The representation of outdoor recreation in land-use planning in British Columbia

The cases of recreation in the Sea-to-Sky Corridor and Peace Foothills in British Columbia are used to explore the issues of the representation of outdoor recreation in land-use planning and the participation of recreationists in land-use planning. The widening array of outdoor recreation activities in high-use areas poses new challenges to the equitable participation of diverse recreation user groups in land-use planning. How well have past land-use planning exercises represented the needs of outdoor recreationists? How well represented do participants of newer recreation activities feel? Moreover, who should represent these diverse groups? There has, to date, been very little research in this area. In an attempt to explore these questions and begin building a theoretical framework for understanding key relationships, this study measures recreationists' perceptions of representation in land-use planning and their participation in land-use planning in the Sea-to-Sky Corridor and Peace Foothills. Relationships between recreation use and socio-economic characteristics and recreationists' participation and perceptions of representation in land-use planning were examined. Moderate levels of perceived representation were found for most recreation groups, although some users seemed unclear about how well they were represented. In sum, some socio-economic characteristics (household income, age, and education) were associated with a person's participation in land-use planning; this influence extended to perceived representation through aspects of social capital, as membership in an outdoor recreation club and degree of recreation specialization were associated with perceived representation. The localness of recreationists played a role in their participation in land-use planning; localness also was associated with perceived representation. Outdoor recreation characteristics (recreation specialization, activity choice, the number of activities participated in, annual participation, and club membership) had an influence on recreationists' likelihood of participation in land-use planning. Logistic regression models suggested that recreation specialization and household income contributed to respondents' perceptions of representation in land-use planning; age, recreation specialization, the number of recreation activities participated in, club membership, and local residence contributed to respondents' likelihood of having been a participant of a land-use planning process. The results of this study support four land-use planning strategies that may assist planners in increasing actual and perceived representation of recreationists.Forestry, Faculty ofGraduat

Public preference for endemism over other conservation-related species attributes

Palabras Clave: atributos de las especies, Canadá, Columbia Británica, endemismo, prioridades de conservació

An Exploratory Assessment of a Smartphone Application for Public Participation in Forest Fuels Measurement in the Wildland-Urban Interface

Wildfire management in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) protects property and life from wildland fire. One approach that has potential to provide information about the amount and location of fuels to forest managers and, at the same time, increase public knowledge and engagement in reducing wildfire threats is public participation in scientific research (PPSR)—also known as citizen science—where members of the public participate in the research process. In this exploratory study, residents of a wildfire-affected community tested a smartphone application to collect data about forest fuels and answered questions about wildfire, their community, and experiences using the application. In this paper, the application is introduced, the volunteers’ motivations, attitudes, and behaviors are considered, and the potential of using a PPSR approach for wildfire management discussed. Although there are practical challenges to applying PPSR approaches to wildfire hazard management, the participants in this study demonstrated the potential of PPSR to increase awareness and understanding of actions that can reduce the threat of wildfire. Wildfire managers may consider utilizing PPSR approaches to engage the community in wildfire preparedness.Forestry, Faculty ofNon UBCForest Resources Management, Department ofWood Science, Department ofReviewedFacult

Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate Increases Resting-State Limbic Perfusion and Body and Emotion Awareness in Humans

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a GHB-/GABA-B receptor agonist inducing a broad spectrum of subjective effects including euphoria, disinhibition, and enhanced vitality. It is used as treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders including narcolepsy and alcohol withdrawal, but is also a drug of abuse. Non-medical users report enhancement of body and emotion awareness during intoxication. However, the neuronal underpinnings of such awareness alterations under GHB are unknown so far. The assessment of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) by pharmacological magnetic resonance imaging (phMRI) enables the elucidation of drug-induced functional brain alterations. Thus, we assessed the effects of GHB (35 mg/kg p.o.) in 17 healthy males on rCBF and subjective drug effects, using a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized, cross-over design employing arterial spin labeling phMRI. Compared to placebo, GHB increased subjective ratings for body and emotion awareness, and for dizziness (p<0.01-0.001, Bonferroni-corrected). A whole-brain analysis showed increased rCBF in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the right anterior insula under GHB (p<0.05, cluster-corrected). ACC and insula rCBF are correlated with relaxation, and body and emotion awareness (p<0.05-0.001, uncorrected). Interaction analyses revealed that GHB-induced increase of body awareness was accompanied by increased rCBF in ACC, whereas relaxation under GHB was accompanied by elevated rCBF in right anterior insula (p<0.05, uncorrected). In conclusion, enhancement of emotion and body awareness, and increased perfusion of insula and ACC bears implications both for the properties of GHB as a drug of abuse as well as for its putative personalized potential for specific therapeutic indications in affective disorders