Anza Borrego Desert State Park - California State Parks - State of ...

Final Report – October 2001
Table 32. Importance by season
#18 Importance of the Park
Fall
Spring
Mn Md Sd Mn Md Sd
Because of its Scenic Beauty 4.59 5.00 0.81 4.63 5.00 0.74
Because of its Unique
Characteristics
4.52 5.00 0.83 4.61 5.00 0.78
Because of its Wildness 4.51 5.00 0.84 4.55 5.00 0.77
Its Nature Displays 4.44 5.00 0.87 4.54 5.00 0.76
Sanctuary for Wildlife 4.40 5.00 0.94 4.46 5.00 0.83
Essential Wildlife Habitat 4.35 5.00 0.93 4.41 5.00 0.85
Preserve For Endangered
Species
4.31 5.00 1.06 4.44 5.00 1.03
Reserve for Natural Resources 4.23 4.00 1.05 4.32 5.00 1.35
Paleontological Resources 4.20 4.00 1.25
A Place Used for Enjoyment 4.18 4.00 0.98 4.23 4.00 1.46
Recreation Opportunities 4.06 4.00 1.05 3.40 4.00 1.01
Because of its Historic
Value
4.04 4.00 1.14 4.15 4.00 1.11
For Nature Education 4.04 4.00 0.99 3.47 4.00 1.31
For Scientific Research 3.83 4.00 1.40 3.95 4.00 1.25
Family Traditions and Values 3.68 4.00 1.34 4.32 3.00 1.07
As a Tourist Destination 3.42 3.00 1.26 3.40 3.00 1.46
For Social Interactions 3.40 3.00 1.34 3.92 3.00 1.39
A Place Free of Regulations 3.40 3.00 1.40 3.48 3.00 1.60
Economic Impact on Community 3.33 3.00 1.53 3.40 3.00 1.05
Measurement of the Reasons for Visiting Anza Borrego
One of the objectives of this study was to identify what motivates people to visit ABDSP.
This type of analysis depends on the selection of a wide range of motivations with which
visitors could identify. Scale items were adapted from extensively tested Recreation
Experience Preference (REP) scales (Driver 1970) and a similar studies examining
visitors to several National Parks in the Desert Southwest.
The motive/experience items were randomly sorted within the question. Respondents
were asked to rate the importance of each reason to them and their visit to the Park. The
five-point scale provided ranged from one, “very unimportant” to five, “very important”.
Table 30 illustrates the means, medians and standard deviations for each item.
Descriptive statistics are provided by sample site and for reference, ranked by the
visitors at the Visitors Center.
There is higher variability on desired motives that there is in the values visitors hold for
the park. Mean motive scores do not exceed 4.65 and high means are generally closer
to 4.0. Whereas there were several value means over 4.5 in each of the sample sites.
There is also less agreement across sites as to the most important motivations for
visiting. For example, at the Visitors Center, viewing scenery, seeing the desert,
experiencing tranquility, learning about nature viewing wildlife and wildflowers in a new,
quiet and historic area away from crowds are all very important. At Mountain Palm
Springs, and Borrego Palm Canyon, the focus was more on learning about nature,
helping others, environmental awareness and gaining thrills. At Coyote Canyon there is
a higher importance on the opportunity to reflect, and both slow down yet experience
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