ABSTRACT
Water is probably the greatest of all outdoor recreational attractions. River systems and their shore environments are major recreational resources, yet they are uninventoried and unclassified. This chapter proposes a recreation classification and a systematic method of inventorying and evaluating river system recreational resources. Rivers and streams can be classified according to size and according to condition and use. They can be evaluated for quality on a basis of specific criteria or characteristics of the resource. In general, rivers and streams can be grouped into four major classes: wild rivers, semi-wild rivers, semi-harnessed — developed rivers, and harnessed — developed rivers. All recreational activities are an interaction between people and a suitable environment. The term recreational resource refers to this interaction of people and environment which creates fishing, hunting, boating, and other recreation activities. Littering and pollution detract from the quality of the recreation activity.
