wilderness character monitoring - university of idaho · •1 wilderness character monitoring and...

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Wilderness Character Monitoring and the Saguaro Wilderness

Wilderness and Protected Area

Management

Jesse Engebretson

“The purpose of the Wilderness

Act is to preserve the

wilderness character of the

areas to be included in the

wilderness system, not to

establish any particular use.”

Howard Zahniser Primary author of the

Wilderness Act of 1964 •2

Wilderness Act

Section 2(a): “a National Wilderness Preservation System… shall be administered … so as to provide for the protection of these areas, the preservation of their wilderness character”

Section 4(b): “each agency administering any area designated as wilderness

shall be responsible for

preserving the wilderness

character of the area”

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Wilderness “X” at time

of designation

Modern Human Influence more less

Wildern

ess

Chara

cte

r

impro

ved

degra

ded

Wilderness Character in Stewardship

stable

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Fulfill purpose of the Wilderness Act & improve accountability

Understand consequences of decisions and actions

Integrate stewardship across all resource areas

Provide enduring legacy information

Guard against legal vulnerability

Why Should We Care?

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“…an improper evaluation of the wilderness character of the

area….” Barnes v. Babbitt (D. Ariz.) (2004)

“‘Natural conditions’…are part of the ‘wilderness character’ to be preserved.”

Wilderness Soc. v. USFWS (9th Cir. En banc) (2003)

“…that action degrades the wilderness character….” Izaak Walton League v. Kimbell (D. Minn.) (2007)

“[The decision] is in direct contradiction of the mandate to

preserve the wilderness character.” OLYM Park Assoc. v. Mainella (West. D. WA) (2005)

Wilderness Character in Court

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What is wilderness character?

The primary management mandate

Yet

Not defined in the Wilderness Act

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What is “Wilderness Character”?

Most would agree on general concepts:

Wilderness is free-willed

The signs of modern humans are minimal

Natural processes are allowed to flourish

Wilderness recreational experiences should include

solitude, primitive conditions, risk and self-

exploration

These lands are managed in contrast to the

lands around them.

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Biophysical

Aspects

Experiential

Aspects

Symbolic

Aspects

The natural condition of the

land, its wildlife, and

ecological processes Natural fire regimes

Scenic quality Natural vegetation

Native wildlife

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The personal

benefits and

meanings

people derive

from their

experiences in

wilderness

Biophysical

Aspects

Experiential

Aspects

Symbolic

Aspects


Experience of nature, free

from constraints of culture Personal challenge and

self-discovery

Recreation and the

use of primitive skills

The meanings

that individuals

and society

derive from the

existence of

wildernesses

Biophysical

Aspects

Experiential

Aspects

Symbolic

Aspects


Interconnectedness Humility and restraint

Part of

something larger

than the self

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“…affected primarily by the forces of nature…”

Untrammeled

Wilderness Character: Qualities

“…an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man…”

Unmanipulated

Free

Uncontrolled

Wild •12

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Untrammeled

Degraded by actions that manipulate, control, or hinder “the community of life”


Spraying weeds

Killing predators

Collaring

Suppressing / lighting

fires

Wilderness Character: Qualities Untrammeled

Wilderness is essentially unhindered and free

from modern human control or manipulation •14

“...protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions….”


Natural Untrammeled

Untrammeled: decisions or actions

Natural: effects

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Natural Untrammeled

Untrammeled: management decision

Natural: condition of the land

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Natural Untrammeled



Vegetation

Wildlife

Air, Water, Soil

Ecological

Processes •17

Natural Untrammeled

Degraded by effects (intended or unintended) of modern civilization


Non-native species

Extirpation

Pollution

Interference with

ecological processes •18

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Wilderness ecological systems are substantially

free from the effects of modern civilization


Natural Untrammeled

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Natural Untrammeled

Undeveloped

“…undeveloped…land retaining…primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements…”

“...where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”

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“We stand without our

mechanisms that make

us immediate masters

over our environment.”

Howard Zahniser


Natural Untrammeled

Undeveloped

“In order to assure that…growing mechanization does not occupy and

modify all areas within the United States…”

TheWilderness Act, § 2(a)

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Degraded by structures and tools that facilitate our ability to occupy or modify the environment


Structures

Installations

Aircraft

Motors

Mechanical

transport

Natural Untrammeled

Undeveloped


Natural Untrammeled

Undeveloped

Wilderness retains its primeval character and

influence, and is essentially without permanent

improvement or modern human occupation •23


Natural Untrammeled

Undeveloped Solitude or Primitive and

Unconfined Recreation

“…outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation…”

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Natural Untrammeled



Traditional /

Primitive Skills

Challenge & Self-

discovery

Connection &

Freedom •25


Natural Untrammeled



Encounters

Facilities

Restrictions

Degraded by settings

that reduce these

opportunities

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Natural Untrammeled



Wilderness provides outstanding opportunities for

solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation


Natural Untrammeled


Unconfined Recreation Other features of value

“may also contain ecological, geological, … scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.”


