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Defining wilderness quality at backcountry campsites in the Height-of-the Rockies Wilderness Area

University of British Columbia

Human use is a component of the B.C. Forest Service wilderness mandate; however, recreation impacts inevitably threaten both the integrity of the natural environment and the quality of the experience. Current planning processes strive to protect the wilderness concept by defining appropriate conditions and developing specific standards that clearly outline desired social and resource settings. In order to address campsite quality in the Height-of-the-Rockies Wilderness Area, the Limits to Acceptable Change framework was chosen as a means to develop appropriate standards. A mailback survey of wilderness users during the summer of 1994 was conducted to determine which indicators of campsite conditions best represented quality wilderness experiences. Although the development of specific standards was not justified in light of the non-representative nature of the survey sample, the results provided valuable baseline characteristics of the summer users. The data imply that visitors had a high degree of concern for most campsite impacts; overall, social parameters had a greater influence on the quality of backcountry experiences than biophysical disturbances. In addition, visitor standards of preferred and maximum acceptable conditions were restrictive in nature. Over 50% of respondents preferred no change from the pristine with respect to social and biophysical campsite impacts. Although visitor standards of acceptable conditions varied more than corresponding preferred values, the former also delineated near-pristine environments; accepted medians represented semi-primitive non-motorized wilderness settings. The available data suggest that an overall campsite index rating, in conjunction with the total number of campsites, would provide suitable indicators for future monitoring. Examination of the results revealed both methodological and theoretical concerns with respect to the application of the acquired data. Certain discrepancies evident in reported standards, for example, questions the validity of the survey design. The observed variation in visitor standards also raises the philosophical issue as to whether social norms exist. The above concerns do not refute the importance of visitor feedback in defining wilderness quality; however, the foundations of decision making should also be based upon ecological principles. Implications for future management and research are discussed.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-02-06

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/4262

Forestry

University of British Columbia

UBCV

DSpace