Keeping it Wild in the National Park Service A User Guide to Integrating Wilderness Character into Park Planning, 

Management, and Monitoring

Wilderness Stewardship Division

Wilderness Stewardship Program

January 2014

Keeping It Wild in the National Park Service

a USer gUide to integrating WilderneSS character into

parK planning, ManageMent, and Monitoring

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior
Cover photos:

(Top) NPS/Suzy Stutzman, Great Sand Dunes Wilderness, Great Sand Dunes National Park

(Left) NPS/Peter Landres, recommended wilderness, Canyonlands National Park

(Right) NPS/Peter Landres, recommended wilderness, Cedar Breaks National Monument
Keeping It Wild in the National Park Service

A User Guide to Integrating Wilderness Character into

Park Planning, Management, and Monitoring

Developed by the National Park Service Wilderness Character Integration Team with 

funding and support from the NPS Office of Park Planning and Special Studies and the 

Wilderness Stewardship Division

A Companion Document to the 2014

Wilderness Stewardship Plan Handbook:

Planning to Preserve Wilderness Character

WASO 909/121797; January 2014

iii

This User Guide was developed to help National Park Service (NPS) staff effectively and 

efficiently fulfill the mandate from the 1964 Wilderness Act and NPS policy to “preserve 

wilderness character” now and into the future. This mandate applies to all congressionally 

designated wilderness and other park lands that are, by policy, managed as wilderness, 

including eligible, potential, proposed, or recommended wilderness. This User Guide builds 

on the ideas in Keeping It Wild: An Interagency Strategy to Monitor Trends in Wilderness 

Character Across the National Wilderness Preservation System (Landres and others 2008). The 

User Guide offers practical guidance and tools to integrate wilderness character into park 

planning, management, and monitoring, and is divided into six chapters and a companion 

document:

•  Chapter 1, Introduction to the User Guide and Wilderness Character—Describes the 

context for why wilderness and wilderness character are important and the special 

role of the National Park Service in its preservation; defines the concept of wilderness 

character and the general benefits of its integration into planning, management, and 

monitoring.

•  Chapter 2, Building Blocks for Integrating Wilderness Character—Describes the 

fundamental information needed to effectively integrate wilderness character into 

park planning, management, and monitoring.

•  Chapter 3, Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning—Describes how to address 

wilderness character in a park foundation document and selected park planning 

products, which can serve as examples for other types of planning efforts.

•  Chapter 4, Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations—

Describes how wilderness character relates to NPS Director’s Order 41: Wilderness 

Stewardship, staff training, minimum requirements analysis, scientific activities, 

environmental compliance, emergency services, and natural and cultural resources.

•  Chapter 5, Monitoring Change in Wilderness Character—Describes how to identify 

and prioritize measures to assess current conditions and track change in wilderness 

character over time in a park in a way that is nationally consistent and locally relevant.

•  Chapter 6, Emerging Tools to Integrate Wilderness Character—Describes several new 

tools that are still being developed, including: wilderness character mapping, the 

wilderness character monitoring database, and evaluating the “extent necessary” for 

commercial services. Other tools will be added as they are developed.

•  Wilderness Stewardship Plan Handbook 2014—Describes the development and 

components of a wilderness stewardship plan driven by the concept of wilderness 

character. The Handbook is a standalone document not included within the User 

Guide, but directly associated with it.

The User Guide is not prescriptive but instead offers a wide range of guidance and tools 

for incorporating wilderness character into park planning, management, and monitoring. 

Each chapter may be used in any order that makes the most sense. On page xii, the table 

“Where Can I Find What I Need?” enables quick reference to topics of interest. In addition, 

worksheets and examples are included in the User Guide and are also on the NPS Wilderness 

Character tab under the Wilderness Stewardship Program Sharepoint site at

http://share.inside.nps.gov/sites/WASO/WSD/WC.

Executive Summary
iv

Developing Keeping It Wild in the National Park Service: A User Guide to Integrating 

Wilderness Character into Park Planning, Management, and Monitoring and the 

accompanying Wilderness Stewardship Plan Handbook: Planning to Preserve Wilderness 

Character would not have been possible without the vision, funding, and support of Patrick 

Gregerson, NPS Office of Park Planning and Special Studies, and Garry Oye, NPS Wilderness 

Stewardship Division.

The User Guide was developed by the Wilderness Character Integration Team. All the 

members of this Team generously gave their time and effort to openly and civilly discuss and 

debate, argue, consider other viewpoints, and finally reach consensus on literally hundreds 

of issues. All the members of this Team contributed their vision, passion, and 234 years 

of combined on-the-ground experience to write the User Guide. These team members, in 

alphabetical order, are Michael Bilecki, Carol Cook, Sarah Craighead, Jeremy Curtis, Tim 

Devine, Sandee Dingman, Michael Haynie, Chris Holbeck, Chip Jenkins, Peter Landres, 

Adrienne Lindholm, Melissa Memory, Christina Mills, Ray O’Neil, Ruth Scott, Miki Stuebe, 

Suzy Stutzman, Karen Trevino, Frank Turina, and Wade Vagias.

Dozens of other people were instrumental in producing the User Guide. Of particular 

note, Mary Lucid used her accounting acumen to make it all happen, Erin Drake was the 

consummate professional helping in enumerable ways to ensure that the User Guide was 

successfully completed, and Ángel López made the User Guide look so good.

The Team is extremely grateful to several people who helped write various sections in the 

User Guide: Dave Vana-Miller helped write the “Resource Stewardship Strategy” section in 

chapter 3, Don Weeks helped with the climate change section in chapter 3, and Jeff Manley 

helped write the initial draft of the fire management plan section in chapter 4.

Several people helped with their insight, expertise, and patience to integrate wilderness 

character with cultural resources (Jill Cowley, Michele Jesperson, Sande McDermott, and 

Jeff Rasic), and foundation documents (Sarah Conlin and Tokey Boswell). In addition, the 

first group of NPS Wilderness Fellows in 2010 (Monica Patel, Emily Biesecker, Christina 

Mills, Lisanne Petracca, Katie Hawks, Alicia Burtner, and Brian Tarpinian) helped lay the 

foundation for several of the tools offered in the User Guide with their passion, insight, 

and creativity.

The Team sincerely appreciates all the time and effort of the reviewers who provided 

comments on the April 2012 version of the User Guide and the Handbook that was released 

for comment on the Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) planning tool: 

Kenneth Biddle, Susan Dolan, Michael Edwards, Mark Husbands, Michael Rees, Bruce Rogers, 

Danny Rosencrans, Sam Tamburo, Dave Trevino, Dave Vana-Miller. In addition to these 

individuals, the Intermountain Regional Wilderness Executive Committee and the Alaska 

Regional Cultural Resources Team provided many substantial and helpful review comments.

Acknowledgments
v

The Team also greatly appreciates all the comments from the staff at all the units that were 

formal pilot test sites for the User Guide: the Denver Service Center, Death Valley National 

Park, Fire Island National Seashore, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Olympic National 

Park, Pinnacles National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Sequoia and Kings Canyon 

National Parks, and Mojave National Preserve.

Many of the ideas presented in the User Guide were informally piloted tested and honed 

by many parks that participated early-on in different workshops. The Team is extremely 

grateful to all of the superintendents and staff at these parks for their willingness to be 

early adopters and engage in a little experimentation to figure out what works and what 

doesn’t. These parks, in rough chronological order, were: Haleakala National Park, Black 

Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Everglades National Park, Guadalupe Mountains 

National Park, Buffalo National River, El Malpais National Monument, Fire Island National 

Seashore, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Death Valley National Park, Glacier Bay National 

Park and Preserve, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Gates of the Arctic National 

Park and Preserve, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Zion National Park, Olympic 

National Park, North Cascades National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, Noatak National 

Preserve, Rocky Mountain National Park, Saguaro National Park, and Denali National Park 

and Preserve.

Russ Cash from Zion National Park graciously provided material for appendix 4.1 on the 

cabin restoration. Dave Craig was of crucial help in honing the writing of the User Guide and 

the Handbook. And Danette Paige was always in the background helping to keep track of 

budgets and travel for this large team.
vi

Brief Table of Contents

Where Can I Find What I Need? xii

Chapter 1—Introduction to the User Guide and Wilderness Character 3

Chapter 2—Building Blocks for Integrating Wilderness Character 19

Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning 31

Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into 

 Management and Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

Chapter 5—Monitoring Change in Wilderness Character 97

Chapter 6—Emerging Tools and Topics to Integrate Wilderness Character 121

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133

Selected References 140

Appendixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142

Detailed Table of Contents

Executive Summary iii

Acknowledgments iv

List of Tables ix

List of Figures x

List of Acronyms xi

Where Can I Find What I Need? xii

Chapter 1—Introduction to the User Guide and Wilderness Character 3

Organization and Content 4

How to Use the User Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

The Relevance of Wilderness Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

The Special Role of the National Park Service in 

Preserving Wilderness Character 6

Why Preserve Wilderness Character 7

Defining Wilderness Character 8

Benefits of Defining and Using Wilderness Character . . . . . . . . . . .14

How Wilderness Character Intersects with Other Laws and Allowed Uses .16
vii

Chapter 2—Building Blocks for Integrating Wilderness Character 19

Wilderness Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Wilderness Character Assessment 24

Integrate Wilderness Character into Management and Operations 24

The Next Step: Wilderness Stewardship Planning 25

Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning 31

Park Foundation Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Other Consideration for Foundation Planning: 

Wild and Scenic Rivers Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Resource Stewardship Strategy 39

Long Range Interpretive Plan 45

Exotic Plant Management Plan 46

Climbing Management Plan 50

Fire Management Plan 54

Planning for Effects of Climate Change on Wilderness Character . . . . .60

Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into 

 Management and Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

Minimum Requirements Analysis 66

Scientific Activities 72

Environmental Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

Facility Management and Maintenance Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . .80

Emergency Services, Law Enforcement, and Wildland Fire 84

Natural Resources 89

Cultural Resources 90

Wilderness Character Training for Park Staff 93

Chapter 5—Monitoring Change in Wilderness Character 97

Introduction 97

Identifying Measures 102

Prioritizing Measures 109

Weighting Measures 110

Gathering Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Using the Information 113

Dealing with a Downward Trend in Wilderness Character . . . . . . . . 116

Chapter 6—Emerging Tools and Topics to Integrate Wilderness Character 121

Mapping Wilderness Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Wilderness Character Monitoring Database 127

Determining the “Extent Necessary” for Commercial Services 128

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133

Selected References 140
viii

Appendixes

Appendix 1—How this User Guide was Developed 142

Appendix 2.1—Developing a Wilderness Character Narrative 

 with an Interdisciplinary Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Purpose of a Wilderness Character Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Approaches for Developing a Wilderness Character Narrative 146

Steps for Developing a Wilderness Character Narrative . . . . . . . . . 147

Appendix 2.2—Worksheet for a Wilderness Character 

 Narrative Workshop 150

Appendix 2.3—Worksheets for Remotely Developing a 

 Wilderness Character Narrative 152

Appendix 2.4—Wilderness Character Narrative for 

 Lake Clark Wilderness 163

Appendix 2.5—Wilderness Character Narrative for Olympic Wilderness 171

Appendix 2.6—Examples of Wilderness Stewardship Planning 179

Appendix 3.1—Examples from Park Foundation Documents

 Incorporating Wilderness Character 181

Appendix 3.2—Examples of General Management Plans (GMPs) 

 and Wilderness Character 184

Appendix 4.1—Principles to Foster Wilderness and 

 Cultural Resource Integration 185

The Diversity of Cultural Resources and Cultural 

Resource Laws in Wilderness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Principles to Foster Better Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Appendix 4.2—An Example of Preserving Cultural Resources 

 and Wilderness Character 188

Appendix 5.1—Indicators, Measures, and NPS Data Sources 

 for the Qualities of Wilderness Character 194

Appendix 5.2—Example of Measures Identified at 

 Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska 200

Appendix 5.3—Worksheet to Prioritize Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Appendix 5.4—Example of Worksheet Used to Prioritize Measures 

 from Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness 205

Appendix 5.5—Data Sources Generally Available in the 

 National Park Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Appendix 6.1—Strategic Questions to Answer in Developing a 

 Wilderness Character Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Appendix 6.2—Weighting of Measures Used in Developing a 

 Map of Wilderness Character at Death Valley National Park 215

Appendix 6.3—Quickstart Overview of the Wilderness Character 

 Monitoring Database 217
ix

List of Tables

Table 1 Terminology of wilderness character that is used 

and not used in the User Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Table 2 The qualities of wilderness character and their associated indicators . . . . 13

Table 3 The wilderness connection in a park foundation document. . . . . . . . . . 35

Table 4 Components of GMP management zones 

for parks with wilderness resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Table 5 Comparison of terms in the wilderness character 

framework and resource stewardship strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Table 6 Indicators and measures related to invasive and 

exotic species management plans (not all wilderness character 

indicators are included). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Table 7 Indicators and measures related to climbing management plans 

(not all wilderness character qualities or indicators are discussed). . . . . . 52

Table 8 Crosswalk of fire management plan template sections 

(version as of June 16, 2010) to the concept of 

wilderness character. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Table 9 Indicators and measures relevant to fire management plans 

(not all wilderness character indicators are discussed). . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Table 10 A hypothetical example showing how trends are combined 

across measures and indicators to show the trend in the 

undeveloped quality of wilderness character. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Table 11 Hypothetical examples measuring positive change 

in wilderness character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Table 12 Generalized (and hypothetical) example of indicators, 

measures, and data sources identified for the tangible 

cultural resources recognized in the other features of value quality 

of wilderness character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Table 13 Example of weighting measures in the undeveloped 

quality of wilderness character at Death Valley National Park, 

California and Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Table 14 Examples of wilderness stewardship planning, 

arranged alphabetically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Table 15 Indicators, measures, and NPS data sources for the 

qualities of wilderness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
x

Table 16 Examples of measures identified at 

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Table 17 Data sources generally available in the National Park Service. 

