Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Minutes of 2016 Annual Meeting  (January 26-27, 2016, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, Washington, D.C.)

 Attendees:

• Taylor Stein, University of Florida
• Kathy Scholl, University of Northern Iowa
• Fred Servello, University of Maine
• Lincoln Larson, North Carolina State University
• Courtney Schultz, North Carolina State University
• Bob Ratcliffe, NPS and Federal Recreation Council
• Kristi Lekies, The Ohio State University

 Thursday January 26, 2017

 9:00:      Welcome & Meeting Charge

9:15:      Introductions

9:30:      Review of NE1962 overall successes and achievements, gaps & challenges 2012-2016

Fred Servello

Reviewed Approval Process for NE1962 Renewal 2017-2022 - Once they approve our “request to write”, then we cut and paste our existing proposal into the system.

March 13 – Multi-state Activities Committee approves pre-proposals

• They might just approve and say move forward
• They might suggest we modify or add to it (e.g., economics research)

 After March 13 We will react to the committee’s recommendation if they have any

June meeting – Approves final proposals

 Possible names of academics who are not currently tied to NE1962 project who could serve as proposal reviewers – (3-5 reviewers needed) – Need to ask Fred who were the reviewers for 2012-2017 NE1962 Proposal.

• Natalia Buta – Frostburg State University
• Alan Ewert – Indiana University Bloomington
• Ron Hendrick –Michigan State University
• Jen Thomson – Montana State University
• Derrick Taff – (NE Region) – Penn State
• Matt Browning – University of Illinois
• Gowri Betrabet – University of Northern Iowa
• Matt Brownlee – University of Utah
• Jim Sibthorp – University of Utah
• Jordon Smith – Utah State University

Bob Ratcliffe – short update on Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account

Bureau of Economic Affairs (BEA) administers these accounts and create the satellite account

Status

• 2 years (funded) will look at effect on the economy
• Next 2 years (not funded) will look at each state’s effect.

 Discussion: Continuing NE1962 Forward – What are the incentives for participants?

• Highlighted that multistate projects value many different outcomes
• Networking is a common value, which many participants value
• Ocassionally they develop large scale projects (potato group), but not always

 The role of foundations and developing proposals for foundations is an opportunity

• Inventory of the research that is being conducted and promote that research to participants and others.
•  It’s good for faculty who need to highlight national collaborations
• Provides one-on-one connections with researchers
• One of the best ways to interact and learn from researchers who are working on similar goals
•  Need to recruit new participants
• Connecting with other conferences and scheduling a NE1962 meeting in collaboration with a larger conference

 10:00:    Break

 10:15:    Review original NE1962 Goals & Objectives – New Initiatives to reach G & O

 Need to reduce and organize our outcomes and milestones.

• Lincoln will organize the outputs, outcomes, and impacts into a Logic Model organization.
•  Need to create a new web-based drive where we can begin an inventory of projects related to the NE 1962 goals.
• Google site with Google Drive – make the files public as people upload.
• The chair will have login and password, and each new chair administers the Google Site, but participants can upload to Google Drive, and the chair picks and organizes the documents to the Google Site

 12:00:    Lunch (on your own)

 1:00:      Individual / Group presentations

 Lincoln Larson (North Carolina State University)—Public Parks and Well-being: Challenges and Opportunities for Nature-Based Health Promotion

• Summarized his research.
• Several good publications linking health and ecosystem services
• Listed three “multistate opportunities” that can build off this research

1. Mapping eco service sand linking to health and well-being outcomes
2. Developing standards
3. Exploring diverse communities

 Courtney Schultz, Ph.D. Student (North Carolina State University)—

• Connecting outdoor aeas to human health
• Well recognized, but not quantified.
• Up-coming study:
  • Using a discrete choice experiment with providers
  • Experiments with patients – actually looking at physiological measures.

