Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Thursday, January 29 Agency guests in attendance: Thursday: Dorothy Morgan, Bureau of Land Management; Friday: Eric Norlund, USDA-NIFA; Travis Smith, National Recreation and Park Association; Bob Ratcliffe, National Park Service; Stephanie Tepperberg, National Park Service; Jennifer Stein, National Park Service; Dorothy Morgan, Bureau of Land Management; David Berrigan, National Cancer Institute I. General Business Participants discussed the need to complete an annual report. We reviewed the list of people on the NE 1962 project list and discussed if people who have been inactive should come off of the list. Fred later reported that there are complications with removing people from the list. We decided to send people the minutes, let them know the current status of activities, encourage their participation, and see what their current level of interest is. If their name is on the project, we will need to get a report from them for reporting purposes. New people can still join the project. Travel to multistate projects was discussed. Funding for travel is discretionary and up to each institution. Fred suggested providing a meeting agenda to chairs and directors when funding is requested and to talk with them further about the meeting. We are currently in project year 3. Ideally, we should start a new pre-proposal for 2017 (after Year 5 ends) at the end of 2016. March 2017 should be the very latest for writing to start the cycle. What we propose can be similar to the current project. Submitting a pre-proposal should be on the 2016 meeting agenda. Christine had a 2007 CREES report and wanted to know the history of this report. Erin indicated it was used in the planning for the NE 1962 project. Ingrid suggested a one-page history be put together for project continuity and institutional knowledge. Fred provided some background information. Chris asked if we could use any previous work in discussions with federal agencies about shaping future work. II. Group Updates A. Health and Physical Activity: The group has stayed networked and has had several conference calls throughout the year. The ideas developed at the Cooperstown meeting have been discussed further with the National Park Service in 2014. Some collaborations have occurred between people from different states. Chris Vogt, Ingrid Schneider, and Kathy Scholl reported on recent grant applications and research. Additionally, the CDC awarded a grant to NC State to conduct a literature review related to outdoor activity and examine measurement of health indicators and outcomes. It is currently in draft form. B. Environmental Literacy: Several members of the group met at the Northeast Recreation Research Conference in 2014. Kristi Lekies and Diane Kuehn have an interest in socialization into outdoor recreation. Taylor Stein reported on a Gainesville, Florida project that was started in 2013 using a grant from the USDA Forest Service “More Kids in the Woods” initiative (program grants are awarded to encourage hands-on, nature-based learning and outdoor recreation). The Florida project provides outdoor learning experiences to 6th grade students with the intent of making students more aware of and connected to their local environment, exposing them to careers in science and natural resources, and proving opportunities for students to meet program volunteers who have careers in science and natural resource management. Taylor and a graduate student at UF (Danielle Findlay) have been studying potential changes in attitudes toward nature as a result of the project. C. Community Resilience: Bill Siemer, Erin Seekamp, and Sondra De Urioste reported on several projects they have been working on related to community resiliency, climate change, and tourism dependent communities. Bill also reported on Keith Tidball’s (Cornell University) work on Wounded Warriors and disaster affected areas and resilience. III. Breakout session for working groups to meet IV. Bureau of Land Management. Dorothy Morgan, Outdoor Recreation Planner, Bureau of Land Management, introduced herself and discussed the work of the BLM. She has been working with Peter Fix. V. Participant presentations A. Peter Fix: Applying a Community-Based Approach to Recreation Planning – Study of recreation in interior Alaska B. Bill Siemer: Revealing the Potential of National Wildlife Refuges to Foster Conservation Recreation and Resilience in Local Communities – Study in New York State C. Chris Vogt: Health and Recreation Working Group Overview VI. Discussion Discussion included topics of aging and accessibility to parks, youth, treatment/control groups, the iCook program, health measurements, motivations for outdoor recreation, and changing recreational habits. VII. Group Planning Health and Physical Activity: Discussed agenda for upcoming meeting with the National Park Service Environmental Literacy: Continued discussion on ways to work together Community Resilience: Goals for the next year include defining community resilience in the context of recreation, developing a manuscript, working on measures for a survey that will go out in spring, and having quarterly meetings VII. Additional Business Kathy Scholl was elected as the new Chair elect. All voted in favor. The next annual meeting will be held January 28-29, 2016, in the same location. Fred suggested we have a writing team to work on the next proposal; this year’s co-chairs could help organize this. Fred will organize a time line for Year 5; a working group will be needed to continue efforts. Friday, January 30 