Based on studies at several
Department of Energy sites and Superfund sites, as well as elsewhere, it is
clear that people prefer that contaminated lands be restored to usable land.
Knowing the future uses for such land can inform environmental cleanup and restoration
decision making, often determining the level of cleanup, costs, future management,
and stewardship. This article examines the relationship between general environmental
attitudes, future land use preferences, and recreational activities for people
living around the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
There were few differences in the rating for general environmental problems
as a function of recreational activities. Although future land use ratings were
generally correlated with the number of days people engaged in particular activities
(hunting, fishing, hiking, camping), people who hunted and fished rated nearly
every recreational activity higher than did people who only camped or hiked,
or than those who engaged in no outdoor activities. Thus, campers and hikers
did not rate camping and hiking higher as future land uses than did other groups.
These data suggest that there is widespread support for recreational activities
as future uses for the Savannah River Site, regardless of whether people participate
in them or not, and that current cleanup and stewardship decisions should consider
these views.