Hispanics and Parks: Managing for Human Diversity

摘要: Managing for multiple uses is a constant challenge for natural resource managers. One facet of this challenge includes managing for diverse user-groups, an issue that is increasingly confronting natural resource agencies in the state of Ohio. Between 2000 and 2007, Latino-Hispanics, the fastest growing minority group in the country, experienced growth of 22.4%, contrasting sharply with the overall Ohio population increase of 1.0%. While Latino-Hispanics as a whole still only make up approximately 3% of the total population in Ohio, they are becoming a larger piece of the management puzzle. In previous studies examining Latino-Hispanic leisure behavior, assimilation has been found to play an important role, however, studies are sparse in the Great Lakes region. In the present study, Latino-Hispanics in Columbus, Ohio were administered a survey examining ethnic assimilation, leisure activity choices and constraints. Initial analyses examine differences in activity choice between this sample and a separate sample of White respondents, while allowing for ethnic heterogeneity within the Latino-Hispanic sample. A separate analysis examines within-group differences in perceived constraints to leisure in undeveloped natural areas among Latino-Hispanics in central Ohio.