I. Introduction and Overview of 1962 Project Goals After introductions, Erin Seekamp provided an overview of the NE 1962 project goals and the three working groups. People were encouraged to sign up for Dropbox so they could receive updates and information. Representatives from the various agencies discussed their agency’s work and funding priorities. NPS: 2016 will be the Centennial of the National Park Service and various activities and initiatives will be planned. There is a changing paradigm of what defines a park. Outreach to urban communities is planned. There is strong interest in getting youth outdoors and projects related to parks and their benefits. NCI: Discussed NIH funding and need for collaborations with the public health sector. More grant submissions are coming in related to the impacts of parks; however, only a small amount of physical activity occurs in parks and more needs to be understood about elements that affect physical activity. There is renewed interest in implementation science. The NCI Implementation Science website has good resources to learn more. It was suggested we look at the NIH Reporter for abstracts of funded projects; needed are innovative measurement techniques, justification for case studies, and evaluation. BLM: Working on recreation planning policy and outcomes focused management – individual benefits, community benefits, and environmental benefits. Discussed how “park” has different meanings and use of the iconic symbols of parks. Funding is available through individual states and field offices. Working on visitor survey tools; there are opportunities for partnerships with universities to collect data; still under discussion. USDA – NIFA: Overview of NIFA priorities and funding opportunities (capacity funds, formula funds, and competition funds). NIFA has six national challenge areas: food security, climate variability and change, water, sustainable bioenergy, food safety, and childhood obesity prevention. Childhood obesity prevention is a way in which our group could become involved. NIFA needs some stakeholder engagement with childhood obesity prevention for grant program development and thinking about impacts. Conference grants are available. The McIntire-Stennis forestry research program includes outdoor recreation. Central State University in Ohio has become a new 1890’s Land-grant institution. NPRA: There is a need for agencies and organizations to make better data-driven decisions and to obtain research findings in a form they can use. Also mentioned the literature review NC State is conducting, park prescriptions, working together with other organizations, children’s play, and connections to health. A study has been commissioned on the economic impacts of the parks and recreation industry through George Washington University. II. General Discussion General discussion was wide ranging and covered multiple topics. The meeting ended after small group break-out discussions on next steps for each objective.

2014 Accomplishments (By Project Objective) Objective 1: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting physical activity and associated preventative health benefits, particularly among youth, as well as constraints to this activity Accomplishments included relationship building and proposal development. Specifically, the health subgroup organized several calls throughout the year and created a list of existing partners as well as ongoing opportunities for research collaboration. At least 2 grant proposals were submitted. A national in-person meeting with the National Park Service was held Dec 2014 to discuss their specific data needs for individual and communities. A paper entitled "Recognizing Campus Landscapes as Learning Space" was submitted (July 2014) to the Journal of Learning Spaces - accepted and currently in-press (K. Scholl). Data pertaining to student understanding of experiences in university outdoor spaces was collected in Fall of 2013 and Fall 2014 (K. Scholl). Objective 2: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting environmental literacy among youth, and document the long-term influences of early lifespan connections with nature. Additional analyses and a manuscript were prepared from a study on childhood experiences in nature. This study examines a range of free play, educational, and recreational activities in childhood and their impacts on environmental attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of nature in young adulthood (K. Lekies). Data were collected, several analyses were completed, and two research presentations were given from a research project designed to obtain greater understanding of the role that early childhood programs can play in connecting preschool-aged children with nature. In Summer 2014, a survey was sent to child care programs across Ohio about opportunities to engage children with nature inside and outside of the classroom. Research questions focused on indoor and outdoor learning opportunities, the value of outdoor play and learning, and features of outdoor play areas and neighborhoods in which centers are located (K. Lekies). Data from a study of New Hampshire youth engagement in outdoor activities were analyzed and reported (J. Seaman & E. Sharp). Research related to the Florida National Scenic trail resulted in defining clear market segments of trail users and useful management strategies to improve how land managers can improve recreation opportunities for those markets (T. Stein). Investigators implemented the first year of the More Kinds in the Woods Program for sixth-grade science students