• This document is contained within the
Visitor Use Management Toolbox on
Wilderness.net. Since other related
resources found in this toolbox may be of
interest, you can visit this toolbox by
visiting the following URL:
http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=
toolboxes&sec=vum. All toolboxes are
products of the Arthur Carhart National
Wilderness Training Center.
Inventory Conditions
Tim Eling
Daniel Boone National Forest
The Nine-Step LAC Process
1. Identify area issues & concerns
2. Define & describe opportunity zones
3. Select indicators of resource & social
conditions
4. Inventory resource & social conditions
5. Specify standards for both
6. Identify alternative opportunity zone
allocations
7. Identify management actions for each
alternative
What level of impact are we willing to accept?
What is Limits of Acceptable
Change?
• LAC is a process to define:
• What kind of Resource conditions
and
• What kind of Social conditions are
acceptable?
and
• To prescribe Actions to protect or achieve
those conditions.
You cannot determine what the
actions are to protect and achieve
desired conditions until you obtain
baseline inventory data and then
monitor for changes over time
There are three LAC steps prior to
the inventory:
Step 1 - Identify area issues & concerns
Step 2 - Define & describe opportunity zones
Step 3 - Select indicators of resource &
social conditions
Indicators from Step 3 will help
guide the inventory process:
• Indicators are things we can measure
which tell us if desired resource & social
conditions are changing from human use.
Step 4 is “Inventory resource and
social conditions”
• What is out there and what is its
condition?
Once you get an inventory of
resource & social conditions you
can move on to setting standards
(Step 5)
Step 1 - Identify area issues & concerns
Step 2 - Define & describe opportunity zones
Step 3 - Select indicators of resource &
social conditions
Step 4 - Inventory resource & social
conditions
Step 5 - Specify standards for resource &
social conditions
Step 4 - Inventory Existing
Resource & Social Conditions
• You must obtain baseline data before you
can set standards
• Indicators from Step 3 guide the Inventory
process.
Indicator
(Step 3)
Unit of
Inventory
Measure (Step 4)
Density of
campsites
Per 1,000
acres
Proximity of
campsites to
trails
Distance in feet <100’ = 62%
between trail
>100’ = 38%
and campsites
5.85 per 1,000
acres (117
total)
What data do you already have
collecting dust?
•
•
•
•
•
Old campsite surveys?
Old wilderness ranger visitor use logs?
Maps
Trail counter data
Visitor surveys
Inventory is a BIG step
• Time consuming
• There will never be enough data collected
• Inventory includes resource conditions and
social conditions
• Funding and staffing challenges
Example of an inventory process
• We are inventorying recreation impacts
• We will follow corridors of use such as
system trails & user created trails
• As recreation impacts are encountered,
we will document its location and assess
its condition:
–
–
–
–
Campsites
Climbing areas
Destination Points (vistas, waterfalls, rappel areas)
Rockshelters
What equipment?
• If possible, use GPS units and incorporate
data into GIS system
• Gather maps
• Any guidebooks
• Old inventory
FS Designated
System Trails (red)
A sample
survey of
user-created
trails (blue)
A sample survey of usercreated campsites
When inventorying recreation
related impacts, look for a variety
of impacts
Graffiti
User-created trails
Where are user created
trails and what level of
impact is associated with
them?
Campsites – where are they and
what is the level of impact
(damaged trees, bare soil, human
waste, etc)
Bolts and chalk from climbing activities
Don’t forget to inventory social
conditions!
Do visitors feel
crowded?
Are there conflicts
between user
groups?
Inventory Social Conditions
 Visitor surveys through universities
 Trail counters
 Visitor counts
 Develop a visitor use sampling plan
Groups greater than 10
Dayhikers [28/3]
10%
90%
Backpackers [130/7]
5%
95%
Do you have non-recreation related
inventory information?
ologists often have this information
Where are the sensitive resources like
T&E species and cultural sites?
Do you have access to water
and air quality monitoring?
So, how can you possibly do all this
inventory work?
• Existing staff (probably not enough)
• Volunteers – LAC Task Force participants,
volunteer interns, Student Conservation
Association, other interested groups
• Universities – recreation ecologists, social
scientists
• Get help from other resource areas –
wildlife, hydrology, soils, archaeology
etc…
• Be ready for unexpected opportunities
Now, how to pay for all this stuff?
• Start early working on obtaining funding
(don’t wait until Step 4)
• Get line officers support
• Think of other funding areas besides
wilderness and recreation (Inventory &
Monitoring funding)
• Grants
Summary of Inventory Conditions
• Inventory existing resource & social
conditions
• Step 4 of LAC process
• Guided by the indicators selected during
Step 3 of LAC process
• Be organized in the way you gather spatial
data -- and have a reason for the data
gathered
• Find out what data is already available
• Prioritize data needs - i.e. gaps
Questions?