Sustainable Recreation and Tourism

How we recreate has an impact — this research explores the motivations and benefits of recreation, social and ecological impacts of tourism and the planning management and policy behind it. Learn more about this research by exploring the focus areas below.

Focus Areas

  • Explores the issues created by the intersection of natural systems and our society's rapidly evolving needs and brings biophysical and social sciences together to explore complex natural resource issues.

    Our researchers study how human values and behaviors drive and respond to changes in natural ecosystems. This includes understanding effective governance and stakeholder engagement processes for making decisions about resource management. Some FES researchers study how to improve communication process among scientists, land managers, and the public. Other researchers analyze forest management policies for their impacts on public lands, private forests, and human communities. These efforts extend from studies of barriers to small urban communities applying green infrastructure to landscape-scale interactions between climate, fire, and forests.

    Faculty Research Programs

    Betts Forest Landscape Ecology Lab

    Professor Matthew Betts and his team studies the ways that landscape composition and pattern influence animal behavior, species distributions and ecosystem function. As humans are one of the primary drivers of landscape characteristics globally, much of their work is applied and focused on management and conservation. However, understanding mechanisms is key to generalization, so a central part of the research program is basic in nature and links landscape ecology to behavioral ecology, physiology, and molecular ecology.

    Website: http://www.fsl.orst.edu/flel/index.htm
    Forests, Livelihoods, Institutions, and Governance (FoLIAGe) Research Group

    The FoLIAGe Research Group studies the relationship between forests and livelihoods, and how various governance mechanisms and institutions, including policies, laws, norms, and markets, shape that relationship. Working around the world, we take a multi-level governance approach in our research, from the local scale with community and collaborative forestry, all the way up to the international scale with mechanisms like REDD+ and FLEGT, and how these different scales interact to impact people and forests.

    Website: http://foliage.forestry.oregonstate.edu/
    H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest and Long-Term Ecological Research Site

    The mission of the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest is to support research on forests, streams, and watersheds, and to foster strong collaboration among ecosystem science, education, natural resource management, and the humanities. Located in the western Cascade mountains of Oregon, the 16,000-acre site is administered cooperatively by Oregon State University, the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station, and the Willamette National Forest. 
    The Andrews Forest has been a US Forest Service Experimental Forest since 1948, and a National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site since 1980. Facilities, including labs, offices, and housing, are available for research and workshop use. Researchers and graduate students interested in conducting work at the Andrews Forest are welcomed and encouraged—participants benefit from a rich data history and from collaborations across disciplines. See the Andrews Forest webpage, http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu, for ways to connect. Andrews Forest Facebook. Andrews Forest Newsletter. Andrews Forest webcam.

    Website: http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/
    Natural Resources, Tourism, and Recreation (NATURE) Studies Lab

    The NATURE Studies Lab conducts a program of research and planning focusing on recreation, tourism, marine and terrestrial parks and protected areas, wildlife, forestry, and other natural resources. The goal of this lab’s work is to examine human elements such as use and impacts, and inform management of natural resources and policy development.

    Website: http://nature.forestry.oregonstate.edu/
    TERRA - PNW

    The mission of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research and Regional Analysis group (TERRA-PNW) is to quantify and understand the response of terrestrial ecosystems to natural and human-induced changes such as climate, wildfire and land management practices. Our lab has diverse interests that share a common focus: understanding the dynamics of land-based ecological communities. Our insights into climate and disturbance effects on ecological processes and global change are generated primarily by research on forest, woodland and shrubland ecosystems.

    Website: http://terraweb.forestry.oregonstate.edu/
    Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Lab

    Our goal is to create sustainable and resilient natural systems in which people engage with the Earth with reciprocity. Indigenous peoples have stewarded natural resources for millennia through their knowledge and traditional practices. The TEK Lab explores, facilitates, and honors the synergies between TEK, Western science, and other ways of knowing.

    Website: https://tek.forestry.oregonstate.edu/
  • Examines the complex interactions between our communities, cultures, governments, and the natural resources that support our continued life and development. Explores methods for engaging scientists, managers, and the public in addressing environmental problems.

