Effective Planning for Inclusive Recreation

As visitation has increased, there has been a parallel increase in demand for access—information access and physical access. Included in this conversation is minority access to public lands. The ratio of white visitors to other visitors of public lands is disproportionate when compared to the racial demographics of America as a whole. Most of the studies and data that we found suggest that minorities do not culturally associate with public lands. As visitation and use of public lands increase, we are hopeful that there can also be an increase in minority users. It is our hope that this document can be a quick resource for those looking for solutions to mitigate the impacts of increased visitation rates and to include all peoples in public land visitation. Our research focuses on the two largest minority groups in the States, African Americans and Hispanics.