Wilderness attribute mapping in the United Kingdom

A wilderness continuum concept can identify the wilder areas of Britain. Geographical Information Systems are used to present information on these areas and solicit public opinion as to which factors are perceived to be important wilderness quality indicators. Consensus maps are compiled from a composite of individual responses and the results compared to Britain’s network of protected areas

Mapping Wilderness Character in Adams County, Pennsylvania

The spatial trends in wilderness character in Adams County, Pennsylvania were examined to evaluate how influenced specific areas are impacted by human activity and development. Indicators of wilderness character were selected as natural, untrammelled, undeveloped, along with solitude and unconfined recreation by the Death Valley National Park staff in which a 0-4 ranking system was based upon to portray a range of most degraded to optimal land. This was executed through examination of factors such as abundance of biodiversity and human development within the given area before a Monte Carlo simulation was run to show sensitivity of change. It was found that overall wilderness quality is most optimal along the Michaux Forest boundary and small sections of land on the southwestern and eastern edge of Adams County. Areas that are most sensitive to a change in the weights of wilderness character factors are small sections of land throughout the middle areas of Adams County along the roads while areas of land that are least sensitive to change are mainly the areas associated with the Michaux Forest boundary along the northwestern parts of Adam’s County. It was concluded that an increase in human interaction tends to lead to land that is more degraded and misused for infrastructure purposes

‘Wild land’: a concept in search of space

This paper sets out the general background context surrounding the issue of wild land in Scotland. It explores definitions of wild land and related concepts, identifies key issues associated with wild land in Scotland, and explores the question of the desirability of designating areas as wild land for Scotland. There is increasing interest in the concept of ‘wild land’, ‘wildness’, or ‘wilderness’ in Scotland, other parts of the UK and Europe. Changes in agricultural policy are leading to land abandonment in several European Union member states and in some cases ‘re-wilding’ is taking place with little or no managerial input from humans. These events have led to renewed interest across Europe in setting aside land with minimal management to create ‘wild’ areas. There has been either interest or activity, not always in the public sector, in Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and the Netherlands in exploring and establishing some form of wild land area. Many of these are relatively small, with evidence of recent human activity, and, as such, are quite distinct from the concept of ‘wilderness’, which has been so influential in certain parts of the world (such as North America) in influencing the designation of areas of land for minimal management. In contrast there are the large areas of northern Scandinavia, which still contain ‘wilderness-like’ qualities, and to some extent are preserved in the wilderness areas and national parks of Finland, Sweden and Norway. Unfortunately, the terms ‘wild land’, ‘wildness’, ‘wilderness’, come with an enormous amount of associated cultural baggage, resulting in argument and conflict over definitions, purpose, and management of potential wild land or wilderness areas. The aim of this paper is to unpack some of that baggage and clarify the key issues in the current discussions on wild land taking place in Scotland

AN ANALYSIS OF WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE IN WILDERNESS OR OTHER PRIMITIVE AREAS

A logit model was used to determine the major factors explaining willingness to participate of an individual in the wilderness or other primitive area visits. The results of the study showed that education and environmental awareness were in wilderness participation decision. Demographic variables like age, race, and sex also were statistically significant and emerged as important policy variables in defining wilderness participation behavior. Characteristics of wilderness areas like crowdness, pollution, and poor management failed to produce any significant impacts in the decision making process of wilderness area visit.wilderness or other primitive area visits, policy variables, demographic characteristics, participation behavior, Consumer/Household Economics,

Classification and Protection Status of Remnant Natural Plant Communities in Arkansas

A classification and inventory of Arkansas\u27s remaining tracts of relatively undisturbed vegetation was initiated in 1979. Based on extensive literature surveys and field work, the classification includes five physiognomic classes, 17 cover classes, and 46 cover types, arranged hierarchically. High quality examples of ten of the cover types have been located in designated wilderness or state natural areas, where they are protected by law, while an additional three occur in research natural areas or Forest Service special interest areas. The remaining 33 cover types have no known long-term protection. Lands having wilderness, state natural area, research natural area, or special management area status total nearly 51,000 acres in the state. No more than one-tenth of this area, however, supports vegetation in relatively undisturbed condition

