Monitoring of Wilderness lakes for potential acidification requires information on lake sensitivity to acidification. Catchment properties can be used to estimate the acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) of lakes. Conceptual and general linear models were developed to predict the ANC of lakes in high-elevation (> or = 2170 m) Wilderness Areas in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. Catchment-to-la...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine the risk of acquiring disease from popular Sierra Nevada wilderness area lakes and streams. This study examines the relative risk factors for harmful waterborne microorganisms using coliforms as an indicator. METHODS Water was collected in the backcountry Yosemite and Kings Canyon National Parks and neighboring wilderness areas. A total o...

This analysis breaks down the congestion levels experienced during specific parts of a wilderness canoe trip. By explicitly addressing the heterogeneity in preferences for congestion during a trip, we are able to determine the relative value canoeists place on solitude at different points of a trip. Our econometric model utilizes a random effects probit framework to efficiently estimate the wel...

The location choices made by visitors have important implications for wilderness management. The cumulative effect of visitors’ choices produces recreational use distributions, and many studies show that these are typically very uneven. A small proportion of access points accounts for most use, and use of trails or water routes is very uneven. Some campsites are heavily used while others are ra...

In order to safeguard biodiversity in forest we need to know how forest policy instruments work. Here we use a nationwide network of 9400 plots in productive forest to analyze to what extent large-scale policy instruments, individually and together, target forest of high conservation value in Norway. We studied both instruments working through direct regulation; Strict Protection and Landscape ...

OBJECTIVE The current conflict in Afghanistan is the first major military action in which the United States and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces have found themselves regularly engaged in combat at high altitudes. However, high altitude warfare is not a new concept in Asia by any means. METHODS This article will offer a short general historical review of high altitude wa...

This study explores shifts since the mid-1990s in the values the public places on wilderness. Public views of the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) were compared from national surveys conducted in 1994 and 2000. Results show that while more people in 2000 were aware of the NWPS, this increase in awareness has not created greater support for additional wilderness acreage. Levels of ...