Types of Norms for Recreation Impacts: Extending the Social Norms Concept

Abstract

Evaluative information about appropriate use conditions is a necessary component of managing impacts in recreation settings. Social norm theory, which suggests there may be group agreement about appropriate conditions, can be applied to help establish standards. Information was collected regarding boaters' standards for a variety of social and ecological impacts on the Deschutes River in Oregon. Results suggest norms can be identified and appear to conform to three different types. A “no tolerance” norm exists when most users agree that any level of impact is unacceptable, a “single tolerance” norm exists when users show similar agreement at impact levels greater than zero, and a “multiple tolerance” norm exists when two or more groups of users have different standards for acceptable impact levels. These norm types help in understanding differences in acceptable impact levels and group agreement. Implications are discussed for establishing management standards from normative information.

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