Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3278-3749

Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Committee Chair

Nicolas Zegre

Committee Member

Michael Strager

Committee Member

Danny Twilley

Abstract

Outdoor recreation is a highly profitable industry in the United States. In 2021, outdoor recreation accounted for $454.0 billion, or 1.9% of the current-dollar gross domestic product for the nation. Many states have benefited financially from focusing on promoting their outdoor recreation and natural resources. Whitewater (WW) paddling has been a recreational activity since the 1950s. In 2007 there were an estimated 1.2 million participants in whitewater kayaking. As of 2020, that number increased to 2.6 million, doubling the number of participants. WW resources can be leveraged to reshape local and regional economies. The framework developed in this study provides stakeholders with a powerful tool for quantifying boatable days now and into the future. Any stakeholder can use the boatable day analysis framework to help determine when and where to prioritize whitewater recreation, economic development, and investment by understanding the asset historically and into the future. Boatable days were calculated for select whitewater runs throughout seven whitewater regions. The results show that boatable days range from plentiful to infrequent across the regions. Given the strong seasonality of hydrology throughout the regions because of altered precipitation characteristics in terms of seasonal timing, frequency, and intensity, seasonal boatable days are more informative for understanding when the whitewater runs are boatable and for how long. Whether emissions match the RCP4.5 or RCP8.5 scenario in the future, changes are similar, though the magnitude and direction of change vary between regions.

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