USDA Forest Service Res. Note RMRS-RN-15. 2002. 1

Effective Recreation Visitor

Communication Strategies:

Rock Climbers in the Bitterroot

Valley, Montana

William T. Borrie

James A. Harding

United States

Department

of Agriculture

Forest Service

Rocky Mountain

Research Station

Research Note

RMRS-RN-15

September 2002

Abstract—A four-stage model of decisionmaking was investigated in the context of low-impact practices among rock

climbers in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana. Previous research has suggested that knowing what to do to minimize

environmental and social impacts may not be the only factor limiting compliance with recommended visitor behaviors. Results from a sample of climbers at Kootenai Creek

indicate that the way people are introduced to the sport has

an important influence on attitudes toward low-impact practices. Significant differences were found between those who

learned to rock climb indoors and those who learned to rock

climb outdoors, as well as between those who were introduced to the sport of climbing with fixed anchors versus

those introduced with removable climbing equipment. Summary recommendations for effective natural resource communications focus not just on what visitors are being asked

to do, but also when, why, and how it is socially appropriate

for them to do so.

Keywords: recreation, low-impact behavior, leave no trace,

 persuasive communication

William (Bill) T. Borrie is Associate Professor and Program Coordinator, Outdoor Recreation Management in the School of Forestry, the University of Montana, Missoula. He received a Ph.D.

degree from the College of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech, and

has masters and bachelors degrees from the School of Forestry,

University of Melbourne, Australia. His research interests are focused on the outdoor recreation experience and on the meanings

of parks and wilderness.

James A. Harding is Assistant Professor of Recreation Management at Union College in Barbourville, KY. His dissertation

(School of Forestry, University of Montana) combines his interests in outdoor recreation and environmental ethics. His M.S. degree is in forestry from the University of Maine, and his B.A.

degree is in advertising and French from the University of Evansville, IN. He teaches Planning and Design, Visitor Behavior, Literature in Outdoor Recreation, Environmental Ethics, and Philosophy of Recreation Management.

Introduction

Natural resource managers are faced with a continuing need to effectively communicate with, and sometimes persuade, the visiting recreation public. Efforts

to inform visitors and to induce compliance with various regulations have been attempted to prevent degradation of social and environmental conditions of recreation sites. Most educational efforts have focused on

the methods of dispersal of information, but it remains

unclear whether it is a lack of information or other factors that are limiting behavioral compliance. We suggest that factors such as a lack of awareness of a problem, peer group pressures, presence or absence of an

underlying ethic, habitual behavior, and an inability to

carry out the appropriate behavior may be equally limiting. For natural resource managers to be more effective when communicating with recreationists concerning their role in managing the impacts of their visits, a

clearer understanding of the factors that are influencing compliance is needed.

The purpose of this project was to experimentally

examine the effectiveness of different communication

messages on rock-climber behavior in the Bitterroot

Valley of Montana. Different messages concerning lowimpact behavior were shown to climbers, and their attitudes and reported behaviors were measured by a

questionnaire survey. This project considered the influence of ethical bases for decisionmaking, perceived

peer group or normative pressure, awareness of resource impacts, and climber characteristics on rockclimber behavior.

Low-Impact Practices

Much of wilderness and backcountry management

involves a balancing of environmental and social
2 USDA Forest Service Res. Note RMRS-RN-15. 2002.

concerns. Primary objectives often include the preservation of natural settings and the minimization of evidence of human activity. Clearly, these require attention to both resource and human behavior concerns.

Furthermore, recreation itself involves a delicate balance between socially and environmentally acceptable

behavior and the perceived freedom of the experience

(Neulinger 1974). As Hendee and others (1990) suggest, backcountry and wilderness managers should

emphasize indirect methods of influencing behaviors

that are designed to control impact of the natural resource and to minimize the effect on recreationists’ experiences. Because backcountry recreationists expect

high levels of personal freedom, opportunities to make

decisions throughout their recreation experiences are

of critical importance.