at Westwood Middle School. This project improved students’ enthusiasm and motivation to participate in outdoor recreation in their local environment (T. Stein). Objective 3: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting community vibrancy and resilience. Preparations were completed for a bicycling industry survey. Activities included: assembling contact information and secondary economic data for all bicycle-related industries and firms in Minnesota, conducting interviews with key industry experts in Minnesota to gather information about the industry and to inform the survey design (questionnaire, sampling plan, and data analysis), and developing a sampling plan and a questionnaire for the survey. This survey will provide data to estimate the economic impact of the bicycling industry in Minnesota (little analysis of the bicycling industry exists in Minnesota). Industry analysis can also be helpful to economic development organizations seeking to support firms, by uncovering opportunities for public sector action to support future development of the industry statewide (X. Quian). Efforts to collect, review, and summarize existing estimates of bicycling infrastructure use in MN were initiated in August 2014 and will end in May 2015; the final deliverable will be a technical memorandum that summarizes magnitude of bicycling in Minnesota, including a description of available information about bicycle use throughout the state, estimates of the range of bicycle traffic volumes in different locations on different types of facilities. This work will provide evidence of demand for bicycling (X. Quian). Preparations were completed for a bicycling event survey. This survey will provide data to estimate the economic impact of bicycling events in Minnesota Investigators assembled a list of bicycling events in Minnesota, completed a sampling plan, and developed a questionnaire for use in surveys at bicycling events. This work will produce information on the market reach of and consumer spending generated by bicycling events. This information can bring together event organizers and officials of economic development, transportation, and tourism to orchestrate the effort of using bicycle-related events to promote the facilities on which the events take place, the communities in which the facilities are located, and bicycle tourism as a whole (X. Quian). Investigators initiated secondary analysis of data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study, which is an ongoing cohort study of young adults followed for the past 25 years in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area as well as three other metropolitan regions. This analysis, which will end in summer 2015, demonstrate the extent to which bicycling reduces the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. This research will estimate the economic value of health benefits associated with bike commuting. Information from this study will be provided to health and transportation officials as well as health care providers, who could use it to promote active commuting via bicycling as a type of physical activity that can be integrated into daily lives through policies and intervention programs (X. Quian). Personal interviews were completed with managers of natural resource management areas, parks, and wildlife refuges in Suffolk County, New York, leading to identification of study areas for a project that will investigate linkages between nature-based recreation, sense of place, community involvement, and place-enhancing behaviors (W. Siemer). Interviews and focus groups have been conducted with recreation and tourism managers and providers, in a project that seeks to assess and build community climate readiness on the North Shore of Lake Superior (Minnesota). The project is evaluating current capacities of communities to adapt to projected climate change related impacts to the natural resources and tourism demand. Impacts should enhance community resilience and vibrancy by enhancing knowledge of changes in tourism demand and strengthening communities' adaptive capacity (E. Seekamp). Interviews of birders were completed and a survey was implemented to investigate the criteria birders use when making travel-related decisions. The data generated and collected from this study will be used in the redesign of a NC Cooperative Extension Service training program for rural entrepreneurs to market and cater to birders (E. Seekamp). Investigators completed a survey (phase 1) investigating whether combat wounded veterans that are involved in hunting and fishing as therapeutic recreation want to learn more about wild fish and game processing, preparation, and presentation. (see attached). A follow up survey is to be launched within the next 30 days and results are to be published (K. Tidball). Investigators conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with combat wounded veterans engaged in hunting and fishing as therapeutic outdoor recreation. These interviews have all been transcribed and are currently under analysis (K. Tidball). Working with managers that provide recreation in and near the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) we developed a unique web-based survey that measured how FNSB residents desire to benefit from recreation on public lands, including BLM-managed lands. Focus groups with local recreationists provided insight to survey design. Design of the study was reviewed by a researcher at Colorado Mesa University, as well as BLM staff in Colorado (P. Fix).

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