Overcooking Recreation Conflict: Perceptions About Mountain and e-Biking on Michigan’s Natural Surface Trails

Abstract

Mountain biking (MTB) has gained global traction over the 21st century and sub-stantially grown since the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbating recreation conflicts across landscapes and communities. Although MTB research has grown with in-creased activity levels, studies are often fragmented and mainly focus on a single site where conflict notably exists. This is also true for electric biking, or e-biking, a relatively new subset of cyclists whose users experience conflict with other rec-reationalists and with MTBers. Guided by conflict theory, a representative online panel sample survey across Michigan (U.S.) captured natural surface trail users’ recent experiences on multiple-use trails. Recreation conflict between cyclists and other recreationalists across Michigan’s natural surface trails was low and fell into two categories: differing levels of agreement and cyclists perceiving more polar-izing impacts about cyclist behaviors. Overall, cyclists were more critical of MTB and e-bike impacts than people who do not consider themselves cyclists, except for physical impacts like trail damage. Conflict between groups on Michigan’s natural surface trails is low, highlighting that separate trails for various user groups are not necessary to prevent conflict. Moreover, this study highlights how most encounters with cyclists were either viewed positively or neutral, diverging from traditional notions of recreational conflict potential increasing as encounters increase. Like the evolution of ‘standards’ to ‘thresholds’ for visitor use management, we call into question whether recreation conflict is also due for a reimagining pertaining to larger trends (beyond single sites) that views increasing rates of encounters be-tween recreationalists not as inherently rife for conflict, but as opportunities for diverse recreationalists to co-enjoy greenspaces and protected areas.