Need to control resource impacts associated with

backcountry recreation have been an impetus for research, and recreation managers have access to the results of numerous studies that have identified how different recreation behaviors contribute to the overall

impact an area receives (Cole and others 1987). There

has been less corresponding research, however, devoted

to understanding the decisions people make that lead

to these behaviors. This study seeks to gain an understanding of those decisions and how managers can influence visitor behavior to help minimize resource

impacts. Through a better understanding of the motives and reasons that ultimately affect how people

behave, recreation managers will be able to better structure recreation opportunities that minimize resource

impacts while preserving the integrity of the experience.

The “Leave No Trace” campaign evolved from a

U.S. Forest Service initiative to create a standardized,

cohesive set of directions for wilderness users (Swain

1996). Currently, Leave No Trace consists of recommendations that recreationists should follow when they

find themselves in backcountry situations. Leave No

Trace is specifically designed to minimize the biological and social impact of visiting the backcountry and

to instill an outdoor ethic of care and respect. Despite

the efforts of the Federal land management agencies

and the National Outdoor Leadership School, low-impact recommendations are not consistently practiced,

even by those people who profess an understanding of

the concepts. Since the inception of public information campaigns such as Leave No Trace, the assumption has been that providing the recreationist with information about appropriate behavior is all that is

needed to achieve desired results. It has been found,

however, that although recreationists can correctly answer questions about low-impact behaviors, they may

not be actually carrying out those behaviors (Stubbs

1991). This suggests that visitors may be receiving the

low-impact recommendations, but not consistently following them. Furthermore, recreationists have been

found unable to remember the point of specific lowimpact messages when they are exposed to more than

two recommendations (Cole and others 1997). In this

case, cognitive overload appears to be limiting recall

of specific recommendations. There–fore, it would

seem that while some degree of knowledge about lowimpact recommendations is necessary for compliance,

a lack of information about acceptable behavior may

not be the only limiting factor in noncompliance.

Four-Stage Model of Decisionmaking

When backcountry visitors, such as rock climbers,

comply with low-impact recommendations from managers, they face a complex decision that involves more

than knowing what to do. Based on a model from cognitive and social psychology described by Tourangeau

and others (2000), it is suggested that the decision to

comply with management policies and regulations

comprises four stages. Other cognitive and social factors can intervene in each of these four stages: (1) comprehending the situation and identifying the need for

low-impact practices, (2) retrieving the possible behavior options from memory, (3) judging which behaviors are most appropriate, and (4) deciding which

behavior to carry out. Further details of this four-stage

model can be found in Harding and others (2000) and

Miller and others (2001).

Comprehension of the Situation—The first stage

of any decision is recognizing that a decision should

be made. If a visitor does not recognize that they have

the opportunity to choose between alternative behaviors and that their actions make a difference to the social and environmental conditions of the recreation site,

the decision to adopt low-impact practices will not deliberately be made. The visitor must be able to recognize the environmental cues indicating a low-impact

decision should be made. For example, when hiking

through a muddy section of trail, is the muddy patch a

significant enough cue for the hiker to realize he or

she faces a choice between the typical low-impact practice of walking through the muddy section or skirting

the muddy section (which often exacerbates the impacts)?

Information Retrieval—Knowing what behaviors

are recommended is only one step in deciding what to

do. That knowledge must be remembered for it to be

influential, and there are many cognitive processes that

can prevent or bias what is remembered. All sorts of

beliefs and attitudes, and the persuasiveness of the
USDA Forest Service Res. Note RMRS-RN-15. 2002. 3

original source of the information can moderate recollection of knowledge. In addition, humans are cognitive misers in that we seek out shortcuts to make the

remembering of information quicker and easier. We

have limited mental capacity and limited time and ability to perceive, interpret, and process all the information that the world presents to us. Our memory has

different structures that allow us to infer meaning for a

specific object or situation from familiar or similar situations. As a result, we do not need to be absolutely

sure of all the specific requirements of the present event,

but rather we can extrapolate with reasonable confidence from past experience or learning. Cognitively,

we have categories of knowledge so that we do not

have to remember every single object and event. Instead we store generic information about the category

of events and objects. Stereotypes are an example

whereby we infer knowledge based on a limited recognition of a person or situation.

