WHAT IS WILDERNESS MANAGED FOR?

1. WHAT IS WILDERNESS MANAGED FOR? “Once land is designated as wilderness, how do we preserve the spirit of the land, its wildness and naturalness?” -- Laura and Guy Waterman, Wilderness Ethics,1993 “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.” 1

2. IS THERE A PROBLEM? • Many wilderness managers are concerned about: • wilderness character is degrading • a traditional primary focus on recreation • shifting baselines with new staff • A lack of tools managers can use to assess their accomplishments in preserving wilderness character • Little or no integration/communication across staff areas about how wilderness character is changing over time • Increasing litigation based on wilderness character 2

3. WHY WILDERNESS CHARACTER? It’s the law: Wilderness Act of 1964 • Statement of Policy, 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” • Use of Wilderness Areas, Section 4(b): • “each agency administering any area designated as wilderness shall be responsible for preserving the wilderness character of the area” 3

4. WHY WILDERNESS CHARACTER? It’s the policy of all four wilderness managing agencies to preserve wilderness character USDA Forest Service: Forest Service Manual Chapter 2320—Wilderness Management DOI Bureau of Land Management: Manual 8560—Management of Designated Wilderness Areas DOI Fish and Wildlife Service: Natural and Cultural Resources Management, Part 610 Wilderness Stewardship DOI National Park Service: Chapter 6: Wilderness Preservation and Management; Director’s Orders #41 4

5. WHY WILDERNESS CHARACTER? To Improve On-the-ground Stewardship: • Understand consequences of decisions and actions using a systematic framework and language • Provide accountability • Provide legacy information that will endure over time when personnel change • Communicate a positive and tangible vision for what wilderness is within the agency and with the public • Guard against legal vulnerability 5

6. WILDERNESS CHARACTER IN COURT “…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) 6

7. WILDERNESS CHARACTER IN COURT From all 287 cases involving “wilderness character” (2010, Peter Appel, Stanford Env Law Journal): • When plaintiffs claim the agency protects wilderness “too much” the agency wins 90% • When plaintiffs claim the agency protects wilderness “too little” the agency wins 46% All recent court cases confirm agency responsibility for preserving wilderness character 7

8. THE STEWARDSHIP TASK: PRESERVE WILDERNESS CHARACTER Congress determines the state of wilderness character at the time of designation MORE Our task is to sustain or improve this state Wilderness Character LESS MORE LESS Modern Human Influence 8

9. Please enter into the Q & A pane any questions you have about the legislative and policy mandate to preserve wilderness character 9

10. DEFINING WILDERNESS CHARACTER: A BRIEF HISTORY 1964 Wilderness Act: “each agency … shall be responsible for preserving the wilderness character of the area” 2001 to 2005: Forest Service team builds and publishes wilderness character monitoring framework 2005 to 2009: Forest Service team builds, pilot tests, and publishes wilderness character monitoring protocols 2006 to 2009: Interagency team builds, pilot tests, and publishes “Keeping It Wild” monitoring strategy 2009: BLM implements wilderness character monitoring 2010: NPS charters “Wilderness Character Integration Team” 2011: FWS implements wilderness character monitoring 10

11. WILDERNESS CHARACTER • Why preserve it? • What is it? • How to monitor it? Developed by the “Interagency Wilderness Character Monitoring Team” (2006 – 2008) Proof-of-concept tested (2009) 11

12. What is “character”? “The combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another” – American Heritage Dictionary “The aggregate of distinctive qualities” – Webster’s 3rd New International Dictionary WHAT IS WILDERNESS CHARACTER? No definition in the Wilderness Act and no legislative history on the meaning of this phrase 12

13. Section 2(c) Definition of Wilderness Wilderness Act of 1964 Wilderness Character Qualities of Wilderness Character • Tangible, practical • Link management actions directly to the language of law and policy • Applies to EVERY wilderness and agency 13

14. QUALITIES OF WILDERNESS CHARACTER 1. “Natural” Wilderness ecological systems are substantially free from the effects of modern civilization WHY: • Preserve indigenous species, patterns, and ecological and evolutionary processes • Understand and learn from natural systems 14

15. EXAMPLES OF WHAT DEGRADES THIS QUALITY • Air pollutants • Occurrence of non-indigenous species • Altered water flow • Extirpated or extinct native animals and plants • Altered disturbance regimes 15

16. QUALITIES OF WILDERNESS CHARACTER 2. “Solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation” Wilderness provides outstanding opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation WHY: • Primitive recreation and the use of traditional skills • Personal challenge and self-discovery • Freedom from the constraints of culture 16

17. EXAMPLES OF WHAT DEGRADES THIS QUALITY • Agency-provided facilities that decrease self-reliant recreation • The sights and sounds of people inside wilderness • Management restrictions on visitor behavior • The sights and sounds of occupied and modified areas outside the wilderness 17

