Wildland encounter norms across time and activity type: Stable preferences and shifting thresholds

Social and ecological conditions are constantly changing, but research concerning how visitors to wildlands perceive such changes across time is both limited and narrow. With a focus on the social settings of recreation experiences, this study provides an understanding of how perceptions of wildland visitors have changed over time. Specifically, across three time periods (1989, 1994, and 2022) within a wildland unit in Montana (USA), we found that preferences for encounters with other visitors remained relatively stable, levels of acceptable encounters (or thresholds) increased across time in some instances, and levels of acceptable encounters varied across the activity types that visitors encountered. By expanding evaluative norms research to include both activity type and multiple time periods, we contribute to both theory and application of wildland recreation management.