Judgment Formation—Just as processes of memory

can affect recognition of behavior alternatives, it can

also affect the choice of alternatives. There are heuristics, or shortcuts, that are used to make fast and frugal

decisions. Sometimes these choices are optimal, but

sometimes the first seemingly satisfactory alternative

is chosen. For example, the “availability heuristic” prioritizes the events or options that are easiest to remember. There is some validity to the “availability heuristic” in that events or options that were frequent in the

past are likely to be easily remembered and are also

likely to be numerous and applicable in the future.

Instead of having to remember and compare all the

options, the availability heuristic provides a shortcut to a decision.

Ethical frameworks represent another basis on which

people determine appropriate behavior. Ethics are important foundations of human behavior and represent

how the world ought to be. As a result, human behavior is guided and appraised by ethical standards. The

rightness or wrongness of particular actions, the virtue

or vice of motives that prompt those actions, and the

praiseworthiness or blame of the actors carrying out

those actions are all ethical judgments. Low-impact

behavior recommendations are, themselves, ethical

guidelines, and may be consistent with and suggested

by either an ethic of care or a justice ethic. However,

there may be times when the behavior suggested by a

person’s dominant ethic runs counter to low-impact

practice. In these circumstances, compliance with lowimpact recommendations is unlikely, given the foundational and deeply held nature of ethics.

Behavioral Response—The final stage of any decision is when the individual determines which

behavior is most appropriate within the context of both

social and environmental factors. They must be physically able and socially comfortable with their chosen

behavior. Social pressure and social identity come into

play, whereby individuals feel pressure to conform to

what they perceive others would want and what image

of themselves they want to project to others. For example, a rock climber may go to great efforts to project

an “environmentally conscious” image in the presence

of others. While a behavior might be consistent with

low-impact recommendations, their behavior is not a

product of information of low-impact practices nor

rooted in any desire to minimize impacts of the environment. Further, if this climber believes that certain

behaviors will not be accepted by other rock climbers,

then there is little normative pressure to comply with

low-impact recommendations.

Rock Climbing in the Bitterroot Valley

Two primary sites are used for rock climbing in the

Bitterroot Valley of Montana. The climbing at Kootenai

Creek is quick and easily accessed, mainly top-roped

or heavily bolted routes, and popular for sport climbing and as a good beginner’s area. In contrast, the climbing at Blodgett Canyon is more remote and

wildernesslike, featuring multipitch, “big wall” climbs

that are popular with more traditional climbers. Two

other climbing locations are commonly used at Lost

Horse and Mulkey Gulch, but like Blodgett Canyon

they see relatively infrequent use. Data collection for

this project focused on Kootenai Creek, where climbers included residents from the Bitterroot Valley as well

as visitors from Missoula (20 miles north), including

University of Montana faculty and students.

Three resource impact issues are apparent at

Kootenai Creek: (1) erosion on approach trails to the

rock-climbing sites, (2) disrespect for Native American artifacts, and (3) the placement of permanent rockclimbing bolts into the rock. It appears that some climbers are causing resource impacts by shortcutting

switchback trails, scrambling up slopes, or creating

social trails without regard to potential erosion. There

is also concern that some visitors are climbing too close

to sites of Native American artifacts, showing insufficient respect for this cultural resource. The final issue

is a concern related to the placement and presence of

bolts, which are used as a safety resource. Some climbers feel that indiscriminate bolt placement has occurred

at Kootenai, Blodgett, and other areas in the Bitterroot

National Forest. More details concerning rockclimbing issues in the Bitterroot region can be found

in Harding and Borrie (2000).
4 USDA Forest Service Res. Note RMRS-RN-15. 2002.

Figure 1—Message treatments to foster low-impact practices among rock climbers

at Kootenai Creek.

Control: No message, just historic and administrative information of the site:

Climbers have enjoyed coming to Kootenai Creek for over 30 years. The beautiful creek and accessibility of the

climbs have made this a popular spot for many types of climbers.

