An examination of constraints to wilderness visitation

Certain social groups appear notably less in wilderness visitation surveys than their population proportion. This study examines whether different social groups in American society (minorities, women, rural dwellers, low income and less educated populations) perceive more constraints to wilderness visitation than other groups. Logistic regressions were fit to data from the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment and used to model the probability that individuals perceive certain constraints to wilderness visitation. Seventeen structural, personal, and psychological constraints related to health, facilities, socioeconomic standing, and other personal factors were examined. Modeled probabilities were explained by age, race, gender, income, education, place of birth, and rural and regional residence. Results revealed minorities, women, lower levels of income and education, and elderly populations were more likely to perceive they were significantly constrained from visiting wilderness. However, immigrants perceived fewer constraints to wilderness visitation than was expected.