Natural Untrammeled


Unconfined Recreation Other features

Wilderness may have unique qualities which must

be protected consistent with a wilderness context

Five distinct and equally

important qualities that are

inter-related

Each wilderness may have

unique aspects of all five

qualities

Wilderness character is

affected by stewardship

decisions to take action or not

to take action


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Example: prescribed

burning

Prescribed burning may improve the Natural quality

Prescribed burning degrades the Untrammeled quality

Wilderness Character: Qualities Implications for Management A single action may

improve one Quality

while degrading another

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Example: use of helicopters

to spray herbicide to mitigate

invasive plant infestation

Decision to manipulate degrades the Untrammeled quality

Herbicide application may degrade the Natural quality

Presence of the helicopters degrades the Undeveloped quality

Mitigating invasive plants may improve the Natural quality

Wilderness Character: Qualities Implications for Management A single decision or

action may degrade

more than one Quality

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Quality Question Indicator Measures

Natural

Wilderness

ecological

systems are

substantially

free from the

effects of

modern

civilization

What are the trends in

terrestrial, aquatic,

and atmospheric

natural resources

inside wilderness?

Plant and animal

species and

communities

Acres of

non-native

invasive

plant

infestation

Physical resources Air quality

(Visibility,

Ozone,

Total –N,

Total – S)


terrestrial, aquatic,

and atmospheric

natural processes

inside wilderness?

Biophysical processes Departure

from

natural fire

return

interval

How SAGU monitors Natural

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Untrammeled

Wilderness is

essentially

unhindered and

free from

modern human

control or

manipulation

What are the

trends in

actions that

control or

manipulate the

“earth and its

community of

life” inside

wilderness?

Actions authorized by the

Federal land manager that

manipulate the biophysical

environment

Acres of

prescribed

burning

Actions not authorized by

the Federal land manager

that manipulate the

biophysical environment

N/A at

SAGU, but,

examples

include

illegal fish

stocking,

poaching,

etc.

How SAGU monitors Untrammeled

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Undeveloped

Wilderness retains its

primeval character and

influence, and is essentially without

permanent

improvement or modern human occupation

What are the trends in non-recreational

development inside

wilderness?

Non-recreational structures, installations,

and developments

Number and extent of built

NPS

infrastructure

Inholdings Acres of inholdings

What are the trends in mechanization

inside wilderness?

Use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment,

or mechanical transport

Index of administrative

and

nonemergency

motor vehicles, motorized

equipment and

mechanized transport use

How SAGU monitors Undeveloped

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Solitude or Primitive

and Unconfined

Recreation

Wilderness provide soutstanding

opportunities for

solitude or primitive and unconfined

recreation

What are the trends

in outstanding

opportunities for

solitude inside

wilderness?

Remoteness from sights

and sounds of people

inside the wilderness

Number of

backcountry

permits

issued

Remoteness from occupied and modified

areas outside the

wilderness

Miles of roads within

¼ mile of

the

wilderness boundary

What are the trends in outstanding

opportunities for

primitive and

unconfined recreation inside

wilderness?

Facilities that decrease self-reliant recreation

Number and extent of

park

maintained

facilities

Management restrictions on visitor behavior

Visitor restriction

index

How SAGU monitors … opportunities

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How SAGU monitors … Other features


Other Features

This quality is unique

to a particular

wilderness. These

features typically include cultural resources,

historical sites,

paleontological localities,

or any feature not in one of the other qualities

that has scientific,

educational, scenic, or

historical value.

What are the trends

that promote urban community engagement

with the wilderness?

Instances of community

involvement with the wilderness

Number of youth

in wilderness on curriculum based

field trips

Percentage of

socio-economically disadvantaged

youth in field trips


structural or installations of

historical importance

inside wilderness?

Structures or installations

of historical importance

Conditional index

of all LCS structures


cultural resources inside wilderness?

Condition of statutorily

protected cultural resources

Conditional index

of representative archeological sites

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“We must then do two things: we must see that

an adequate system of wilderness areas is

designated for preservation; and then we must

allow nothing to alter the wilderness character of

the preserves.”

H. Zahniser, “Wilderness Forever,” 1961

Wilderness Character

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Questions?

If you have any further questions, please contact:

Jesse Engebretson

PhD Student, University of Idaho, College of Natural Resources,

Department of Conservation Social Sciences

Wilderness Fellow 2012 – SAGU & CHIR

[email protected]

(612) 804-6011

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Wilderness

Regional

National

Forest

X

THE “WEDDING CAKE” MODEL OF

NATIONAL INDICATORS

= National Indicators of Selected

Conditions Related to Wilderness

Character

X

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mailto:[email protected]

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