Visitor characteristics and preferences for three National Forest wildernesses in the South (original) (raw)
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The total amount of recreational use of the National Wilderness Preservation System is currently at about 14.5 million visitor days per annum. Trends indicate a stable or declining overall use; use on a per acre basis is declining. The common stereotype of the wilderness user as young, wealthy, urban, leisured, and a nonresident of the State or region is largely incorrect. The one characteristic that does sharply distinguish wilderness users is their very high education level. Use patterns in wilderness also differ from commonly he/d perceptions. Size of individual user groups is small, and getting smaller. Most visits are day-use only. Distribution of use is highly skewed toward weekends and summers, but the trend is toward increased dispersal of use across time and space. Higher impact and consumptive activities like hunting and horse use are declining as a percentage of total use.
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This paper reviews the body of literature on recreation resource impacts and their management in the United States, with a primary focus on research within designated wildernesses during the past 15 years since the previous review (Cole 1987b). Recreation impacts have become a salient issue among wilderness scientists, managers and advocates alike. Studies of recreation impacts, referred to as recreation ecology, have expanded and diversified. Research has shifted its focus more towards questions driven by wilderness and park planning frameworks such the Limits of Acceptable Change and the Visitor Experience and Resource Protection. This paper begins by providing an overview of recreation impacts and their significance in wilderness, followed by a review of research approaches and methods. Major findings from recent studies are summarized. The contribution of this knowledge base to management decisionmaking and practices is examined. The paper concludes with a discussion of major knowledge gaps and suggested areas for future research. Research Methods and Techniques Research methods for four specific topics are discussed in this subsection. These topics, which include trampling studies, trail impacts, campsite impacts, and indicators and indices, are highlighted because they constitute a large portion of the recreation ecology literature. Trampling Research-Trampling studies are often regarded as basic research in recreation ecology (Liddle 1997).
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More than 1,900 people in the United States over age 15 were asked about their awareness of the National Wilderness Preservation System, adequacy of the amount of wilderness protected, and the importance of various benefits or values from wilderness protection. Findings indicate broad support for the concept of wilderness, based mostly on the ecological, environmental quality, and off-site values respondents believe wildland protection provides. Of lesser importance are various forms of on-site use values, including the secondary effect of stimulating income for the tourism industry.
Journal of Forestry, 2016
The 50th anniversary of the US Wilderness Act of 1964 presents a worthy opportunity to review our collective knowledge on how recreation visitation affects wilderness and protected natural area resources. Studies of recreation impacts, examined within the recreation ecology field of study, have spanned 80 years and generated more than 1,200 citations. This article examines the recreation ecology literature most relevant to wilderness and backcountry, with a focus on visitor impacts to vegetation, soil, wildlife, and water resources. We also review relationships with influential factors, such as the amount of use, visitor behavior, and vegetation type. An understanding of these impacts and their relationships with influential factors is necessary for land managers seeking to identify acceptable limits of impact or selecting management actions that will effectively avoid or minimize resource impacts.