“We Have Some Growing Pains”: Developing A New Regional Recreation Conflict Model Through Examination of the Growth of Mountain Biking

Abstract

Mountain biking (MTB) is growing in popularity nationwide. This trend is mirrored in the Northern Forest and intensified during COVID-19. The growth of MTB represents an opportunity for rural communities to transition to a new economy centered on forest-based recreation to attract new individuals, called lifestyle seekers, who are interested in moving into communities with recreation opportunities. Questions about the impacts MTB has on forests and forest-dependent communities place pressure on natural resource managers and decision makers. We explored questions of impacts and conflict in rural communities through semi-structured interviews and focus groups. We analyzed these interviews using the Expanded Conflict Framework as a theoretical frame. Our results highlighted that the influx of recreationists into forested communities had positive impacts on local economies but more negative impacts on other social factors, such as community cohesion. We propose a new model, The Regional Recreation Conflict Model, for thinking about these tensions.