PRLS 531 - Natural Resource Recreation Planning

Course Overview and Objectives

Natural resource recreation planning frequently occurs in a turbulent environment of shifting political forces, interest group pressure, interagency conflict, changing economic conditions, and media scrutiny. It can be an expensive, time consuming, and complex undertaking that almost never results in an optimal "solution" for all interests involved. This course is designed to help you develop the conceptual background needed to participate in and eventually lead recreation planning processes in an era of turbulence.

You will be introduced to two planning approaches that are common in the field of natural resource recreation: the comprehensive planning approach and the protected area planning approach. Comprehensive planning has been widely used by natural resource agencies for such efforts as river management planning, greenway planning, regional tourism and recreation planning, and state comprehensive outdoor recreation planning. The protected area planning approach, which is sometimes referred to as the limits of acceptable change planning framework, has been used primarily to deal with the carrying capacity issue in wildernesses and national parks. A set of readings will guide you through the background, process, and case studies associated with each approach. This course does not focus on site planning or park master planning, though many of the concepts and skills associated with comprehensive and protected area planning are transferable to these types of planning.

Planning is a broad subject that demands a breadth of knowledge of the field of natural resource recreation. For this reason, you will be exposed to the historical and philosophical roots of natural resource recreation planning. Through various readings the antecedents of modern natural resource recreation management, policy-making, and planning will be articulated. In addition, you will be challenged to understand the rationale for natural resource recreation planning, or why agencies plan. As suggested by Manning (1999), the focus of natural resource recreation planning and management is on providing the visitor with high quality recreation opportunities that do not compromise the integrity of biophysical and social systems. Through the Manning text you will be exposed to a variety of topics relevant to natural resource recreation planning, including carrying capacity, crowding, conflict, specialization, indicators and standards of quality, motivations and benefits in recreation, and the recreation opportunity spectrum.

Natural resource recreation planning may be thought of as a very specialized subset of the broader field of urban and regional planning. Relying on the more theoretically mature tradition of this field, your readings will expose you to the "big ideas" of planning, especially to the transactive planning paradigm, which increasingly informs contemporary natural resource recreation planning. As an extension of the discussion of the transactive planning paradigm, you will be challenged to think about what constitutes effective and meaningful public participation in natural resource recreation planning.

The final section of the course considers issues and trends in natural resource recreation planning, including the topics of the planner's roles/competencies and how to measure plan implementation. Upon completion of the course, you will be able to demonstrate an understanding of:

1. The historical and philosophical roots of natural resource recreation planning;

2. The rationale for natural resource recreation planning, or why agencies plan;

3. The major theoretical traditions of planning and what constitutes effective and meaningful public participation;

4. Principles, process, and applications of the comprehensive approach to natural resources recreation planning;

5. Principles, process, and applications of the protected area approach to natural resources recreation planning;

6. Issues and trends in natural resource recreation planning; and

7. How to apply planning knowledge to a real-world recreation planning project.

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