 Bob Ratcliff – (NPS & Federal Recreation Council) —Update on projects and initiatives

Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account

• BEA will be using existing data, and looking at “cells” of expenditures, and sometimes sub-cells (not all climbing shoes are outdoor recreation shoes, maybe only 7% of are outdoors)
• Right now it’s “natural resource based.”
• When data points are decided upon, they’ll model that data to come up with nation-wide economic impact number.
• It is not scalable yet (for states, individual parks, etc.)

 Health/Parks Px – Health Parks/Health People

• Currently developing the health promotion initiative
• Strategy is in development and the NE1962 group can help the NPS create this strategy based on science
• Bob is looking to continue to connect with the NE1962 network

 Other Visitor and Parks Issues

• Alternative transportation initiatives (People Powered Park Days)
  • Bikes are becoming a bigger issue; NPS is helping to promote their use.
  • Related to awareness, events, and infrastructure and design
• National Scenic Trail – 50^th anniversary
  • Promoting trails and the Wild and Scenic Rivers
  • First Time Hikes
• Land agencies in the DoI have the authority to directly hire graduate students through a rigorous internship program
• Other “direct hire” opportunities for students

Kristi Lekies – (Ohio State University) — Engaging Urban Youth in Outdoor Recreation: A study of Long-term Impacts

• A project from 10 years ago
• Evaluation of a program that involves urban youth (African Americans, and others) on their perceptions of the environment and what motivates them to participate.
• Kristi is planning a follow up study with many of the participants from the original study
• Attitudes towards the environment, recreation participation, etc.
• New cohort will also be studied
• Kristi will be involved in other projects throughout Ohio

 Kathy Scholl – (University of Northern Iowa) — Campus Infrastructure and Sustainable Resource Management Practices: Mapping Campus DNA for Human Resiliency

• Comparing organizational and social organizational systems
• Discussing the role of greenspace on a campus and it’s role with human resiliency

 Lincoln Larson (North Carolina State University)—Connecting Outdoor Recreation and Conservation Behavior: Evidence to Support a Conservation-Recreation Model.

• Presented day 2 – need notes.

 4:30:      Adjourn (dinner on your own)

 Friday January 27, 2017

 8:00:      Continued work on the renewal of the project proposal.

• Lincoln organized outputs, outcomes, and milestones.
• As a group, items were reworded, added, and deleted

 8:30:      Agency Representatives: Information and resource priorities overview

Did not occur

 9:15:      Research & Extension Areas session with Agency representatives (breakout groups if needed)

Did not occur

 10:15:   Break

 10:30:    Action Items & Post-Meeting Charges

 Revise milestones for proposal

• Develop Google site
  • Shared related resources
  • Creating a repository for publications and measures, with continued growth
  • Get acquainted with agency with agency and foundation people
•  Discuss compilation of 2016 annual accomplishments from individual participants
• Kathy will ask Bill to organize the annual report for 2016 (Bill Siemer agreed)

 Tasks for Completing 2016 Annual Report

• Due 60 days after the meeting (March 28, 2017)
• October to October Reporting Cycle
• Use template that Erin developed in earlier reporting cycle
• Include publications, presentations, grants, etc
• Send communication to all NE1962 members and direct them to submit their report to Bill Siemer at wfs1@cornell.edu
• Summit report
•  2017 Chair recognition (Taylor Stein)

Accepted chair and will work with Kathy to ensure renewal goes smoothly

•  Chair-elect election for 2018

Peter Fix was nominated and Kathy will contact. (Will call this week)

•  2018 Annual meeting location/date

January 25-26, 2018, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, Washington DC

12:00:    Adjourn

2016 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

•  Working with colleagues in the US Forest Service and other universities, Lincoln Larson and associates explored links between urban ecosystem services and public health. This led to multiple conceptual papers outlining connections between green space and health outcomes (physical activity, mental/psychological health, socio-emotional health, subjective well-being, etc.). Their work has sought to analyze these issues through the lens of environmental justice and bridge disciplinary gaps between parks and recreation, ecology, and public health. After completing these synthesis papers and secondary data analyses, they are now planning to move towards empirical data collection that should help to answer remaining questions about links between specific aspects of green space and preventative health outcomes.

