Mount St. Helens: A case study of managing for change in wildland recreation |
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Authors: | Alan Ewert |
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Institution: | (1) Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, USDA Forest Service, 4955 Canyon Crest Drive, 92507 Riverside, California, USA |
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Abstract: | Mount St. Helens provides an interesting case study of a forest and wildland area that has been radically altered in recent
history. As a result of volcanic activity, the recreation environment has changed with respect to the setting, climbing opportunities,
and motivations for mountaineering. An evaluation process using both qualitative and quantitative methods was developed to
determine what the motivations, demographic characteristics, and preferred management techniques were for the posteruption
Mount St. Helens mountain-climbing visitor. Results suggest that changes have occurred in the “new” or posteruption climbing
visitor. These changes have not all been congruent with those anticipated by management. For example, the climbing visitor
is now less interested in climbing opportunities and more concerned with seeing the crater and other volcanic-related features.
This article discusses the findings of this research in light of how resource managers might consider the issue of visitor
changes in both demands and types of uses. For example, determining quota numbers based on sociological determinants (e.g.,
desire for solitude) need to be firmly grounded in who the visitors actually are rather than who they were. Consequently,
management tools such as the Recreational Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) and Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) may need to be
altered to accommodate a changing resource or visitor base. These and other findings have implications for the future management
practices of the Mount St. Helens area and other environments where the recreation resources have undergone rapid and profound
change. |
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Keywords: | Mountaineering Recreation opportunity spectrum Visitor change |
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