Information Needs for River Recreation Planning and Management

— Information Inputs to making decisions about recreational use of rivers are described. Major recre­ ational decisions and possible Inputs to them are Iden­ tified. A future scenario for recreational use of rivers Is given and the needed research on Information Inputs Is Identified within the context of the scenario. So much planning and management infor­ mation is being generated by river researchers and managers that to discuss information needs seems redundant. However, there appears to be a lack of focus and organization to present efforts and in that context the discussion might be productive. River recreation re­ search seems to be going the way of most other recreation research— Ignore all we have learned about recreation, start from scratch, and pid­ dle for 5 years (or more) before we define the problem. My own view of the future suggests that we cannot afford less than a focused, coor­ dinated research effort right now. We need to determine the nature of the phenomenon and then seek the information that will allow us to manage It. In this regard, there is a tremendous cooperative role to be played by river managers and researchers. There is the opportunity to learn from past recreation research and to proceed with rivers research “■ore effectively and efficiently. Simply put, my view of the future which calls for urgency looks like this. Within the next 10 years, I see at least a doubling °f demand for river recreation. This will raise issues of user conflict, user displace®eat, and resource damage— possibly beyond acceptable limits. Within this expanded group of enthusiasts, there will be more aovices using new equipment that they do not aaow how to use. The result will be increased ftazards and a greater public safety management Program for river administrators. I see conlaUed demand for special designations for ^Vers. Some of this will be for formal staUs Within the Wild and Scenic Rivers System (Act PL 90-542). Some will be for admini­ strative designation as special use areas. This movement will mean more public involve­ ment and thus need for more information about rivers and their uses. It will also mean that regional systems of rivers will need to be designated and studied so that rivers can be allocated to uses in an efficient manner; efficient because the resource is presently scarce and will become more so. One of the things to avoid is the polarization of sup­ ply into wild, primitive rivers and into high use, developed rivers. A regionally specific, systematic approach to allocation may be helpful in avoiding this problem. Finally, my view suggests that there will be continued pressure to turn many rivers into lakes. Dams will be desired for energy production, flood control, Irrigation and domestic water storage, and flat-water recreation opportunities. Planners espe­ cially will be required to respond to these demands by justifying why river recreation is important. If they are unsuccessful, we will lose our ability to meet river recrea­ tion demands and the doubling of demand will completely overwhelm the remaining resource. What kinds of information will enable river managers to deal with the challenges posed by my scenario? The following sec­ tions describe the kinds of information which may be useful and give examples of their relevance.