Document Type

Report

Publication Date

4-2015

Subjects

Forest Park (Portland Or.), Parks -- Oregon -- Portland, Nature -- Effect of human beings on -- Oregon -- Portland

Abstract

This report presents both qualitative and quantitative survey data concerning resident perceptions of ecosystem services in Portland’s Forest Park. Focus group best practices and ecosystem services in urban parks literature are reviewed. Representative focus groups were conducted to ascertain local awareness and understanding of the urban wilderness area’s ecosystem services, identify concurrent challenges and measure interest in a potential interpretive center. Individual surveys were also administered in order to connect issues with demographics and recreational use information. Regression analyses were conducted to examine related park usage, access and economic trends.

While the study is preliminary, the results reveal opportunities for future study. Such studies should further build an understanding of the complex factors that influence park users’ engagement, stewardship and place values associated with Forest Park, which will in turn promote more accurate valuation of ecosystem services and better-informed decisions about future management intensity.

Description

Forest Park Ecosystems Services Inventory: An Exploratory Study was prepared by members of two Portland State University classes during January – March 2015

Prepared for: The Forest Park Conservancy

Advisor: Randall Bluffstone, Professor of Economics Director of the Institute for Economics and the Environment

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/17831

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