 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.

•  In addition to continuing many smaller EE evaluation efforts, Larson and associates worked with 2 organizations to understand how parks can facilitate connection to nature across generations and foster positive youth development. Their project with the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD) is investigating the broader impacts of the First Day Hike experience on participants (over 50,000 Americans participated in a First Day Hike last year). Another project, supported by the Boys Scouts of America, is exploring how residential camp experiences in remote settings impact the environmental attitudes/awareness and development of minority youth with little previous exposure to nature. They plan to analyze data and report the results of both projects in the coming year.
•  The tourism industry is central to the economic development of many rural communities in Maine. Tourism and recreation activities in Maine are highly dependent on weather and climate patterns. A project by De Urioste-Stone surveyed over 2,000 Maine visitors, and interviewed 23 tourism stakeholders to understand climate change perceptions and travel behavior. The project increased understanding on the vulnerability and resilience of tourism destinations in Maine to climate change, identified the information gaps for future research, discovered the areas for improvement among industry stakeholders in terms of adaptive capacity, and improved knowledge on visitor perceptions and travel behavior.
•  Stein et al. focused an investigation on lands where the Florida National Scenic Trail exists. Research related to the Florida National Scenic Trail resulted in better understanding the demographics of trail users, motivations for using the trail, description of type of use, and useful management strategies to improve how land managers can improve recreation opportunities for those visitors. Technical reports, workshops, and presentations on research findings were designed to improve capacity to manage recreation on public lands.
•  Stein et al. investigated the impact of field-based environmental education in motivating sixth grade science students to participate in nature-based recreation. Journal articles, extension publications, and presentations will be given to help middle school educators and recreation professionals understand how field-based education may benefit middle school students. The More Kids in the Woods Project completed it's third year. Results have been used to improve the program.
•  Lekies et al. study, "Childhood Experiences in Nature: Impacts Across the Life Span," examined 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.  Of particular interest are direct, hands-on experiences with nature.  Data were collected through a university-wide survey sent to Ohio State University students in 2012 with analysis ongoing. 
•  Lekies et al. study, "Connecting Young Children with Nature," examined 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.  Analysis is ongoing.
•  Lekies et al. study, "Collecting Biodiversity: The Objects, Places, and Experiences of Childhood," examined childhood nature collecting, nature connectedness, and outdoor engagement among university students in Sweden.  Data were collected through a survey in early 2015 with analysis ongoing.

 Objective 3: Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting community vibrancy and resilience.

