Capacity Determination for Visitor Use in Wilderness
Methods for Determining Capacity The Forest Service Technical Guide for Integrating Recreation, Heritage and Wilderness into Land and Resource Management Planning (2005) describes the process for determining capacity as follows: “A visitor capacity decision considers many pieces of important information, and also considers multiple perspectives and scales. Four main categories of information include market, social, managerial, and biophysical considerations. Other information includes current laws, data from monitoring, and other quantitative and qualitative inputs. The challenge for managers is to consider the totality or sum of all the important information while being principled, reasoned, deliberate, and due diligent.” Market. Visitor capacity can be viewed similar to how goods and services are viewed in the market place; that is, as a relationship between demand (what people want) and supply (what the forests have to offer). At its simplest, a visitor capacity is a measurement of the intersection point where people continue to receive the experiences they desire within the landscapes ecological capabilities. Social. Social attributes are major considerations to visitor capacity. Visitors to National Forest lands and waters seek quality experiences. The RHWR and NFS niche definitions are partially defined by user’s cultural background, values and preferences. Social norms are constantly in flux and must be considered related to activities in settings, as well as the beliefs, attitudes, and values that are expressed through behaviors, meanings, and attachments that people have. Note – For wilderness, visitor preferences, social norms, should be considered cautiously in light of the mandates of wilderness legislation. Opportunities for visitors to experience wilderness are weighed against the need to preserve wilderness character and protect natural conditions. Biophysical. Biophysical attributes influence whether a setting is capable of providing a particular [wilderness dependent] recreation opportunity without degrading the area’s ecological processes, structure, composition, function, resilience, integrity, and potential, as well as the setting’s ability to restore itself and provide for other resource uses and values. Managerial. Managerial attributes can increase or decrease the visitor capacity in an area. These attributes include management objectives, personnel, programs, rules, facilities, available science and monitoring information, and budgets.
Capacity Determination for Visitor Use in Wilderness
A variety of methods and combinations of methods have been used to determine capacity or set limits for visitor use. The methodologies may best be viewed as a range or continuum of variations rather than opposing processes. Typically the methodology used reflects the type and specificity of the capacity information needed and the intensity of public issues and management concerns. The following discussion may help to guide selection of which methodology to implement. The Forest Service Technical Guide for Integrating Recreation, Heritage and Wilderness into Land and Resource Management Planning (2005) states that “a visitor capacity decision should be considered as “separate and distinct from subsequent decisions about limiting public access” (Haas 2003). Today, the primary function of a visitor capacity is to serve as one tool to help sustain natural and cultural resources as well as quality recreation experience and other benefits. At its simplest, a visitor capacity is a measurement of the intersection point where people continue to receive the experiences they desire within the landscapes ecological capabilities. “ The Federal Interagency Task Force on Visitor Capacity on Public Lands (Haas 2002) defines capacity as “the supply of, or prescribed number, of appropriate visitor opportunities that will be accommodated in an area” This definition requires an estimated number or numeric range related to the social unit(s); e.g. xx designated campsites, yy permitted wildlife viewers per morning. In some situations, particularly for allocation of user capacity for commercial services or where crowding is excessive or conditions have deteriorated, it may be useful or even necessary to generate a “number of people that can be in one place at one time”. There is also considerable support by academics and practitioners for use of a standards-based (i.e. LAC or VERP type) approach. This approach is based on deciding what conditions are acceptable in a management area and then prescribing management actions (which may or may not include limits on visitor use) to protect or achieve these conditions (Stankey 1985). Specific numbers of visitors at one time may or may not be estimated but the capability of the social and biophysical components of the wilderness resource to accommodate recreation use without causing degradation of natural conditions beyond an established limit is determined.
Practical Capacity Determination Methods Four types of methodologies or approaches to determining visitor use capacity for specific management decisions are displayed in the following table and then discussed below. Additional detail is found in the literature (Stankey 1985, USDI 1997, Haas 2002 and 2003, Cole 2005) and in Section V. Examples.
Typical or possible methodology A. Theoretical or Formulabased methods
End product
Numerical value RVDs, PAOTs based on acres
Applicability or reason for determining capacity using this method Gross estimates of capacity for programmatic planning only
Basis for determination Formula, area mapping, season of use, estimates of party size, surrogate coefficients Inventory of available areas or physical or social constraints, public involvement Use estimates and condition inventory, monitoring, public involvement
B. Limiting Factor Method
C. Capacity and/or conditions limited to current levels
Numerical value RVDs, PAOTs, for campsites, launches, parking spaces, etc Numerical value RVDs or PAOTs and/or existing condition inventory
D. Capacity based on managing conditions to acceptable standards
Limits on impairment of conditions, numerical capacity value if needed
High use, physical limitations such as established campsites, social limits such as people at one time Upward trend in use, crowding conditions, user input, impaired resource conditions, facility size (parking lots), need to allocate for commercial services All situations from low use and/or stable condition trend to high use and/or declining condition trend, need to allocate for commercial services
Desired condition, existing condition inventory, indicators, limits (standards), mgmt. actions, monitoring, public involvement