Note that this table is highly dynamic and subject to 

change over time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Table 18 Weighting of measures used in developing a map of 

wilderness character at Death Valley National Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

List of Figures

Figure 1 Building blocks for integrating 

wilderness character into wilderness stewardship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Figure 2 Flowchart showing the general process to respond to 

downward trends in wilderness character. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Figure 3 Overall flowchart for building a map of 

wilderness character for Death Valley Wilderness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Figure 4 The natural quality (A), untrammeled quality (B), 

undeveloped quality (C), and solitude or primitive and 

unconfined quality (D) of wilderness character at 

Death Valley Wilderness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Figure 5 Wilderness character at Death Valley Wilderness 

from the combined qualities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Figure 6 Fife Cabin in Zion National Park before restoration (left) 

and after (right) following close communication between 

cultural resource and wilderness staff to both preserve the 

cabin and wilderness character. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
xi

List of Acronyms

Acronym Definition

ANILCA Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act

ASMIS Archeological Sites Management and Information System

BAER Burned Area Emergency Response

CIR Case Incident Report

CLI Cultural Landscape Inventory

CUA Commercial Use Authorization

DO NPS Director’s Orders

EA Environmental Assessment

EIS Environmental Impact Assessment

EPMP Exotic Plant Management Plan

FMP Fire Management Plan

FMSS Facility Management Software System

FRCC Fire Regime Condition Class

GIS Geographic Information System

GMP General Management Plan

I&M Inventory and Monitoring

IMP Integrated Pest Management

IRMA Integrated Resource Management Applications

LCS List of Classified Structures

LRIP Long Range Interpretive Plan

MIST Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics

MRA Minimum Requirements Analysis

MRDG Minimum Requirements Decision Guide

NEPA National Environmental Policy Act

NHPA National Historic Preservation Act

NPS National Park Service

NRSS Natural Resource Stewardship and Science

NWPS National Wilderness Preservation System

QAQC Quality Assurance and Quality Control

RM Reference Manual

RSS Resource Stewardship Strategy

SOP Standard Operating Procedure

SUP Special Use Permit

WASO Washington Support Office

WCIT Wilderness Character Integration Team

WFDSS Wildland Fire Decision Support System

WFMI Wildland Fire Management Information

WSC Wilderness Stewardship Committee

WSP Wilderness Stewardship Plan
xii

Where Can I Find What I Need?

The table below provides an alphabetical list of specific needs and 

where to look within this User Guide, and the Handbook.

Wilderness Character and: User Guide

Wilderness 

Stewardship 

Plan Handbook 

2014

Alternatives in planning, minimum requirements 

analysis, and compliance

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Part I

Baseline for monitoring trend Chapter 5 Part I

Building blocks for integrating wilderness 

character 

Chapter 2 Introduction

Civic engagement and consultation Part I

Climbing management Chapter 3 Appendix 4.2

Climate change Chapter 3 Appendix 4.1

Commercial services Chapter 6 Appendix 4.3

Cultural resources Chapter 1

Chapter 4

Appendix 4.1

Data collection for wilderness character 

monitoring

Chapter 5 Part I

Emergency services, law enforcement, and 

wildland fire

Chapter 4 Appendix 4.3

Facility management and maintenance Chapter 4 Appendix 4.3

Fire management plans Chapter 3

Foundation document Chapter 3 Introduction

General management plans Chapter 3 Part I

Interpretation and education Chapter 4 Appendix 4.3

Invasive / exotic species management plans Chapter 3

Long range interpretive plans Chapter 3

Mapping wilderness character Chapter 6 Appendix 3.1

Measures – identifying and prioritizing for 

wilderness character monitoring

Chapter 5 Part I

Minimum Requirements Decision Guide (MRDG), 

minimum requirements analysis (MRA)

Chapter 4 Part I

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

compliance

Chapter 4 Part II

Park foundations Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Introduction

Planning framework Part I

Reporting trends in wilderness character Chapter 5

Resource stewardship strategy (RSS) Chapter 3

Scientific activities Chapter 4 Part I

Standards – identifying and selecting Part I

Training on wilderness character Chapter 4

Visitor use management and capacity Part I

Wilderness character narratives Chapter 2 Introduction
The richest values of wilderness 

lie not in the days of Daniel 

Boone, nor even in the present, 

but rather in the future. 

—Aldo Leopold

Photo: NPS/Colin Cook, 

recommended wilderness, 

Sleeping Bear Dunes 

National Lakeshore

Introduction

1

Photo: NPS/Patrick Gregerson, 

Phillip Burton Wilderness, Point Reyes National Seashore

Chapter 1—Introduction to the User Guide and Wilderness Character

3

Chapter 1—Introduction to the

User Guide and Wilderness Character

The 1964 Wilderness Act directs federal agencies to 

manage wilderness so as to preserve its wilderness 

character. The intent of this User Guide is to help 

ensure that wilderness character is preserved 

now and into the future throughout the National 

Park Service (NPS). The User Guide is a “how-to” 

manual that provides guidance, tools, templates, 

and examples to help NPS staff—from a park to 

the Washington Office (WASO)—integrate the 

concept of wilderness character into park planning, 

management, and monitoring. NPS Director’s 

Order 41: Wilderness Stewardship, section 6.2, 

directs each wilderness park to integrate the 

concept of wilderness character into park planning, 

management, and monitoring. The User Guide

is a component of NPS Reference Manual RM 

41: Wilderness Stewardship, and is designed for 

flexibility to use with established park procedures 

and protocols. The User Guide will improve NPS 

staff understanding of wilderness character, 

how to effectively integrate it into internal and 

external communication about wilderness and its 

stewardship, and how to make decisions that more 

effectively preserve wilderness character.

The User Guide was developed by the NPS 

Wilderness Character Integration Team to help NPS 

staff effectively manage designated wilderness and 

other park lands that are, by policy, managed as 

wilderness, including eligible, potential, proposed, 

or recommended wilderness. This team was cochartered by the NPS Park Planning and Special 

Studies Division and the Wilderness Stewardship 

Division in 2010 to build on the ideas in Keeping It 

Wild: An Interagency Strategy to Monitor Trends in 

Wilderness Character Across the National Wilderness 

Preservation System (Landres and others 2008). This 

team was chartered to develop practical guidance 

and tools to integrate wilderness character into park 

planning, management, and monitoring. Details 

about this team and the process used to develop this 

User Guide are in appendix 1.1.
Photo: NPS/Haley Bercot, 

Yosemite Wilderness,

Yosemite National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

4

Organization and Content

This User Guide is divided into six chapters, a set of appendixes, 

and a companion document:

•  Chapter 1—Introduction to the User Guide and Wilderness Character—

Describes the context for why wilderness and wilderness character 

are important and the special role of the National Park Service in its 

preservation; defines the concept of wilderness character and the general 

benefits of its integration into planning, management, and monitoring.

•  Chapter 2—Building Blocks for Integrating Wilderness Character—

Describes the fundamental information needed to effectively integrate 

wilderness character into park planning, management, and monitoring, 

and how wilderness character is built into the Handbook.

•  Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning—Describes 

how to address wilderness character in a park foundation document and 

selected park planning products, which can serve as examples for other 

types of planning efforts.

•  Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and 

Operations—Describes how wilderness character relates to NPS Director’s 

Order 41: Wilderness Stewardship, staff training, minimum requirements 

analysis, scientific activities, environmental compliance, emergency services, 

and natural and cultural resources.

•  Chapter 5—Monitoring Change in Wilderness Character—Describes 

how to identify and prioritize measures to assess current conditions and 

track change in wilderness character over time in a park in a way that is 

nationally consistent and locally relevant.

•  Chapter 6—Emerging Tools to Integrate Wilderness Character—Describes 

several new tools that are still being developed, including: wilderness 

character mapping, the wilderness character monitoring database, and 

evaluating the “extent necessary” for commercial services. Other tools will 

be added as they are developed.

•  Wilderness Stewardship Plan Handbook 2014—Describes the development 

and components of a wilderness stewardship plan driven by the concept of 

wilderness character. The Handbook is a standalone document not included 

within the User Guide, but directly associated with it. The Handbook can be 

found online on the Wilderness Character Sharepoint site at 

http://share.inside.nps.gov/sites/WASO/WSD/WC.
Photo: NPS/Jacob Frank, 

Denali Wilderness, Denali 

National Park & Preserve

Chapter 1—Introduction to the User Guide and Wilderness Character

5

How to Use the User Guide

The User Guide is not prescriptive in the sense that users are provided a list of 

steps to follow. Instead, the User Guide breaks the idea of wilderness character 

into practical sections of planning, management, and monitoring, and then 

offers a set of tools and guidance for incorporating wilderness character into 

each section. Each chapter of the User Guide and any of the tools may be used 

in any order that makes the most sense. The table “Where Can I Find What 

I Need?” at the beginning of the User Guide enables quick access to topics 

of interest. In addition, many of the documents, worksheets, and examples 

referenced in this User Guide can be found on the NPS Wilderness Character tab 

under the Wilderness Stewardship Program Sharepoint site at

http://share.inside.nps.gov/sites/WASO/WSD/WC.

The User Guide is intended to be a dynamic document that is refined over time 

as experience is gained integrating wilderness character into park planning, 

management, and monitoring. Furthermore, additional examples will be 

added to the appendices of the User Guide and the NPS Wilderness Character 

Sharepoint site to provide “one-stop-shopping” for guidance and tools on 

integrating wilderness character.

The Relevance of Wilderness Today

Wilderness is a unique, vital, and irreplaceable source for a wide range of 

ecological, cultural, social, economic, ethical, and other values (Cordell, 

Bergstrom, and Bowker 2005; Harmon and Putney 2003). With the rapid 

environmental and social changes our world faces, wilderness is more relevant 

today than in times past. For example, wilderness provides one of the best 

baseline reference areas for assessing and learning about the effects of climate 

change; one of the best places for youth to engage and connect with nature; 

one of the best places to protect native peoples’ cultural heritage; one of the 

best sources of clean water and other ecosystem services; and one of the areas 

where we can learn how to foster greater efficiency and cooperation between 

government agencies, with four different federal agencies managing wilderness. 

With its strong philosophical foundation of humility and restraint, wilderness 

is especially important in this time of increasing development and change. NPS 

Director Jon Jarvis recently wrote “In a changing world, these unique places 

[national parks and wilderness] remain more valuable than ever” (Tweed 2010).

Wilderness character lies at the core of wilderness and its stewardship. 

Understanding the concept of wilderness character and how it can be effectively 

and efficiently integrated into park planning, management, and monitoring is 

crucial to preserving the enduring benefits and values of wilderness for 

future generations.

“The wilderness trims our 

bravado and puts us in 

our place. Particularly in 

traumatic times like these, 

nature challenges us, 

revitalizes us, humbles us, 

exhilarates us and restores 

our souls. It reminds us 

that we are part of a 

larger universe, stewards 

rather than masters of our 

world.”

Nicholas Kristof, 2011, The 

New York Times
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

6

The Special Role of the National Park Service

in Preserving Wilderness Character

The National Park Service plays a vital and critical role in preserving wilderness 

character. First, 40% (43,890,590 acres) of the National Wilderness Preservation 

System (NWPS) is currently administered by the National Park Service, a greater 

proportion than any other federal agency. Second, about 83% of NPS acreage 

is either designated wilderness, or formally eligible, potential, proposed, or 

recommended as wilderness, a far greater proportion than in any of the other 

federal wilderness management agencies. Third, NPS Management Policies 2006,

chapter 6, “Wilderness Preservation and Management,” section 6.3.7, states that, 

“The principle of nondegradation will be applied to wilderness management, 

and each wilderness area’s condition will be measured and assessed against its 

own unimpaired standard.” Based on these facts, the National Park Service is 

clearly a leading wilderness federal agency, and preserving wilderness character 

is the core of this leadership. Furthermore, the guidance and tools presented 

in this User Guide align with and support new NPS efforts, such as the NPS 

Director’s 2012 A Call to Action that will guide NPS goals and operations in 

the coming years.

Will NPS management jurisdiction automatically preserve wilderness character? 

Wilderness designation is a legal overlay on NPS backcountry lands, and there are 

important distinctions between how wilderness and backcountry are managed. 

To clarify long-standing confusion about the management of wilderness in 

contrast with backcountry, the NPS National Wilderness Steering Committee 

(now the Wilderness Leadership Council) issued Guidance Paper #4: Embracing 

the Distinction Between Wilderness and Backcountry in the National Park 

System, in 2005. This paper stated that, “While there are similarities between 

backcountry and wilderness, backcountry has more management discretion than 

the unparalleled level of legal protection of wilderness” and that wilderness 

has “a higher standard of protection than backcountry.” This paper also stated 

that, “the Wilderness Act charges agencies managing wilderness, in this case 

the National Park Service, to preserve wilderness character.” In other words, 

there are important differences in how wilderness and backcountry lands are 

managed, and wilderness requires a higher management standard to preserve 

its wilderness character. One of the purposes of this User Guide is to provide the 

understanding and tools to manage wilderness to this higher standard.

The Cost to Preserve Wilderness Character

Will it cost more to fulfill this NPS leadership role to preserve wilderness 

character? The guidance and tools in this User Guide need not require additional 

cost. They were deliberately designed to integrate wilderness character concepts 

into established procedures, guidelines, tools, and protocols. They do not suggest 

that parks invent new ways to write planning documents, develop new protocols 

for collecting monitoring data, or develop new cumbersome review processes for 

permitting activities in wilderness. Rather, the User Guide was developed to help 

staff do their very best to preserve wilderness character through efficient use of 

effort, time, and money. Preserving wilderness character simply becomes part of 

the fabric of a wilderness park’s daily operations.
Photo: NPS/Mark Kinzer, 

Majory Stoneman Douglas 

Wilderness, Everglades 

National Park

Chapter 1—Introduction to the User Guide and Wilderness Character

7

Why Preserve Wilderness Character

The 1964 Wilderness Act established the NWPS “for the protection of these areas, 

the preservation of their wilderness character” (Section 2(a)). Congress (United 

States Congress 1983) and legal scholars (McCloskey 1999; Rohlf and Honnold 

1988) confirmed that the primary affirmative legal mandate is to preserve the 

wilderness character of all areas designated as wilderness. Zahniser (1962), 

principal author of the Wilderness Act, emphasized this when he wrote, “The 

purpose of the Wilderness Act is to preserve the wilderness character of the areas 

to be included in the wilderness system, not to establish any particular use.” 

Likewise, NPS Management Policies 2006, chapter 6, “Wilderness Preservation 

and Management,” states that, “The purpose of wilderness in the national parks 

includes the preservation of wilderness character.”

Despite a clear legal mandate and NPS policy, in the nearly five decades since 

passage of the Wilderness Act there has been no formal definition of wilderness 

character (Scott 2002), and no guidelines to help agency staff integrate 

wilderness character into park stewardship or assess how wilderness character 

is changing over time. Compounding these deficiencies is the complexity 

of wilderness itself, with its diversity of associated values and meanings 

often leading to misunderstandings about wilderness stewardship, and 

miscommunication among NPS staff and between the National Park Service and 

the public. This lack of definition and consistent guidelines for improving on-theground stewardship are contributing to legal challenges over the management 

of wilderness (Appel 2010).
Photo: NPS/Peter Landres, 

Death Valley Wilderness, 

Death Valley National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

8

Defining Wilderness Character

The interagency publication Keeping It Wild defined wilderness character as “the 

combination of biophysical, experiential, and symbolic ideals that distinguishes 

wilderness from other lands.” Furthermore, this publication identified distinct 

and necessary “qualities” of wilderness character. These qualities are tangible, 

link conditions in the wilderness and its management directly to the statutory 

language of the Wilderness Act, and apply to every wilderness regardless of size, 

location, agency administration, or other attribute. Building on Keeping It Wild

and several years of agency experience applying these ideas, this User Guide is 

based on the use of five qualities of wilderness character, all equally important 

in understanding and describing wilderness character and all based on the 

Wilderness Act’s section 2(c), “Definition of Wilderness”:

•  Natural—Wilderness ecological systems are substantially free from the 

effects of modern civilization. This quality is preserved or improved, for 

example, by controlling or removing nonindigenous species or restoring 

ecological processes. This quality is degraded by the loss of indigenous 

species, occurrence of nonindigenous species, alteration of ecological 

processes such as water flow or fire regimes, effects of climate change, and 

many others.

