Normative Evaluations Among Paddlers: A Comparison of Two Dimensions of Experience

Abstract

A mail survey (n = 298) was conducted to examine potential relationships between level of experience and normative evaluations of encounter levels, shoreline development, and campsite impacts among paddlers (kayakers, canoeists) along a water trail on Lake Champlain in northeastern USA. Paddler perceptions of use-related issues and normative evaluations of a range of motorboat and sailboat use, shoreline development, and impacts at campsites were determined and compared among groups with different levels of experiences (trip frequency, duration). In most cases, perceptions and normative evaluations did not differ according to either measure of experience. However, respondents differed in their perception of problems related to access and development and in their normative evaluations of shoreline development and campsite impacts based on the length of their longest paddling trip. Findings suggest that trip duration may be a somewhat more useful measure of experience than trip frequency for understanding differences in paddler perceptions of social and resource conditions.