    Our researchers study different forms of governance and stakeholder engagement to identify effective approaches for decision making. This includes understanding communication among scientists, land managers, and the public. Other department members use systematic evidence-based reviews to inform educational programs for forest owners, while some researchers test the effectiveness of different educational programs and materials.

    Faculty Research Programs

    Forests, Livelihoods, Institutions, and Governance (FoLIAGe) Research Group

    The FoLIAGe Research Group studies the relationship between forests and livelihoods, and how various governance mechanisms and institutions, including policies, laws, norms, and markets, shape that relationship. Working around the world, we take a multi-level governance approach in our research, from the local scale with community and collaborative forestry, all the way up to the international scale with mechanisms like REDD+ and FLEGT, and how these different scales interact to impact people and forests.

    Website: http://foliage.forestry.oregonstate.edu/
    H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest and Long-Term Ecological Research Site

    The mission of the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest is to support research on forests, streams, and watersheds, and to foster strong collaboration among ecosystem science, education, natural resource management, and the humanities. Located in the western Cascade mountains of Oregon, the 16,000-acre site is administered cooperatively by Oregon State University, the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station, and the Willamette National Forest. 
    The Andrews Forest has been a US Forest Service Experimental Forest since 1948, and a National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site since 1980. Facilities, including labs, offices, and housing, are available for research and workshop use. Researchers and graduate students interested in conducting work at the Andrews Forest are welcomed and encouraged—participants benefit from a rich data history and from collaborations across disciplines. See the Andrews Forest webpage, http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu, for ways to connect. Andrews Forest Facebook. Andrews Forest Newsletter. Andrews Forest webcam.

    Website: http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/
    Natural Resources, Tourism, and Recreation (NATURE) Studies Lab

    The NATURE Studies Lab conducts a program of research and planning focusing on recreation, tourism, marine and terrestrial parks and protected areas, wildlife, forestry, and other natural resources. The goal of this lab’s work is to examine human elements such as use and impacts, and inform management of natural resources and policy development.

    Website: http://nature.forestry.oregonstate.edu/
    Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Lab

    Our goal is to create sustainable and resilient natural systems in which people engage with the Earth with reciprocity. Indigenous peoples have stewarded natural resources for millennia through their knowledge and traditional practices. The TEK Lab explores, facilitates, and honors the synergies between TEK, Western science, and other ways of knowing.

    Website: https://tek.forestry.oregonstate.edu/
  • Explores psychological motivations and benefits of recreation, as well as approaches to ensure sustainable recreation and tourism enterprises. Includes recreation and tourism behavior, social and/or ecological impacts of tourism, and planning, management and policy.

    Research in recreation explores the motivations and experiences of visitors to parks, marine protected areas, and developed recreation settings, as well as public attitudes toward resource management. Other FES members work to develop ecotourism venues that benefit both natural ecosystems and local human livelihoods.

    Faculty Research Programs

    H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest and Long-Term Ecological Research Site

    The mission of the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest is to support research on forests, streams, and watersheds, and to foster strong collaboration among ecosystem science, education, natural resource management, and the humanities. Located in the western Cascade mountains of Oregon, the 16,000-acre site is administered cooperatively by Oregon State University, the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station, and the Willamette National Forest. 
    The Andrews Forest has been a US Forest Service Experimental Forest since 1948, and a National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site since 1980. Facilities, including labs, offices, and housing, are available for research and workshop use. Researchers and graduate students interested in conducting work at the Andrews Forest are welcomed and encouraged—participants benefit from a rich data history and from collaborations across disciplines. See the Andrews Forest webpage, http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu, for ways to connect. Andrews Forest Facebook. Andrews Forest Newsletter. Andrews Forest webcam.

    Website: http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/
    Natural Resources, Tourism, and Recreation (NATURE) Studies Lab

    The NATURE Studies Lab conducts a program of research and planning focusing on recreation, tourism, marine and terrestrial parks and protected areas, wildlife, forestry, and other natural resources. The goal of this lab’s work is to examine human elements such as use and impacts, and inform management of natural resources and policy development.

    Website: http://nature.forestry.oregonstate.edu/