•  Larson and associates engaged in 2 projects exploring this theme. The first project is investigating the impact of urban greenways on local communities, focusing on trails in Atlanta, San Antonio, and Chicago. Key dependent variables in these studies include crime, community character, and ecosystem services that enhance resilience. They also are continuing work on a multi-year project that tests a conceptual Conservation-Recreation (with the hypothesis that nature-based recreation leads to sense of place, which then fosters pro-environmental behavior and community resilience.
•  Seekamp and associates collaborated on a Minnesota Sea Grant funded project to build climate readiness in communities dependent upon outdoor recreation and tourism as their primary economic drivers. This project, led by Mae Davenport at the University of Minnesota, is an interdisciplinary effort to predict changes in tourism demand based on alterations to visitors' travel patterns given changing environmental and climate conditions under moderate and high-level emissions scenarios. Other aspects of this project include assessing current capacities for climate adaptation and estimating the economic impacts of changes in tourism demand. This project is ongoing with an expected completion date of August 2017.
•  Seekamp and associates worked on an internally sponsored project (College of Natural Resources) to assess communities' adaptive capacity to climate change in a region of coastal North Carolina. Seekamp served as the project's co-lead PI with Ryan Emanuel, and three other North Carolina State University faculty. The project seeks to assess the adaptive capacity of rural, low-lying communities that are primarily dependent on natural resource based industries, including recreation and tourism, to the impacts of salinization, sea level rise and flooding. Two community outreach workshops were delivered, a project website was developed and launched, and 5 fact sheets were developed and placed on the website.
•  The benefits of nature contact as therapy are well documented, including contemplative, recreational, and hands-on habitat restoration activities. Though not yet on the radar screen of policy makers, veterans have initiated nature-based programs focused on hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation and restoration activities. Examples include Wounded Warriors in Action, Project Healing Waters, Higher Ground Sun Valley, and Sierra Club Outdoors Military Program. Testimony from participants suggest the programs have powerful impacts on vets. Although research projects have focused on reintegrating vets, a recent literature review revealed only one study of the impact of an outdoor program on veterans, the results of which were inconclusive. Further, despite the rapid emergence of nature-based programs for vets across the US, little information on how officials view such efforts exists. Projects by Tidball and associates investigate the importance of human-nature interactions in outdoor recreation and restoration activities among returning war veterans, especially women and those disabled in combat, to account for how these interactions relate to individual, community, and social-ecological resilience. During this reporting period 53 semi-structured interviews with wounded veterans were completed and analysis was initiated to determine veteran motivations and perceived benefits. Planning was completed for a survey of non-veteran hosts of outdoor recreation events for veterans, which will determine community benefits and associated resilience indicators. A website and social media sites were used to capture comparison data.
•  Fix and associates continued a research effort that identifies beneficial outcomes for visitors to BLM-managed lands. A second research program by Fix and associates is attempting to assess how communities adjacent to BLM managed lands benefit from direct use of these lands, other uses, or merely from the land's presence. This research has three objectives: 1) refine methods for assessing beneficial outcomes of onsite users; 2) build on and refine, efforts to assess community benefits associated with recreation; 3) contribute to both generalizable knowledge regarding the relationship between recreation and positive health benefits and demonstrate how such information can be incorporated into management. To achieve these objectives, this research will: 1) conduct studies gathering primary data from onsite users of recreation areas in Alaska; 2) conduct focus groups with various affected communities regarding benefits that can be realized from recreation on public lands; 3) collaborate with local recreation managers to incorporate information; 4) work with a larger network of researchers on research projects to improve measures of the relationship between recreation and community benefits. During this activity period a multi-state study team worked closely with the Bureau of Land Management (with the BLM personnel located in Colorado, Idaho, and Washington, DC) to refine the survey instruments previously used for Outcomes-Focused-Management Research. A proposal to develop a multi-state focused research center at UAF to implement the BLM's vision for OMB was developed and submitted to the BLM. Two pilot projects, using the refined survey instruments were initiated.
•  Decker and associates collected quantitative and qualitative data to improve understanding of how wildlife-dependent recreation (WDR) and conservation recreation (CR) contribute to vibrancy and resilience of communities near a wildlife management area (WMA) and a national wildlife refuge (NWR) in New York State. During this project period they continued analyzing data from a survey of over 3,000 recreationists using one of the study areas [Rocky Point Natural Resource Management Area (Suffolk County, NY). They confirmed the reliability of scales used in the survey instrument to assess relationships between outdoor activity involvement and other concepts in the Conservation Recreation Model (e.g., place attachment, community involvement, place-enhancing behaviors). Aggregate avidity of participation in recreation was found to be predictive of social environmentalism (i.e., working with others to address an environmental problem, participating in a local environmental group, volunteering to do local environmental activities). This provides some evidence that recreation contributes to more community involvement, which is one component of building resilient communities.
•  Decker and associates also completed analysis of data from qualitative interviews with staff and volunteers associated with Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge, to provide qualitative insights about relationships between variables in the Conservation Recreation Model. Interview subjects consistently indicated that engagement in nature-dependent activities on the Refuge enhanced their local environmental awareness and their concern for protecting local natural resources, both on and outside the Refuge. Many respondents also indicated participation in these activities on the Refuge enhanced their familiarity with local community members. These results suggest that such refuges can help facilitate communication between local residents, provide experiential learning opportunities, and provide direct and indirect community building opportunities. All of these functions may contribute to community resilience.

