Recreation Impacts & Community Trails

For nearly a decade, one of Dr. Glyn Bissix's research projects has examined the community conflict, environmental impact and health burden, as well as the economic drain of the Nova Scotia government’s policy support of recreational use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).  He has collaborated with emergency room physicians, general practitioners, and medical officers of health, exercise scientists, economists and sport sociologists to provide policy-makers with the necessary factual information and tools to make better decisions regarding recreational trail access policy.

Dr. Bissix has co-authored or authored five journal articles and book chapters that challenge the notion that ATVing provides net benefits to communities.  He has developed decision tools that integrate the accumulative effects of environmental damage, health risks, community conflict, and the economic burden of promoting ATVing as a legitimate publically supported recreational pursuit.  He will shortly publish a co-authored chapter that provides a social theory and environmentalism perspective on multiple-use community trail policy.

Students have been involved in this research project from the outset.  They have led community focus groups to determine the impacts of provincial trail policy on local communities, conducted interviews with key policy makers and involved community actors, and have conducted literature reviews that together have influenced government policy within and beyond Nova Scotia.