IFCAE Project:
Understanding Interactions Among Winter Recreationists
at Marble Mountain Sno-Park, Washington
| Timeframe: | 2000-2001 |
| Principal Investigator: | Jennifer Gilden, IFCAE |
| Funding Organizations: | The Mazamas |
| Publications: |
Gilden, Jennifer. 2004.
Culture and Conflict in Winter Recreation: Insights from a Qualitative Study
at Mt. St. Helens. Portland, Oregon: Institute for Culture and
Ecology. |
| Gilden, Jennifer. 2001.
Solitude, Silence and "The Freedom to Ride"
- Real and Perceived Conflicts in Winter Recreation at Mount St.
Helens. Technical Report. Portland, Oregon: Institute for Culture and
Ecology. |
|
|
Gilden, Jennifer D. 2000.
Conflict and Cooperation in Winter Recreation. Mazama Annual 1999. Portland, Oregon: Mazamas. |
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Project Overview: During the past few decades, winter sports have become increasingly popular. New technologies, economic well-being, improved access to recreation sites, and changing cultural values have led to more and more people participating in winter sports such as snowmobiling, snowshoeing, mountaineering, and Nordic skiing. Not surprisingly, conflicts have developed when one group’s actions have negatively affected other groups’ recreational experiences. In other instances, user groups have cooperated through such activities as improving access or facilities at recreational sites. In the winter of 2000, IFCAE members talked with members of the Mazamas, a mountaineering club based in Portland, Oregon, about our interest in examining conflicts among recreational groups. Based on this dialogue, IFCAE began a pilot study of the relations between quiet and non-quiet winter users in the Mt. St. Helens/Marble Mountain Sno-Park area of southwestern Washington. Jennifer Gilden, the principle investigator, interviewed key personnel and resource users about perceptions of recreational conflict, opportunities for cooperation, and users’ motivations, expectations, and levels of satisfaction with management actions. The study will form the basis of future research about recreational conflicts in Oregon and Washington. Based on a discussion with Mazama members and the Recreation Program Manager for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, IFCAE chose Marble Mountain because it represents a microcosm of winter user interactions. The information that we compiled through this project will contribute to users’ understandings of beneficial interactions as well as conflicts. It will provide basic information to be used by the Mazamas in creating their policies; by the U.S. Forest Service in making management decisions; and by users in shaping their views and interactions with other groups. This project encouraged cooperation between the Mazamas and the U.S. Forest Service and other user groups, including snowmobile associations. This project was completed in Summer 2001. |