Characteristics and use behavior of innertube floaters on southern Appalachian streams

William E. Hammitt; Grary D. McDonald; H. Ken Cordell

ABSTRACT:

Innertube floating is a rapidly growing recreational activity on southern Appalachian streams. To provide resource managers with information about this emerging group of river recreationists, a survey of user characteristics and use behavior was conducted on three southern Appalachian streams. Results indicate that innertube floaters are teen-agers and highly educated, young adults. Their activity is group-oriented and they do little advanced planning for float trips. Most floaters have little experience with the activity. But 80 percent feel the activity will continue to increase in popularity, and 94 percent plan to return to the sampled rivers for future float trips.

Footnotes

William E. Hammitt is an associate professor of forest recreation. Department of Forestry. Wildlife, and Fisheries, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 37901; Gary D. McDonald is a graduate research assistant, College of Forestry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis: and H. Ken Cordell is a project leader, Urban Forestry, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Athens, Georgia. This research was funded under a cooperative agreement between the University of Tennessee; the Southeast Regional Office of the National Park Service; and the Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Copyright 1983 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

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