Social conditions and preference data for visitors to three wilderness areas in the southern United States in 1989-1990

Visitors to the Cohutta Wilderness in Georgia, Caney Creek Wilderness in Arkansas, and Upland Island Wilderness in Texas were surveyed to gather baseline data on use and user characteristics. Sampling took place between May and November 1989 for both Cohutta and Caney Creek Wilderness areas, and between October 1989 and February 1990 for the Upland Island Wilderness. During the sampling period, visitors were interviewed as they entered or exited the Wilderness and asked if they were willing to fill out a survey that would be mailed to them. Included in this data publication are the results of the onsite interviews as well as the mailback surveys. For the Upland Island Wilderness there are also results from postcard surveys for cases when a local interview was not possible. Data include length of visit, group size, activities participated in, social encounter levels, availability of substitute sites, place of residence, sociodemographic information, previous wilderness experience, level of attachment for wilderness, and visitor preferences for wilderness conditions.
Greater knowledge is needed about visitors to federally classified wilderness in the South, the reasons they visit wilderness, and the ways wilderness conditions influence their experiences. This information will allow areas within the region to be compared, and it will improve the potential for tracking future changes that may require management changes. The collected data provide knowledge about visitation. It may help in planning future educational programs, selecting wilderness quality indicators for Limits of Acceptable Change applications, and establishing management objectives for experience-related issues.
These same data were also collected in the Rattlesnake Wilderness in Montana (Watson et al. 2015); however, that data were archived separately because a set of supplemental questions were asked with regard to conflict arising from mountain bike use in an adjacent non-wilderness designated recreation area. Original metadata date was 09/28/2017. Data publication updated on 02/28/2018 to include additional supplemental materials found such as original survey instruments for Upland Island.