The rock at Kootenai is mostly good quality metamorphic gneiss. However, loose rock is always a possibility,

particularly on those routes that see little use.

Treatment A: Information on degree of impact problem, and the role climbers have in creating impacts and the specific

behavior that minimizes impact.

Consider resource impacts:

• Erosion: Access to climbing routes on these cliffs contributes to the erosion of fragile plants and soils. Please

 stay on established trails.

• Cultural resources: Historic Native American cultural sites exist in Kootenai and will be irreparably damaged

 by climbing activities. Please avoid climbing on or near these sites.

• Bolting: Placing unnecessary or suspect bolts in the rock diminishes the quality of the limited rock resource.

 Please refrain from any new bolting.

Treatment B: Information targeted toward a social norm of compliance with recommended behaviors.

Consider your part in a climbing community:

• Erosion: A majority of the climbing community cares about the climbing resource; unless you want to be

 perceived negatively by your community, please stay on the trails.

• Cultural resources: People who climb on or close to cultural sites can give all climbers a bad image. Please

 educate those climbers who are disrespecting a valuable cultural resource.

• Bolting: Placing a bolt should involve careful consideration of the local climbing tradition. If you believe a

 fellow climber is disrespecting this tradition, please educate him or her.

Treatment C: Information engendering an ethical code of behavior that includes compliance.

Ethical considerations:

• Erosion: Shortcutting trails unnecessarily degrades nature. Please respect the natural environment by

 staying on the trails.

• Cultural resources: Respect for other cultures is a minimum obligation that each of us have. Please avoid

 climbing on or near sacred sites.

• Bolting: Too many bolts detract from the outdoor climbing experience of others. Please consider how you

 would feel if everyone decided to place their own bolts.

Methods

Three treatment messages and one control (or neutral) message were displayed at the main trailhead to

the Kootenai Creek climbing area. These bulletin board

posters were designed to be easily seen but not overly

fancy. They were worded in an authoritative tone and

fit in with similar Forest Service information. The text

of the control and three different treatments are shown

in figure 1, and the display of treatment A at the

trailhead is illustrated in figure 2.

Climbers were contacted in the trailhead parking lot

on 33 sample days between June 11, 2000, and

October 28, 2000. Any previously uncontacted climbers were asked to participate in the study, and then were

mailed a questionnaire survey the day after their visit.

Dillman’s (2000) recommended techniques for followup

postcards and replacement mailing was adopted.

The survey asked a variety of questions on sociodemographic characteristics of the visitor, their previous experience with rock climbing, how they were introduced to climbing, and basic trip characteristics

about their visit and climbing experience at Kootenai

Creek. Attitudes toward trail erosion, climbing close

to the Native American artifacts, and placing a new

bolted route were assessed through a series of sevenpoint, semantic-differential questions, as shown in figure 3. Additionally, the survey asked about the ethical

principles that guide climbing behavior and where that

ethic was learned. Finally, climbers were asked about

their awareness of any environmental problems at and

around the climbing areas, and how important it was
USDA Forest Service Res. Note RMRS-RN-15. 2002. 5

Figure 2—Message treatment A as displayed on Kootenai Creek trailhead bulletin

board.

1. Attitudes toward own behavior

a. If you knew you were contributing to unnecessary erosion, would you feel...

b. If you climbed within sight of a Native American artifact, would you feel...

c. If you created a new bolted route at Kootenai, would you feel...

Answer formats:

Uneasy (1) .................................. Comfortable (7)

Embarrassed (1) ........................ Admired (7)

Ashamed (1) ............................... Proud (7)

Guilty (1) ..................................... Guiltless (7)

2. Attitudes toward others’ behavior

a. If you witnessed someone else shortcutting a trail, how likely would you be to...

b. If you saw someone else climb too close to an artifact, how likely would you be to...

c. If you saw someone else place a bolt with a power drill, how likely would you be to...