•  Untrammeled—Wilderness is essentially unhindered and free from the 

intentional actions of modern human control or manipulation. This 

quality is influenced by any activity or action that intentionally controls 

or manipulates the components or processes of ecological systems inside 

wilderness. It is supported or preserved when such management actions are 

not taken. It is degraded when such management actions are taken, even 

when these actions are intended to protect resources, such as spraying 

herbicides to eradicate or control nonindigenous species, or reducing fuels 

accumulated from decades of fire exclusion.
Photo: NPS/Al Smith, Gates 

of the Arctic Wilderness,

Gates of The Arctic National 

Park & Preserve

Chapter 1—Introduction to the User Guide and Wilderness Character

9

•  Solitude or a Primitive and Unconfined Type of Recreation—Wilderness 

provides outstanding opportunities for solitude or primitive and 

unconfined recreation. This quality is primarily about the opportunity for 

people to experience wilderness, and is influenced by settings that affect 

these opportunities. This quality is preserved or improved by management 

actions that reduce visitor encounters, signs of modern civilization inside 

wilderness, agency-provided recreation facilities, and management 

restrictions on visitor behavior. In contrast, this quality is degraded by 

management actions that increase these.

•  Undeveloped—Wilderness retains its primeval character and influence, 

and is essentially without permanent improvement or modern human 

occupation. This quality is influenced by what are commonly called the 

“section 4(c) prohibited uses” or “nonconforming” uses, which are the 

presence of modern structures, installations, habitations, and the use 

of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanical transport. This 

quality is preserved by the absence of structures and installations, and 

refraining from these prohibited uses. It is degraded by the presence of 

structures and by prohibited uses, whether by the agency for administrative 

purposes, by others authorized by the agency, or unauthorized uses. (Note 

that structures and installations related to visitor use and recreation are 

included in the solitude quality rather than the undeveloped quality.)

•  Other Features of Value—Wilderness preserves other tangible features that 

are of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value. This quality is based 

on the last clause of section 2(c) of the Wilderness Act which states that 

a wilderness “may also contain ecological, geological, or other features 

of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.” This quality captures 

important elements of the wilderness that may not be covered in the other 

four qualities, such as cultural or paleontological resources. This quality is 

preserved or improved when these resources are preserved and their loss or 

impacts to such features degrade this quality of wilderness character.
Photo: NPS/Lauren LaRocca, 

Glacier Bay Wilderness, 

Glacier Bay National 

Park & Preserve

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

10

Together, these five qualities comprise the tangible or physical setting of 

the wilderness and its wilderness character. The first four qualities (natural, 

untrammeled, solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation, undeveloped) 

are only summarized above and described in detail in the Keeping It Wild

publication. The other features of value quality is different from the others in 

two ways. First, from the wording in the Wilderness Act this quality may or may 

not be present in a wilderness, whereas the other four qualities apply to every 

single wilderness. When present, this quality is of equal stature and importance 

to understanding wilderness character as all the other qualities. Second, from the 

wording in the Wilderness Act this quality focuses on “features” and features 

typically occur in specific locations, whereas the other four qualities apply 

throughout an entire wilderness. Such features could include cultural resources, 

paleontological resources, or any features not covered under the other four 

qualities that have scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value. In some cases 

it may be difficult to assign a feature to one quality or another. For example, 

National Natural Landmark sites may be assigned to either the natural quality 

or the other features of value quality and park staffs will need to determine 

which is most appropriate for the park. Features mentioned in park or wilderness 

enabling legislation, such as the historic sites in Death Valley Wilderness and 

the volcanoes in Katmai Wilderness, would be likely candidates for the other 

features of value quality. While many different types of features could be 

included, the intent is to include those that significantly contribute to the setting 

of the wilderness and understanding its wilderness character.
Photo: NPS/Mike Bilecki, 

Otis Pike Fire Island High 

Dune Wilderness, Fire Island 

National Seashore

Chapter 1—Introduction to the User Guide and Wilderness Character

11

These five qualities interact in direct and subtle ways that may complement 

or conflict with the others. For example, allowing a natural fire ignition to 

burn preserves both the natural and untrammeled qualities of a wilderness. In 

contrast, suppressing a natural ignition degrades the untrammeled quality, the 

use of helicopters or other motorized equipment degrades the undeveloped 

and solitude qualities, and the long-term effects of suppression may degrade 

the natural quality. A decision to protect or improve one quality of wilderness 

character may directly degrade another quality. For example, designated 

campsites may be necessary to protect solitude or prevent vegetation trampling, 

but degrades other elements of the solitude quality by requiring visitors to 

camp only in designated sites. In all cases, using the framework of wilderness 

character does not drive a particular decision or management action—it is a tool 

to help staff be comprehensive, systematic, and consistent in evaluating potential 

benefits and impacts to make an informed and transparent decision.

Like a violin composed of separate pieces that interact to form something 

greater than the sum of its parts (music and the feeling this music evokes), 

these five qualities together form a complex set of relationships between the 

land, its stewardship, its users, and the values and benefits that society derives 

from wilderness. These five qualities form both the physical and stewardship 

setting of a wilderness. This setting in turn provides tangible scientific, cultural, 

educational, and economic values to society (Cordell, Bergstrom, and Bowker 

2005). For example, this setting allows the scientific value of wilderness as a 

reference baseline to assess and understand the effects of climate change. The 

setting of cultural resources in a wilderness provides a connection to the place 

by the artifact and relics that a visitor can “discover,” insight into the history of 

the area, and enhance connection to past generations and ancestors. Spiritual 

(Ashley 2007; Moore 2007), ethical (Cafaro 2001), and other intangible values 

and benefits to society also derive from this wilderness setting.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

12

Terminology of Wilderness Character

One of the intended outcomes of this User Guide is for park staff nationwide 

to use consistent nomenclature when integrating wilderness character. Because 

the explicit description of wilderness character is less than a decade old, it is still 

a relatively new concept but there has been sufficient time for several different 

terms and phrases to be used by different people, in turn resulting in confusion 

among different users, agencies, and with the public. Based on law and policy, 

table 1 provides a guide to the terminology that is used and not used in 

the User Guide.

Table 1. Terminology of wilderness character that is used and not used in the User Guide.

Term or Phrase Used? Definition and Comments

Wilderness character Yes This phrase comes from the 1964 Wilderness Act and is defined in Keeping It 

Wild as “the combination of biophysical, experiential, and symbolic ideals that 

distinguishes wilderness from other lands.”

Wild character No A phrase sometimes used as shorthand for “wilderness character” but the term 

“wild” is used in many different ways so the meaning of this phrase is uncertain 

and should not be used.

Wilderness qualities Yes Refers to one or more of the qualities of wilderness character. Qualities are 

major attributes of all wildernesses as described in section 2(c) of the 1964 

Wilderness Act. Qualities are further described in Keeping It Wild in terms that 

are tangible, link conditions in the wilderness and its management directly to 

the statutory language of the Wilderness Act, and apply to every wilderness 

regardless of size, location, agency administration, or other attribute.

Wilderness characters No A phrase sometimes used for “wilderness qualities.” This phrase typically causes 

confusion because it’s not clear if it is being used to describe “wilderness 

character” or the “wilderness qualities.” This phrase should not be used.

Wilderness characteristics No Comes from Bureau of Land Management law and policy direction for 

managing wilderness study areas. This phrase is sometimes mistakenly used for 

“wilderness qualities” and should be used only when referring to Bureau of 

Land Management lands.

Qualities Yes Refers to the qualities of wilderness character.

Characters No Shorthand reference to “wilderness characters” and should not be used.

Wilderness resources Yes A general phrase referring to any of the particular resources (natural or cultural) 

inside a wilderness.

Wilderness values Yes A general phrase referring to any of the meanings, benefits, or values people or 

society derive from wilderness.

Indicators Associated with Each Quality of Wilderness Character

Each quality of wilderness character has associated indicators that describe 

different major elements or components of that quality. Indicators for the 

qualities that apply nationwide and throughout a wilderness are derived from 

Keeping It Wild; these indicators are intended to apply to every wilderness 

(table 2). In contrast, indicators for the other features of value quality must 

be identified locally because they are unique to each park, although an 

indicator for cultural resources is provided in this table because these occur in 

every NPS wilderness.
Photo: NPS/James Tricker, 

Buffalo National River 

Wilderness, Buffalo 

National River

Chapter 1—Introduction to the User Guide and Wilderness Character

13

Table 2. The qualities of wilderness character and their associated indicators.

Quality Indicator

Natural Plant and animal species and communities

Physical resources

Biophysical processes

Untrammeled Actions authorized by the federal land manager that manipulate 

the biophysical environment

Actions not authorized by the federal land manager that manipulate 

the biophysical environment

Solitude or primitive and 

unconfined recreation

Remoteness from sights and sounds of people inside the wilderness

Remoteness from occupied and modified areas outside the wilderness

Facilities that decrease self-reliant recreation

Management restrictions on visitor behavior

Undeveloped Nonrecreational structures, installations, and developments

Inholdings

Use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanical transport

Other features of value Deterioration or loss of cultural resources integral to wilderness character

Other locally identified indicators
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

14

Benefits of Defining and Using Wilderness Character

One of the primary benefits of defining wilderness character is that it helps 

focus discussion of wilderness from diverse personal and cultural meanings to a 

common understanding based on the language of the Wilderness Act. Defining 

wilderness character provides a standard nomenclature based on the Wilderness 

Act to help staff and the public understand wilderness and assess stewardship 

tradeoffs. At the national level, the qualities of wilderness character provide a 

foundation and framework for consistent stewardship across all wilderness areas. 

At the local level, understanding these qualities improves internal and external 

communication and helps staff make more informed decisions:

•  Better communication among park staff—Internally, staff will realize that 

wilderness character is the responsibility of all divisions and programs 

within a park by understanding how their work directly contributes to 

wilderness stewardship. For example, a wildlife biologist would understand 

how data on mammal populations directly contributes to tracking change 

in the natural quality of wilderness character and how collaring animals 

degrades the untrammeled quality. Trail crews would understand the 

reasons why nonmotorized equipment and nonmechanical transport 

preserve the undeveloped quality of wilderness character even though 

their use may not be as convenient.

•  Better communication with the public—Externally, standardized 

nomenclature provides a clearer basis for discussions with the public about 

a park’s wilderness and its stewardship. Wilderness issues are often valueladen and public discussions can quickly bog down in words and ideas that 

have different meanings to different people. The qualities of wilderness 

character offer a tangible and consistent framework for park staff to 

discuss wilderness and its stewardship with the public, in turn fostering 

better communication and dialogue. Using the concept of wilderness 

character can also help interpretive and educational staff design programs 

to help the public better understand the values and meanings of wilderness 

and its stewardship.

•  Better decisions—Understanding wilderness character can help all staff 

see how various management pieces fit together to affect wilderness, and 

how individual decisions and actions work toward degrading or preserving 

wilderness character. Discussing how proposed actions may affect the 

five qualities helps staff evaluate the impacts of potential decisions more 

comprehensively, systematically, and efficiently. For example, a proposal 

to install a toilet in a heavily used area to reduce resource damage can be 

evaluated in terms of the positive and negative effects of the toilet on the 

natural, undeveloped, and solitude or primitive and unconfined qualities. 

Using these five qualities of wilderness character, cumulative impacts can 

also be evaluated in a consistent and systematic manner to aid decision 

making. Such transparency and accountability may also improve the 

likelihood that decisions will stand the test of a court challenge.
Photo: NPS/James Tricker, 

Gates of the Arctic 

Wilderness, Gates of 

the Arctic National 

Park & Preserve

Chapter 1—Introduction to the User Guide and Wilderness Character

15

In addition to improving communication and decision making, the concept of 

wilderness character benefits park wilderness stewardship by:

•  Clarifying how stewardship decisions and actions influence trends 

in wilderness character—There are tradeoffs in almost all aspects of 

wilderness stewardship, and evaluating what is gained and what is lost in 

terms of the five qualities of wilderness character helps staff determine 

priorities for what should be done, and where.

•  Providing a set of key wilderness stewardship goals—Wilderness 

stewardship has traditionally been fraught with uncertainty and personal 

opinions about what should or should not be done. The five qualities of 

wilderness character help link the legislative direction of the Wilderness Act 

and other enabling legislation to management action, or lack thereof.

•  Providing a comprehensive and systematic approach to 

evaluating and describing impacts in project planning and compliance 

documents—A standardized approach improves accountability, 

transparency, and defensibility.

•  Creating a legacy of staff experience and knowledge about a wilderness 

using the framework of wilderness character—Such a legacy may be 

the most meaningful way to document and understand the changes in 

wilderness character that are occurring in a wilderness and its stewardship 

over time. This legacy is especially important with staff turnover and the 

increasing pace of environmental and social change.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

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How Wilderness Character

Intersects with Other Laws and Allowed Uses

The User Guide is not intended to reconcile nuances of policy and law in 

individual wilderness units, and it is not meant to be a manual for addressing 

specific provisions in a wilderness unit’s enabling legislation. Instead, the User 

Guide is intended to help park staff look at wilderness stewardship through 

the larger concept of wilderness character to help them make more informed 

decisions in implementing all laws and policy; park staff may discover that even 

allowable and legal uses may have negative impacts on wilderness character. 

For example, provisions in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation 

Act (ANILCA) allow use of snowmobiles, motorboats, and other means of 

surface transportation traditionally employed by local residents for subsistence 

purposes in Alaska’s wilderness units. These uses are legal but still degrade 

the undeveloped quality of wilderness character. Acknowledging impacts to 

wilderness character even from legally allowed activities is simply information 

and is not a determination about whether the activity is acceptable or not.

