Natural resource system size can be used for managing recreational use

Ecological Indicators
By: , and 

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Abstract

Outdoor recreation provides societal benefits that are often measured by the amount of use natural resource systems receive. Still, the amount of resource use natural resource systems receive is often unknown or unstudied. Monitoring and quantifying resource use is often logistically difficult and costly but is paramount to optimize societal benefits. Identifying a simple and readily available metric that can indicate the quantity of recreational use of natural resource systems would benefit natural resource management. Using recreational angler participation data during an 11-year study period from 73 public waterbodies in Nebraska, USA, we developed a resource size-use model that demonstrates the ability of natural resource system size to indicate the quantity of recreational use they receive. We demonstrate how resource size-use models can estimate use for unsampled systems, produce broad-scale estimations of use, guide the allocation of resources, and predict how changes in resource system size may affect use. Resource size-use models provide opportunities to manage recreational use, which has been previously elusive for social-ecological systems.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Natural resource system size can be used for managing recreational use
Series title Ecological Indicators
DOI 10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109711
Volume 145
Year Published 2022
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Coop Res Unit Atlanta
Description 109711, 7 p.
Country United States
State Nebraska
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