Answer formats:

Make sure they saw you [low-impact behavior] (1) ............. [high-impact behavior] (7)

Make sure they saw you give them a dirty look (1) ............. a pleased look (7)

Tell them not to [high-impact practice] (1) ........................... it’s OK to [high-impact practice] (7)

Tell them you will report them to the authorities (1)............. you won’t report them to the authorities (7)

Figure 3—Semantic differential question formats for assessing attitudes about

low-impact issues.
6 USDA Forest Service Res. Note RMRS-RN-15. 2002.

for them to be perceived as someone who can easily

identify resource problems.

A total of 72 climbers were contacted between June

and October. These numbers were considerably lower

than expected because of extremely high summer temperatures and the subsequent closing of public access

to the Bitterroot National Forest due to extreme fire

hazard (Johnson 2000). Also, it was discovered that

many climbers make repeat visits to Kootenai Creek,

but they were only sampled on their first contact. Two

addresses were invalid, yielding a total of 70 climbers

who received questionnaires. Of these, a total of

40 questionnaires were returned, representing a response rate of 57 percent.

Because of the foreshortened climbing season, only

the control and one of the treatments (treatment A,

identification of resource problems) were implemented. Twenty-two respondents were sampled

while the control message was displayed, and 18

respondents were sampled on days that treatment A

was displayed.

Results

Characteristics of the Climbers

The average age of the climbers sampled was

27 years old, with ages ranging from 18 to 49. Ninety

percent completed some college, or business or trade

school, with 53 percent of all respondents having graduated college. The majority of climbers sampled were

men, with 29 male respondents and 11 female respondents. Most of the respondents lived in Missoula

(75 percent) or the Bitterroot Valley (10 percent), and

had lived in the Missoula or Bitterroot Valley for up to

18 years (with an average of 5 years). Forty-five percent reported total individual income under $10,000,

the average income was between $10,000 and $19,999,

and the maximum income was in the $60,000 to

$69,999 category.

Most of the respondents had been rock climbing for

4 or more years (68 percent of sample), with an average of 7 years climbing experience. On average, they

climb outdoors once or twice a week. Most of the climbers (80 percent of our sample) first learned about

Kootenai Creek by word of mouth or from a friend. Of

those sampled, more than half (57 percent) reported

10 or more climbing trips to Kootenai Creek, with

45 percent indicating they had been climbing 20 or

more times at Kootenai.

On the day they were first contacted at Kootenai,

about one-third of the climbers (35 percent) reported

mostly climbing bolted routes, about one-third (30 percent) reported climbing mostly natural-gear routes, and

about one-third (35 percent) reported an equal combination of the two. For the day contacted, respondents

reported climbing between one and five routes, with a

median of three (mean = 3). On average, respondents

spent 4 hours at Kootenai on the day they were contacted. Sixty percent were in climbing parties of two,

while 30 percent were in groups of three. Respondents

reported seeing an average of 4 other climbers (not

in their group) on the day they were contacted. Only

10 percent reported seeing no other climbers that day.

Low-Impact Behavior

The primary dependent variable for the experimental design of this study (low-impact behavior) proved

difficult to measure. Two of the behaviors appeared to

occur at lower levels than expected. Based on selfreporting by climbers, only 10 percent of respondents

suggested they had ever placed a bolt at Kootenai, none

of them mentioning that they had done so on the

sampled visit. Similarly, on the day they were contacted, only 40 percent of those sampled were climbing in the general vicinity of the Native American artifacts, and none reported climbing on or near the specific site. Systematic observation of these behaviors

by researchers proved logistically impossible, but casual observations throughout the sample period support the reported rare occurrence of bolting and climbing on or near the artifacts. The definition of the third

behavioral variable proved problematic. That is, there

is no commonly accepted or readily apparent definition of what constitutes a trail in Kootenai and, therefore, respondents and researchers found it difficult to

report behavior as “hiking offtrail.” Most climbers

(n = 29) identified the problem of multiple, interweaving trails approaching the rock-climbing areas, but few

could say for certain if they hiked offtrail to get to the

climbing routes. There was no significant difference

in reported behavior between treatment and control

groups (p < 0.05).

Attitudes Toward Low-Impact Practices

While the treatment message did not have significant effects on reported behavior, it would appear that

attitudes toward the three low-impact practices were

related to a climber’s history and style of climbing.

