Predicting the Intensity of Recreational Use of Oak Woodland Preserves

People value proximity and easy access to protected areas in urban landscapes, including state and regional parks, wildlife refuges, and open space preserves. The popularity of outdoor recreation activities such as hiking and birdwatching has more than doubled in the past 20 years, and surveys indicate that proximity to natural areas is an important factor determining where residents choose to live in California. However, the consequences of widespread recreational use in oak woodlands are largely unknown. The objectives of our study were to assess the spatial variability of recreational activity and identify siteand landscape-level correlates of recreational use of oak woodland preserves in Marin County, California. We collected two data sources to estimate the relative intensity of recreational use among 20 preserves: records of citations issued by open space rangers to recreational users and expert opinion. We used a geographic information system (GIS) database to extract several variables related to site accessibility, site amenities, and land uses surrounding each preserve. We then constructed regression models to identify which variables best predicted relative levels of recreational use for the two data sources and compared their results. Our analysis is a first step towards helping ecologists and land managers better understand variation in the intensity of recreational activity, and we make recommendations for future research on recreation impacts in oak woodlands.