A Crowding-based Model of Social Carrying Capacity: Applications For Whitewater Boating Use

Abstract

Following the Limits of Acceptable Change planning framework, we apply crowding standards proposed by Shelby, Heberlein and Vaske (1989) to develop a crowding-based model of social carrying capacity. Fourteen hundred and seventy boaters (347 commercial guided, 873 commercial non-guided, 28 private rafters, and 222 private canoers/kayakers) on the Nantahala River in North Carolina completed an on-site survey immediately following their white-water trip in the summer of 1994. There were four types of predictor variables: total daily use levels, water release level, time of day, and day of the week. The dependent variable was perceived crowding. Using an ordered logit model, all coefficients were significant at p <.05. Regression results were then applied to aggregate values to determine carrying capacities for three different crowding standards. Opportunities for applying and expanding the model to other settings and implications for management are discussed

KEYWORDS:

• social carrying capacities
• recreational crowding
• whitewater boating
• limits of acceptable change