Two independent variables explained significant

differences in attitudes toward low-impact behavior:

(1) mode of introduction to the sport of rock climbing
USDA Forest Service Res. Note RMRS-RN-15. 2002. 7

Table 1—Correlation between scales measuring visitor attitudes toward their own lowimpact behavior and their attitudes toward the low-impact behavior of others.

Own behavior Others’ behavior

Trail erosion Pictograph Bolting Pictograph Bolting

Own behavior

Trail erosion 1.00 0.37a 0.49b 0.21 0.47b

Pictograph — 1.00 .39a .29 .36a

Bolting — — 1.00 .12 .66b

Others’ behavior

Pictograph — — — 1.00 .40a

Bolting — — — — 1.00

a Correlation is significant (p < 0.05).

b Correlation is significant (p < 0.01).

and (2) level of experience with rock climbing (and, in

particular, climbing at Kootenai Creek).

The scores on each set of attitude questions (shown

in figure 3) were summed to give a single scale. Factor

and reliability analyses confirmed five of the six

resulting scales. Each of the five had a satisfactory

coefficient alpha of 0.8 or above. (The unsatisfactory

scale, for attitudes toward someone else shortcutting a

trail, is not discussed further in this report). Analysis

of the correlations between the five scales indicate they

are significantly correlated (table 1).

Treatment Effects—Comparing the message treatment (treatment A: identification of resource impacts)

against the control message showed no significant difference in responses. In particular, attitudes toward lowimpact issues showed no significant difference between

those sampled on days when treatment A was displayed

and those sampled on days when the control was displayed. This suggests that different messages displayed

at trailhead bulletin boards have little or no effect on

attitudes toward low-impact behavior. This may reflect

the time delay between exposure to message treatments

and response to the survey items measuring attitudes,

which could be up to 2 or 3 weeks later. Nevertheless,

given that attitudes toward a behavior are a known precursor of intentions to perform that behavior (Fishbein

and Ajzen 1975; Fishbein and Manfredo 1992), trailhead messages may not be effective at instilling new

or changing behavioral intention. However, these

trailhead messages may strengthen or reinforce previously held convictions, and remind or cognitively prime

visitors of previously performed low-impact behaviors

(Trafimow and Borrie 1999).

Method of Introduction to Rock Climbing—

Those who were introduced to climbing indoors (as

compared to those who were introduced outdoors) had

significantly more discomfort (unease, embarrassment,

shame, or guilt) toward climbing within sight of a Native American artifact, as shown in table 2. Similarly,

those who started indoors typically had more discomfort placing a new bolted route at Kootenai. Also, those

who started learning to climb with fixed anchors (bolts)

were significantly less likely to express disapproval

toward someone else placing a bolt with a power drill.

Similar patterns emerge when considering how respondents were first introduced to climbing in Missoula

and the Bitterroot Valley. While no one in our sample

was introduced to climbing in western Montana indoors, those who started with fixed anchors are more

comfortable placing a new bolted route themselves, and

were more approving of someone else placing a bolt

with a power drill (table 3).

Specialization—Respondents were clustered (using

hierarchical cluster analysis) into two levels of recreation specialization based on the number of years

climbing (total, in their predominant climbing style,

and in western Montana) and the number of trips to

Kootenai Creek. The final cluster centers are shown in

table 4. Those with high specialization had more experience rock climbing and had been climbing more

often at Kootenai.

The less experienced climbers in our sample were

more likely to express discomfort toward creating a

new bolted route at Kootenai, as shown in table 5.

Conclusions

Due to logistical limitations, only limited knowledge has been gained from implementation of the original experimental design based on four different treatment messages. However, some insights into effective

visitor communication strategies can be found in the
8 USDA Forest Service Res. Note RMRS-RN-15. 2002.

Table 3—Comparison of attitudes of visitors toward their own low-impact behavior and

their attitudes toward the low-impact behavior of others between those who were

introduced to rock climbing in the Missoula and Bitterroot Valley region indoors to

those introduced outdoors, those introduced with formal instruction with those introduced informally, those introduced with top-rope climbing with those introduced with

lead climbing, and those introduced with fixed anchors with those introduced with

removable equipment.

