DOCSLIB.ORG

Ecotourism – Sustainable Tourism in National Parks and Protected Areas

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ecotourism – Sustainable Tourism in National Parks and Protected Areas Ecotourism – Sustainable Tourism in National Parks and Protected Areas Banff National Park in Canada and Nationalpark Gesäuse in Austria – a Comparison TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction...................................................................................................... - 6 - Executive Summary................................................................................................ - 7 - 2 Tourism ........................................................................................................... - 9 - 2.1 Definition and Evolution of Tourism.......................................................... - 9 - 2.2 Trends in Tourism .................................................................................. - 10 - 2.2.1 Growth of Mass Tourism................................................................. - 12 - 2.2.2 Contemporary and Alternative Tourism........................................... - 12 - 2.3 Growing Environmental Consciousness in Tourism ............................... - 13 - 3 Sustainable Development.............................................................................. - 14 - 3.1 Sustainable Development – Development for Future Generations ........ - 15 - 3.2 Sustainability as a Key Element............................................................. - 15 - 3.3 Sustainability in Tourism ........................................................................ - 16 - 3.4 Sustainable Tourism and its Role in Sustainable Development ............. - 17 - 4 Ecotourism .................................................................................................... - 19 - 4.1 Definition of Ecotourism ......................................................................... - 19 - 4.2 Origin and Differentiation of Ecotourism................................................. - 20 - 4.3 Characteristics of and Requirements for an Ecotourism Business......... - 21 - 4.4 Relevant Types of Ecotourism................................................................ - 23 - 4.4.1 Mass Tourism and Alternative Tourism........................................... - 23 - 4.4.2 Nature-Based Tourism versus Ecotourism...................................... - 24 - 4.4.3 Adventure Tourism versus Ecotourism ........................................... - 25 - 4.5 Ecotourists ............................................................................................. - 26 - 5 National Parks and Protected Areas.............................................................. - 28 - 5.1 What are Protected Areas?.................................................................... - 29 - 5.2 Origin of Park Systems........................................................................... - 30 - 5.3 IUCN – International Categorization of Parks and Protected Areas ....... - 31 - 5.4 Trends towards Sustainable Tourism in Parks and Protected Areas...... - 34 - 5.4.1 Rising Educational Levels and Demand for Travel.......................... - 34 - 5.4.2 Importance of Service Quality ......................................................... - 34 - 5.4.3 Proliferation of Travel Options......................................................... - 35 - 5.5 Benefits of Tourism in Parks and Protected Areas................................. - 36 - 5.5.1 Enhancing Economic Opportunity and Social Benefit ..................... - 36 - 5.5.2 Protection of the Natural and Cultural Heritage............................... - 37 - 5.5.3 Enhancing Quality of Life in the Host Community ........................... - 38 - 5.6 Negative Impacts of Tourism in Parks and Protected Areas .................. - 38 - 5.6.1 Costs of Tourism............................................................................. - 38 - 5.6.2 Risks of Tourism in Parks and Protected Areas .............................. - 39 - 5.7 Tourism Management in Parks and Protected Areas............................. - 40 - 5.7.1 Creating a Tourism Management Strategy...................................... - 41 - 5.7.2 The Park Management Plan............................................................ - 42 - 5.8 Why do We Need Parks and Protected Areas? ..................................... - 44 - 5.8.1 Protecting Ecological Processes..................................................... - 44 - 5.8.2 Protecting Biodiversity..................................................................... - 45 - 5.8.3 Centres for Research and Education .............................................. - 45 - 6 Parks Canada – The Canadian National Park System.................................. - 46 - 6.1 Historic Facts about Parks Canada........................................................ - 46 - 6.2 Parks Canada as an Organization.......................................................... - 49 - 6.2.1 Parks Canada under Fire! ............................................................... - 50 - - 1 - 6.2.2 Planning for Ecological Integrity...................................................... - 51 - 6.2.3 Building Capacity for Learning and Education................................. - 53 - 6.2.4 The Need for Active Management and Restoration ........................ - 55 - 6.3 The Canadian Mentality ......................................................................... - 56 - 7 Nationalparks Austria – the Austrian National Park System.......................... - 57 - 7.1 Historical Development .......................................................................... - 57 - 7.2 Austria’s National Parks ......................................................................... - 59 - 7.3 Economic Situation of National Parks in Austria..................................... - 61 - 7.4 Austrian National Parks and Tourism..................................................... - 62 - 7.4.1 Visitor Management ........................................................................ - 64 - 7.4.2 Ecotourism in the Alps – Ecotourism for Austrian National Parks ... - 65 - 8 Banff National Park in Canada and Nationalpark Gesäuse in Austria – a Comparison .......................................................................................................... - 67 - 8.1 Nationalpark Gesäuse – Facts and Figures ........................................... - 69 - 8.2 Banff National Park – Facts and Figures................................................ - 70 - 8.3 Recreational Experience ........................................................................ - 71 - 8.4 Change of View...................................................................................... - 72 - 8.5 How to Compare? .................................................................................. - 74 - 8.6 The Influence of Size.............................................................................. - 75 - 8.7 Ecosystem-Based Management............................................................. - 76 - 8.7.1 Ecosystem Models.......................................................................... - 76 - 8.7.2 Ecoregions of Banff National Park .................................................. - 77 - 8.7.3 Ecoregions in Nationalpark Gesäuse.............................................. - 78 - 8.8 Zoning as a Measure of Visitor Management......................................... - 80 - 8.8.1 Zoning in Banff National Park.......................................................... - 81 - 8.8.1.1 Zone 1: Special Preservation....................................................... - 81 - 8.8.1.2 Zone 2: Wilderness Area ............................................................. - 81 - 8.8.1.3 Zone 3: Natural Environment....................................................... - 81 - 8.8.1.4 Zone 4: Outdoor Recreation ........................................................ - 82 - 8.8.1.5 Zone 5: Park Services ................................................................. - 82 - 8.8.2 Zoning in Nationalpark Gesäuse..................................................... - 82 - 8.8.2.1 Zone 1: Natural Zone................................................................... - 82 - 8.8.2.2 Zone 2: Conservation Zone ......................................................... - 83 - 8.9 Variety of Ecological Problems in Banff National Park and Nationalpark Gesäuse............................................................................................................ - 84 - 8.9.1 Trans Canada Highway................................................................... - 84 - 8.9.2 Traffic in the Gesäuse..................................................................... - 85 - 8.10 Differentiations in Wildlife-related Management Problems between Banff National Park and Nationalpark Gesäuse ......................................................... - 86 - 8.11 Regulations in the Backcountry.............................................................. - 87 - 8.12 Overall Ecological Challenges for Banff National Park........................... - 89 - 8.12.1 Altering the Composition of the Forest............................................ - 90 - 8.12.2 Decrease of Glaciers....................................................................... - 90 - 8.13 Ecological Challenges in Austria ............................................................ - 90 - 8.13.1 The Decrease of Glaciers in Austria................................................ - 91 - 8.13.2 A Threatening Realization............................................................... - 91 - Two Dead as Floods Hit Southern Austria...........................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Yosemite National Park Visitor Study: Winter 2008
    Social Science Program National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Visitor Services Project Yosemite National Park Visitor Study Winter 2008 Park Studies Unit Visitor Services Project Report 198 Social Science Program National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Visitor Services Project Yosemite National Park Visitor Study Winter 2008 Park Studies Unit Visitor Services Project Report 198 October 2008 Yen Le Eleonora Papadogiannaki Nancy Holmes Steven J. Hollenhorst Dr. Yen Le is VSP Assistant Director, Eleonora Papadogiannaki and Nancy Holmes are Research Assistants with the Visitor Services Project and Dr. Steven Hollenhorst is the Director of the Park Studies Unit, Department of Conservation Social Sciences, University of Idaho. We thank Jennifer Morse, Paul Reyes, Pixie Siebe, and the staff of Yosemite National Park for assisting with the survey, and David Vollmer for his technical assistance. Yosemite National Park – VSP Visitor Study February 2–10, 2008 Visitor Services Project Yosemite National Park Report Summary • This report describes the results of a visitor study at Yosemite National Park during February 2-10, 2008. A total of 938 questionnaires were distributed to visitor groups. Of those, 563 questionnaires were returned, resulting in a 60% response rate. • This report profiles a systematic random sample of Yosemite National Park. Most results are presented in graphs and frequency tables. Summaries of visitor comments are included in the report and complete comments are included in the Visitor Comments Appendix. • Fifty percent of visitor groups were in groups of two and 25% were in groups of three or four. Sixty percent of visitor groups were in family groups.
