Public parks usage near hydraulic fracturing operations

Following the advent of hydraulic fracturing to effectively collect natural gas and oil, there has been growing interest in placing exploration and extraction wells in or adjacent to public park and forest systems across North America and Europe. At the heart of the debate about leasing public parkland is the concern that park acreage and accessibility will be lost to fracking operations, thereby decreasing park attendance. In this study, we apply value-belief-norm theory to evaluate park users' general attitudes toward fracking and public policy and their perceptions of fracking's impact on their recreational activity. A survey of 255 park users in the Appalachian Basin of the United States indicated that individuals holding strong pro-environmental attitudes in general would likely avoid parklands that are affected by fracking operations. Additionally, a majority of respondents reported concern that fracking would disrupt park access and thusly supported legislative bans of fracking in public parklands.Management implicationsThis study provides initial insight into park users' attitudes toward hydraulic fracturing, especially how it relates to their recreational usage. Specially, the results indicate:
- Park users are concerned that fracking operations near local, state, or national parks would disrupt the accessibility and usage of those parks.
- Knowledge of fracking and the technological processes behind it is mixed among park users, suggesting that educational outreach efforts may contribute to greater support of or opposition to fracking projects.
- Local, state, or federal land managers considering leasing public land for oil or gas exploration must work with policymakers and energy operators to mitigate both the actual and perceived impacts on park usage and recreational pursuits.
- Additional research is necessary to evaluate the degree to which park usage has been impacted by park-proximate fracking operations.