In this Special Report on Youth, The Outdoor Foundation examines youth participation in outdoor recreation — profiling the extent and quality of participation among ages 6 to 24. With the vital new information detailed within, it seeks to provide youth organizations, public agencies, businesses and non-profits with insights needed to get youth outside. Nearly 143 million Americans, or 49.2 percent of the US population, participated in an outdoor activity at least once in 2013. Although the actual number of outdoor participants increased since 2012, the participation rate fell slightly, due to population growth. This report takes a close look at trends in outdoor participation – including populations where participation has increased as well as decreased. In 2008, the Minnesota Recreational Trail Users Association (MRTUA) embarked on an ambitious project to simultaneously identify both the expenditures and profiles of the various trails user groups they represent. The 2014 Special Report on Fishing provides a comprehensive look at overall trends in fishing participation — including motivations, barriers and preferences of key groups — and detailed information and analysis on specific fishing categories. To create better facilities for people walking and biking, and to locate these facilities where demand and need is the highest, transportation professionals need reliable data to guide decision-making. Historically, collecting active transportation data has been both time and resource intensive. Although many communities have established robust count programs, there are still funding, quality control, and data management limitations. New technologies are emerging that aim to change the way active transportation data is collected, making it less expensive and easier to collect, resulting in more reliable data. This report provides a review of these technologies and their applications. This study focuses on park visitor spending and its economic contributions to state and regional economies in the state. This report focuses on gaining insight into the kinds of outdoor initiatives that are most important to individuals who spend a lot of time outdoors and give direction to future learning exercises. The fifth annual Special Report on Paddlesports shows that paddlesports are on the rise, again setting a record for the number of participants. In 2014, 21.7 million Americans — 7.4 percent of the population — enjoyed paddling. This represents an increase of more than 3 million participants since the study began in 2010. To better understand and address disproportionate or inequitable park use, Metropolitan Council staff conducted a qualitative research project to identify barriers to regional park visitation among communities of color. Specifically, the study sought to explore: a) preferred outdoor recreational activities and desired amenities, b) perceived barriers that prevent use of the system, c) issues or concerns about regional parks and d) recommendations and suggestions to increase and enhance park visits. Three research studies were conducted in 2007 to provide a better understanding of current and prospective visitors to Minnesota State Parks, and to inform marketing, planning, facility development, and park operations. |
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