Proceedings National Workshop On Recreation Research And Management February 8 10 2005 Portland Oregon

What is the urban–rural interface? Is it a visual phenomenon, a place where country gives way to neighborhoods and shopping areas in a startling way? Is it a simple factor of population density? There is nothing simple about the urban–rural interface—editors David Laband, Graeme Lockaby, and Wayne Zipperer present the broad spectrum of interdisciplinary complexities at play. Organized into three sections on changing ecosystems, changing human dimensions, and the dynamic integration of human and natural systems, this book is a must read for anyone who works in the real world, where natural and human systems are joined. This is the new sustainability science, an emerging discipline that integrates social and economic values with the physical, chemical, and ecological functions of ecosystems. The goal is optimal management, since our human impact is often significant and far-reaching in both space and time.

This report examines the capacity of natural resource agencies to generate scientific knowledge and information for use by resource managers in planning and decisionmaking. This exploratory study focused on recreation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. A semistructured, open-ended interview guide elicited insights from 58 managers and 28 researchers about recreation issues, information exchange, and research-management interactions. Data were coded and analyzed using Atlas.ti®, a qualitative analysis software program. Results indicate that recreation managers seek information to address user conflicts and manage diverse activities across sites and landscapes. Managers do not always turn to the research community when looking for scientific information and are uncertain about the proper channels for communication. Managers consult a variety of information sources and aggregate various types of scientific information for use in planning and management. Managers desire greater and more diverse interactions with researchers to promote knowledge exchange useful for addressing recreation problems. Barriers to interaction include organizational differences between management and research, researcher responsiveness, relevance of information to manager needs, and the lack of formal interaction opportunities. Several structural processes were suggested to facilitate opportunities for greater interaction and information exchange.

The rapid conversion of land to urban and suburban areas has profoundly altered how water flows during and following storm events, putting higher volumes of water and more pollutants into the nation's rivers, lakes, and estuaries. These changes have degraded water quality and habitat in virtually every urban stream system. The Clean Water Act regulatory framework for addressing sewage and industrial wastes is not well suited to the more difficult problem of stormwater discharges. This book calls for an entirely new permitting structure that would put authority and accountability for stormwater discharges at the municipal level. A number of additional actions, such as conserving natural areas, reducing hard surface cover (e.g., roads and parking lots), and retrofitting urban areas with features that hold and treat stormwater, are recommended.