    [Show full text]
  • National Parks and Iccas in the High Himalayan Region of Nepal: Challenges and Opportunities
    [Downloaded free from http://www.conservationandsociety.org on Tuesday, June 11, 2013, IP: 129.79.203.216] || Click here to download free Android application for this journal Conservation and Society 11(1): 29-45, 2013 Special Section: Article National Parks and ICCAs in the High Himalayan Region of Nepal: Challenges and Opportunities Stan Stevens Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA E-mail: [email protected] Abstract In Nepal, as in many states worldwide, national parks and other protected areas have often been established in the customary territories of indigenous peoples by superimposing state-declared and governed protected areas on pre-existing systems of land use and management which are now internationally considered to be Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs, also referred to Community Conserved Areas, CCAs). State intervention often ignores or suppresses ICCAs, inadvertently or deliberately undermining and destroying them along with other aspects of indigenous peoples’ cultures, livelihoods, self-governance, and self-determination. Nepal’s high Himalayan national parks, however, provide examples of how some indigenous peoples such as the Sharwa (Sherpa) of Sagarmatha (Mount Everest/Chomolungma) National Park (SNP) have continued to maintain customary ICCAs and even to develop new ones despite lack of state recognition, respect, and coordination. The survival of these ICCAs offers Nepal an opportunity to reform existing laws, policies, and practices, both to honour UN-recognised human and indigenous rights that support ICCAs and to meet International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) standards and guidelines for ICCA recognition and for the governance and management of protected areas established in indigenous peoples’ territories.
    [Show full text]
  • Ecotourism Outlook 2019 Prepared for the 2019 Outlook Marketing Forum
    Ecotourism Outlook 2019 Prepared for the 2019 Outlook Marketing Forum Prepared by: Qwynne Lackey, Leah Joyner & Dr. Kelly Bricker, Professor University of Utah Ecotourism and Green Economy What is Ecotourism? Ecotourism is a subsector of the sustainable tourism industry that emphasizes social, environmental, and economic sustainability. When implemented properly, ecotourism exemplifies the benefits of responsible tourism development and management. TIES announced that it had updated its definition of ecotourism in 2015. This revised definition is more inclusive, highlights interpretation as a pillar of ecotourism, and is less ambiguous than the version adopted 25 years prior. In 2018, no new alterations were made to this highly cited definition which describes ecotourism as: “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people and involves interpretation and education.”1 This definition clearly outlines the key components of ecotourism: conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. Ecotourism represents a set of principles that have been successfully implemented in various communities and supported by extensive industry practice and academic research. Twenty-eight years since TIES was started, it is important to re-visit three principles found in TIES literature – that ecotourism: • is NON-CONSUMPTIVE / NON-EXTRACTIVE • creates an ecological CONSCIENCE • holds ECO-CENTRIC values and ethics in relation to nature TIES considers non-consumptive and non-extractive use of resources for and by tourists and minimized impacts to the environment and people as major characteristics of authentic ecotourism. What are the Principles of Ecotourism? Since 1990, when TIES framework for ecotourism principles was established, we have learned more about the tourism industry through scientific and design-related research and are also better informed about environmental degradation and impacts on local cultures and non-human species.
