Human Dimensions of All-Terrain Vehicle User Specialization

All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) use in Atlantic Canada has increased in popularity. Despite attempts to manage this outdoor activity, little remains known about where, why, and how ATVs are being used in the region. Addressing this... [ view full abstract ]

All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) use in Atlantic Canada has increased in popularity. Despite attempts to manage this outdoor activity, little remains known about where, why, and how ATVs are being used in the region. Addressing this knowledge deficit is important as human-wildlife interactions between ATV users and endangered species such as the federally protected Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) have threatened conservation initiatives. ATV use was examined using two different applications of the theory of recreation specialization. The first application of operationalized recreation specialization used the dimensions: (a) affective (user commitment and centrality to life); (b) behaviour (user familiarity and past experience); and (c) cognitive (user knowledge of the activity and self-assessed skill level). The second application used a self-classification question consisting of three definitions that correspond with beginner, intermediate, and expert specialization levels. We hypothesized that (a) ATV users can be segmented into distinct specialization sub-groups and (b) ATV use characteristics differ per specialization sub-group. Data were obtained from a self-administered questionnaire randomly distributed to residents in the New Brunswick, Canada communities of Miscou Island (n = 175), Escuminac (n = 80) and Pointe-Sapine (n = 130). The utility of this approach to understanding ATV use is twofold. First, the data provide important information on how ATV use characteristics in New Brunswick vary within the non-homogeneous outdoor activity. Second, the data contribute to the evolution of recreation specialization in terms of which application can be administered most efficiently. Understanding how ATV use differs per level of specialization is essential to the activity’s successful management as well as reducing the potential for human-wildlife conflict between ATV users and their surrounding environment.