Treesearch

The Southwest is the birthplace of wilderness policy in the United States, yet the unique ecological environments of its peaks, cordilleras, and ranges that dot the high desert remain only partially protected. Some areas are relatively secure, yet midcentury Federal policy responded to multiple development pressures, from ski basins to roads, that sliced these peaks and their associated high-country environments into zones for different kinds of development. This string of jewels that crosses from the United States into Mexico was once protected by isolation and a variety of limited...

New Zealand's wilderness resource has become iconic on both a national and international scale, and provides an important source of cultural identity for many Kiwis (a colloquial term for a New Zealander). Now, in the early 21st Century, however, social changes such as urbanization, globalization, increasing consumerism, and growing international tourism may be eroding the traditional values and practices that underpin New Zealand's wilderness heritage. This paper explores the complex phenomenon of wilderness in contemporary New Zealand society.

The El Toro Wilderness, designated by Congress in 2005, occupies about 36 percent of the 11,300 ha Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF) in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical forest in the wilderness system managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. El Toro extends from 370 to 1,074 m in elevation, and is occupied by four forest types found in the mountainous Caribbean: lower montane rain forest, montane rain forest, palm brake, and dwarf forest. The LEF, a Biosphere Reserve since 1976, contains 225 tree species, 45 of them endemic to Puerto Rico, and 23 to the LEF alone;...

In 2007 and 2008, students from Tilburg University (the Netherlands) collected 269 responses on a questionnaire about Antarctica and its management. Respondents in the Netherlands clearly supported protecting Antarctica as a wilderness, and acknowledged Antarctica's importance as part of the global climate system and as a science laboratory for the benefit of mankind. Since the Consultative Parties to the Antarctic Treaty frequently state that they manage Antarctica "for the benefit of mankind," research on the general public's opinion on management issues should be considered relevant...

Learning about, understanding, and working with native cultures can be rewarding as well as enlightening. Such endeavors can also be time consuming, difficult, and even frustrating in certain instances. However, if coordinated carefully and managed properly, at the end of the day such efforts can ultimately result in innumerable benefits to native communities, land managers, and to the enduring resource of wilderness. Indigenous people have survived thousands of years of oppression, prejudice, and abuse. Yet today, some land management agencies and non-governmental organizations are...

On 8 April 2005, the first Joint Management Committee meeting was held at Qacha's Nek, Lesotho. This was to ensure co-operative management through joint management. The formation of a Joint Management Committee was part of the Bilateral Maloti Drakensberg Transfrontier Project agreement and consisted of officials from the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture (Lesotho), Ezemvelo KwaZulu Natal Wildlife (South Africa) and assisted by the Maloti Drakensberg Transfrontier Project and the Peace Parks Foundation. The formation of a Transfrontier Park (TFP) could possibly pave the way for...

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) is an innovative transboundary effort to protect biodiversity and facilitate climate adaptation by linking large protected core areas through compatible land uses on matrix lands. The Y2Y organization acts as the keeper of the Y2Y vision and implements two interconnected programs - Science and Action, and Vision and Awareness - to promote the landscape, political, public, and financial conditions necessary for wildlife connectivity. The Y2Y vision has inspired many others who are also undertaking programs, projects, and actions...

The new born wilderness area "Europe's Wild Heart" is located on the border of two Central European states and is shared by two national parks - Bavarian Forest National Park and Sumava National Park. The Bavarian Forest NP with an area of more than 24,000 ha and the Sumava NP with more than 68,000 ha create the largest island of protected nature in the cultural landscape of Central Europe. Mountain spruce forests, peat bogs, and mountain grasslands are the most important habitats of this area, which is also designated as an important location for the protection of the European lynx (Lynx...

Wilderness plays a vital role in global and landscape-level conservation of wildlife. Millions of migratory birds and mammals rely on wilderness lands and waters during critical parts of their life. As large, ecologically intact landscapes, wilderness areas also play a vital role in addressing global climate change by increasing carbon sequestration, reducing fragmentation, and providing dispersal corridors. However, potential biome shifts, fragmentation, and the effects of urbanization threaten even remote wilderness areas. The National Wildlife Refuge System (U.S. Fish and Wildlife...

This study analyzed the impact of wildlife on farmers who lived around the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP). The objectives were to assess the extent of damage exerted upon local farmers and to establish problem animal control strategies employed for park management and community members. Respondents identified crop loss as the major form of damage (40%), followed by social disruption (35%), damage to property (30%) and threats to human life (20%). The majority of the farmers (63%) reported that the park did not employ any measures to protect people's crops. Very small percentages...