Own behavior Others’ behavior

Trail erosion Pictograph Bolting Pictograph Bolting

n Mean n Mean n Mean n Mean n Mean

Location

Indoor — — — — — — — — — —

Outdoor 38 2.8 37 4.0 38 4.6 37 2.9 35 3.9

Form

Formal 3 2.4 3 5.2 3 4.7 3 2.4 3 4.5

Informal 30 2.8 30 3.9 30 4.5 29 2.9 28 3.9

Style

Top rope 19 2.9 19 4.5 19 4.7 19 2.9 19 4.0

Lead 19 2.8 18 3.8 19 4.5 18 2.9 16 3.8

Equipment

Fixed 18 3.1 18 4.7a 18 5.2 18 3.2 18 4.4a

Removable 16 2.4 15 3.2 16 4.0 15 2.8 14 3.3

a Average attitude is significantly higher for climbers introduced with fixed anchors than for those

introduced with removable gear (two-sample t-test, p < 0.05). Low values represent unease,

embarrassment, shame, and guilt toward own behavior or disapproval of others’ behavior.

Table 2—Comparison of attitudes of visitors toward their own low-impact behavior and

their attitudes toward the low-impact behavior of others between those who were introduced to the sport of rock climbing indoors with those introduced outdoors, those introduced with formal instruction with those introduced informally, those introduced with

top-rope climbing with those introduced with lead climbing, and those introduced with

fixed anchors with those introduced with removable equipment.

Own behavior Others’ behavior

Trail erosion Artifact Bolting Artifact Bolting

n Mean n Mean n Mean n Mean n Mean

Location

Indoor 5 2.2 5 2.6 5 2.8 5 2.3 5 3.5

Outdoor 34 2.8 33 4.3a 33 4.8a 33 2.9 31 3.9

Form

Formal 6 2.8 6 3.5 6 4.4 6 2.3 6 3.8

Informal 31 2.8 30 4.2 30 4.6 30 2.9 28 3.8

Style

Top rope 3 2.7 3 3.8 2 4.8 3 2.7 3 2.8

Lead 36 2.8 35 4.2 36 4.6 35 2.9 33 2.9

Equipment

Fixed 22 2.9 22 4.1 22 4.9 22 2.9 21 4.3b

Removable 15 2.5 14 4.1 14 4.1 14 2.8 13 3.0

a Average attitude is significantly higher for climbers introduced outdoors than for those introduced

indoors (two-sample t-test, p < 0.05). Low values represent unease, embarrassment, shame, and

guilt toward own behavior. b Average attitude is significantly higher for climbers introduced with fixed anchors than for those

introduced with removable gear (two-sample t-test, p < 0.05). Low values represent disapproval

of others’ behavior.
USDA Forest Service Res. Note RMRS-RN-15. 2002. 9

Table 5— Comparison of attitudes of visitors toward their own low-impact behavior and their

attitudes toward the low-impact behavior of others between those climbers who were

highly experienced and those who had less experience.

Own behavior Others’ behavior

Trail erosion Pictograph Bolting Pictograph Bolting

Specialization

 cluster n Mean n Mean n Mean n Mean n Mean

High 12 3.2 11 4.5 12 5.7a 12 2.9 11 4.5

Low 28 2.6 28 3.9 27 4.1 27 2.8 26 3.6

a Average attitude is significantly higher for experienced climbers than for less experienced climbers

(two-sample t-test, p < 0.05). Low values represent unease, embarrassment, shame, and guilt toward own behavior or disapproval of others’ behavior.

Table 4—Average number of years spent climbing and average number of visits to Kootenai for two clusters of specialization of rock

climbers in the Bitterroot Valley, Montana.

