econometric analysis focused on amenity migration in the American West has been lacking. To address this, we conducted an econometric analysis of attributes that influenced migration to rural Western counties from 1980 to 2010. Over 20 potential amenity supply categories were collated for 356 rural counties from 11 Western states, with a focus on public lands. Descriptive statistics and OLS regressions were estimated and interpreted. Traditional amenities of climate, water area, and regional access were highly associated with migration levels, while designated natural amenities of Wilderness and National Monuments were the most influential public lands for migration to rural Western counties. Farming and oil and gas dependency were negatively associated with migration levels. Increasing the amount of protected areas, and branding campaigns based on natural amenities, can be a critical development strategy for rural communities.

Continental-scale quantification of landscape values using social media data.

Individuals, communities, and societies ascribe a diverse array of values to landscapes. These values are shaped by the aesthetic, cultural, and recreational benefits and services provided by those landscapes. However, across the globe, processes such as urbanization, agricultural intensification, and abandonment are threatening landscape integrity, altering the personally meaningful connections people have toward specific places. Existing methods used to study landscape values, such as social surveys, are poorly suited to capture dynamic landscape-scale processes across large geographic extents. Social media data, by comparison, can be used to indirectly measure and identify valuable features of landscapes at a regional, continental, and perhaps even worldwide scale. We evaluate the usefulness of different social media platforms-Panoramio, Flickr, and Instagram-and quantify landscape values at a continental scale. We find Panoramio, Flickr, and Instagram data can be used to quantify landscape values, with features of Instagram being especially suitable due to its relatively large population of users and its functional ability of allowing users to attach personally meaningful comments and hashtags to their uploaded images. Although Panoramio, Flickr, and Instagram have different user profiles, our analysis revealed similar patterns of landscape values across Europe across the three platforms. We also found variables describing accessibility, population density, income, mountainous terrain, or proximity to water explained a significant portion of observed variation across data from the different platforms. Social media data can be used to extend our understanding of how and where individuals ascribe value to landscapes across diverse social, political, and ecological boundaries.

Civic Recreation: Outdoor Recreationists as Advocates, Stewards, and Managers of Natural Resources.

Recently, groups representing the human-powered outdoor recreation community are playing an important role in natural resource management and conservation. Such civic recreation-recreation-based stewardship and advocacy aimed at preserving, creating, and restoring recreational resources-offers promise in an era of limited capacity on the part of land managers and efforts to promote innovative, participatory, and collaborative civic environmentalism. Despite this growing trend, little research has looked at these civic recreation organizations or their role in natural resource management. Drawing from a mixed-method research design combining an exploratory case study of local civic recreation organizations with survey research, this article aims to describe civic recreation in practice and explores how it fits into natural resource management of the twenty-first century. Specifically, the goal is to understand why, how, and to what end these organizations emerge and function. The findings reveal that civic recreation organizations often emerge as grassroots initiatives to either address a threat to access or implement the vision of an innovative leader who seeks to create a recreational resource. These organizations primarily focus on direct stewardship, collaboration with land managers, and innovative private-public partnerships for the purposes of preserving or creating recreational resources. Outcomes and benefits span environmental, community, and management domains, offering promise to an era of collaborative and community-based natural resource management.