Proceedings of the 1997 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium

Recreational boaters on the National Park Service managed Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River were surveyed about their characteristics, management preferences, and user encounters. Field interviews were conducted from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend during the summer of 1996. A total of 650 boaters were contacted at public and commercial access sites and asked to participate in a brief interview and a follow-up mail survey. During the interview process, 602 boaters gave their addresses and agreed to participate in the mail survey. Of the 585 surveys deliverable, 326 were returned for a 56% response rate. Comparisons were made with a similar boater study conducted on the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River in 1979. monitors has been set at 55,574 acres. This allows the NPS certain management rights outside of the river and the 24 acres that it owns. The corridor boundary has been drawn to define an area in which there is a national interest. The intention of this is "to protect water quality, preserve natural features, provide for recreational uses, provide for the continuation of agriculture, conserve river resources, and maintain existing land use patterns." (Conference of Upper Delaware Townships and NPS 1986). The previous rights of land owners within the 52,400 acres of this project boundary are not limited or infringed upon. Some of the UDSRR's river access sites are owned by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and held in cooperative management with the NPS. The NPS works in partnership with the NYSDEC at these sites, but is directly responsible for the day to day management of them. The Pennsylvania Fish Commission manages several sites along the river in a cooperative agreement with the NPS. There are many private access sites along both sides