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Framework for the assessment

Informally Refereed

Abstract

This chapter of Outdoor recreation in American life: a national assessment of demand and supply trends details the components of the assessment framework. In this chapter the author recounts the establishment of the process for assessing the state of the forest and range resources in this country through passage of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) in 1974. He explains that the intention of the RPA assessment was and is to describe recent trends, current condition, and likely futures for timber, water, wildlife and fish, range, minerals, and outdoor recreation and wilderness in the United States. Outdoor recreation in American life: a national assessment of demand and supply trends represents the fourth of the outdoor recreation and wilderness studies done to meet the mandates of the 1974 RPA. In this assessment, the primary approach is to use the expert judgement of the assessment specialists to examine supply trends across the spectrum of opportunities the public and private sectors provide in light of demand trends and projections. From this less formal "gap analysis" and based on knowledge of issues in outdoor recreation and wilderness, authors of the assessment attempt to identify policy, management, and research implications for the country. It is the authors’ opinion that this form of qualitative comparison can provide valid insights, just as the more quantitative econometric gap analysis does.

Parent Publication

Keywords

outdoor recreation, demand, supply, trends

Citation

Cordell, H. Ken. 1999. Framework for the assessment. In: Cordell, H. Ken; Betz, Carter ; Bowker, J.M. and others. Outdoor recreation in American life: a national assessment of demand and supply trends. Champaign, IL: Sagamore Publishing: [31]-38.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/766