For example, a wilderness manager in Alaska may receive a request by a member 

of the public to construct a new tent platform in wilderness to support hunting 

activities. New temporary facilities related to the taking of fish and wildlife 

is allowed under ANILCA stipulations, though a request may be denied if the 

new facility would be detrimental to wilderness character. Implementing tools 

in the User Guide can help the manager make a more informed decision about 

such requests. A wilderness character narrative (chapter 2) helps the manager 

define the elements of wilderness character that are unique and special in that 

particular park unit. Incorporating wilderness character into park planning 

(chapter 3) helps the manager make decisions about siting new facilities and the 

level of development that is appropriate in certain parts of the park, and how to 

manage this in a way that minimizes impacts to wilderness character 

(chapter 4). Tracking change in wilderness character and establishing a baseline 

(chapter 5) will help the manager understand the degree to which wilderness 

character is already being impacted and help determine if the new tent platform 

would be detrimental to wilderness character or not. In fact, documenting all 

installations and facilities in a wilderness unit is the only way to know whether 

wilderness stewardship is improving, or degrading, the undeveloped quality of 

wilderness character. Data collected for tracking change in wilderness character 

may help the manager direct the permit holder to the best place to locate 

the new tent platform and may help the manager develop appropriate use 

stipulations that will help preserve wilderness character.
2

Thousands of tired, nerveshaken, over-civilized people 

are beginning to find out that 

going to the mountatins is 

going home; that wilderness is a 

necessity; that mountain parks 

and reservations are useful not 

only as fountains of timber 

and irrigating rivers, but as 

fountains of life. 

—John Muir

Photo: NPS/Jane Cipra, 

Death Valley Wilderness, 

Death Valley National Park

Building 

Blocks for 

Integrating 

Wilderness 

Character
Photo: NPS/Haley Bercot, Yosemite Wilderness, Yosemite National Park
Photo: NPS/ Peter Landres, 

Gates of the Arctic 

Wilderness, Gates of 

the Arctic National 

Park & Preserve

Wilderness Basics

•  Gather Background

Wilderness

Information

•  Develop a Wilderness

Character Narrative

•  Identify Issues for

Future Wilderness

Stewardship Planning

Wilderness 

Character 

Assessment

•  Select Measures

•  Collect Baseline Data

•  Conduct Monitoring

Integrate 

Wilderness 

Character into 

Management and 

Operations

•  Use Minimum

Requirements Analysis

•  Consider Wilderness

Character in

Operations

Chapter 2—Building Blocks for Integrating Wilderness Character

19

Chapter 2—Building Blocks

for IntegratingWilderness Character

Building blocks provide the foundation for effectively integrating wilderness 

character into planning, management, and monitoring. They break down 

the components of outstanding wilderness stewardship into achievable and 

meaningful steps. Building blocks establish a shared understanding of what 

is most important about each wilderness area and articulate those values for 

inclusion in a wilderness character framework. Each park containing wilderness is 

probably at a different stage in developing wilderness-related plans, monitoring 

programs, and operational guidelines. This approach provides maximum 

flexibility for staff to begin building this foundation in the order that works 

best for them, resulting in greater efficiency and effectiveness of wilderness 

stewardship. The building blocks and their content are illustrated below:

Figure 1. Building blocks for integrating wilderness character

into wilderness stewardship.
Photo: NPS/John Marino, 

Rocky Mountain National 

Park Wilderness, Rocky 

Mountain National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program 

20

Wilderness Basics

The product of this building block is a concise document summarizing 

fundamental information about a wilderness, including maps, which can 

be shared with staff and the public. This document can be adapted and 

incorporated into sections of a park foundation document, and can inform 

other types of plans. It can also provide the substance of the first chapter of a 

wilderness stewardship plan.

This building block groups together three elements that serve both wilderness 

stewardship and development of a park foundation document: (1) background 

wilderness information; (2) wilderness character narrative; and (3) issue 

identification for future wilderness stewardship planning. Over the next several 

years, the NPS Park Planning Program will be implementing an initiative to 

produce foundation documents for all parks by the year 2016. If a park with 

wilderness resources is developing a foundation document, the elements in this 

building block should be developed concurrently with the document, resulting 

in greater efficiency and better products. Refer to chapter 3 of the User Guide

for more information regarding the connection of wilderness character and park 

foundation documents.

Gather Background Wilderness Information

It is critical to document a common understanding of park wilderness status 

and boundaries. For many parks, this information is scattered among divisions 

or between regional and the Washington offices. It is important to locate basic 

information, summarize its content, and reference where the information 

resides. For designated wilderness, there should be an official boundary map 

and legal description on file at the park and with the Washington Wilderness 

Stewardship Division Office. The wilderness boundary should be an integral 

part of the park’s geographic information system (GIS) database. Parks with 

designated wilderness may also have eligible, proposed, recommended, or 

potential wilderness which should be monitored for any nonconforming uses 

or updated information. The legislative history of a wilderness is also important 

to locate and summarize, and includes congressional testimony, reports, 

bills, and laws (see the Law and Policy section at http://www.wilderness.net/

index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=legislativeHistory for the legislative history of all 

designated wildernesses).

Building Blocks 

for Wilderness 

Stewardship:

•  Are key elements

of wilderness

stewardship and

planning

•  Give parks the

flexibility to begin to

integrate wilderness

character where it

makes the most sense

to them
Photo: NPS, recommended 

wilderness, Grand Teton 

National Park

Chapter 2—Building Blocks for Integrating Wilderness Character

21

Many parks have areas that have not been formally designated by Congress 

as wilderness, but these areas have been through some level of study or 

recommendation for wilderness. Per NPS policy, these lands are also managed 

as wilderness. Each park with undesignated wilderness should also research, 

document, and summarize basic wilderness information. For these areas and for 

eligible, potential, proposed, or recommended wilderness, the park should use 

the most “official” boundary for planning and management. This boundary is 

the one that is farthest along in the study process receiving appropriate public 

involvement (see NPS Management Policies 2006, chapter 6.2, “Identification 

and Designation of the Wilderness Resource”). For example, a wilderness study 

with public involvement was completed for Grand Teton National Park in the 

mid 1970s, and the last formal recommendation that went to Congress was 

May 11, 1978. Although staff has identified more recent possible changes to that 

map, there has not been any further public involvement (compliant with the 

National Environmental Policy Act) on wilderness boundaries since 1978. Hence, 

the official map for recommended wilderness for this park remains the 1978 

version that went to Congress. The wilderness status and boundary map should 

be current, accurate, and an integral layer of the park’s GIS database.

Statements of park purpose, significance, and fundamental resources and values 

should reflect the wilderness character of park wilderness. A park probably has 

existing purpose and significance statements in a general management plan or 

a statement for management, and may have identified fundamental resources 

and values. Park staff may be updating statements of purpose, significance, 

and fundamental resources and values in a new park foundation document. 

Regardless, these foundational elements are common to many types of plans, 

and should adequately address the wilderness character of a park. Refer to 

chapter 3 for more information regarding these foundational elements in plans.

It is also important to identify the relationship of wilderness stewardship to other 

plans (existing and future) and to such efforts as programmatic agreements 

with the state historic preservation officer for the preservation, maintenance, or 

treatment of cultural resources in accordance with section 106 of the National 

Historic Preservation Act, and similar efforts. For example, a recently completed 

general management plan may set general direction for the wilderness 

stewardship plan, or the wilderness stewardship plan may precede and inform a 

future update to the fire management plan.

Background

Wilderness

Information

•  Park-specific

wilderness legislation

and legislative history,

or if not designated,

history of wilderness

study and current

status.

•  An accurate GIS map

of the wilderness.

•  Park purpose,

significance, and

fundamental

resources and values

should embrace the

wilderness character

of this wilderness in

the park foundation

document.

•  The relationship of

wilderness planning

to the general

management plan

and other plans.
Photo: NPS/Matt Helmeid,

recommended wilderness, 

Grand Canyon National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program 

22

Develop a Wilderness Character Narrative

A wilderness character narrative describes what is unique and special about a 

specific wilderness, organized by each of the qualities of wilderness character. 

This narrative is a positive, affirming description of a wilderness now and into the 

foreseeable future, and includes a description of major influences on wilderness 

character. A narrative may be used in several ways:

•  By providing considerable detail, it complements the park foundation 

document and serves as a framework for a wilderness stewardship plan.

•  By addressing multiple resources (including natural, cultural, and visitor 

experience), it fosters integration among different staff and program areas 

that need to function together to effectively preserve wilderness character.

•  By clarifying what the key elements are of wilderness character and the 

primary forces that affect these, a narrative provides a solid basis for 

identifying appropriate measures to assess trends in wilderness character.

•  By explaining what is unique and special about a wilderness, it informs 

interpretive themes and serves as a starting point for discussion with the 

public about the current and future state of a wilderness.

•  By making the concept of wilderness character tangible and specific, it 

provides a robust way to frame and articulate management decisions, 

including decisions about minimum requirements, scientific activities, and 

environmental impact analyses.

Wilderness

Character Narrative

The narrative is a

qualitative description

of what is unique

and special about the

wilderness, organized

by each quality of

wilderness character.
Chapter 2—Building Blocks for Integrating Wilderness Character

23

Wilderness character narratives should be developed by an interdisciplinary 

group representing a broad cross section of park staff and when relevant, 

can include other stakeholders and tribes during the process or in review. 

These narratives can be developed in several ways. The optimal method is for 

a lead to conduct a wilderness character workshop with an identified group 

(appendix 2.1). Another method is to conduct a remote facilitated process 

(appendix 2.2). A third method is to conduct individual interviews in person 

with each identified group (appendix 2.3). More information about developing 

a wilderness character narrative through interviews or in a workshop setting, 

including worksheets and examples of wilderness character narratives, are 

contained in appendices 2.1–2.5.

Wilderness character narratives have a close relationship to park foundation 

documents. A wilderness character narrative can be informed by, or if 

developed first, can inform park purpose and significance statements, and 

also help identify fundamental resources, values, and interpretive themes for 

a park foundation document and why these are so important to the park. 

For a park with wilderness resources developing a foundation document, it is 

highly recommended to develop a wilderness character narrative three to six 

months ahead of the foundation workshop. This could be done with a separate 

wilderness character narrative workshop at the park or a remotely facilitated 

wilderness character narrative process (as described in appendices 2.1–2.2). 

Pilot testing has demonstrated that park foundations informed by wilderness 

character narratives had more precise and relevant representation of 

wilderness in their foundations.

The wilderness character narrative can also be the place to describe the 

intangible aspects of wilderness character that are important to a wilderness. 

These intangible aspects, such as tribal ethnographic resources or the spiritual 

values of a particular location within the wilderness, are difficult if not 

impossible to address in park planning and management processes. Yet, these 

still may be important for understanding the wilderness character of the area. 

Describing these intangible resources in the wilderness character narrative allows 

their importance to be acknowledged and respected.

Identify Issues for Future Wilderness Stewardship Planning

The last piece of this building block is to identify issues for future wilderness 

stewardship planning efforts. Identify issues using wilderness character narratives 

and discussions with staff and other relevant stakeholders. This effort is similar to 

internal scoping for a plan, and will help inform the type and level of additional 

planning that may be needed for adequate wilderness stewardship. The effort 

may also identify areas in which more data are required to competently develop 

specific planning alternatives. For example, the team may identify that a key 

issue for the plan will be addressing high levels of day-use visitation, initiating 

data collection on current day use levels.

Identify Issues for 

Future Wilderness 

Stewardship 

Planning

Preliminary identification

of wilderness issues

informs the scope of

additional data and

planning needs.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program 

24

Wilderness Character Assessment

The key to effective wilderness stewardship, as envisioned and embraced in 

Keeping It Wild, is tracking change in wilderness character over time. Wilderness 

character assessment involves selecting relevant measures, establishing baseline 

conditions, entering baseline information into a wilderness character database, 

and regularly monitoring each measure at specified intervals to identify trends. 

Every park with wilderness resources is encouraged to do this as soon as possible 

to identify any immediate concerns in wilderness, and to inform managers and 

the public about the current status of wilderness character. Selecting measures 

and establishing a baseline can be done ahead of a more complete planning 

process, and later adopted into a plan and adjusted if necessary. Refer to 

chapter 5 for detailed discussion on this topic. The basic steps are to:

•  Select measures—At least one measure is selected for each indicator of 

wilderness quality to describe its current condition. Some measures may be 

evaluated based on data that are already being collected, although new 

measures are encouraged if existing ones are not adequate or appropriate. 

Measures may be revisited and revised during a planning effort.

•  Collect baseline data—Once collected, data should be entered into the 

wilderness character database, which will allow trends in wilderness 

character to be tracked over time. For more information on this database, 

refer to chapter 6.

•  Conduct monitoring—Data for each selected measure should be 

collected at least once every five years for reporting at park, regional, 

and national levels.

Integrate Wilderness Character

into Management and Operations

Park operations can have many diverse effects on wilderness character, and 

management actions should be based on careful planning. NPS policy mandates 

a minimum requirements analysis (MRA) of all activities occurring in any category 

of wilderness that have the potential to degrade wilderness character. Each park 

should have an explicitly documented MRA process that first determines if an 

action is necessary in wilderness, and if so, the appropriate minimum activity 

to accomplish the action. Historically, this minimum requirement analysis was 

triggered by any of the section 4(c) prohibited uses; however, this analysis should 

be used for all proposed actions in wilderness per NPS Management Policies 

2006, section 6.3.5: “All management decisions affecting wilderness must be 

consistent with the minimum requirement concept.”

Other ways to guide wilderness management may include adopting a framework 

for evaluating scientific activities, developing standard operating procedures for 

administrative activities in wilderness (for example, search and rescue and trail 

maintenance), establishing an interdisciplinary wilderness committee, issuing 

permits for special park uses and/or commercial services, and other actions 

specific to the park. See chapter 4 for greater detail on all of these topics.

Wilderness

Character

Assessment

•  Select measures.

•  Collect baseline data.

•  Conduct monitoring.

Integrate 

Wilderness 

Character into 

Management and 

Operations

•  Establish park

procedures

for minimum

requirements analysis.

•  Establish park

guidance for using

wilderness character

in routine decisions

and actions, including

issuing permits

for special uses,

commercial services,

and scientific activities.

•  Create a park

interdisciplinary

wilderness committee.
Photo: NPS/Garry Oye, 

Gates of the Arctic 

Wilderness, Gates of 

the Arctic National 

Park & Preserve

Photo: NPS/Peter Landres, 

Death Valley Wilderness, 

Death Valley National Park

Chapter 2—Building Blocks for Integrating Wilderness Character

25

The Next Step: Wilderness Stewardship Planning

Park planning focuses on achieving a desired condition, rather than on merely 

reacting to current conditions. By policy, all parks with wilderness resources 

should have a wilderness stewardship plan that guides wilderness character 

preservation now and into the future. A wilderness stewardship plan will 

incorporate most or all of the three building blocks above. Developing a plan 

also requires engaging the public, setting goals, developing strategies, analyzing 

alternative courses of action, and making decisions. A participatory approach 

to planning makes wilderness stewardship more effective and accountable. The 

resulting plan provides a foundation for stewardship based on the preservation 

of the wilderness character of each unique wilderness. Guidance for completing 

a wilderness stewardship plan can be found in the the Handbook that is available 

on the NPS Wilderness Character Sharepoint site http://share.inside.nps.gov/sites/

WASO/WSD/WC.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program 

26

Where Should a Park Start?

