Visual perceptions regarding a fictitious water-based recreation area were recorded from a stratified random sample of 392 Pennsylvania residents and compared with the perceptions of 42 resource administrators who allocate, develop, or administer resources for public recreation use in Pennsylvania. Results showed that Pennsylvania citizens do not generally perceive environmental qualities in an opposite manner from the resource administrators. The effects of five demographic characteristics (age, sex, income, residency, and income) were tested to determine if they had any significant effect on the perceptions of the public participants and were found to have only a very minor impact. The resource administrators showed a higher degree of sophistication and homogeneity in their response than did the public respondents. Both groups agreed closely on the components of an outdoor water-based recreation environment that were most important to them when evaluating such an area, but could not agree on how they should be evaluated. Differences between the public and administrators seemed to be a function of orientation. The public was interested in the environment for its utility in satisfying personal needs while the administrators perceived from a professional or resource administration point of view. (Author)