    [Show full text]
  • Governance of Protected Areas from Understanding to Action
    Governance of Protected Areas From understanding to action Grazia Borrini-Feyerabend, Nigel Dudley, Tilman Jaeger, Barbara Lassen, Neema Pathak Broome, Adrian Phillips and Trevor Sandwith Developing capacity for a protected planet Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series No.20 IUCN WCPA’s BEST PRACTICE PROTECTED AREA GUIDELINES SERIES IUCN-WCPA’s Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines are the world’s authoritative resource for protected area managers. Involving collaboration among specialist practitioners dedicated to supporting better implementation in the field, they distil learning and advice drawn from across IUCN. Applied in the field, they are building institutional and individual capacity to manage protected area systems effectively, equitably and sustainably, and to cope with the myriad of challenges faced in practice. They also assist national governments, protected area agencies, non- governmental organisations, communities and private sector partners to meet their commitments and goals, and especially the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Programme of Work on Protected Areas. A full set of guidelines is available at: www.iucn.org/pa_guidelines Complementary resources are available at: www.cbd.int/protected/tools/ Contribute to developing capacity for a Protected Planet at: www.protectedplanet.net/ IUCN PROTECTED AREA DEFINITION, MANAGEMENT CATEGORIES AND GOVERNANCE TYPES IUCN defines a protected area as: A clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means,
    [Show full text]
  • The Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism Creating A
    ECPAT International Creating a United Front against the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism The following papers in this journal were presented at the XVIIth ISPCAN International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect, held from 7-10 September 2008, in Hong Kong: Understanding the linkages between CST and other forms of CSEC in East Asia and the Pacific. Extraterritorial laws: why they are not really working and how they can be strengthened. Lessons learned and good practices on working with the private sector to combat CST and trafficking for sexual exploitation. June 2009 Copyright © ECPAT International ECPAT International is a global network of organisations and individuals working together to eliminate child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. It seeks to encourage the world community to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights free and secure from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation. Extracts from this publication may be freely reproduced provided that due acknowledgment is given to ECPAT International. ECPAT International 328/1 Phayathai Road Ratchathewi Bangkok 10400 THAILAND Tel: +662 215 3388, +662 611 0972 Fax: +662 215 8272 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ecpat.net 1 Table of Contents Acronyms 3 Preface 4 Extraterritorial laws: why they are not really working and how they can be strengthened 6 2 Understanding the linkages between CST and other forms of CSEC in East Asia and the Pacific 23 Lessons learned and good practices on working
    [Show full text]
  • The National Park System
    January 2009 Parks and Recreation in the United States The National Park System Margaret Walls BACKGROUNDER 1616 P St. NW Washington, DC 20036 202-328-5000 www.rff.org Resources for the Future Walls Parks and Recreation in the United States: The National Park System Margaret Walls∗ Introduction The National Park Service, a bureau within the U.S. Department of the Interior, is responsible for managing 391 sites—including national monuments, national recreation areas, national rivers, national parks, various types of historic sites, and other categories of protected lands—that cover 84 million acres. Some of the sites, such as Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon, are viewed as iconic symbols of America. But the National Park Service also manages a number of small historical sites, military parks, scenic parkways, the National Mall in Washington, DC, and a variety of other protected locations. In this backgrounder, we provide a brief history of the Park Service, show trends in land acreage managed by the bureau and visitation at National Park Service sites over time, show funding trends, and present the challenges and issues facing the Park Service today. History National parks were created before there was a National Park Service. President Ulysses S. Grant first set aside land for a “public park” in 1872 with the founding of Yellowstone. Yosemite, General Grant (now part of Kings Canyon), and Sequoia National Parks in California were created in 1890, and nine years later Mount Rainier National Park was set aside in Washington. With passage of the Antiquities Act in 1906, the President was granted authority to declare historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and sites of scientific interest as national monuments.