There are many avenues for developing these building blocks, and park staff 

should determine the path that best fits with their interests, talents, ongoing 

activities, and future priorities. Here are a few things to consider:

•  Some parks may need to establish stronger internal wilderness awareness 

and commitment to wilderness stewardship. In such cases, a positive 

first step is to revitalize (or establish) a park wilderness committee with 

leadership from the superintendent and wilderness coordinator. An 

effective wilderness committee requires membership that represents all 

divisions of the park, a clearly defined role for the wilderness coordinator, a 

mission and charter or agreement identifying responsibilities, and a process 

for decision making. The committee should include representatives from 

natural and cultural resource management, visitor and resource protection, 

fire management, facilities, interpretation and education, planning, and 

other perspectives. The committee should have a solid understanding of 

the concept of wilderness character and chart a path to completing the 

building blocks. The wilderness committee would probably be responsible 

for developing and implementing standard operating procedures (SOP) and 

other internal guidance developed for the “Integrate Wilderness Character 

into Management and Operations” building block.

•  Training may be very helpful to park staff. Options include general 

wilderness training (e.g., unit courses, regional courses, on-line modules) 

and more specific training in wilderness character planning, management, 

and monitoring (e.g., new on-line modules, future webinars). The primary 

source of wilderness training is the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness 

Training Center. Their current offerings are at http://www.wilderness.

net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=training. Additional information about 

wilderness character training can be found in chapter 4.

•  If a park cannot begin all building blocks concurrently, one place to 

start would be selecting measures and establishing a baseline under 

the “Wilderness Character Assessment” block. While gathering basic 

wilderness information is important, it is most critical for parks to begin 

monitoring trends in wilderness character to more quickly identify and 

mitigate adverse impacts. Other agencies that manage wilderness are also 

emphasizing the selection of measures and establishing a baseline to track 

future change. A park may have an opportunity to accomplish this work 

together with neighboring agencies (see “Wilderness Fellows” below). 

Though measures selected without the benefit of fully reviewing legislative 

history or developing a wilderness character narrative may not fully capture 

wilderness character, an initial baseline begins the process of identifying 

indicators and measures most relevant to current park management. 

Measures are strongest when tied to planning, and can be adjusted as 

more data about the quality of wilderness character is collected or when 

staff identifies new desired conditions.
Photo: NPS, Congaree 

Swamp National Monument 

Wilderness, Congaree 

National Park

Chapter 2—Building Blocks for Integrating Wilderness Character

27

•  Wilderness Fellows are a great catalyst for assisting a park in adopting 

a wilderness character framework. This program, which began in 2010, 

places highly qualified and motivated students in parks to accomplish many 

of the building block tasks. Exemplary wilderness character assessments 

for Guadalupe Mountains, Everglades, Buffalo National River, and Lassen 

Volcanic were led by Wilderness Fellows. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

is currently using Wilderness Fellow for baseline wilderness character 

assessments. There is no single ongoing funding source, but interested 

parks can work with WASO, regions, cooperative ecosystem study units, 

and other agencies to replicate this model.

•  Some parks may be ready and willing to begin a wilderness stewardship 

plan. In such a case, the building blocks would be folded into the 

wilderness stewardship planning effort. Refer to the Handbook that is 

available on the NPS Wilderness Character Sharepoint site at http://share.

inside.nps.gov/sites/WASO/WSD/WC. A park-specific wilderness character 

training session combined with some preliminary internal scoping for the 

plan is a great way to initiate a wilderness stewardship planning effort.

•  There are regional wilderness coordinators and planners at the Denver 

Service Center who are knowledgeable about the building blocks and 

wilderness stewardship plans, and can provide advice, facilitate park staff 

workshops, and help in other ways particularly if a park is about to start 

work on a wilderness stewardship plan.

Examples of Completed Building Blocks and Wilderness 

Stewardship Plans

Several parks have completed initial building blocks for wilderness stewardship, 

but have yet to develop a plan. (Note that while the Wilderness Character 

Integration Team was developing and testing these ideas, it used other names 

for the building blocks, including core elements and wilderness foundations.) 

Examples of building blocks from Guadalupe Mountains, Everglades, Buffalo 

National River, and Lassen Volcanic are all available on the NPS Wilderness 

Character Sharepoint site at http://share.inside.nps.gov/sites/WASO/WSD/WC. 

Examples of completed wilderness stewardship plans that have incorporated 

wilderness character are listed in appendix 2.6
Photo: NPS, Lassen Volcanic Wilderness, 

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program 

28
3

“If future generations are to 

remember us with gratitude 

rather than contempt, we must 

leave them something more 

than the miracles of technology. 

We must leave them a glimpse 

of the world as it was in the 

beginning, not just after we got 

through with it.” –President 

Lyndon B. Johnson

Photo: 

NPS/Alicia Burtner, 

recommended wilderness, 

Grand Canyon National Park

Integrating 

Wilderness 

Character into 

Planning

Photo: NPS/Peter Landres, 

Bridge Canyon Wilderness, Lake Mead National Recreation Area 

Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

31

Chapter 3—Integrating

Wilderness Character Into Planning

The National Park Service uses a wide variety of 

plans to achieve its mandate of preserving resources 

unimpaired for future generations. For parks with 

wilderness resources, wilderness character should 

be addressed not only in a wilderness stewardship 

plan (see accompanying Handbook), but also fully 

integrated into other plans for the park. Planning 

teams and park management need to ensure 

that wilderness character is addressed across the 

spectrum of park planning. This chapter of the 

User Guide provides guidance on how wilderness 

character can be addressed in park foundation 

documents and several types of plans. The plan types 

are meant to serve as examples with the goal of 

inspiring planners to apply the ideas throughout the 

full spectrum of NPS planning.

The representative plan types included in this 

chapter are:

•  park foundation document

•  general management plan

•  resource stewardship strategy

•  long range interpretive plan

•  exotic plant management plan

•  climbing management plan

•  fire management plan

•  planning for climate change

Descriptions of each plan type include a general 

background on the planning product and overview 

of the relationship between the product and 

wilderness character. Plan descriptions include 

relevant qualities, indicators, and measures from 

Keeping It Wild. It is important to understand how 

the outcome of a park management plan may 

affect wilderness character, and how considerations 

of wilderness character affect the development 

of a plan. It is anticipated that the information 

from these sections can be applied to a variety of 

planning products.
Photo: NPS/Matt Melcher, 

Yosemite Wilderness,

Yosemite National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewarship Program

32

Several of these plan types could be parkwide in scope, addressing areas of the 

park outside of wilderness. This chapter does not provide detailed guidance 

on the issue, but planners should recognize in doing plans that encompass 

both wilderness and nonwilderness areas, that some components will differ by 

area. Issues to be addressed might vary by location to some extent, and within 

wilderness, qualities of wilderness character would be added to the set of 

resources and values selected for impact analysis and described in the affected 

environment section. Some management proposals would probably be distinct 

for wilderness areas, touching on (for example) minimum requirements analyses, 

specific operating procedures for certain activities, or the issuance of permits. 

A tiered approach that incorporates parkwide and area-specific content is 

recommended for the planning process and document.

Park planning should strive to maintain yearly consistency in using particular 

measures to monitor the status of wilderness character. There are likely to be 

cases where a measure needs to be modified to best serve monitoring objectives 

and the purposes of a specific plan, or staff may identify a need for different 

or additional measures. This is often particularly true of measures that relate to 

visitor experience. A process for modifying measures is described in chapter 5.

Wilderness stewardship planning is addressed in its own document: Wilderness 

Stewardship Plan Handbook 2014. The Handbook updates the 2004 Wilderness 

Stewardship Plan Handbook by incorporating wilderness character. The updated 

Handbook can be found on the NPS Wilderness Character Sharepoint site at 

http://share.inside.nps.gov/sites/WASO/WSD/WC. The purpose and scope of a 

wilderness stewardship plan is described in chapter 2. Environmental compliance 

activities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) are also part of 

planning activities and are addressed in chapter 4.
Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

33

Park Foundation Document

Every unit of the national park system is to have a foundation statement that 

will provide basic guidance for planning and management decisions. The park 

foundation fosters a shared understanding among all stakeholders, including 

NPS managers and staff, of what is most important about the park through the 

identification of core components: park purpose, significance, fundamental 

and important resources and values, and interpretive themes. This shared 

understanding helps to ensure that these components can be adequately 

considered and protected in subsequent planning and management activities. 

The foundation also describes special mandates and administrative commitments, 

which provide context for park management. The final component of the 

foundation is the assessment of planning and data needs that, along with the 

core components, provides a focus for planning at the park. A park atlas, a series 

of maps compiled from available GIS data about the park and its setting, is also a 

part of the foundation document.

A park foundation document provides overarching guidance to other plans, 

including general management plans and wilderness stewardship plans. 

As discussed in chapter 2, wilderness character can be more successfully 

incorporated into a foundation document if a wilderness character narrative has 

been developed first.

Along with the qualities of wilderness character, a wilderness area designation 

is related to the park’s foundational components. Accordingly, this section has a 

broader scope than others in this chapter because it covers not only wilderness 

character but all categories (designated, potential, recommended, proposed, and 

eligible) of the wilderness resource.

The following components of a park foundation document are most relevant in 

the consideration of the wilderness resource.

•  Purpose—A purpose statement describes the specific reason(s) for 

establishing a particular park. It is grounded in an analysis of park enabling 

and any subsequent legislation, goes beyond a restatement of the law, 

and may be changed over time as new legislation (such as designating 

wilderness) is adopted. The purpose statement for a park with designated 

wilderness should reference the wilderness resource. The category of 

potential wilderness, if associated with a congressional designation, should 

also be considered. Wilderness areas in the categories of eligible, proposed, 

or recommended would not be addressed in park purpose because they 

have not been designated by Congress. The purpose statement is both 

sweeping and brief, and as such, should not get into much detail about 

wilderness character.

•  Significance—Significance statements describe why the park is important 

within a global, national, regional, and systemwide context. They reaffirm 

how a park’s natural and cultural resources contribute to our national 

heritage. With few exceptions, designated and potential wilderness 

contributes to a park’s importance and should be reflected in some way 

in the set of significance statements. In some cases, wilderness has been 

incorporated into a single significance statement. In others, references to 

wilderness (or the qualities of wilderness character) are woven throughout 

the statements. The effort should be to try to capture what is special or 

distinctive (e.g., designated wilderness at Rocky Mountain National Park is 

within close access to a major metropolitan area).
Photo: NPS/Everglades 

National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewarship Program

34

•  Fundamental resources and values—These resources and values are 

considered critical to achieving a park’s purpose and maintaining its 

significance. For parks with designated and potential wilderness, wilderness 

should be included in fundamental resources and values, typically by 

referring to one or more wilderness character qualities, or by identifying 

related values such as unobstructed views or dark night skies. Fundamental 

resources and values statements can incorporate more information about 

wilderness character than significance statements. Wilderness character 

narratives are especially helpful in identifying fundamental resources and 

values related to wilderness. For parks with eligible wilderness, consider 

referencing specific qualities of wilderness character in the “Other 

Important Resources and Values” section of the park foundation document.

•  Other important resources and values—These resources and values 

warrant special consideration in planning and management but are not 

fundamental to the purpose of the park and may be unrelated to its 

significance. For parks with recommended, proposed, or eligible wilderness, 

consider referencing specific qualities of wilderness character in the “Other 

Important Resources and Values” section of the park foundation document.

•  Interpretive themes—These themes are necessary to provide people a 

perspective from which to understand and appreciate park purpose and 

significance. If wilderness or wilderness character has been identified as 

part of a park’s purpose or significance, the set of interpretive themes 

should recognize one or more qualities of wilderness character, as relevant 

to that particular park. See the section “Long Range Interpretive Plan” for 

additional supporting information.

•  Special mandates and administrative commitments—Reference designated, 

potential, recommended, proposed, and eligible wilderness areas; describe 

their status; and briefly address the management implications for the 

categories of wilderness (see pages 79–81 in NPS Management 

Policies 2006).
Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

35

The wilderness connection to park foundation documents is presented in table 

3 below. Specific examples from park foundation documents are provided in 

appendix 3.1.

Table 3. The wilderness connection in a park foundation document.

Park Foundation 

Document

Wilderness Connection

Data gathering and 

preparation for 

foundation workshop

Collect the following (as relevant to the park): wilderness legislation and associated 

congressional subcommittee reports and hearings, wilderness map, wilderness study, wilderness 

eligibility assessment. Confirm that the foundation workbook includes prompts/instructions 

for addressing wilderness character. If completed, the wilderness character narrative should be 

made available. 

Park atlas Include a current GIS map identifying each category of wilderness in the park (designated, 

potential, recommended, proposed, and if possible, eligible wilderness).

Park purpose For parks with designated and potential wilderness, include a reference to wilderness in the 

park purpose statement.

Park significance For parks with designated and potential wilderness, strongly consider capturing what is special

or distinctive about wilderness resources in the set of significance statements.

Interpretive themes If wilderness or wilderness character has been identified as part of a park’s purpose or 

significance, the set of interpretive themes should recognize one or more qualities of wilderness 

character. 

Fundamental resources 

and values

For parks with designated and potential wilderness, summarize the key relevant wilderness 

character qualities in the set of fundamental resources and values.

Other important resources 

and values

For parks with areas in the categories of recommended, proposed, and eligible wilderness, 

consider referencing specific qualities of wilderness character. 

Special mandates 

and administrative 

commitments

Reference designated, potential, recommended, proposed, and eligible wilderness areas; 

describe their status; and briefly address the management implications for the categories of 

wilderness. 

Analysis of fundamental 

and other important 

resources and values

Identify the current conditions, trends, potential threats, issues, and opportunities related to 

wilderness character and existing key relevant data. 

Assessment of planning 

and data needs 

Identify needs for wilderness-related plans and products, which may include gathering data; 

conducting surveys; and undertaking a wilderness stewardship plan, study, or eligibility 

assessment. Indicate the priority for these. Describe wilderness planning issues. Indicate 

the relationship of wilderness planning to other plans to ensure that wilderness character is 

addressed in future updates and new planning efforts. 

