Serving culturally diverse visitors to forests in California: a resource guide

Abstract

The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the principle of multiple use management of the Nation's forest resources for sustained yields of wood, water, forage, wildlife, and recreation. Through forestry research, cooperation with the States and private forest owners, and management of the national forests and national grasslands, it strives-as directed by Congress-to provide increasingly greater service to a growing Nation.The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. The national forests of California are experiencing an increase in new visitors yet, in some areas, a continued lack of ethnic diversity persists. In addition, changing demographics has led to a need for keeping up with trends while also being aware of constraints to visitor use. Knowing how to serve culturally diverse visitors in ways that are innovative and inclusive entails broadening the base of support. This resource guide was compiled from comprehensive research reports, statewide program and services documents, outreach and civic engagement plans, and Internet searches of other applicable resources. Numerous materials are provided, best practices are noted, and tips on practical application ("tips worth trying") are offered. Highlights of research findings are included, along with strategies and possible management options relating to communication, services and facilities, developing partnerships, and ideas for community engagement and outreach.

Equity in Access to Outdoor Recreation—Informing a Sustainable Future

“…Lack of interest may be reflective of more subtle aspects of discrimination, as was mentioned, where respondents may have used this general explanation for a feeling of not being welcomed, not fitting in, wishing to avoid a negative experience, or more generally not having developed an interest through lack of access and opportunity while growing up [26]. Studies applying specified response sets, and those employing in-depth qualitative approaches, have revealed some of these nuances in past research [24]. However, intensive efforts to include diverse ethnoracial communities in outdoor recreation, particularly on national forest lands, warrants ongoing studies to determine if these patterns are shifting over time, or showing increased patterns of exclusion or segregation of experiences [5].…”

“…Researchers have offered communication-based solutions to problems of unequal access. These solutions are of sufficient generality to potentially mitigate some factors that lead to ethnic-based inequalities in natural resource area recreation use [24,29,44]. Communication approaches may be particularly helpful in increasing awareness of opportunities and programs that may be of interest, as well as incorporating messages of inclusion and expanding the awareness of active engagement of diverse cultural groups in outdoor recreation [11,24,30].…”

“…These solutions are of sufficient generality to potentially mitigate some factors that lead to ethnic-based inequalities in natural resource area recreation use [24,29,44]. Communication approaches may be particularly helpful in increasing awareness of opportunities and programs that may be of interest, as well as incorporating messages of inclusion and expanding the awareness of active engagement of diverse cultural groups in outdoor recreation [11,24,30]. Additionally, work has shown the value of targeting messaging paths that reflect cultural variations in information sources that are relied upon and trusted [44][45][46].…”

“…Earlier work [29] reported a continuing pattern of ethnoracial differences in reliance on, and trust in various sources for information about outdoor recreation. For example, pre-visit communications among ethnoracial minorities rely heavily on word-of-mouth [24], including from family and friends and other social networks. A detailed examination of information sources (e.g., magazines and newspapers, or radio) used in one culturally diverse region of California revealed a pattern of more frequent reliance on ethnic media outlets and programming among ethnoracial minorities [29,44].…”

“…Earlier research [30] revealed ethnoracial variations in access to information, furthering the idea that culturally competent information delivery may help address some constraints on ethnic groups' participation in recreation on national forest lands (cf. [4,24]). Information sources used and trusted among study respondents are reported to improve efforts that focus on information routes and messaging to address recreation inequities.…”