A GIS-based inductive study of wilderness values

This study presents the results of spatial analysis of wilderness values in Alaska. Using data from two regional planning studies, perceived landscape values from inside and outside wilderness areas were compared to determine if proportionate value differences exist between wilderness and nonwilderness areas. Multiple regression analysis was used to confirm the results and determine the relative strength of general landscape values as predictors of wilderness value. Results indicate that wilderness areas reflect values associated with indirect, intangible, or deferred human uses of the landscape—life-sustaining, intrinsic, and future values—whereas landscape values outside wilderness areas reflect more direct, tangible, and immediate uses of the landscape—economic, recreation, and subsistence values

Forage Yields in Turkey Hill Wilderness in East Texas for White-tailed Deer

Wilderness areas are often considered quality areas where natural processes occur without human activity. It is often assumed that these unmanaged areas will provide and support quality wildlife habitat. The objective of this study was to evaluate the forage production and stocking potential of an unmanaged wilderness area in east Texas. Four different community types were evaluated for forage yield, forage availability, and browse utilization for white-tailed deer. Results show that although a wide range of forage yields were measured in the spring, summer forage yield did not differ among the various communities. Availability also differed between community types, but utilization within each community appears to be lower than what could be supported

Electricity deregulation and the valuation of visibility loss in wilderness areas: A research note.

Visibility in most wilderness areas in the northeastern United States has declined substantially since the 1970s. As noted by Hill et al. (2000), despite the 1977 Clean Air Act and subsequent amendments, human induced smog conditions are becoming increasingly worse. Average visibility in class I airsheds, such as the Great Gulf Wilderness in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, is now about one-third of natural conditions. A particular concern is that deregulation of electricity production could result in further degradation because consumers may switch to lower cost fossil fuel generation (Harper 2000). To the extent that this system reduces electricity costs, it may also affect firm location decisions (Halstead and Deller 1997). Yet, little is known about the extent to which consumers are likely to make tradeoffs between electric bills and reduced visibility in nearby wilderness areas. This applied research uses a contingent valuation approach in an empirical case study of consumers’ tradeoffs between cheaper electric bills and reduced visibility in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. We also examine some of the problems associated with uncertainty with this type of analysis; that is, how confident respondents are in their answers to the valuation questions. Finally, policy implications of decreased visibility due to electricity deregulation are discussed

Ten year change in forest succession and composition measured by remote sensing

Vegetation dynamics and changes in ecological patterns were measured by remote sensing over a 10 year period (1973 to 1983) for 148,406 landscape elements, covering more than 500 sq km in a protected forested wilderness. Quantitative measurements were made possible by methods to detect ecologically meaningful landscape units; these allowed measurement of ecological transition frequencies and calculation of expected recurrence times. Measured ecological transition frequencies reveal boreal forest wilderness as spatially heterogeneous and highly dynamic, with one-sixth of the area in clearings and early successional stages, consistent with recent postulates about the spatial and temporal patterns of natural ecosystems. Differences between managed forest areas and a protected wilderness allow assessment of different management regimes

Framing the relationship between people and nature in the context of European conservation

A key controversy in conservation is the framing of the relationship between people and nature. The extent to which the realms of nature and human culture are viewed as separate (dualistic view) or integrated is often discussed in the social sciences. To explore how this relationship is represented in the practice of conservation in Europe, we considered examples of cultural landscapes, wildlife (red deer, reindeer, horses), and protected area management. We found little support, for a dualistic worldview, where people and nature are regarded as separate in the traditional practice of conservation in Europe. The borders between nature and culture, wild and domestic, public land and private land, and between protected areas and the wider landscape were blurred and dynamic. The institutionalized (in practice and legislation) view is of an interactive mutualistic system in which humans and nature share the whole landscape. However, more dualistic ideals, such as wilderness and rewilding that are challenging established practices are expanding. In the context of modern day Europe, wilderness conservation and rewilding are not valid for the whole landscape, although it is possible to integrate some areas of low-intervention management into a wider matrix. A precondition for success is to recognize and plan for a plurality of values concerning the most valid approaches to conservation and to plan for this plurality at the landscape scale