Visitor perceptions of wilderness recreation carrying capacity: Survey data from 1969
dataset
posted on 2025-01-22, 00:21authored byGeorge H. Stankey, Christopher A. Armatas
These survey data describe perspectives of visitors, collected via on-site and mail-back questionnaires, from four wildland recreation areas in the summer of 1969. The four areas studied were the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana, the Bridger Wilderness in Wyoming, the High Uintas Primitive Area in Utah, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Wilderness in Minnesota. The survey of visitors focused on five dimensions: (1) a description of the visitor’s party/group; (2) the past experience of the respondent in terms of general outdoor recreation and wilderness; (3) respondent attitudes and perceptions of the various parameters of use; (4) respondent attitudes about potential management; and (5) a standard socioeconomic description of the respondent. The principal objectives of the study were to provide some insight into wilderness visitor attitudes toward the use parameters of amount, type, distribution, and behavior. The study also aimed to understand visitor attitudes toward the concept of use rationing, as well as some specific rationing techniques. These data were among the earliest collected on the topic of recreation carrying capacity, and they subsequently informed both theory and practice in the field of recreation management. For more information about this study and these data, see Stankey (1973) and Stankey (1971).
These data were collected using funding from the U.S. Government and can be used without additional permissions or fees. If you use these data in a publication, presentation, or other research product please use the following citation:
Stankey, George H.; Armatas, Christopher A. 2025. Visitor perceptions of wilderness recreation carrying capacity: Survey data from 1969. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2025-0002
This study included visitors from four wildland areas: the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana, the Bridger Wilderness in Wyoming, the High Uintas Primitive Area in Utah, and the Boundary Waters Ca...