| The Jocassee Gorges Natural Area is approximately 43,500 acres in size and is primarily managed as a Wildlife Management Area by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). The purpose of the Jocassee Gorges Outdoor Recreation Use Survey was to conduct an empirical study of outdoor recreation activities, participation rates, and resource uses of the Jocassee Gorges. Secondary objectives which helped accomplish the purpose of the study included documenting and describing the current use of on-site visitors, participation rates, and temporal and spatial distribution patterns of use. The current and past use by local residents of the Jocassee Gorges' boundaries were documented. Traffic use on roads managed by the SCDNR within the Gorges was estimated using traffic counters.;On-site visitors were contacted while in the Jocassee Gorges and asked to complete a survey concerning their use of the area. A total of 263 visitors were contacted, of which 247 agreed to complete the survey, resulting in a participation rate of 94 percent. The on-site convenience sample was conducted during the spring, summer, fall, and winter of 2005, involving approximately 575 hours of fieldwork.;The average on-site visitor of the Jocassee Gorges was 42 years old and was at least a high school graduate. The average user had a professional type occupation and lived with a family of four. The typical visitor was a resident of the state of South Carolina, from a town or small city, and most often came from the town of Pickens or the city of Greenville. South Carolina residents accounted for 78.5 percent of users, and 21.5 percent of visitors were non-residents.;The average Jocassee Gorges user had been using the area for 10.5 years, and usually came to the Gorges 17 times each year. The typical day user of the Gorges spent four hours at the Gorges, and overnight visitors spent approximately two days within the Gorges. The usual primary and secondary activities of Jocassee Gorges visitors were either day hiking or fishing. Day hikers hiked eleven days each year; many times to find waterfalls, and anglers spent over twenty-five days fishing each year in the Gorges. Anglers fished the Eastatoee Creek most often and typically for 1-4 days each year. Jocassee Gorges users entered the property most frequently through the Bad Creek access (Musterground Road) and Horsepasture Road respectively.;During the telephone survey of local residents of the Jocassee Gorges, respondents were randomly selected by random digit dialing from the six surrounding counties of the study area. A total of 7,068 residents were contacted, of which 2,644 declined to participate, 3,676 were incomplete, and 748 residents were successfully interviewed, resulting in a participation rate of approximately 22 percent. The telephone survey of local residents was conducted during the spring of 2006.;The average local resident was 42 years old, and lived in a family of two. Over one quarter of local residents had a bachelor's degree from a college or university, and most worked in a professional occupation and made ;Among local residents successfully interviewed, 23.7 percent had used the Jocassee Gorges in the past year for recreation. The average local resident user of the Jocassee Gorges was a day hiker who hiked 1-4 days in the past year. They had usually been using the area for 13-16 years, and used the Gorges 9-12 times each year. Local resident users planned on using the Gorges 9-12 times during the next year.;The average local resident user of the Jocassee Gorges used Lake Jocassee and the Whitewater River/Falls areas the most frequently. Local resident users visited the Gorges most often during the summer months, and usually came to the area with family or friends in groups of two. For about one-third of Jocassee Gorges' users, recreation participation in the Gorges had increased, however their recreation had remained about the same since the SCDNR began managing the property.;Much of the literature demonstrated the importance of resource managers having an in-depth understanding of who visits their park or wildland area, the visitors' experience use history, and use patterns occurring within the resource (Manning, 1999; Cole 2001; Douglass, 2000; and Hammitt, Backlund, & Bixler, 2004). Visitor use studies conducted in wilderness and other areas in the southeastern United States (Burger, 2000; Hammitt & Rutlin, 1995; and Cole, Watson, & Roggenbuck, 1995) reflected similar user characteristics and use patterns as those documented at the Jocassee Gorges. |
