Assessing interconnections between wilderness and adjacent lands: the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah

Abstract

Wilderness managers have traditionally managed wilderness lands based on the ecological and social content of wilderness areas. The authors propose a framework to systematically account for the biophysical, socioeconomic, and wildness characteristics of the broader landscape context. The method was applied to the proposed wilderness lands of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. The results illustrate patterns of interdependencies across the landscape. Spatial data demonstrate links between the integrity of proposed wilderness lands and the management of adjacent land units, and links between the economic health of local communities and the management of proposed wilderness and adjacent federal lands.

Parent Publication

• Wilderness science in a time of change conference-Volume 2: Wilderness within the context of larger systems; 1999 May 23-27; Missoula, MT

Citation

Thomson, Janice L.; Hartley, Dawn A.; Aplet, Gregory H.; Morton, Peter A. 2000. Assessing interconnections between wilderness and adjacent lands: the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah. In: McCool, Stephen F.; Cole, David N.; Borrie, William T.; O’Loughlin, Jennifer, comps. 2000. Wilderness science in a time of change conference—Volume 2: Wilderness within the context of larger systems; 1999 May 23–27; Missoula, MT. Proceedings RMRS-P-15-VOL-2. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 153-165