Appendix Include “Wilderness Basics” (wilderness background information, including wilderness 

legislation and associated congressional subcommittee reports and hearings, current land status, 

wilderness character narrative, and issues for future wilderness stewardship planning) in a 

foundation document appendix, if at all possible.
Photo: NPS/Nyssa Landres, 

Gates of the Arctic 

Wilderness, Gates of the 

Arctic National 

Park & Preserve

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewarship Program

36

Other Consideration for Foundation Planning: 

Wild and Scenic Rivers Values

The NPS Wild and Scenic Rivers Program is currently developing guidelines 

for treating river values (water quality, free-flowing condition, and 

outstandingly remarkable values) in park foundation documents. These values 

have a foundational function for the river unit, similar to fundamental and 

important resources and values in a park foundation, although the process 

for identifying them is specific to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. There is a 

reciprocal relationship among these distinct foundational elements. Wild 

and scenic rivers values can inform the development of wilderness character 

narratives and selection of measures for wilderness qualities where wilderness 

and wild and scenic rivers overlap. For example, ecological integrity and water 

quality could inform natural qualities of wilderness, and river recreation could 

inform opportunities for solitude and primitive and unconfined recreation in 

wilderness. River classification, whether wild, scenic, or recreational, can inform 

the wilderness character narratives and selection of measures (in particular, the 

undeveloped quality). Similarly, fundamental and other important resources and 

values related to wilderness character can inform the development of wild and 

scenic rivers values.
Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

37

General Management Plan

A general management plan (GMP) is a comprehensive plan, comprising 

the broadest level of decision-making for parks. As stated in the NPS Park 

Planning Program Standards 2004 the purpose of a general management plan 

is “to ensure that park managers and stakeholders share a clearly defined 

understanding of resource conditions, opportunities for visitor experiences, and 

general kinds of management, access, and development that will best achieve 

the park’s purpose and conserve its resources unimpaired for the enjoyment of 

future generations.” A park with wilderness resources must include wilderness 

character as part of this long-range and comprehensive vision.

Connections between wilderness character and general management plans are 

relevant to other plans, in particular a wilderness stewardship plan (WSP). There 

is some similarity in how the following topics are addressed in these two types 

of plans; however, the general management plan has parkwide relevance while 

the wilderness stewardship plan is specific to wilderness areas and is considered 

an implementation plan. In parks where wilderness constitutes a major portion 

of park lands, there is the potential for combining a general management plan 

with a wilderness stewardship plan, as was done for Apostle Islands National 

Lakeshore Final General Management Plan / Wilderness Management Plan

and Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve General Management Plan 

Amendment / Wilderness Study (Internal Draft EA 2012).

Below are some of the key areas where wilderness character can be integrated 

into a general management plan:

•  Parkwide desired conditions—Parks with wilderness resources identified in 

their purpose and significance statements should incorporate wilderness 

character and values into parkwide desired conditions, or goals and 

objectives. An example is found in the goals and objectives statement for 

the Apostle Islands National Seashore document (see appendix 3.2). It is 

noteworthy because it goes beyond a simple statement about preserving 

wilderness character, and begins to express wilderness qualities, even 

though it was developed before Keeping It Wild was published.

•  Visitor use management—Visitor use management is defined as the 

dynamic process of planning for and managing both the characteristics 

of visitor use and the setting in which that use takes place. This is 

accomplished through a diverse range of strategies and tools used to 

sustain desired resource conditions and visitor experiences, including visitor 

capacity. Indicators and standards will be used to ensure desired conditions 

for visitor experience and resource conditions without exceeding visitor 

capacity. The term “standards” in the visitor use management framework 

is equivalent to “measures” in Keeping It Wild, and “standards” used in 

the visitor use management framework can be drawn from identifying 

measures for wilderness character. Visitor use management is often dealt 

with in a separate section in the planning document, although it is an 

inherent aspect of management zoning.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewarship Program

38

•  Management zones—Management zones in a general management 

plan identify desired conditions for different geographic areas of the 

park. Zones are used to manage visitor experience, resource conditions, 

and allowable management actions. GMP zoning for a park with 

wilderness resources can be enhanced by including consideration of 

wilderness character. Some GMP zones may apply to both wilderness and 

nonwilderness, which may not adequately address the high standards of 

wilderness stewardship. It is preferable to develop one or more zones that 

are specific to wilderness. A wilderness area will probably have more than 

one management zone because of the diversity of wilderness character 

and management needs; make sure that each zone containing wilderness 

is designed to preserve wilderness character. Further refinement and 

subdivision of GMP management zones may be necessary during wilderness 

stewardship planning (see Handbook).

Several ways to support the integration of wilderness character in a 

management zoning scheme are shown in the table 4.

Table 4. Components of GMP management zones for parks with wilderness resources.

Component Means of Addressing Wilderness Character

Visitor experience Desired condition for opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation quality.

Resource conditions Desired condition for natural quality and other features of value quality, such as a cultural 

resource.

Management actions Desired condition for undeveloped and untrammeled qualities.

Visitor use management Measures for the natural quality of wilderness (related to resource condition) and the quality of 

opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation (related to visitor experience). 

•  Alternatives—General management plans contain different alternatives for 

management actions. Alternatives are typically developed around a central 

concept to achieve a different balance of actions and outcomes. They often 

allocate management zoning in different combinations over the landscape. 

Wilderness character could inform one of the underlying concepts for each 

alternative, as appropriate. The theme or concept could be articulated 

with different emphases on the qualities of wilderness character. As 

discussed in zoning, management emphasis across the five qualities of 

wilderness character may vary as long as the whole of wilderness character 

is preserved or improved.

As an example, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve identifies a 

fundamental visitor opportunity as climbing and descending the high dunes, 

which are located within wilderness. A “Dunes Play Zone” was developed as 

a way to emphasize primitive and unconfined recreation, recognizing that 

opportunities for solitude may be simultaneously reduced. At Isle Royale 

National Park one alternative emphasized opportunities for solitude at the 

expense of primitive and unconfined recreation by maintaining campsite quotas 

and requiring a predetermined itinerary. Another alternative at Isle Royale that 

allowed backcountry visitors to move about at will emphasized primitive and 

unconfined recreation at the potential expense of opportunities for solitude. 

Additional examples of general management plans for parks with wilderness are 

provided in appendix 3.2.
Photo: NPS/Haley Bercot, 

Great Sand Dunes Wilderness, 

Great Sand Dunes National 

Park & Preserve

Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

39

Resource Stewardship Strategy

Guided by management direction expressed in NPS policy statements, a resource 

stewardship strategy (RSS) is essentially a comparison of “where we are versus 

where we want to be” for the park’s high-priority natural and cultural resources, 

and a set of strategies for how to achieve the desired conditions. The resource 

stewardship strategy is a document designed to: 

1. provide an objective (i.e., quantitative) basis for assessing the condition 

of natural and cultural resources relative to reference conditions that 

correspond to the qualitative desired conditions established in NPS policylevel condition statements; and 

2. document the science- and scholarship-based comprehensive strategies 

to achieve and maintain those reference conditions. These strategies, 

which are reviewed by subject matter experts and provide the primary 

focus of the resource stewardship strategy, provide a logical, integrated 

and sequential planning framework to help guide park investment 

decisions in resource stewardship, and improve accountability for a park’s 

multiyear, cumulative monetary investment in resource stewardship.

A resource stewardship strategy is an internal administrative document that 

does not undergo public review under the National Environmental Policy Act. 

Requirements of resource stewardship planning are described in Draft NPS 

Director’s Order 2-1: Resource Stewardship Planning.
Photo: NPS/Alicia Burtner, 

Petrified Forest National 

Wilderness, Petrified Forest 

National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewarship Program

40

The outcomes from resource stewardship strategies and associated actions may 

directly relate to wilderness character monitoring and wilderness stewardship 

planning. These outcomes may help fill data needs for wilderness character 

monitoring, although this data may or may not be spatially restricted to the 

wilderness area. If a wilderness stewardship plan has been produced prior to 

a resource stewardship strategy, wilderness character measures and standards 

from the plan would be incorporated into the resource stewardship strategy. 

If a resource stewardship strategy predates a wilderness stewardship plan, 

measures and reference conditions relevant to wilderness character monitoring 

are incorporated into the wilderness stewardship plan where they can be further 

refined and vetted through a public participatory process.
Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

41

In addition, each of the five major sections of a resource stewardship strategy 

provides opportunities to address wilderness character:

•  Section 1: Park significance and fundamental resources and values—Ideally, 

the resource stewardship strategy draws from existing statements of park 

significance and the list of fundamental and other important resources and 

values formulated in a park foundation document. Aspects of wilderness 

character reflected in a park foundation document (see section above) 

should be incorporated into the resource stewardship strategy.

•  Section 2: Status of knowledge about these resources—The current 

condition of wilderness character should be included in the resource 

stewardship strategy. While evaluating existing data and knowledge about 

park resources, focus on the status of knowledge and data regarding 

wilderness character. Although biological, historical, or ecological data 

are often readily available, information on solitude, the number of 

management actions taken within wilderness, or the number of acres 

affected by management actions or external disturbances usually is 

not. However, completing the resource stewardship strategy following 

implementation of wilderness character monitoring would probably result 

in a significant amount of data that can be incorporated into this section.

•  Section 3: Identification of indicators and measures—In both the wilderness 

character and RSS frameworks, identify measurable parameters for resource 

conditions. As indicators and measures are identified for the resource 

stewardship strategy, those established in the wilderness stewardship plan 

should be adopted if applicable to better integrate the preservation of 

wilderness character into the resource stewardship strategy. In some cases, 

a measure may be applied parkwide in the resource stewardship strategy, 

but a spatially explicit subset of that measure may be used in wilderness 

character monitoring. For example, the “acres infested” as identified in a 

database of nonnative plant populations in the park may be a good RSS 

measure, but a more specific GIS analysis of where acres infested occur 

in wilderness may be used in wilderness character monitoring. Other 

measures are collected at only one location within the park (e.g., air quality 

data) and must be inferred to apply parkwide, including in the wilderness. 

Still other measures will only be meaningful within the wilderness, such 

as those associated with untrammeled indicators, and thus may not be 

identified as RSS measures. In such cases, it still might be useful to identify 

such measures within the RSS process because many of the strategies 

identified in the resource stewardship strategy will have the potential to 

degrade this quality. The RSS indicators and measures related to wilderness 

character can be interwoven into the categories already used in the 

resource stewardship strategy by simply adding a symbol to identify those 

that apply to wilderness character (and perhaps elaborate in more detail in 

an appendix), or wilderness character may be its own category.
Photo: NPS/Peter Landres, 

recommended wilderness,

Cedar Breaks National 

Monument

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•  Section 4: Identification of reference conditions—Reference conditions 

represent acceptable resource conditions based on scientific and scholarly 

consensus. These values are similar to “standards” in the wilderness 

character framework but do not directly correspond to them. Wilderness 

character standards identify the limits of the acceptable condition, while 

reference conditions indicate a goal or standard to achieve and maintain. 

If a park has completed a wilderness character narrative or baseline 

assessment, and identified an aspect of wilderness character that could be 

improved, that goal could be reflected as a reference condition. Otherwise 

the reference condition for wilderness character measures should be 

the estimated value at the time of designation (because the NPS charge 

under the Wilderness Act is to preserve or improve wilderness character). 

Wilderness character standards would probably be determined in a 

wilderness stewardship plan and so may or may not be available to inform 

the RSS process.

•  Section 5: Comprehensive strategies—Comprehensive strategies are a 

sequence of activities or actions that indicate how the park would achieve 

or maintain reference conditions for priority resources. The resource 

stewardship strategy also includes recommendations for assessing and 

updating these strategies as new information becomes available and the 

results of completed activities are known. Some comprehensive strategies 

are focused on specific locations, others apply throughout the park. 

Comprehensive strategies could be developed to address specific impacts in 

specific places that degrade wilderness character, thus serving to improve 

wilderness character at that location (e.g., restoring normal hydrologic 

function to a river). They could also focus on preserving wilderness 

character throughout the wilderness area (e.g., continue protecting dark 

night skies from NPS light sources). In other cases, the strategy might be 

focused on a widespread value within the park (for example, maintaining 

native plant communities by reducing invasive nonnative plants) that also 

serves to protect wilderness character. The extent to which strategies are 

wilderness specific will be variable based on the geography of the park 

and virtually any strategy that serves to preserve and improve wilderness 

character is acceptable.

Trend data on wilderness character, if available, can 

contribute to the development of management 

directions in the resource stewardship strategy and 

can also be applied in assessments and updates. 

Proposed activities or actions that affect wilderness 

character should be carefully evaluated through a 

minimum requirements analysis process, as described 

in chapter 4. Typically the minimum requirements 

analysis is completed just prior to implementation 

of the activity, not necessarily as part of the resource 

stewardship strategy.
Photo: NPS/Michael Haynie, 

Guadalupe Mountains 

Wilderness, Guadalupe 

Mountains National Park

Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

43

Applying RSS and Wilderness Character Measures

In applying RSS indicators and measures to wilderness character, a general 

assumption is that there are more indicators and measures in a resource 

stewardship strategy than are needed in a wilderness character framework, 

and that not all measures of wilderness character are necessary in a resource 

stewardship strategy (particularly some of the undeveloped, untrammeled, 

and solitude measures). Two examples for wilderness character in a resource 

stewardship strategy follow:

•  One approach is to ascribe aspects of wilderness character within a single 

indicator category. For example, Guadalupe Mountains National Park 

organized RSS indicators into “Geologic Resources,” “Scenic Resources,” 

“Natural Resources” (biotic), and “Cultural Resources.” Wilderness as a 

resource was placed under Natural Resources, even though some indicators 

under all four broad categories apply to wilderness character. A variation 

to this approach is to create a category of RSS indicators called “Wilderness 

Character” and put all the relevant measures into that section.

•  A second approach is to integrate wilderness character measures into 

the resource stewardship strategy such that there are some measures in 

several RSS indicator categories. In this case, it may be useful to include an 

annotation for those measures that are wilderness related and, if necessary, 

elaborate on them in more detail in an appendix or separate section of 

the resource stewardship strategy. This would facilitate the extraction of 

those indicators and measures that are wilderness related so that they 

can be used to inform wilderness stewardship planning, population of the 

wilderness character monitoring database, or other wilderness focused 

efforts beyond the resource stewardship strategy.

In either scenario, it may be a challenge to include measures appropriate 

to tracking the untrammeled quality (e.g., actions taken to manipulate the 

biophysical environment), as these types of measures haven’t typically been 

included in the resource stewardship strategy or most other NPS planning or 

monitoring processes. To the extent that it is reasonable to include them in the 

resource stewardship strategy based on the geography of the park and the focus 

of the resource stewardship strategy, they should be included in the indicators 

and measures. To facilitate identifying measures that can be used in the resource 

stewardship strategy that are relevant to wilderness character, table 5 provides a 

crosswalk between RSS and wilderness character terms.
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Table 5. Comparison of terms in the wilderness character framework and resource stewardship strategies.

