Temporal and Spatial Displacement: Evidence from A High-Use Reservoir and Alternate Sites

Abstract

This study explored the extent of displacement and the types of displacement behaviors used in response to crowding at a popular reservoir in Oregon. Data collected through a mail-back survey of recreational users contacted at the target site (n = 1,069) demonstrated that about half altered their behavior in some way because of crowding. Interviews with users (n = 168) at three other nearby “alternative” sites indicated that about half of those who had been to the target site (Lake Billy Chinook) go there less than in the past, while about 20–30% reduced their use because of adverse conditions encountered at Lake Billy Chinook, primarily crowding or undesirable management policies. Using a typology adopted from the substitution literature, data showed that changing the timing of visits (temporal displacement) was the most common strategy for coping with crowding (42% of respondents), but shifts in the location of use at the reservoir and between reservoirs (spatial displacement) were also common (26% of respondents). Users who exhibit displacement behaviors were also more sensitive to conflict, facility issues, and environmental impacts.