Recipient Organization
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
CLEMSON,SC 29634
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
This project builds upon the work of Reeder and Brown (2005), who analyzed secondary data from 311 rural counties that had been recently categorized as "non-metro recreation counties," a new rural typology code approved in 2004. The authors compared these counties with "non-recreation counties" and found significant differences in human and community well-being within these counties. Recreation counties were significantly less likely to be dependent upon one industry or dependent upon neighboring counties for employment (i.e., commuter counties). Recreation counties also were more often retirement destinations, had lower population density, and experienced more rapid economic growth than non-recreation counties. Further, these counties had better health indicators such as higher availability of physicians and a lower age-adjusted death rate. Thirty (30) GA, NC, and SC counties are included in this study, each located in a region generally east and south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and which contains the South Carolina Upstate. Of these 30 counties, 33% were categorized as "recreation counties." This segment of "recreation counties" will allow comparison with "non-recreation counties," many of which are known to be cultivating plans to promote and develop rural tourism as a means of promoting rural economic development. For example, several Upstate SC counties are actively promoting recreation and tourism as an economic development strategy. Greenville County, SC recently developed a county tourism action plan which includes an outdoor adventure center. Oconee County recently established a conventions and visitor bureau (Mountain Lakes CVB) that will promote the county as a nature-based playground. Pickens and Spartanburg Counties are also moving actively in the rural tourism development area. Furthermore, the entire region is rapidly becoming a retirement destination, driven in part by mountains, lakes and parks. In-migration retirees are but one of four discrete segments of the population that will affect, and be affected by the development of natural-resource based recreation assets. However, why are some counties doing better than others, even though they have similar resources and aspirations By the end of this project, the following questions should be answered: Do the positive attributes of recreation counties reported by Reeder and Brown in 2005 still exist in recreation counties in 2009 Where do counties not labeled as recreation counties fall on the "recreation dependency scale" Could some counties be described as "emerging" Do "emerging recreation counties" possess the same positive social and economic characteristics and attributes reported for recreation counties How is the recreation user population in Upstate SC counties segmented How do metropolitan areas influence recreational use in non-metro recreation counties In emerging recreation counties How prevalent is "economic leakage" (i.e., resources and actions in one county providing positive economic and social impact in another)
Animal Health Component
60%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
25%
Applied
60%
Developmental
15%
Goals / Objectives
Objectives (1) Improve understanding related to creating sustainable and accessible outdoor recreation environments; (2) Investigate connections between outdoor recreation, human health and well-being; and (3) Understand the role and the dynamics of outdoor recreation for resilient and vibrant communities.
Project Methods
This project first seeks to refine and expand Reeder and Brown's 2005 study of "Recreation, Tourism and Rural Well-Being," by exploring ways of improving the treatment of the dependent variable (recreation dependency scale), and seeking additional independent variables to further explain the impacts of outdoor recreation use on human and community well-being. I will develop revised county- and regional-level models of "recreation," "emerging recreation" and "non-recreation" counties using demographic, economic and social statistics to describe human and community well-being. Models will be developed for each year since the original data was collected for the Reeder and Brown study (2000-present). The study area for this phase of the project will be a 3-state, 30-county region (SC, NC and GA). One-third of the counties in this region were categorized as recreation counties in 2004 by the USDA Economic Research Service. In its second phase, the project seeks to establish primary data collection methods for 7 SC Upstate counties that provide a valid and reliable system for documenting actual recreation use, thus developing a more basic understanding of users, their origin, motivations, preferences, and expenditures. Currently, no comprehensive source of valid data exists on recreational use within this region. Based on what is learned from stakeholders in the first phase regarding data collection methods, and using available technology and survey tools, I will devise a system to collect primary data on recreation use of major outdoor recreation assets in the 7-county region. In Phase 1 (July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2011), the project will: Expand and refine the dependent variable used in Reeder and Brown (county recreation dependency) to include "emerging recreation" counties; Expand and refine the independent variables used in Reeder and Brown; Develop annual and time-series models of the relationships between recreation dependency and health and economic impacts for each county, each county type, and the region as a system (2000-present); Document and contact all stakeholder organizations in each county (state parks, convention and visitor bureaus, chambers of commerce) who manage or promote nature-based recreation and tourism; and, Determine the availability, accessibility and compatibility of recreation user data currently being collected by stakeholder organizations. In Phase 2 (July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2014), the project will: Map all major natural resource recreation assets in each of the seven SC counties using GIS; Devise and plan an innovative, web-based data collection system for the seven counties in SC that supplements the existing data collection efforts of stakeholders; and, Partition the recreation user population into four distinct segments- permanent residents, in-migration retirees, seasonal residents, and tourists - and describe each segment in terms of their different motivations, objectives, use and expenditure patterns, preferences for different levels of recreation development, and standard demographic variables.