Term Wilderness Character 

Framework 

Resource Stewardship Strategies

Desired conditions •	 Untrammeled

•	 Natural

•	 Undeveloped

•	 Opportunities for solitude 

or primitive and unconfined 

recreation

•	 Other features of value (e.g., 

cultural resources)

A qualitative description of the integrity and character for 

a set of resources and values, including visitor experiences, 

that park management has committed to achieve and 

maintain. These desired conditions are tied to NPS policylevel condition statements.

Reference condition Not used, but is similar to 

wilderness character standards.

A quantifiable or otherwise objective value or range of 

values for an indicator or specific measure of condition 

that is intended to provide context for comparison with 

the current condition values. The reference condition is 

intended to represent an acceptable resource condition, 

with appropriate information and scientific or scholarly 

consensus. The reference condition might be based on a 

regulatory or program standard, historical data, data from 

relatively undisturbed sites, predictive models, or expert 

opinion.

Indicators Distinct and important elements 

within each monitoring question 

associated with a quality of 

wilderness character. In nearly 

all cases there is more than one 

indicator under a monitoring 

question. These serve as categories 

in which to organize measures.

A selected subset of components or elements of a 

priority resource (i.e., the fundamental or other important 

resources or values for a park) that are particularly 

“information rich” and that represent or “indicate” the 

overall condition of the priority resource.

Measures Specific aspect of wilderness on 

which data are collected to assess 

trends.

One or more specific measurements used to quantify or 

qualitatively evaluate the condition of an indicator at a 

particular place and time. 

Standards Minimum acceptable condition for 

each measure, or a threshold that 

measures should not exceed. They 

serve as triggers for management 

action. 

Not used, but is similar to “reference condition” as used in 

a resource stewardship strategy.

Actions Management actions are 

implemented after a problem 

analysis to maintain or restore 

desired conditions. 

Not used, but may be similar to RSS strategies.

Strategies Not used, but may be similar to 

wilderness character actions.

Sequence of activities or actions that are intended to 

move the condition of resources towards the reference 

condition.

Monitoring Common to both: Repeated 

measure over time to determine 

trend in resource condition.
Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

45

Long Range Interpretive Plan

The long range interpretive plan (LRIP) is a component of the comprehensive 

interpretive plan (CIP), as outlined in NPS Director’s Order 6: Interpretation 

and Education (DO 6). The long range interpretive plan articulates a vision 

for the park’s interpretive future and recommends the media, facilities, and 

programs best suited for meeting visitor needs, achieving management goals, 

and connecting visitors to park stories. Planning documents answer what and 

why questions (e.g., What are the local resources and potential impacts and why 

are they significant or worth protecting?). The long range interpretive plan also 

explicitly focuses on how questions (e.g., How do interpreters deliver messages 

to diverse audiences so that the public supports and participates in efforts to 

preserve resources?). Using recommendations in the long range interpretive 

plan, a park also develops an annual implementation plan and an interpretive 

database. These three elements comprise the comprehensive interpretive plan.

NPS Director’s Order 41: Wilderness Stewardship, section 6.14, calls for wilderness 

character, resources, and stewardship to be “an integral component” of a long 

range interpretive plan. Parks with any classification of wilderness are to include 

and address interpretive themes that reflect that wilderness. The long range 

interpretive plan has the dual role of guiding visitor education about wilderness 

character (both its value and any rules that protect it), as well as ensuring that 

interpretive programming does not directly or indirectly have an adverse effect 

on the qualities of wilderness character.

Interpretive themes developed on a parkwide basis should incorporate 

key messages on wilderness character. The planning process represents an 

opportunity to determine whether current themes adequately reflect wilderness 

character. Resources and values related to wilderness character, as expressed 

in the wilderness character narrative, foundation document, or park plan, can 

contribute to interpretive theme development.

Incorporating wilderness character into a long range interpretive plan gives 

park staff an analytical tool to ensure that interpretive messages are relevant 

and effective in communicating wilderness character themes. Messages about 

wilderness character can help focus discussion of the idea of wilderness by 

moving from an acknowledgement of personal and cultural meanings, to 

language found within the Wilderness Act. Such messages provide opportunities 

for visitors to reflect on wilderness character and reach a common understanding 

of wilderness and its value.

In planning the best ways to communicate with various audiences, the team 

developing a long range interpretive plan can use the wilderness character 

framework to consider the potential impacts to wilderness character that may 

result from various message-related activities, as well as their potential benefits. 

For example, considering potential impacts on the opportunities for solitude 

quality helps identify when and where guided activities in wilderness would 

have the least impact, while still providing for the benefits of these activities. 

See chapter 4 for information on linking a long range interpretive plan to 

interpretive activities and education.

The Death Valley National Park Wilderness and Backcountry Education Strategy 

provides an example of how wilderness character has been incorporated in an 

interpretive plan, and can be found on the NPS Wilderness Character Sharepoint 

site at http://share.inside.nps.gov/sites/WASO/WSD/WC.
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Exotic Plant Management Plan

An exotic plant management plan (EPMP) supports park-level natural 

resource management programs and provides comprehensive guidance 

and documentation for project managers and cooperators. An exotic plant 

management plan provides a context for systematic evaluation and adaptive 

management, and lays a course for the future by identifying additional program 

elements needed to achieve park goals for managing exotic (nonnative) plants. 

The plan articulates current and future concerns about particular species 

and presents a program of management action including reasons to address 

particular species, and the types of methods to be used. There are no prescribed 

templates for an exotic plant management plan; however they typically follow 

an environmental assessment (EA) format. Although these plans are common in 

the National Park Service, they can be highly variable.

Activities to address nonnative species that could affect wilderness character 

include accessing backcountry work locations; a range of treatment methods, 

including manual and chemical methods; and the manipulation of plants, an 

inherent characteristic of nonnative plant management. Outcomes of an exotic 

plant management plan should relate directly to the qualities, indicators, and 

measures in the wilderness character monitoring framework as described in 

Keeping It Wild. Steps for developing an exotic plant management plan that 

considers effects to wilderness character include:

•  Determine the scope of necessary action—Considering current policy and 

practices, discuss whether weed treatments should be implemented in 

wilderness. Management action in wilderness should never be a foregone 

conclusion.

•  Analyze tradeoffs—Identify the range of actions required for a particular 

weed treatment in terms of the effects on the qualities of wilderness 

character and the resulting tradeoffs of different management actions. 

For example, the action to control weeds in wilderness degrades the 

untrammeled quality and use of motorized tools required by some 

treatment methods degrades the undeveloped quality; however, these 

actions may improve the natural quality. Consider the means of access 

to treatment areas and use this analysis to inform decisions regarding 

nonnative plant management.

•  Identify logical connections between an exotic plant management plan 

and wilderness character—Determine the relative priority of wilderness 

lands, or specific locations within wilderness, when assessing the overall 

goals of wilderness stewardship and nonnative plant management. In 

a largely weed-free wilderness, there might be a high priority for early 

detection and eradication of incipient populations. Integrated pest 

management is an approach that inherently considers site characteristics 

in determining the most appropriate tool(s) for weed control, and 

recognizes that multiple tools may be needed at different locations to 

achieve desired results.
Photo: NPS, Yosemite 

Wilderness, Yosemite 

National Park

Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

47

•  Provide specific mitigation measures—When developing alternative 

mitigation measures, be sure to consider their impacts on wilderness 

character within the plan, rather than solely within a minimum 

requirements analysis, often included as an appendix to the plan. For 

example, alternatives could be developed that do not allow motorized 

access or mechanical equipment in wilderness, but instead focus on 

manual control methods. These might include tools that have been 

specifically developed for use in wilderness, such as horse-mounted 

herbicide sprayer systems.

•  Use a minimum requirements analysis—When a park is conducting 

nonnative plant management in wilderness, potential actions must be 

analyzed either through a programmatic minimum requirements analysis 

developed for nonnative treatments, or individual minimum requirements 

analyses developed for individual actions, or a combination of the two.

Indicators and Measures

The exotic plant management plan can provide direction for monitoring 

wilderness character trends by identifying appropriate measures and potential 

sources of data. If staff have not yet identified measures or developed 

monitoring protocols for invasive and exotic species management and its effect 

on wilderness character, the plan can also help determine standards by which to 

assess these effects. If a wilderness stewardship plan and wilderness character 

monitoring measures have been developed, the exotic plant management 

plan can be designed to integrate the content of these plans, and to formulate 

management actions that have the least detrimental effect to wilderness 

character, and also provide data for wilderness character monitoring. Additional 

guidance and suggestions for data sources and applications are in table 6 below.
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Table 6. Indicators and measures related to invasive and exotic species management plans (not all wilderness 

character indicators are included).

Quality Indicator Measure Discussion Data Suggestions Untrammeled

Actions 

authorized by 

the federal land 

manager that 

manipulate 

the biophysical 

environment

Number of actions to 

manage plants, animals, 

pathogens, soil, water, 

or fire

Generally these plans 

manipulate nonnative 

plants to move toward 

restoration of native plant 

communities with no 

further manipulation or 

control after a nonnative 

plant population is 

treated successfully. 

An annual work plan component 

could be incorporated to provide 

better resolution regarding 

anticipated actions.

Natural

Plant and animal 

species and 

communities

Number of nonnative 

species

Reduction of nonnative 

species would directly 

benefit this measure. 

Nonnative plant 

management in itself is 

a form of conservation 

of native plant species 

and supports native 

ecosystems.

Provide a mechanism by which 

the list of species is updated 

periodically in the NPSpecies webbased application.

Abundance, distribution, 

or number of invasive 

nonnative species

Reduction of nonnative 

species would directly 

benefit this measure. 

Nonnative plant 

management in itself is 

a form of conservation 

of native plant species 

and supports native 

ecosystems.

Actual weed treatments in the 

National Park Service are typically 

recorded in the Alien Plant Control 

and Management Database, and 

can be used to query abundance 

and distribution of species that are 

targeted for control.

Biophysical 

processes

Area and magnitude of 

pathways for movement 

of nonnative species into 

wilderness

Consistent with 

interagency thinking 

about examining entry 

points within and outside 

parks and managing 

invasive species at 

multiple scales. 

Primary vectors and pathways for 

invasion are sometimes included 

in the exotic plant management 

plan, but typically are presented 

as a parkwide analysis. Additional 

refinements would usually be 

needed to use this data to inform 

wilderness character monitoring.
Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

49

Quality Indicator Measure Discussion Data Suggestions Undeveloped

Use of motor 

vehicles, 

motorized 

equipment, 

or mechanical 

transport

Type and amount of 

administrative and 

nonemergency use of 

motor vehicles, motorized 

equipment, or mechanical 

transport

Use of motorized 

equipment and transport 

may have short-term 

adverse effects on the 

landscape and visitor 

experience. 

The decision to allow motorized 

equipment is often included in the 

exotic plant management plan, 

but the details of planned uses 

are usually found in minimum 

requirements decision analysis 

documents. In many cases, these 

are done on an annual basis for 

routine or recurring activities, such 

as nonnative plant management. 

In those cases, it will be necessary 

to collect actual use data after 

the fact (e.g., days or hours of 

chainsaw use).

Solitude

Remoteness from 

sights and sounds 

of people inside 

the wilderness

Number of trail contacts 

visitors have with work 

crews (through the 

presence of the crews or 

visibility of management 

actions)

Although generally 

short-term and minimally 

adverse, visitors may 

experience impacts from 

the presence and visibility 

of crews and their 

actions. 

Record cards from staff and 

volunteers help track encounter 

rates.

Remoteness 

from occupied 

and modified 

areas outside of 

wilderness

Extent and magnitude of 

intrusions on the natural 

soundscape

When motorized 

equipment is determined 

to be necessary to meet 

the goals of the exotic 

plant management plan, 

consider the intensity, 

frequency, and duration 

of soundscape intrusion.

It may not be possible to determine 

actual impact to park visitors unless 

visitor use data are also analyzed to 

determine if visitors were in aural 

proximity of the noise. 

Other features of value

Deterioration or 

loss of cultural 

resources integral 

to wilderness 

character

Number of authorized 

actions that result in 

disturbances to cultural 

resources (visitor and 

commercial use [e.g., 

catholes, trampling, 

hearths, aircraft landings]; 

findings of adverse 

effect for projects and 

operations)

Cultural landscapes 

may contain invasive 

nonnative species that 

can naturalize and 

spread; or cultural 

landscapes may be 

impacted by the invasion 

of nonnative species; 

or cultural landscapes 

may contain historic 

noninvasive exotics that 

need to be preserved. 

Work closely with the cultural 

resources staff to determine which 

elements of the landscape are 

significant (generally described 

in a cultural landscape inventory) 

and what nonnative plant 

treatments may be used in the 

cultural landscape and under what 

conditions.

Other features locally defined. 
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Climbing Management Plan

Climbing includes rock climbing, snow and ice climbing, mountaineering, 

canyoneering, and caving, where climbing equipment such as ropes and fixed 

or removable anchors are generally used to support an ascent or descent. The 

NPS recognizes that climbing is a legitimate and appropriate use of wilderness. 

Section 7.2 of Director’s Order 41 elaborates on this by directing that “any 

climbing use or related activity must be restricted or prohibited when its 

occurrence, continuation or expansion would result in unacceptable impacts to 

wilderness resources or character, or interfere significantly with the experience 

of other park visitors.” In addition, “If climbing activities occur in wilderness, 

climbing management strategies will be included as part of the park’s Wilderness 

Stewardship Plan, or other activity-level plan.”

Director’s Order 41 includes a specific list of rules to guide climbing practices in 

wilderness areas. These rules will create the foundation for a new generation 

of climbing management plans for wilderness parks and may help resolve longstanding debates around the connection of climbing and wilderness character. 

Climbing provides sought-after visitor experiences in wilderness and desired 

conditions for visitor use should be developed and defined in the context of 

wilderness character, considering that:

•  Rock climbing is a traditional form of primitive recreation that is 

appropriate in wilderness and solitude and unconfined recreation qualities 

of wilderness are sought after by climbers.

•  The occasional placement of a fixed anchor for belay, rappel, or protection 

purposes does not necessarily impair the future enjoyment of wilderness 

or violate the Wilderness Act. However, climbing practices with the least 

adverse impact on wilderness resources will always be the preferred choice.

•  Permitting, enforcement, and education can reduce or avoid conflicts; 

however, the imposition of management restrictions on visitor behavior 

adversely affects the primitive and unconfined recreation qualities of 

wilderness character.

A number of climbing actions and visitor use patterns have the potential to 

adversely affect wilderness character. A climbing plan should identify current and 

anticipated impacts to wilderness character such as:

•  The size of climbing groups and their tendency to concentrate use within 

certain recreation areas in wilderness degrade the solitude quality of 

wilderness character.

