Modeling to Generate Recreational Alternatives

Abstract

Water‐resource managers are often faced with rife task of balancing recreational activities in an attempt to maximize the overall recreational benefits from a river system. Available recreation‐use functions for white‐water rafting, boating, and fishing as a function of river flow are used to estimate benefits. This paper focuses on the use of optimization models to generate alternatives (MGA) that maximize total recreational activities. Monthly river‐flow scenarios that produce different mixes of the three recreational activities, yet have essentially the same value of total recreational benefits, were sought. Four MGA methods were evaluated with data for the New River Gorge National River in West Virginia. Two of the MGA methods were based on linear programming, and two were based on dynamic programming. For this study, the MGA methods based on dynamic programming were easier to use and modify. Examples of the types of alternative flow strategies generated for the New River Gorge are presented.