Recreational beneficiaries and their landscape dependencies across national estuary program sites: Tillamook Bay (OR) and Tampa Bay (FL), USA.

Abstract

This study aims to characterize the value associated with nature-based recreational opportunities and identify estuarine attributes most valued by users. With the National Ecosystem Service Classification System as a framework, we assessed the relationship between recreational beneficiary subclasses and ecological end-products available to beneficiaries in Tillamook Bay, OR, and Tampa Bay, FL estuaries. We used the InVEST recreation model to assess the spatial distribution and intensity of recreation in both estuaries, then inform site selection in subsequent analyses. We evaluated photo content and collected observational data at sites with the highest utilization. Surveys of location attributes helped determine the availability of ecosystem service ecological end-products. Ordination techniques were employed to evaluate similarities in natural and human-made attributes across stations and establish groups of stations that could offer comparable recreational experiences. Recreational 'experiencers and viewers' were the dominant beneficiary group, as they took the most photos and were most often encountered during passive onsite observations. Composite features (e.g. viewscapes) were the predominant ecological end-products. Counter to hypothesized outcomes, there was no detectable difference in the number of recreational beneficiaries predicted between estuaries after accounting for site-scale variability. Locations with multiple natural and human-made attributes, including access points, had more recreational users. Onsite observations also revealed a potential need for more safe and equitable access options in high-use locations. Findings highlight the importance of recreational 'experiencers and viewers' valuing habitat mosaics, even across vastly different geographical settings. This exploration of how humans derive well-being from coastal landscapes is crucial to ecosystem-based management.