Perceptions of access to industrial forest land by Port Alberni recreational stakeholders.

This thesis examines recreationalist experiences with industrial forest land access in the Port Alberni area of British Columbia where forest industry and land tenure restructuring has changed land management practices. Consequently, recreationalists' expectations of industrial forest land access are not met by current reality. A qualitative, exploratory case study examines historical and current recreational access barriers, their impact on recreationalists, and elucidates the success of recreationalist-forestry company relationships in negotiating these barriers. Results indicate that recreational access restrictions, in the form of physical barriers, increased due to land tenure and forest industry restructuring. These restrictions have significantly limited recreationalists' activities and land use practices. As conceptualized by recreationalists accessing private land, now comprising the majority of area forest land, restrictions suggest corporate land owner failure to meet social responsibilities. While successful recreationalist-forestry company relationships may offset the impacts of restrictions, these relationships have not fully replaced previous access regimes. --Leaf ii.