 2015 Training, professional development, and information dissemination

 Objective 1: preventive health benefits

•  Poster: Wilcer, S., Larson, L., & Hallo, J. (2016). Exploring the First Day Hike phenomenon: Who hikes and why? College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences Research Forum. Clemson, SC: April 20, 2016.
•  Poster: Harris, B, Ogletree, S., & Larson, L. (2016). Urban greenways and crime: What can we learn from Chicago’s 606? College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences Research Forum. Clemson, SC: April 20, 2016.
•  Poster: Keith, S. J., Larson, L. R., Hallo, J. C., Fernandez, M., & Shafer, C. S. (2016). A tale of two trails: Comparing urban greenway use and benefits in Atlanta, GA, and San Antonio, TX. College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences Research Forum. Clemson, SC: April 20, 2016.
•  Presentation: Scholl, K. (2016). Mapping Campus DNA. Presentation to Critical Theories and Practice course HPELS 7410, University of Northern Iowa, October, 2016.
•  Presentation: Betrabet-Gulwadi, G., & Scholl, K. (2016). Campus Infrastructure and Sustainable Resource Management Practices: Mapping Campus DNA for Human Resiliency. World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities: Designing Tomorrow’s Campus: Resiliency, Vulnerability and Adaptation — Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA, October, 2016.

 Objective 2: environmental literacy and connections with nature

•  Presentation: Beery, T. H., & Lekies, K. (2016). Childhood collecting in nature: Quality experience in important places. Poster presentation at the North American Association of Environmental Education conference, Madison, Wisconsin: October, 2016.
•  Presentation: Lekies, K. (2016). Children, youth, and nature: Developing an understanding of experience. Presentation at the Institute for Applied Research on Childhood, Youth, and the Family (IFK), Staffelde, Germany: May, 2016.
•  Presentation: Brensinger, J., Lekies, K. S., & Beery, T. (2016). Holding on to childhood memories: The impact of childhood nature collecting. Paper presentation at the Coalition for Education in the Outdoors conference, Bradford Woods, Indiana: January 2016.
•  Presentation: Paudyal, R. & Stein, T. V. (2016). How do season and weather patterns affect recreation participation in Florida? Paper presented at the 2016 International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Houghton, MI: June 22-26, 2016.
•  Presentation: Rostock, T. & Stein, T.V. (2016). Minority youths’ attitudes towards and perceptions of nature and nature-based recreation. Southeastern Recreation Research Symposium. Asheville, NC: March 21-23, 2016.
•  Presentation: Stein, T.V., Ward, C., Paudyal, R., Findlay, D., & Rostock, T. (2016). Understanding Nature-Based Recreation through the Eyes of Youth from Diverse Backgrounds. Paper presented at the 2016 Society of American Foresters National Convention. Madison, WI: November 2-6, 2016.
•  Presentation: Stein, T.V., Gullion, M., Paudyal, R., Harris, L., & Northrop, R. (2016). Identifying New Recreation Opportunities for Conserved Areas in the Wildland-Urban Interface. Paper presented at the 2016 Society of American Foresters National Convention. Madison, WI: November 2-6, 2016.

