This report presents the results from the Columbia River Recreation Survey conducted in the summer of 2001. The survey combined on-site personal interviews with parties engaged in river recreation with on-site field observations to develop a picture of summer river recreation on the Columbia. The study area stretched from just below Priest Rapids Dam in the north to McNary Dam in the south, and was divided into four "Areas" that correspond to the river areas used by the Groundwater/Vadose Zone Integration Project. This study is part of the Groundwater/Vadose Zone Integration Project and was commissioned specifically to document the current recreation use levels in these areas of the river, and to elicit recreation-related expenditure information from visitors. This information informs economic and environmental models used to measure the economic risk posed by possible, but unlikely, releases of contaminants from the Hanford site into the Columbia River. During the study period, researchers collected 256 survey responses and 396 field observations from recreation sites up and down both shores of the river in the study area. Results presented include analysis of trip duration by river activity, trip frequency, and visitor place of origin. Economics-related results include trip expenditure profiles by activity and place of origin. Data also were collected on fishing effort. Visitors also were asked to indicate what activity or destination substitution they would choose in the hypothetical example that the river could not be accessed. The report also highlights some limitations in the approach. Principally, by doing this research in the summer, the recreational use of the river in the other seasons was not documented. The report provides data that suggest the significance of the other seasons - particularly spring and fall - for salmon and steelhead fishing. This stretch of the Columbia is also well known for waterfowl hunting.
Revised: January 12, 2012 |
Published: May 16, 2002