    [Show full text]
  • Longing for Wonderland: Nostalgia for Nature in Post-Frontier America
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Iowa Research Online Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies Volume 5, Issue 1 2004 Article 8 NOSTALGIA Longing for Wonderland: Nostalgia for Nature in Post-Frontier America Jennifer Ladino∗ ∗ Copyright c 2004 by the authors. Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies is produced by The Berkeley Electronic Press (bepress). https://ir.uiowa.edu/ijcs Longing for Wonderland: Nostalgia for Nature in Post-Frontier America Jennifer Ladino Nostalgia has long held the dubious distinction of being one of contemporary theory’s most pigeonholed concepts. As David Lowenthal explains, nostalgia stands accused of being “ersatz, vulgar, demeaning, misguided, inauthentic, sacrilegious, retrograde, reactionary, criminal, fraudulent, sinister, and morbid” (27). In some cases, it is guilty as charged. Nostalgia’s scapegoat status stems from a range of admittedly problematic traits: its easy cooptation by capitalism, which critics like Fredric Jameson say generates a postmodern cultural paralysis in which old styles are recycled and marketed without critical effect; its ubiquity in the media and the arts, which signifies a lack of creativity, an alienation from the present and a com­ plicity in consumer culture; its tendency to romanticize the past through imagining an origin that is too simplistic; and its reactionary bent—the use of nostalgia by right-wing forces to gloss over past wrongs and glorify tradition as justification for the present. Due to its problematic associations, the term “nostalgic” is often used interchangeably with words like conservative, regressive, ahistorical, or uncritical to disparage or dismiss writers, politicians, scholarship, and cultural texts.
    [Show full text]
  • Yosemite National Park Foundation Overview
    NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Foundation Document Overview Yosemite National Park California Contact Information For more information about Yosemite National Park, Call (209) 372-0200 (then dial 3 then 5) or write to: Public Information Office, P.O. Box 577, Yosemite, CA 95389 Park Description Through a rich history of conservation, the spectacular The geology of the Yosemite area is characterized by granitic natural and cultural features of Yosemite National Park rocks and remnants of older rock. About 10 million years have been protected over time. The conservation ethics and ago, the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and then tilted to form its policies rooted at Yosemite National Park were central to the relatively gentle western slopes and the more dramatic eastern development of the national park idea. First, Galen Clark and slopes. The uplift increased the steepness of stream and river others lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development, beds, resulting in formation of deep, narrow canyons. About ultimately leading to President Abraham Lincoln’s signing 1 million years ago, snow and ice accumulated, forming glaciers the Yosemite Grant in 1864. The Yosemite Grant granted the at the high elevations that moved down the river valleys. Ice Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove of Big Trees to the State thickness in Yosemite Valley may have reached 4,000 feet during of California stipulating that these lands “be held for public the early glacial episode. The downslope movement of the ice use, resort, and recreation… inalienable for all time.” Later, masses cut and sculpted the U-shaped valley that attracts so John Muir led a successful movement to establish a larger many visitors to its scenic vistas today.
    [Show full text]
  • Sindh Coast: a Marvel of Nature
    Disclaimer: This ‘Sindh Coast: A marvel of nature – An Ecotourism Guidebook’ was made possible with support from the American people delivered through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of IUCN Pakistan and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of USAID or the U.S. Government. Published by IUCN Pakistan Copyright © 2017 International Union for Conservation of Nature. Citation is encouraged. Reproduction and/or translation of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorised without prior written permission from IUCN Pakistan, provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission from IUCN Pakistan. Author Nadir Ali Shah Co-Author and Technical Review Naveed Ali Soomro Review and Editing Ruxshin Dinshaw, IUCN Pakistan Danish Rashdi, IUCN Pakistan Photographs IUCN, Zahoor Salmi Naveed Ali Soomro, IUCN Pakistan Designe Azhar Saeed, IUCN Pakistan Printed VM Printer (Pvt.) Ltd. Table of Contents Chapter-1: Overview of Ecotourism and Chapter-4: Ecotourism at Cape Monze ....... 18 Sindh Coast .................................................... 02 4.1 Overview of Cape Monze ........................ 18 1.1 Understanding ecotourism...................... 02 4.2 Accessibility and key ecotourism 1.2 Key principles of ecotourism................... 03 destinations ............................................. 18 1.3 Main concepts in ecotourism .................
