Cultural diversity of Los Angeles County residents using undeveloped natural areas.

A model of ethnic participation at undeveloped natural areas was developed and tested. The proposed model included the constructs of socio-economic st atus, perceived discrimination, assimilation, and ethnicity. Undeveloped na tural areas were defined as being located outside of cities and primarily n atural in composition. A telephone survey of a stratified random sample of Los Angeles County residents resulted in 894 interviews. The results demons trate the multi-dimensional and complex nature of outdoor recreation partic ipation. Despite close proximity and low entrance fees compared to commerci al recreation facilities, the majority of residents did not spend even a ha lf day at a National Forest or Park, or other undeveloped natural areas. Th ese data suggest that public wildland agencies must be proactive by creatin g new programs and expanding existing intervention projects, or they risk n ot being able to show that publicly funded natural resources are used by mo st Americans.