And Maples previously
studied the economic impact
rock climbers have in the Red
River Gorge area, which Brad-
ley said received international
attention.
“I got a friend in Greece who
said, ‘Hey, I saw this.’ … She
was asking me about it, she’s
a rock climber,” he said. “That
study has gotten wide distribu-
tion as far as people utilizing
it, people reading it, stuff like
that.”
Since the two met, they’ve
done more than 40 studies,
and they’re currently working
on some in New Hampshire
and California involving rock
climbing as well, but Maples
said the two prefer to focus
their work in Kentucky.
“One of the studies that we
have coming up this year that
we’re very excited about, once
we have their approval for
the forest service, is doing the
study on the Sheltowee Trace
trail towns,” Maples said. The
duo is looking at six towns
in total: Livingston, Slade,
Morehead, Stearns, Mckee and
London.
Their goal with doing these
studies includes helping cit-
ies bring in more visitors or
by helping places learn about
what their visitors would like
to see more of in the areas they
go to, or how they would be
willing to spend more money
in the places they visit.
“We want to look at how
outdoor recreation is shaping
those economies,” Maples said.
He explained the economy
is in a period of transition
with manufacturing changing
because of national and inter-
national trends.
“So we’re put in a situation
that we have to find other
economic opportunities,” he
continued. “One of the big
things that we’ve seen through
studies done by the Outdoor
Industries Association and the
forest service and many others
is that outdoor recreation is
now becoming a huge part of
our economy.”
He called outdoor recreation
a shot in the arm when it
comes to helping local econo-
mies.
“Looking at the Red River
Gorge, one of the big things
that I’ve been excited about is
the number of new businesses
that have been popping up in
recent years, many of them
locally owned, and so those are
dollars that are employing lo-
cal people, tax dollars that are
staying local, and you know,
visitors are enjoying getting
that local experience, getting
to go to places that are part of
the local scene,” he said.
Bradley agreed, saying Ken-
tucky is uniquely positioned
to take advantage of its envi-
ronment when it comes to the
economy.
“So you look at other places
where outdoor recreation is a
vital part, or you know, a shot
in the arm, to the economy,
and while they’re cool places,
this area of Kentucky has
those and more,” he said. “So
if you think about it, we’ve
got great hiking, biking and
all these things you can do in
the foothills of the mountains
here, but then you’ve also got
great opportunities for hook
and bullet type economies.
(You have) great opportunities
for the Bourbon Trail … Ken-
tucky just has this beautiful
mix of everything, and that’s
all things people do for fun and
recreation and whatnot.”
Bradley said the state is a
place that more people should
take pride in, and that in-
cludes both touting the natural
resources and taking care of
them.
“So myself, I like to go fish-
ing, and there’s a lot of places
to go fishing around here, but
not a lot of people talk about
that. And they should, I think,”
he said.
Maples agreed.
“And it’s crazy, too, because
we have a lot of natural rivers
— wild and scenic rivers and
places like that that are really
extraordinary locations,” he
added.
There are also a lot of lakes
and trails in walking distance,
they said.
So when the two gear up to
do one of their studies, they
get excited, because it means
partnering with like-minded
people in organizations like
the forest service and local
climbing organizations. It also
means they get to go out and
visit these gorgeous outdoor
scenes they’re so fond of.
In fact, the two are getting
ready to redo the rock climbing
study at the Red River Gorge.
“I’m really excited with this
Red River Gorge study that I’ll
be able to get back out there
and spend some Saturdays
talking with climbers and
collecting data. It’s definitely
one of the highlights of the job
is getting to work with people
who love these areas as much
as you love them,” Maples
said.
“I think both of us have a
very strong applied element to
our work where we like to be
actively involved and out there
in the community.”
They also like to involve
their students at EKU.
Bradley’s students are likely
to be working in forests and
parks in the future, so it’s good
experience for them, as well as
helpful knowledge, and Ma-
ples’s students need to learn
how to collect and analyze
data, Maples said.
Then, they have to figure out
when to go out to collect their
data — or rather, talking to
the people who serve as sub-
jects in the studies.
When it comes to the Red
River Gorge, that means going
out on weekends when the
weather is cooperating, accord-
Michael Bradley
James Maples
ing to Bradley.
“Climbers are accessing this
area in basically two parts of
the year, in the spring and in
the fall, where the weather
kind of allows that to happen,
so you’re talking about it’s not
too hot or too cold,” he said.
Rock climbers also are mainly
at Red River Gorge on the
weekends, he said.
“So you identify these week-
ends – they’re in certain parts
of the year, and you identify
access points, so, you know,
you’ve got certain places
people are climbing, so you go
to those places during those
days and you talk to people in
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