United States Department of Agriculture Technical Guide for Forest Service Monitoring Selected General Technical Report WO-80 Conditions Related to June 2009 Wilderness Character United States Department of Technical Guide for Agriculture Forest Service Monitoring Selected General Technical Conditions Related to Report WO-80 June 2009 Wilderness Character Peter Landres, Steve Boutcher, Liese Dean, Troy Hall, Tamara Blett, Terry Carlson, Ann Mebane, Carol Hardy, Susan Rinehart, Linda Merigliano, David N. Cole, Andy Leach, Pam Wright, and Deb Bumpus The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Acknowledgments We are indebted to the people who served on the Forest Service Wilderness Monitoring Committee—Beth Boyst, Mary Beth Hennessy, Brad Hunter, Patrice Janiga, Al McPherson, Douglas S. Powell, Mike Rowan, Susan Sater, Chris Barns (Bureau of Land Management [BLM]), Steve Henry (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service [USFWS]), Mark Laker (USFWS), and Denis Davis (National Park Service)—for beginning the effort to actually preserve wilderness character and for providing such broad and capable shoulders to stand on. We thank Forest Service leaders for providing significant financial and administrative support to agency authors while they were developing this technical guide. We also thank the BLM, USFWS, and National Park Service for supporting several other people while they worked on this effort. We also deeply thank the many others who devoted significant time and effort to help on subteams: Untrammeled quality—Al McPherson, Rebecca Oreskes, David Rak, Mike Rowan, and Diane Taliaferro; Air quality—Scott Copeland, Bill Jackson, and Andrea Stacy; Aquatic systems—Steve Glasser, Chris Knopp, Russ Lafayette, Mark Laker, and David Spildie; Vegetation—Paul Alaback, Bruce D. Anderson, Steve Croy, Karen Dillman, and Mark Jensen; Wildlife—Lance Lerum, Kathleen Mathews, Jennifer Moleworth, and Amy Unthank; Undeveloped quality—Chris Barns, Liese Dean, James Demby, Vicky Duvall, Bill Hamele, David Rak, Carol Russel, Susan Sater, Jaime Schmidt, and Bev Thackeray; Outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined recreation—Chris Barns, Denis Davis, Brad Hunter, Al McPherson, and Mike Rowan. We also appreciate the support of the national wilderness program leads from the four wilderness managing agencies—Don Fisher (Forest Service), Peter Mali (BLM), Rick Potts (National Park Service), and Nancy Roeper (USFWS). Last, we thank the copy editors for all of their diligence and effort to make this long and complicated document as clear as possible. The passion, dedication, and effort of all these people help ensure that present and future generations may experience the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness. Technical Guide for Monitoring Selected Conditions Related to Wilderness Character iii Authors’ Note This publication was developed by a technical working group and solely represents the views of its authors. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any agency determination or policy. iv Technical Guide for Monitoring Selected Conditions Related to Wilderness Character The Authors Peter Landres is an ecologist at the Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute in Missoula, MT, and was the Technical Guide Development Team Co-Lead and Natural Quality Team Lead. Steve Boutcher is the information manager for the Forest Service, Washington Office, Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Staff in South Burlington, VT, and was the Technical Guide Development Team Co-Lead and Undeveloped Quality Team Lead. Liese Dean is the wilderness program manager for the Forest Service, Sawtooth National Forest, Sawtooth National Recreation Area in Stanley, ID, and was the Untrammeled Quality Team Lead. Troy Hall is an associate professor at the University of Idaho in Moscow, ID, and was the Outstanding Opportunities Quality Team Lead. Tamara Blett is an air quality specialist for the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Air Resources Division in Lakewood, CO, and was the Air Quality Subteam Co-Lead. Terry Carlson is a hydrologist and soil scientist for the Forest Service, Bitterroot National Forest in Hamilton, MT, and was the Hydrology and Aquatic Systems Subteam Lead. Ann Mebane is an air quality specialist for the Forest Service, Siuslaw National Forest in Corvallis, OR, and was the Air Quality Subteam Co-Lead. Carol Hardy is a wildlife biologist for the Forest Service, George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in Roanoke, VA, and was the Wildlife Subteam Co-Lead. Susan Rinehart is a botanist for the Forest Service, Northern Regional Office in Missoula, MT, and was the Vegetation Subteam Lead. Linda Merigliano is the recreation, wilderness, and trails manager for the Forest Service, Bridger-Teton National Forest in Jackson, WY, and was the Application Lead. David N. Cole is a geographer at the Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute in Missoula, MT, and was the Recreation Impacts Lead. Technical Guide for Monitoring Selected Conditions Related to Wilderness Character v Andy Leach is a statistician for the Forest Service, Inventory and Monitoring Institute in Fort Collins, CO, and was the Statistical Lead. Pam Wright is an associate professor at the University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, and was the Data Analysis and Synthesis Lead. Deb Bumpus is a fish and wildlife specialist for the Forest Service, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Springerville, AZ, and was the Wildlife Subteam Co-Lead. vi Technical Guide for Monitoring Selected Conditions Related to Wilderness Character Contents Chapter 1. Overview ...................................................................................................... 1 1.0. Purpose and Scope ................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Background ........................................................................................................... 2 1.2. Key Concepts ........................................................................................................ 9 1.3. Reporting and Using Information From Wilderness Character Monitoring ....... 14 1.4. Roles and Responsibilities .................................................................................. 19 1.4.1. National Responsibilities .......................................................................... 19 1.4.2. Regional Responsibilities .......................................................................... 20 1.4.3. Forest Responsibilities .............................................................................. 20 1.5. Relationship to Other Federal Monitoring Programs .......................................... 21 1.6. Change Management ........................................................................................... 22 Chapter 2. Data Management................................................................................... 25 2.0. Getting the Data .................................................................................................. 25 2.1. Data Adequacy .................................................................................................... 26 2.2. Data Quality Control and Assurance ................................................................... 28 2.3. Data Roles ........................................................................................................... 30 2.4. Data Storage ........................................................................................................ 30 Chapter 3. Assessing Trend in Wilderness Character ....................................... 33 3.0. How Will Trends in Wilderness Character Be Assessed? ................................... 33 3.1. Decision Rules .................................................................................................... 34 3.2. Narrative .............................................................................................................. 41 3.3. Cautions About Assessing Trends in Wilderness Character ................................ 43 Chapter 4. Untrammeled Quality ............................................................................. 45 4.0. Summary ............................................................................................................. 45 4.1. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 46 4.2. Monitoring Question 1—Actions That Manipulate Wilderness ........................