18. QUALITIES OF WILDERNESS CHARACTER 3. “Undeveloped” Wilderness retains its primeval character and influence, and is essentially without permanent improvement or modern human occupation WHY: • Preserve places from “expanding settlement and growing mechanization” • Allow people to feel a part of “the community of life” 18

19. EXAMPLES OF WHAT DEGRADES THIS QUALITY • Non-recreational structures or installations • Use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanical transport • Inholdings 19

20. QUALITIES OF WILDERNESS CHARACTER 4. “Untrammeled” Wilderness is essentially unhindered and free from the actions of modern human control or manipulation WHY: • To manage with the utmost humility and restraint • To respect the autonomy of nature, to let a place be wild and free 20

21. EXAMPLES OF WHAT DEGRADES THIS QUALITY • Authorized actions that manipulate, control, or hinder the “community of life” Killing predators Spraying weeds Suppressing fire Stocking fish/wildlife Lighting fire Collaring wildlife • Unauthorized actions that manipulate, control, or hinder the “community of life” 21 “Bucket brigade”

22. QUALITIES OF WILDERNESS CHARACTER 5. “Other features” WHAT: wilderness “may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.” (Wilderness Act, Sec 2c) WHY: • To protect the tangible features that are unique to the wilderness 22

23. Wilderness character is more than the sum of its parts… …and if one of those parts is taken away or degraded, the whole doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to 23

24. IMPLICATION: A SINGLE DECISION OR ACTION MAY AFFECT MORE THAN ONE QUALITY Example: installing a barrier to restrict nonnative fish movement to improve the natural quality, AND… • The decision and action to install the structure degrades the untrammeled quality • Modified water flow degrades the natural quality • The presence of the structure degrades the undeveloped quality 24

25. IMPLICATION: A SINGLE DECISION OR ACTION MAY AFFECT MORE THAN ONE QUALITY Example: installing scientific equipment to understand the effects of climate change may benefit the natural quality, AND… • The installation degrades the undeveloped quality • The sight and sound of the equipment and its use degrades the solitude quality 25

26. KEY POINTS ABOUT WILDERNESS CHARACTER • Wilderness character is composed of four qualities that uniquely apply to every wilderness • There may also be an “other features” quality that is part of wilderness character • All qualities of wilderness character are equally important and inter-related • Stewardship decisions to take or not take action affect these qualities 26

27. Please enter into the Q & A pane any questions you have about the definition of wilderness character 27

28. USING WILDERNESS CHARACTER IN PROJECT PLANNING NEPA compliance 28

29. USING WILDERNESS CHARACTER IN PROJECT PLANNING Wilderness character was used to analyze the impacts from the action alternatives Results reported in terms of degradation of wilderness character 29

30. USING WILDERNESS CHARACTER IN WILDERNESS PLANNING Spatial model or map of wilderness character for the Death Valley Wilderness in Death Valley National Park Composed of the four equally weighted qualities, built from 41 weighted input variables 30

31. EFFECTS OF PLANNING ALTERNATIVESRemoteness in the Racetrack area, Death Valley Wilderness Dirt road Paved Road The darker the green the better the remoteness The darker the brown the bigger the adverse impact on remoteness 31

32. USING WILDERNESS CHARACTER IN MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS • Minimum Requirements Analysis • Evaluating proposals for science activities • Fire resource advising • Information needs assessment • Interpretation and education planning • Exotic species management • Climbing management • Commercial services assessment • Maintenance operations 32

33. USING WILDERNESS CHARACTER IN MONITORING • Hierarchically organized 33

34. HIERARCHICAL ORGANIZATION 34

35. USING WILDERNESS CHARACTER IN MONITORING • Hierarchically organized • Trend is assessed from change within a wilderness because every wilderness is unique • Balances local flexibility and relevance with national consistency because every wilderness is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System 35

36. BALANCING NATIONAL CONSISTENCY WITH LOCAL FLEXIBILITY • National Consistency:every wilderness uses the same • 5 qualities • 8 monitoring questions • 12 indicators • Process for synthesizing trends of the measures to assess trend at levels higher than the measure Local Flexibility: every wilderness uses one of the recommended measures OR a locally derived measure that has an established protocol

37. Applying wilderness character to stewardship, planning, and monitoring: • Is relatively new yet simple • Allows discussion about the tradeoffs in proposed actions • Allows transparent and defensible decisions • Provides the language to improve internal and external communication FOR MORE INFORMATION: Wilderness.net > Management Tools > Toolboxes > Wilderness Character 36

38. YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS WEBINAR • Learn more about wilderness character • What is it? • How do I describe it? • How do I preserve it? • Applying wilderness character to monitoring • What are the current monitoring efforts? • How do I identify indicators to monitor? • Applying wilderness character to planning • How does wilderness character impact management ability? • Applying wilderness character to stewardship of small eastern wildernesses • How can I use wilderness character to foster better communication about wilderness?

39. Using wilderness character to help solve YOUR stewardship problems and challenges 37