ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE TO NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REGIMES: TWENTY YEARS OF VISITOR IMPACTS IN THE BOB MARSHALL WILDERNESS

Abstract: In the summer of 2002, 19 campsites within the Bob Marshall Wilderness were examin-ed to determine the amount of recreational impact occurring on these sites. The findings from this study were compared with findings from a study undertaken by Cole in 1981. Both studies utilized the same sites and the same methods. Comparison of the two studies was conducted to determine if any trends were occurring on these campsites over the 21-year span. Campsites were compared according to their use type, whether stock use or backpacker. Sites classified in 1981 as horse use sites incurred the most impacts, such as increased tree damage, while sites classified as backpacker sites showed general improvements. However, without knowledge of the actual use patterns on these sites, it cannot be assumed that a particular user group is the primary cause of the impacts. Leave No Trace ethics practiced by backpackers in-sist on using already impacted sites, and this may account for some of the findings found in this study. Visitor education may provide managers with a means to decrease visitor impacts. Tree damage, such as that caused by tying stock to trees or visitors cutting branches off for firewood, re-mains the greatest impact found on these sites. Ed-ucating visitors in proper stock handling practices, as well as encouraging visitors to search for fire-wood away from the campsite could decrease the amount of tree damage found on these campsites