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Excerpts from Public Survey Report: A Survey of Residents of the Greater Southern Appalachian Region to Describe: Public Use and Preferred Objectives for Southern Appalachian National Forests/Daniel Boone National Forest

July 2002 - Southern Research Station, USFS    

Editor’s Note: The Forest Service’s Southern Research Station, in cooperation with the University of Tennessee’s Social Science Research Institute, recently completed a study of local public opinion regarding the management of the Daniel Boone and other National Forests in the Southeast. What follows are highlights from the study that we’ve picked out as its most significant findings. We’re delighted, for instance, to see that the Daniel Boone is valued most by locals for watershed protection, protection of old, wild forests, and as a home for rare and endangered species. In contrast, local people put extractive and utilitarian uses of the forest like logging, mining, oil drilling, and roadbuilding at the bottom of their list of values. To see the full text and in-house analysis of the study, go to www.srs.fs.fed.us/trends/sanfrpt.html

Sample Area: All counties within 75 mi. of the boundary of the Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF)

Sample Size: 1,056 respondents

1/3 of survey respondents have visited the DBNF (65% of these have been there in the past year). The following recreation numbers apply to this group of DBNF visitors:

 

Most Popular Recreation Activities on the DBNF:

Driving for pleasure 59.8%

Viewing/Photographing wildlife and natural scenery 59.4%

Picnicking 49.6%

Visiting a Wilderness or undeveloped roadless area 43.6%

Day Hiking 30.6%

Other Selected Recreation Activities on the DBNF:

Swimming 24.1%

Fishing 22.8%

Gathering mushrooms or other natural products 16.2%

Camping at developed sites 19.1%

Off-road driving 15.4%

Primitive camping 11.7%

Hunting 6.1%

Horseback riding 4.8%

Backpacking 6.0%

 

Most Significant Public Values for Management of DBNF:1

Maintaining NF’s for future generations to use and enjoy 95.2%   

Protect sources of clean water 94.7%     

Protect wildlife habitat 89.4%     

Planting and management of trees for healthy forests 88.9%     

Leaving forests natural in appearance 87.2%      

Protecting rare, unique or endangered plant&animal species 83.7%

 

Least Significant Public Values for Management of DBNF:

Help local tourism business 57.7 %   

Permit livestock grazing 43.4%    

Provide raw materials and products for local industries 35.9%

 

Other Selected Values:

Provide for outdoor recreation 77.9 %   

"The values most often emphasized in the management of national forests, i.e. outdoor recreation and timber, are in the lower ½ of the list of values"(17).

Protect areas that are the sources of water 94.6%

Protect areas that are important wildlife habitats 90.6%

Protect Old Growth forests and allow natural processes to continue into the future 85.6%

Provide habitat for wildlife for people to see and photograph 85.1%

Use controlled fires to reduce the threat of wildfires or improve wildlife habitat 73.6%

 

Least Important Public Management Objectives:

Provide new roads for cars 34.1%

Trade public lands for private lands 42.0%

Expand commercial recreation services 36.5%

Allow harvesting and mining to support local communities 29.9%

Expand access for motorized off-highway vehicles 23.3%

Allow commercial leasing of oil and gas rights 17.9%

 

Other Selected Public Mgmt. Objectives:

Designate more areas as Wilderness 65.1%

Increase acres in the NF 64.0%

Allow recreation fees that go back to management 57.1%

Increase wildlife for hunting 49.9 % 

"The people who reside in areas near the DBNF clearly put ecosystems and naturalness above utilitarian objectives in the management of these national forests"(19).

 

Respondents Agreeing or Strongly Agreeing with these statements2:

"Critical homes for plant and animal species should be protected" 95.0%  

"The Endangered Species Act has not gone far enough and should be strengthened" 73.7%  

"There should be more controls on tourism and second home development" 73.0%  

"There should be more timber production, mining, and other commercial uses of forests" 24.0 % 

 

1   Percentage of survey repondents indicating that

these values are important or very important

 

2   Percentage of survey respondents agreeing or

strongly agreeing with these statements

 

 

"Residents of the Southern Appalachians seem to have become more concerned about the environment and more supportive of further protecting it over the last several years. They would support more environmental regulation"(22).