Outdoor Recreation Survey, 1977 : Federal Estate Survey

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Summary

This data collection contains survey responses gathered by the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Outdoor Recreation in the summer of 1977 from visitors to 153 federal land manage...

This data collection contains survey responses gathered by the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Outdoor Recreation in the summer of 1977 from visitors to 153 federal land management areas, and during the following fall and winter when individuals were queried at 35 additional areas. The purposes of the study were to determine the importance of outdoor recreation to the American people, patterns of recreational land use, trends in recreation, the users of federal land, and the deterrents, satisfactions, and preferences for outdoor recreation. People who were interviewed ranged from urbanites out for an afternoon at New York City Gateway National Recreation Area to backpackers returning from a two-week adventure in the Bitterroot Wilderness of the Nezperce National Forest in Idaho. Respondents were asked to report which activities among a list of 30 they had participated in during the last 12 months, which ones they planned to participate in during the current trip, and which they hoped to take part in in the next 12 months. They also were asked the purpose of their current trip, their level of satisfaction with their experiences so far, suggested improvements to the specific recreation area, their opinions of the importance of outdoor recreation in general, the importance they placed on having outdoor recreation facilities within walking distance and within one hour's driving distance, the impact of the price of gasoline on the number and duration of auto trips taken to outdoor recreation areas, and preferences for allocation of federal recreation funds in the future. Personal information includes respondents' age, sex, race, highest level of schooling completed, occupation, income, urban or rural residence, and state of residence. The United States Department of the Interior also conducted a separate but related telephone survey during the same year on a national sample of respondents (see OUTDOOR RECREATION SURVEY, 1977: GENERAL POPULATION SURVEY [ICPSR 7679]). The primary reason for conducting two separate studies was to ensure representative samples for comparing recreation characteristics of the entire citizenry of the United States with those who pursue recreational activities on federal land.Cf: http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07680.v1

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