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David Cole - Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute
Cooperators: University of Idaho (Troy Hall); Northern Arizona University (Pam Foti); Southern Illinois University (Doug McEwen); U.S. Forest Service (various units); Grand Canyon National Park
BACKGROUND
To manage recreation appropriately, managers need data regarding recreation use and the impacts that use causes. They need information particularly about amount of recreation use, characteristics of their visitors and the location and condition of campsites. They need both baseline data and trend information. The Leopold Institute has collected such data in selected wilderness since about 1970. Recently, efforts have been taken to:
- Document the extent of baseline data across the National Wilderness Preservation System
- Replicate earlier surveys to identify trends
- Expand the network of wildernesses with good data
- Archive baseline data so that it is available for others to replicate
NWPS BASELINE DATA
To document the extent of baseline data across the National Wilderness Preservation System, we interviewed managers from every wilderness in the country, inquiring about their data regarding wilderness visitors, campsites and trail impacts.
Click here to view abstract and download Leopold Institute publication #486.
Click here to access wilderness recreation searchable database.
WILDERNESS VISITOR DATA & TRENDS
Visitor use data are not routinely collected for wilderness. In the late 1990s an effort was undertaken to estimate trends in use. Click here to view abstract and download Leopold Institute publication #282.
Few studies of trends in the characteristics, attitudes and preferences of wilderness visitors have ever been conducted. Dr. Robert Lucas studied visitors to the Bob Marshall in 1970 and again in 1982. Click here to view abstract and order Leopold Institute publication #131.
More recently, we studied trends in visitors in the Desolation, Shining Rock and Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wildernesses.
Click here to view abstract and order Leopold Institute publication #273.
CAMPSITE IMPACTS DATA & TRENDS
Several of the studies of long-term trends in campsite impacts have been published.
Click here to view abstract and download Leopold Institute publication # 222.
Click here to view abstract and download Leopold Institute publication # 235.
For other wildernesses we have archived data and, in some cases, written unpublished reports.
Click here to access a listing of our archived data on campsite impacts.
RIVER VISITOR DATA
Another database in our archives are the studies of visitors on 56 river segments that were conducted by Dr. David Lime and cooperators in the late1970s and early 1980s. Click here to access this data.
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