NASBLA Public Library

Five objectives guided this investigation: 1. Determine the characteristics of boaters and their use patterns across Lake Travis; 2. Examine the perceived social, natural resource and management conditions among boaters; 3. Determine the nature and magnitude of conflicts between boaters and locate/illustrate where these conflicts occur; 4. Locate/illustrate and evaluate peak boating distribution densities; and 5. Determine changing trends (based on earlier work) in: (a) peak use volumes and locations, (b) boater characteristics; and (c) attitudes toward lake conditions and management preferences. In addition to indicators that were used in the 1995 and 2000 studies, this investigation also introduced other measures of boaters’ experience to provide deeper insight on their perceptions related to their boating experience and conditions encountered for the 2008 boating season. Data collection occurred between Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. This resulted in 575 onsite surveys being completed. Of those, 173 onsite respondents also completed a follow-up mailback/online survey. We also obtained 686 completed mailback/online surveys from Lakeshore Property Owners and 423 completed surveys from Marina Slip Tenants. Boating density was objectively measured using aerial photography and vehicle/trailer parking lot counts. Following is an overview of the findings emerging from our analyses.
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