Years Years

in current climbing in Number of

Specialization Years climbing western visits to

cluster climbing style Montana Kootenai

High 9 6 7 80

Low 6 3 1 12

results. It would appear that the introduction to the sport

of rock climbing plays an important role in the development of attitudes toward low-impact practices. Our

results indicate significant differences between those

members of our sample who learned to rock climb indoors compared with those who learned to climb outdoors. We also found differences between those who

were introduced to the sport of climbing, and in particular, to rock climbing in the Missoula and Bitterroot

Valley region, with fixed anchors versus those who

were introduced with removable gear. There were also

significant differences between experienced and less

experienced climbers in their attitudes toward creating a new bolted route.

All this would tend to suggest that attitudes toward

low-impact practices, and, indeed, conduct of those

behaviors, are a result of training and experience from

long before the actual onsite visit. Ingrained and

habitual behavior may be difficult to change or influence through onsite communication such as trailhead

bulletin boards. Educational efforts will also need to

focus on the initial learning of low-impact behaviors and the reasons for their conduct. Knowing what

to do may be just as important as knowing when and

why it is appropriate to do so. Recreation visitors

must also be motivated and feel able to carry out appropriate behaviors. These other components of the

decision to practice low-impact behaviors are complex

and perhaps best learned over long periods of time. In

particular, the initial introduction to a particular outdoor pastime provides an important opportunity to

instruct and motivate users regarding low-impact

skills.

There is clearly a need to continue research into both

how best to communicate with recreation visitors, and

how visitors make decisions concerning appropriate

behavior. A full test of the four-stage model proposed

in this study could be implemented with other lowimpact practices for which direct observation of that

behavior is logistically feasible and not intrusive upon

the visitor experience.

This current study has also highlighted the need for

monitoring of use and user characteristics. Rock climbers at Kootenai Creek are a dedicated and relatively

experienced visitor group. Their attitudes and behaviors have developed over a number of years. The frequency of visitation (with nearly half of the climbers

contacted having climbed 20 or more times at Kootenai)

would suggest attachment and commitment to the location. This suggests the need for recreation managers

to work collaboratively with this established visitor

group, and researchers can play a role in establishing

trust and in the sharing of knowledge (Harding and

Borrie 2000).
10 USDA Forest Service Res. Note RMRS-RN-15. 2002.

1. Comprehension of situation

• Teach how to recognize situations where public behavior impacts natural resources.

• Instruct what the public should most be paying attention to (environmental cues to choice situations).

2. Information retrieval strategies

• Carefully maintain message source credibility and attractiveness.

• Emphasize face-to-face communication and direct experience with suggested behavior.

• Reinforce consistent principles of action.

• Illustrate prototypical situations and desired stereotypical behaviors.

• Match level of specificity of motivations to act, attitudes, and behaviors in all communications.

• Avoid bureaucratic, legal, and overly technical language.

• Avoid negative connotations and associations.

3. Judgment formation

• Emphasize planning and preparation to allow sufficient time for consideration and decisionmaking.

• Clearly illustrate a direct link between public actions and impacts on natural resources.

• Emphasize individual responsibility and accountability for actions.

• Make desired actions quick and easy by removing administrative and operational barriers.

• Utilize both care-based and justice-based ethical reasoning.

4. Expression of behavior

• Encourage and foster community development and adoption of codes of practice.

• Utilize opinion leaders and well-known role models to endorse and promote behaviors.

• Foster norm of adoption of practices.

• Get community and educational organizations to actively adopt and train attitudes and behaviors.

Figure 4—Summary recommendations for effective natural resource communications (from Miller and others 2001).

These insights and a review of relevant studies in

social and cognitive psychology (Harding and others

1999; Miller and others 2001) support the notion that

effective visitor communication strategies should extend beyond just the provision of recommended behaviors. Figure 4 shows summary recommendations

corresponding to each of the four stages of low-impact

practice decisionmaking. As natural resource managers

interact with recreation visitors such as the rock climbers at Kootenai Creek, they should focus on not just

what the recommended practices are, but also when,

why, and how it is socially appropriate for visitors to

follow those low-impact practices. These approaches

will necessitate a longer term, collaborative approach

to adoption of recommended behaviors.

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the scientists and managers of the

Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project

and the Bitterroot National Forest for support and assistance with this project.

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