Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute Hot Topics

All Leopold Institute research is relevant to sustaining wilderness. To learn more about our research priorities such as wildland fire, recreation, relationships between people and protected lands, and larger ecololgical and social systems, go to the Research Program.
To see how we work to transfer this information to managers and other audiences, go to the Research Application Program.

In addition to our research priorities, the Leopold Institute has been involved in the following specific topics that are timely and critical to sustaining Wilderness. We have:

Addressed the challenges of maintaining and restoring fire to wilderness areas.

Addressed the challenges of managing for naturalness and wildness.

Been developing a program to monitor aspects of wilderness character.

Worked to understand day and high-density recreation use.

Conducted research on recreation user fees.

Developed a handbook and sponsored workshops on recreation use estimation.

Evaluated recreation education techniques and low impact practices.

Developed wilderness maps of the National Wilderness Preservation System.

Developed a research framework for the value of wilderness water.

Tried to understand the controversy around wildlife management activities in wilderness (e.g., fish stocking).

The Leopold Institute is administered by the Rocky Mountain Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service
and operates under an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service,
U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management,
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service.

Accessibility Information

Questions about the Leopold Institute or this website should be addressed to
RMRS_Leopold_Institute@fs.fed.us.
This website is maintained in cooperation with the University of Montana Wilderness Institute.