I . DOCUMIINT ROSUNII ED 032 179 RC 003 649 By-Hendee, John C.; And Others Wilderness Users in the Pacific Northwest - Their Characteristics, Values, and Management Preferences. Department of Agriculture. Washington. D.C. Forest Service. Report No -RP -PNW -61 Pub Date 68 Note-100p. EDRS Price MF10.50 HC-$5.10 DescriptorsAttitudes, Camping. *Environmental Research. Federal Recreation Legislation. Land Use, Management. *Natural Resources. *Personal Values. Questionnaires, *Recreational Activities, Recreational Facilities, Social Factors, Statistical Analysis Identifiers -Oregon. Washington There are presently 2400.000 acres of National Forest land legally designated as wilderness under theWilderness Act of 1964, in the Northwestern States of Washington and Oregon. This paper presents the results of a study conducted to find out what kinds of persons visit wilderness, the values and codesof behavior they associate with wilderness use. and their feelings about some hypotheticalpolicies and guidelines that might be used in the management of these areas. Long questionnaires concerning these issues were sent to a sample of1.950 recorded wilderness users. Wilderness visitation typically occurred in more highly educated. smallfamily and friendship groups who take about five 2- to 3-day trips per year. About30 percent (400) belonged to 218 conservation groups. A scaling technique. was used toidentify a hierarchy of wilderness users rangingfrom wilderness-purists to those more urban or convenience oriented.Those who were more wilderness-purist in attitude reacted differently to some of the statements (53 on wilderness management and22 on codes of behavior) suggested inthe questionnaire. The appendix contains a statistical summary of the responses to the questionnaire and anexplanation of the gamma statisticsused tomeasure theassociationbetweenwildernism (wilderness puristconcepts)scores and response toindividualquestionnaire statements. (OK) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION U. S. D. A. Forest Service Research Paper PNW-61 4968 THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACILv AS RECEIVED FROM THE fir 0' PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT. POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS Fpn STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION 4-D -14 POSIIION OR POLICY. [4:". 1-4 ;.:> z (N1 WILDERNESS USERS .\ rs, .1.c. \,%-4 /.- c) I N THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST- f-1THEIR CHARACTERISTICS, VALUES, AND MANAGEM ENT PREFERENCES John C. Hendee, William R. Canon, Jr., Larry D. Marlow, and C. Frank Brockman 3:3 -7- ^ ",' t.^4 40, '-',,,,... , '''.....- ""'-.4r-1" -.40- --- 14. 0 e .44^, , , At "j''` 7'S - A." +:( rREST sERvict (2 Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station U. S. Department of Agriculture Portland, Oregon Three general conclusions to be drawn fromthis study are: (1) Respondents who were more wilderness-puristin their orienta- tion, as measured by the wildernism attitude scale,often differed significantly in their attitudes from the attitudesexpressed by other respondents. We suggest that the views of these purists representthe opinions of the group of people most perceptiveof wilderness values and should receive added consideration, whereappropriate, to pre- vent contemporary change in a resourcelegally established to endure for all time. (2) There was little variation among the attitudes ofvisitors to the three different areas studied, despite allegeddifferences in the type of user characteristic of each area (one-day hikers,backpackers, and horse users, respectively). Our study thusindicated little support for different management policies in different areas,other than that necessary to adapt to obvious localconditions, such as terrain, access and weather. (3) Many users indicated preferences forfacilities and develop- ment that are essentially prohibitedunder the terms of the Wilder- ness Act. Thesedesires, combined with the rapid increasein wilder- ness use and theimplications of our data for continued increasesin use, suggest the presenceof a major problem. Use may eventually exceed the carrying capacity of classifiedWilderness resources (par- ticularly in specific locations), yet a great percentageof the users will not be seeking wilderness in the pureand precise sense defined in the Wilderness Act. This may indicate a need foradditional back-country recreation areas that could be managed assemiwilderness, thereby reducing the pressure of overuse on classifiedwilderness and facili- tating its protection. Such areas wouldpermit more intensive management to provide for heavier usethan can be allowed on legally classified Wilderness and would bettersatisfy the needs of the less wilderness-purist users. Provision forsuch areas would also pro- vide for