Visitor characteristics, attitudes, and use patterns in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, 1970-82
The growth in backpacking is the major shift in ecreational use of the Bob Marshall complex from 1970 o 1982. In 1970, visitors traveling with horses utnumbered hikers about 3 to 2. By 1982, the balance as reversed and hikers outnumbered horse users about to 2. From 1970 to 1982, horse use grew, probably bout 20 percent, while hiker use grew well over 100 percent. This change is the key to many of the other changes in use patterns, visitor characteristics, and actitudes. Few of the changes are large ones, however, dad overall there is considerable stability in the creational situation in this large wilderness complex. Use characteristics have shifted toward a slightly lower potential for resource impacts. In addition to the shift to predominantly backpacker use, parties are smaller, stays are shorter, and there is slightly less fishing and hunting, and more photography and nature study. Visitors have become less pronounced. Use has become less concentrated at popular places. Other changes, not necessarily related to the potential for impacts, are a larger proportion of visitor use in the summer rather than fall, a smaller proportion of visitors with outfitters, a little less observation of wildlife, and a smaller proportion of hunters taking game. Typical use in 1982 still consists of long trips-long in days (about 5) and distance covered (20 to 30 miles [33 to 50 km]) - by small parties, most with fewer than five people. The typical visitor now is hiking, but nevertheless almost 40 percent of the visitors are using horses- an unusually high percentage. The typical visitors come in the summer, are on their own without an outfitter; go fishing, photographing, and do a few other things; see some deer and perhaps other large mammals; and enter at one of a few popular trailheads. Except for the shift from horse to hiker, this sketch would apply generally in 1970 about as well as in 1982; the changes are modest. The Kinds of people who visit the Bob Marshall complex were very similar in 1970 and 1982. The major shift, and even it is not really large, is toward a higher percentage of nonresidents as the wilderness has become more widely known for a variety of types of recreation, not just elk hunting. But more than half of the visitors are still Montanans, usually from northwestern Montana. Women make up a larger proportion of visitors in 1982 than in 1970. The high education levels in 1970 were even higher in 1982 and even more visitors were in professional and technical occupations. A number of characteristics remained essentially uchanged: most visitors are from urban areas, are family groups, are young adults, and more than three-fourths have visited wildernesses before (but more were making their first visit to the Bob Marshall complex in 1982 than in 1970, particularly for backpackers). Few contact the Forest Service managers of the area for information, but most have maps. Less than one-tenth belong to a wilderness-oriented club, and most do not belong to outdoor recreation or conservation organizations. Two changes stand out among visitor attitudes. The most pronunced is far more complaining about trail conditions and more support for higher standard trails. Less intense, but still growing, is conflict among hikers and horse users. Hikers, in particular, express more objections to horses and their impacts in 1982 in 1970. There appears to be a small shift in motives for visiting wilderness, paralleling the shift in activities from more consumptive (hunting and fishing) to more contemplative appeals (scenery, relaxation, escaping civilization). Solitude and avoidance of mechanized recreation were moderately strong both years.
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| Format: | biblioteca |
| Published: |
Oregon (EUA)
1985
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| Subjects: | CAPACIDAD DE CARGA, ECOTURISMO, RECREACION, ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA, |
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