 Objective 3: Community vibrancy and resilience

•  Presentation: Dayer, A., Phillips, T., Cooper, C., Sullivan, B., & Larson, L. (2016). The surveys say birdwatchers are conservationists. North American Ornithological Conference. Washington, DC: August 16-20, 2016.
•  Presentation: Seekamp, E., Smith, J. W., & Davenport, M. A.. (2016). The influence of daily weather conditions on recreationists’ response to contingent trip-taking behavior questions. Paper presented at the 22^nd International Symposium on Society and Resource Management (ISSRM). Houghton, Michigan, June 22-26, 2016.
•  Presentation: McCreary, A., Smith, J. W., & Seekamp, E. (2016). Parameterizing agent based models of contingent trip-taking behavior with on-site survey data. Paper presented at the 22^nd International Symposium on Society and Resource Management (ISSRM). Houghton, Michigan: June 22-26, 2016.
•  Presentation: Fix, P., & Morgan, D. (2016). A data collection process to support implementation of H-8320-1. Webex video presented to Bureau of Land Management staff nationwide on January 27, 2016.
•  Presentation: Virden, R., & Fix, P. (2016). Overview of multi-state research being conducted for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on beneficial outcomes for visitors to BLM-managed lands. Presentation to BLM Staff, BLM National Training Center. Phoenix, AZ: April 19, 2016.
•  Presentation: Doyle-Capitman, C. (2016). Promoting environmentally aware communities through local public participation in wildlife-focused activities on a refuge. Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Conference. Annapolis, MD: April 4-6, 2016.
•  Multiple one hour webinars were produced and disseminated on the benefits of outdoor recreation activities and expeditions for veterans in transition. Results are being disseminated via multiple websites, social media outlets, and via appropriate Department of Veterans Affairs channels.

De Urioste-Stone, S.M., Le, L., Scaccia, M. & Wilkins, E.. (2016). Nature-based tourism and climate change risk: Visitors’ perceptions in Mount Desert Island, Maine. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism doi: 10.1016/j.jort.2016.01.003.

De Urioste-Stone, S.M., Scaccia, M. & Howe-Poteet, D. (2015). Exploring visitor perceptions of the influence of climate change on tourism at Acadia National Park, Maine. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 11, 34-43. doi: dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2015.07.001.

Jennings, V. L., Larson, C. K., & Larson, L. R. (2016). Ecosystem services and preventive medicine: a natural connection. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 50(5), 642-645. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2015.11.001

Jennings, V., Larson, L., & Yun, J. (2016). Advancing sustainability through urban green space: cultural ecosystem services, equity, and social determinants of health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13: 196. doi: 10.3390/ijerph13020196

Larson, L. R., Conway, A. L., Hernandez, S. M., & Carroll, J. P. (2016). Human-wildlife conflict, conservation attitudes, and a potential role for citizen science in Sierra Leone, Africa. Conservation & Society, 14(3), 205-217. doi: 10.4103/0972-4923.191159

Larson, L. R, Jennings, V., & Cloutier, S. A. (2016). Public parks and wellbeing in urban areas of the United States. PLOS ONE, 11(4): e0153211. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153211

Lekies, K. S., & Brensinger, J. (2016). Is rural closer to nature? Comparing childhood nature experiences across residential settings. Pages 67-86 In C. Freeman and P. Tranter (Eds.), Geographies of children and young people major reference work, Vol. 12, Risk, protection, provision and policy. Springer.

Lekies, K. S., & Whitworth, B. (2016). Exploring age cohort differences in children’s nature experiences and connection to nature.  Proceedings of the 2014 Northeast Recreation Research Symposium. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/nerr/2014/Papers/8/

Betrabet-Gulwadi, G., & Scholl, K. (2017). Campus Infrastructure and Sustainable Resource Management Practices: Mapping Campus DNA for Human Resiliency. World Sustainability Series. Springer, pp 103-118.

Skupien, G. M., Andrews, K. M., & Larson, L. R. (2016). Teaching tolerance? Effects of conservation education programs on acceptance capacity for the American alligator. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 21(3), 264-279. doi: 10.1080/10871209.2016.1147624

Smith, J., E. Seekamp, A. McCreary, M. Davenport, M. Kanazawa, K. Holmberg, B. Wilson, J. Nieber. (2016). Shifting demand for winter outdoor recreation and tourism along the North Shore of Lake Superior under variable rates of climate change: A finite-mixture modeling approach. Ecological Economics, 123, 1-13.