Book Description

A wilderness area, as administered by the U.S. Forest Service, is a tract of undeveloped land over 100,000 acres in size with no roads or provision for motorized transportation. Commercial timber cutting, hotels, stores, and similar developments are prohibited. While there are some exceptions for private holdings and administrative uses, management policy is directed toward the maintenance of primeval conditions. When wilderness reservations were first made (as primitive areas) in the late 1920's and 1930's, resource use demands were limited and these areas were mostly inaccessible backcountry by-passed in the development of the United States. Since World War 11 pressure for expanded development and use of national forest lands for both commercial and preservation management has increased. Interest in national forest land use problems has become nationwide in scope. The Forest Service, while rapidly expanding forest development for utilitarian purposed under its multiple use policy, and serving both local and national interests, has faced increasingly complicated situations in the administrative reservation of wilderness lands from which utilitarian uses are excluded. This situation has been further complicated by the differences of management approaches and personnel training needed in the stewardship of regular national forest and wilderness lands. The Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, 950,000 publicly owned, wilderness classified acres situated in the Flathead and Lewis and Clark National Forests of Montana, is the subject of this land use study to determine its best socio-economic use in the year 1960. Continued public ownership of the land and the perpetuation of wilderness reservation is assumed. The area, its history and evolution, is described. The role of other public agencies, commercial guides, and land use problems are presented. Literature pertinent to wilderness philosophy, management, and recreation valuation is reviewed. Field studies covered several years, including the 1960 nation-wide study for the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission on wilderness and its users. Users were found to be primarily horse travelers, generally in the upper socio-economic classes of society. They were opposed to utilitarian uses and development of the Area and generally favored agency regulation of wilderness. Their primary motivations for visiting the Wilderness were to escape from the pressure of modern civilization and to enjoy the beauties of nature. They were amenable to the charging of yearly fees for wilderness preservation. Summer users were divided into three main groups by origin and activities. Two of these were from Montana and the third from out of state. For this 1960 economic analysis of resource uses, isolation recreation under wilderness reservation was compared with developed recreation and hypothetical timber production under full-development multiple use. Other national forest uses including water, wildlife, and forage, were assumed to be neutral. Two conjectural timber sales, evolved by using Forest Service appraisal methods, proved uneconomic. Assuming road development by federal appropriation, public costs and returns were compared with developed resource uses. In terms of least public cost it was shown that the public interest was best served in 1960 by reserving the Bob Marshall Area as wilderness. Under wilderness reservation, it was found that user benefits would equal 1960 public costs with a reasonable per day user charge. Recreation was valued indirectly. Aesthetic and vicarious aspects were not analyzed. Over time demand will grow for commercial resources in the Wilderness, as will recreation use of the Area. Conflicts will increase and intensify. The Area will become unique as surrounding backcountry is developed. Wilderness as a resource serves a recreational user clientele in addition to regular forest resource users. Forest Service, personnel training related to wilderness concepts and informational-interpretive approaches to the public are important in obtaining nationwide public support for wilderness reservation.