An assessment of public engagement for access management planning in southwestern Alberta, Canada.

This paper describes efforts to bridge the gap between the existing research and proposed recreation access management for public lands in southwestern Alberta, Canada. Recreation access management has been identified as a complex problem and public consultation is one element in addressing the complexity. An Internet-based survey (n = 945) examined the acceptability and desirability of public consultation processes to assist with access management planning. Non-parametric tests indicate significant differences in desirability of public consultation types existed for all variables except gender. Respondents expressed the desire for a diversity of public consultation approaches with a strong preference for face-to-face field visits. Mechanisms for engagement in access management planning should be based on public consultation preferences to ensure broad, on going engagement and subsequent user acceptance and compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]