proper management of manycontroversial areas which are considered too small or are now used toointensely to be consistent with the objectives of protection underthe Wilderness Act. It would provide an alternative in these caseswhere the choice is often popu- larly conceived as either Wilderness ormultiple use classification in a mutually exclusive sense. Cover: We found that more than one-half of all wilderness usetakes place in small family groups, and most of the remaining use is by small groupsof close friends Seventy percent of the users reported taking their firstwilderness trip before they were 15 years old. Contents Page INTRODUCTION 1 The Need for Insight into WildernessUsers' Tastes and Preferences 1 Wilderness ManagementNot A Majority Vote Problem OOOOOO 2 Visitors to Three Areas Were Studied 3 The Glacier Peak WildernessA Backpacker's Favorite 4 The Three Sisters WildernessA Day-Hiker's Area 6 The Eagle Cap WildernessFavored by Horse Users 8 QuestionnairesThe Basic Research Tool 10 PART I 11 Demographic Characteristics of theWilderness Users .. 11 Age 11 Education 12 Marital Status and Number of Children 14 Favored Company 15 Environment of Upbringing 16 Age of First Exposure toWilderness-Type Recreation and Number of Close FriendsWho Are Also Wilderness Users 18 Membership in Conservationist Groupsand Outdoor Clubs 19 Average Number of Trips and Average Length of Trips 21 A Summary of Wilderness-UserCharacteristics and Their Implications 22 PART II 23 Differentiating Wilderness Users by Their Attitudes 23 Development of a Wildernism-Urbanism Testing Instrument 24 Wildernism-Urbanism Attitude Test 25 Results of the WildernismUrbanism Attitude Test 27 Characteristics of Wilderness-Purists 28 Patterns of Response to the Wildernism Items 28 Dimensions of the Wildernism Scale That Best Differentiate Wilderness-Purists from Urbanists 31 Other Research Classifying Wilderness Users 32 Studies of the Appeals of Wilderness 33 PART III 36 Wilderness-User Behavior and Attitudes Toward Management Policies 36 Qualification of the Survey Method 36 Informal Rules and Customs for Recreation in Wilderness-Type Areas 36 Factor I: A Wilderness NormResponsibility and Equality 37 Factor II: A Norm Suggesting Rejection of Controls on Behavior 39 Factor III: A Norm Suggesting Withdrawal from Symbols of Civilization 40 Factor IV: A Norm Supporting Maintenance of Unpolluted Campsites 41 Factor V: A Norm Supporting Camperaft Skills 42 Two Items Not Appearing in the Factor Analysis 43 Informal Rules and Customs for Wilderness Use Summarized 44 PART IV 45 Management Preferences for Wilderness-Type Areas 45 The Need To Differentiate the Management Preferences of Wilderness-Purists From Other Users 45 Organization of the Data 46 Wilderness-User Attitudes Toward Management Policies 47 Management Preferences Summarized 64 ii SUMMARY 65 LITERATURE CITED 69 APPENDIX 71 Gamma StatisticsA Method of Relating Questionnaire Response to Wilderness-Purist Tendencies 71 Suggestions for Use of the Appendix Data 72 Statistical Summary of Response to Statements Concerning Rules and Customs of Wilderness Users 73 Statistical Summary of Response to Questionnaire Statements Concerning Wilderness Management Policies 79 iii . J'e. -i- ^ 441," **..,,, ., 'Lib. 1 A N. There are more than 4 million acres of classified and de facto wilderness on National Forest lands in Washington and Oregon, plus two National Parks with thousands of acres that may soon be classified as wilderness. This view is looking northwest up the Entiat River into the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Introduction The Need for Insight into Wilderness Users' Tastes and Preferences Washington and Oregon contain 2,100,000 to find out what kinds of persons visit wilder- acres of National Forest land legally desig- ness, the values and codes of behavior they nated as Wilderness under the Wilderness Act associate with wilderness use, and their feel- of 1964 and approximately 2,000,000 addi- ings about some hypothetical policies and tional acies of undeveloped back country. guidelines that might be used in the manage- There are two National Parks within the State ment of these areas. Long questionnaires con- of Washington that include large undeveloped cerning these issues were sent to a sample of areas that may soon be legally classified as 1,950 recorded wilderness users. An attitude Wilderness. All of these areas are managed to scale included in the questionnaires was used preserve their natural conditions and to pro- to classify respondents on an attitude con- vide wilderness-type recreation opportunities tinuum, ranging theoretically from the wilder- for the public. ness-purists to those who were urban or con- Officials charged with administering these venienceoriented.Respondents'attitude areas are confronted with many problems.