Boater Perceptions of Environmental Issues Affecting Lakes in Northern Wisconsin

Abstract

Understanding public perceptions of the importance of environmental issues is crucial for gauging support for management activities. I present a novel methodological approach to assess the importance boaters placed on 16 water issues in a lake-rich region of northern Wisconsin. A latent class maximum difference conjoint model was used to examine the relationships between environmental concern and engagement with lake resources. Boaters were grouped to maximize observed heterogeneity in prioritizing issues of concern. Sociodemographic characteristics, recreation specialization, place attachment, and attitudes concerning aquatic stewardship and invasive species management were then used to predict class membership. This modeling approach identified five groups whose perceptions of issues pertaining to lakes are influenced by their interactions with the lake environment. While anglers were most concerned about fishing quality, sightseers identified lakeshore development and loss of natural habitat. Groups also differed in their socio-demographic and attitudinal characteristics. The priorities of each group were substantially different from those of the overall sample. Accounting for differences in stakeholders' environmental concerns may improve public involvement in water management initiatives by allowing managers to identify common concerns and prioritize important issues among multiple groups.(KEY TERMS: best-worst scaling; latent class analysis; decision support systems; sociology; public participation.) Beardmore, Ben, 2015. Boater Perceptions of Environmental Issues Affecting Lakes in Northern Wisconsin.

Thirty years after privatization: A survey of Icelandic small-boat fishermen

“…com.) and is similar to the range of 13-35% from other recent studies of resource users using a comparable method [44][45][46][47][48]. Surveys were returned from respondents from primary fishery groups within small-boat fisheries (both selfidentified primary small-boat fishery and their participation in the 2013 fishing year) in similar stratified percentages as were sampled (Table 1); however, 11% of respondents identified as being primarily part of the large-boat ITQ system.…”

Water quality and recreational use of public waterways

“…For example, in the United States Egan et al (2009) find that recreational water users are responsive to the full set of water quality measures used by biologists and that the changes in these quality measures translate into changes in the recreational usage patterns and well-being of users. But there is also evidence that water pollution is a priority issue only for a minority of recreational users and not of much concerns to others (Beardmore 2015). Furthermore, where water pollution has an implied health risk some dedicated users are undeterred in their activities unless the level of pollution is extreme (Hynes, Hanley, and Scarpa 2008;Boeri et al 2012).…”

Research on the social perception of invasive species: a systematic literature review

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