Rural Landowners' Attitudes Towards the Missouri River State Trail

Linear parks, frequently developed on abandoned railroad lines, have become a common type of recreation site. Adjacent landowners often express strong concerns about proposed linear parks. However, it has been suggested that these concerns are usually misplaced and once the park is actually developed they disappear. Survey data from a sample of landowners along the Missouri River State Trail in central Missouri are analyzed and the results suggest that landowners along potential sites probably have exaggerated fears which diminish once the park is established.