    [Show full text]
  • THE GUIDE a Biologist in Gorongosa
    THE GUIDE ATHE Biologist GUIDE in Gorongosa TEACHERTEACHER MATERIALS MATERIALS A Biologist in Gorongosa IN-DEPTH FILM GUIDE OVERVIEW The Guide is set in Gorongosa, an iconic African Safari Park devastated during Mozambique’s civil war in the 1990s. The film invites students to consider important themes in ecology and conservation biology through the story of Tonga Torcida, a young man coming of age on Mount Gorongosa and in the newly revitalized Gorongosa National Park. Mozambique’s government and the nonprofit Gorongosa Restoration Project are working together to bring the park back into a natural balance and give members of the community like Tonga a livelihood and a new perspective on the biodiversity of their homeland. The film also captures the transforming power of mentorship; after Tonga gets the chance to work with biologist and biodiversity champion Dr. Edward O. Wilson, who visited Gorongosa in 2011, Tonga decides to pursue a career in science. KEY CONCEPTS A. A person interested in nature and science may pursue many possible career paths, from lab technician to park ranger to field researcher. B. Mentors can be very important as a source of inspiration, experience, and information; as role models; and as a connection to a professional community. Mentors can also be critical in influencing training and career choices that fit an individual’s needs, interests, and talents. C. Methods for protecting habitats, species, and biological communities include designating and protecting nature reserves, maintaining genetic diversity in small endangered populations, and, importantly, reconciling conservation concerns with the needs of local people. D. Community-based conservation is an approach to conservation biology that takes into account the needs of people living in and near natural areas and involves them directly in aspects of the planning and management of these areas, including economic activities that depend on or affect a wildland.
    [Show full text]
  • Conflict Between Conservation and Recreation at Oulanka National Park?
    Conflict between conservation and recreation at Oulanka National Park? By Mark Baas Student no.: 860206024080 Supervised by: Ramona van Marwijk René van der Duim Wageningen University and Research Centre Department of Environmental Sciences Chairgroup of Socio Spatial Analysis Msc. Leisure Tourism and Environment Course code: SAL-80433 Wageningen, 4. March 2010 Summary During the early years of Oulanka National Park (ON), trails and facilities were constructed in biodiversity rich areas. Managers in that time believed that biodiversity would give people a richer visitor experience. As this is currently questioned, research is necessary to investigate the relation between biodiversity and visitors experience. However, the dataset available did not provide sufficient data to explain these interrelations. Additionally, exploratory research was needed to investigate if there were actual indications for a potential conflict between the conservation function and the recreation function of Oulanka National Park. Therefore this research tried to explore: (1) whether there is a conflict between different functions of ONP by spatial analyzing biodiversity hotspots, facility density and visitor usage; (2) which groups of visitors can be distinguished based on their motivations for visiting ONP; (3) whether visitors and different groups of visitors perceive environmental impacts; (4) whether there is a difference in group composition and visitor perception of environmental impacts at different locations throughout the park. The spatial analysis regarding the identification of conflict zones indicated that there is indeed a conflict between conservancy and recreation at ONP. From the visitor sample, three motivational groups were distinguished. Nature was the primary motivation for all visitors. One group was less motivated by anything else than nature.
    [Show full text]
  • Yosemite National Park U.S
    National Park Service Yosemite National Park U.S. Department of the Interior Merced Wild & Scenic River Final Comprehensive Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement Designated in 1987, the The Merced Wild and Scenic River Merced Wild and Scenic River Final Comprehensive Merced Wild and Scenic River includes 81 miles The Merced Wild and Scenic River, designated in Management Plan and Environmental Impact State- in Yosemite National 1987, includes 122 miles of the Merced River on the ment (Final Merced River Plan/EIS) is the National Park and the El Portal Park Service’s response to these requirements. Administrative Site. western side of the Sierra Nevada in California. The National Park Service (NPS) manages 81 miles of the Merced Wild and Scenic River through Yosem- The Final Merced River Plan/EIS will be the guid- ite National Park and the El Portal Administrative ing document for protecting and enhancing river Site, including the headwaters and both the Mer- values and managing use and user capacity within ced River’s main stem and the South Fork Merced the Merced River corridor for the next 20 years. As River. As the Merced River flows outside Yosemite’s such, it evaluates impacts and threats to river values western boundary, the U.S. Forest Service and the and identifies strategies for protecting and enhanc- Bureau of Land Management manage the next 41 ing these values over the long-term. The plan fol- miles of the Merced Wild and Scenic River. lows and documents planning processes required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Why a Comprehensive Management Plan? the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA) requires and other legal mandates governing National Park comprehensive planning for all designated rivers to Service decision-making.
    [Show full text]