Collaboration, partnerships, and the involvement of racial/ethnic minorities with public outdoor recreation resources: An interorganizational collaboration theory perspective

Due to recent shifts in the demographic profiles of the United States population, the National Park Service has come under tremendous pressure to make its programs and services more relevant and accessible to a broader range of the American public (www.npca.org). In response, the National Park Service has adopted collaboration as a strategy for attracting and maintaining the support of racial and ethnic minorities. However, while some parks have made progress, many have encountered major problems in their attempts to collaborate with minorities. In spite of current efforts, partnerships have not yet produced the desired level of racial and ethnic within outdoor recreation areas within the National Park System (Taylor 1997; www.npca.org). Racial and ethnic minorities are still largely absent among visitor populations of most national parks (Goldsmith 1994). The National Parks Service is still struggling with building into its culture strategies for providing enhanced services and opportunities to people of color and, a majority of America's diverse populations do not see themselves as co-owners of this system that we are all responsible for preserving, and which our tax dollars continue to subsidize (www.npca.org).;This study drew on Inter-organizational Collaboration Theory to investigate factors that may be impeding efforts by the newly established Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area Partnership to get racial and ethnic minorities involved in the planning, management, and use of recreation and tourism resources. The study adopted qualitative research methods including participant observation, document analysis, personal interviews, and informal discussions to collect the data. A Computer-based Data Analysis Program (QSR N5 version of NUDIST program) was used to analyze the interview transcripts. Several factors emerged from the study that impact collaboration between the partnership and minority-based neighborhood environmental and social justice groups in several dimensions of involvement with outdoor recreation resources. Based on the study data and conclusions, a new conceptual diversity enhancing collaborative partnership model for natural resource-based recreation and tourism areas has been proposed for future testing in specific contexts. The findings of the study have significant implications to public policy, practice, and managerial decision-making within public outdoor recreation and tourism areas.