RAD decisions in rad landscapes: Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness
| Authors: | Kira Hefty, Jaclyn Rushing, Dan Ben-Horin, Anjelica Spencer, Madeline Grant-Hoffman, Denita Weeks, Kyra Clark-Wolf, Imtiaz Rangwala, Sean A. Parks, Frederick Klasner, Teresa Hollingsworth |
| Year: | 2025 |
| Type: | Miscellaneous |
| Station: | Rocky Mountain Research Station |
| Source: | Final Report. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute |
Abstract
Climate change is contributing to unprecedented rates of ecological transformation worldwide. Shifts in species distributions and altered structural complexity of habitat has implications for ecosystem function and human relationships. The 1964 Wilderness Act was passed to preserve undeveloped large landscapes in their “natural” condition and for the continued recreational, cultural, and spiritual benefit of the people. Nevertheless, wilderness is still vulnerable to the direct and indirect impacts of climate change. Using active management to respond to climate change challenges in wilderness is complicated by the very protections afforded to wilderness that limit human impacts. This conundrum manifests as a wicked problem for land stewards who are grappling with how to prepare for or respond to climate change-driven ecological transformation.