In the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic and wildfires have impacted outdoor recreation systems both in the United States and around the world. These disturbances can influence how people recreate, where people recreate, and impact the behavior of visitors to parks and protected areas. Such changes in recreation use and related impacts to natural systems can lead to challenges for outdoor recreation management. This panel will take a local and global view of how these natural disturbances and disasters have affected recreation systems and how outdoor recreation managers are responding to these disruptions.

Panelists:

• Ben Lawhon, Education Director, Center for Leave No Trace
• Cailin O’Brien-Feeney, Director, Oregon Office of Outdoor Recreation
• Nikoleta Jones, Principal Research Associate, University of Cambridge
• Catherine Pickering, Professor, Griffith University Australia

Host: Ashley D’Antonio