•  The installation of fixed gear and the presence of abandoned gear or 

caches may be considered an impact on the natural, undeveloped, and 

primitive recreation qualities of wilderness.

•  Impacts associated with climbing base camp sites and the routes used to 

access these sites may adversely affect the natural quality through direct 

or diffuse impacts, as well as opportunities for solitude by indicating the 

presence of other people and potentially the other features of value 

quality of wilderness, such as a cultural resource.

•  Impacts associated with climbing rescues, such as the use of helicopters, 

adversely affect the undeveloped quality and opportunities for solitude.
Photo:

NPS, Shenandoah Wilderness, 

Shenandoah National Park

Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

51

Indicators and Measures

If staff is looking to define wilderness character or develop monitoring 

protocols, the management actions (including visitor-use monitoring standards) 

prescribed in the climbing management plan need to be considered within the 

framework of wilderness character qualities and indicators. Measure(s) will then 

need to be developed to determine at what level wilderness character is either 

enhanced or degraded by the visitor activities and management actions. If the 

park has a wilderness stewardship plan and wilderness character monitoring 

measures in place and knows in advance the kinds of actions that could 

degrade wilderness character, select the appropriate measures or thresholds 

for monitoring impacts associated with climbing so there is no degradation of 

wilderness character. Table 7 provides more guidance and suggestions for data 

sources and applications.
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Table 7. Indicators and measures related to climbing management plans (not all wilderness character qualities 

or indicators are discussed).

Quality Indicator Measure Discussion Data Suggestions Natural

Physical 

resources

Extent and 

magnitude of 

disturbance or loss 

of soil or soil crusts

Concentration of visitor 

use at the base of popular 

climbing routes may result 

in impacts to soil or soil 

crusts.

This will probably require heads-up digitizing 

and/or GPS data collection to document the 

extent and seasonality of this impact. 

Plant and 

animal 

species and 

communities 

Abundance, 

distribution, or 

number

of indigenous 

species that are 

listed as threatened 

and endangered, 

sensitive, or of 

concern

Climbers may have an 

impact on bird nesting/

roosting and on rare plants 

within cliffs and rocky 

areas.

Document and survey cliff-associated rare 

plants and animals. Consider implementing 

long-term monitoring programs.

Undeveloped

Use of motor 

vehicles, 

motorized 

equipment, 

or mechanical 

transport

Type and amount 

of emergency 

use of motor 

vehicles, motorized 

equipment, 

or mechanical 

transport

Climbing activities may 

result in increased search 

and rescue operations 

that require the use of 

motorized equipment and 

transport. Such uses may 

have short-term adverse 

effects on the landscape 

and visitor experience. 

High frequency of such 

uses may have long-term 

or nearly continuous 

impacts during high use 

seasons and popular 

locations. 

Emergency use of motorized transport or 

equipment is not routinely described in 

detail in the case incident report for each 

emergency. Consider implementing a 

standard reporting requirement in the case 

incident record for duration, location, and/

or frequency of motorized use in support of 

search and rescue operations. 

Unauthorized 

use of 

motorized 

equipment 

Type and amount 

of motorized 

equipment use 

not authorized by 

the federal land 

manager

Use of motorized power 

drills is prohibited (36 CFR 

2.12).

Solitude

Remoteness 

from sights 

and sounds of 

people inside 

the wilderness

Area of wilderness 

affected by access 

or travel routes 

that are inside the 

wilderness

Informal trails used to 

access popular climbing 

routes are common and 

may be highly visible. 

Such trails are a sign of 

people in wilderness, 

potentially affecting the 

sense of solitude for other 

climbers and nonclimbing 

wilderness users.

GIS data and aerial photography can be 

useful tools to quantify and track changes 

to the amount, persistence, and location of 

informal trails.

Facilities that 

decrease 

self-reliant 

recreation

Type and number 

of user-created 

recreation facilities

Fixed anchors are 

installations often 

associated with climbing 

routes. 

U.S. Forest Service tech guide
Photo: NPS, Denali 

Wilderness, Denali National 

Park & Preserve

Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

53

Quality Indicator Measure Discussion Data Suggestions Other features of value

Deterioration 

or loss of 

cultural 

resources 

integral to 

wilderness 

character

Number of 

unauthorized 

actions that result 

in disturbances 

to cultural 

resources (looting, 

trespass activities, 

noncompliance 

with National 

Historic 

Preservation Act

Some climbing activities 

may take place in 

unauthorized areas of 

spiritual importance to 

tribes or in traditional 

cultural properties.

Climbing blogs/websites may reveal such 

unauthorized actions. Likewise, tribal 

members may raise it as a concern to park 

managers.

Number of 

authorized actions 

that result in 

disturbances to 

cultural resources 

(visitor and 

commercial use 

[e.g., catholes, 

trampling, hearths, 

aircraft landings]; 

findings of adverse 

effect for projects 

and operations)

Authorized climbing routes 

should be located away 

from cultural sites but 

there may still be come 

potential for disturbances 

to unknown cultural 

resources.

Review proposed climbing routes with 

cultural resources staff and their data sources 

to identify areas of concern.

Other features locally defined.
Photo: NPS, Sequoia-Kings 

Canyon Wilderness, 

Sequoia and Kings Canyon 

National Parks

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewarship Program

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Fire Management Plan

The purpose of the fire management plan (FMP) is to provide guidance for 

firefighter and public safety; to include fire management strategies, tactics, 

and alternatives; to identify significant values for protective management 

actions; and to maintain consistency with resource management objectives, 

area activities, and environmental laws and regulations (particularly NPS 

Director’s Order 18: Wildland Fire Management). The planning process for a fire 

management plan requires that a high level of detail be provided for various 

plan elements. This degree of detail mirrors the complexity of maintaining 

interagency consistency when dealing with fire, and the challenges of managing 

the potentially wide-reaching impacts caused by fire and management actions to 

suppress, contain, or allow it, both within park boundaries and outside of them. 

The fire management plan should be reviewed annually to ensure currency with 

laws and management objectives and to evaluate conformity and compliance 

with the annual work program. A comprehensive FMP review and updated plan 

is required every five years.

Fire management plans and wilderness character are closely intertwined. The 

importance of the connection between fire and wilderness is a primary focus 

of the NPS Director’s Order 41: Wilderness Stewardship, which offers specific 

guidance and tools in a dedicated section. Table 8 is based on the current 

FMP template outline in Reference Manual 18: Wildland Fire Management

and lists the most obvious areas of a fire management plan that are relevant 

to wilderness character. In brief, the expression of the qualities of wilderness 

character, and associated indicators and measures, can be reflected in the 

fire management plan and guide the determination of how fire can best be 

managed to preserve wilderness character.
Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

55

Table 8. Crosswalk of fire management plan template sections (version as of June 16, 2010) to the concept 

of wilderness character.

FMP Template Section Relationship to Wilderness Character

1.2.2.1. Management Environment—List 

different management designations (e.g., 

wilderness) that affect or constrain fire 

management activities

This is an opportunity to describe the biophysical and geographic features of 

wilderness and perhaps to highlight specific aspects of wilderness character 

that were identified in the wilderness character narrative.

2.1 Fire Policy—Identify and cite key 

sources of interagency and NPS guidance 

and direction that affect or drive actions 

described in the FMP

Reference the Wilderness Act, DO-41, NPS Reference Manual 41, and any 

site-specific acts that designated wilderness with specific provisions or 

direction (e.g., California Desert Protection Act). DO-41 provisions apply 

to all categories of wilderness, whether designated or in other categories, 

reflecting servicewide wilderness policy in addition to the Wilderness Act and 

park-specific designations. 

2.2 Park/Resource Management Planning—

Identify and cite requirements and direction 

contained in park-specific documents that 

influence or affect fire management actions 

Where wilderness character is addressed in the park’s general management 

plan, resource stewardship strategy, or wilderness stewardship plan, 

wilderness character concepts should be brought forward into this section.

3.1.1. Fire Management Goals and 

Objectives—List the fire management 

goals and objectives. These provide 

the programmatic direction for the fire 

program. They should be stated within the 

context of the approved land and resource 

management plan direction to the extent 

that direction exists.

Protection of wilderness character might be carried forward from a general 

management plan, resource stewardship strategy, or wilderness stewardship 

plan into the fire management plan as a goal in this section. In some cases 

fire management objectives may be used to inform wilderness character 

measures and standards, or vice versa. For example, the fire management 

plan might include an objective to reduce unplanned human caused ignitions 

by X%, which is directly related to the wilderness character measure 

regarding departure from natural fire regimes (natural quality) and number of 

actions to manage fire (untrammeled quality).

3.2 Fire Management Unit Specific 

Characteristics, Management Constraints 

and Guidance—Describe restrictions 

that affect implementation; include 

considerations for unplanned ignitions and 

fuels treatments

Use this section to discuss how wilderness character should frame certain 

fire management strategies or tactics. Discuss wilderness character as a 

value at risk. For example, a suppression strategy for natural ignitions in 

a fire-dependent ecosystem will eventually degrade the natural quality 

of wilderness character, and the use of prescribed fire degrades the 

untrammeled quality. This is the section where specific administrative 

prohibitions would be mentioned, such as no bulldozers without written 

permission from the superintendent, as well as references to other 

predetermined minimum requirements decision analysis (MRDA) / minimum 

requirements analysis that constitute a constraint on fire management 

actions.

4.2.2. Preparedness Activities—Identify 

minimum impact suppression tactics (MIST) 

guidelines used in the park, including 

wilderness considerations if applicable

Reference protection of wilderness character in the MIST guidelines and 

identify specific considerations for protection of wilderness character.

4.3 Management of Unplanned Ignitions Incorporate wilderness character considerations into Wildland Fire Decision 

Support System (WFDSS) preplanning documents as appropriate to set initial 

response priorities, management requirements and restrictions, and standard 

language to include in delegation of authority for transfer to an incident 

management team. 

4.4 Burned Area Emergency Response 

(BAER)—Describe short and long-term 

rehabilitation standards, guidelines, and 

procedures

Identify prohibited or restricted rehab treatments (e.g., seeding, construction 

of flood control structures in wilderness). Identify wilderness character as a 

value to be protected. 
Photo:

NPS, Lassen Volcanic 

Wilderness, Lassen Volcanic 

National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewarship Program

56

FMP Template Section Relationship to Wilderness Character

4.5 Management of Planned Fuels 

Treatments

Consider including restoration or maintenance of wilderness character as 

a factor in the project prioritization criteria for fuels treatments. Include 

wilderness character in the minimum requirements decision analysis and 

environmental screening form for fuels treatments.

4.5.2 General Fuels Management 

Implementation Procedures

Include directly or by reference standards and/or procedures to be followed 

when developing minimum requirements for implementation of fuels projects 

in wilderness.

4.8 Data and Records Management Identify specific types of information needed from the fire program to 

support wilderness character monitoring and build those requirements 

into the fire program standards. For wilderness character monitoring, use 

the ignition point (in or out of wilderness) as the measure or if mapped 

perimeters are available, use the actual fire polygon to determine what 

burned in wilderness and any suppression actions taken in wilderness. 

5.2 Monitoring Identify where data acquired through standard fire effects monitoring, 

especially for fuels treatments, would be used to inform wilderness character 

monitoring. 

Appendix G: Preparedness Plan—MIST 

guidelines for the park, including wilderness 

considerations

Address specific actions or guidelines for the protection of wilderness 

character. In developing this section, a guiding question to ask is “Do 

the MIST guidelines adequately protect wilderness character and not just 

wilderness resources?” Recognize that the MIST guidelines are more of a set 

of philosophical guidelines and suggestions, and not a single set of ‘tactics’ 

that are followed the same everywhere. Each unit needs to define how MIST 

guidelines apply specifically to their local situational context. MIST tactics 

may also change from incident to incident on the same unit given unique 

conditions, fire behavior, and opportunities.

Appendix K: Standards for MIST, BAER, and 

Rehabilitation

Provide a rationale for what is or is not appropriate in wilderness regarding 

the qualities of wilderness character. Of particular relevance are watershed 

stabilization treatments (e.g., hillslope treatments) that attempt to alter 

natural post-fire watershed response, and plant restoration methods. 

BAER plans should include an MRDA analysis for actions proposed within 

wilderness.
Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

57

Indicators and Measures

The outcomes of FMPs have direct connections to the wilderness character 

framework described in Keeping It Wild, including several measures explicitly 

dedicated to fire management. Table 9 provides more guidance on the 

connections and suggestions for data sources and application.

Table 9. Indicators and measures relevant to fire management plans (not all wilderness character indicators 

are discussed).

Quality Indicator Measure Discussion Data Suggestions Untrammeled

Actions 

authorized 

by the 

federal land 

manager that 

manipulate 

the 

biophysical 

environment

Percent of 

natural fire 

starts that 

received a 

suppression 

response

Direct connection. This is a standard element reported for all wildland fires, 

and it may be possible to derive it from the Wildland Fire 

Management Information (WFMI) database, the ICS209 form, or the DI-1202 Fire Report narrative. Where 

locations are mapped as points rather than polygons, it 

may not be possible to determine if fire ignition was in 

or out of wilderness. If perimeter mapping as a polygon 

is necessary, identify this as a program standard in the 

fire management plan. Use this to derive a more precise 

measure of suppression action in wilderness. 

Actions not 

authorized 

by the 

federal land 

manager that 

manipulate 

the 

biophysical 

environment

Number of 

unauthorized 

actions*by 

agencies, 

citizen groups, 

or individuals 

that manipulate 

plants, animals, 

pathogens, soil, 

water, or fire

(*deliberate 

ignitions caused 

by humans)

Direct connection. This can be derived from the fire source code in the WFMI 

database, ICS-209 form, or DI-1202 Fire Report narrative. 

Where locations are mapped as points rather than 

polygons it may not be possible to determine if ignition 

was in or out of wilderness. If perimeter mapping as a 

polygon is necessary, identify this as a program standard 

in the fire management plan.

Natural

Biophysical 

processes

Departure 

from natural 

fire regimes 

averaged over 

the wilderness

(Note: or 

stratified by 

vegetation 

type or 

regime or fire 

management 

unit)

Direct connection. 

This could either 

be a way to judge 

the impact of 

fire or justify its 

prescriptive use.

This can typically be derived from LANDFIRE Fire Regime 

Condition Class (FRCC) maps or based on local fire regime 

research. Fire Regime Condition Class and/or applicable 

local research will usually be included and discussed in the 

fire management plan. Estimated pre- and post-treatment 

fire regime condition class is a required data field to be 

reported for each proposed fuel treatment.
Photo: NPS, eligible 

wilderness, Big Cypress 

National Preserve

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewarship Program

58

Quality Indicator Measure Discussion Data Suggestions Undeveloped

Use of motor 

vehicles, 

motorized 

equipment, 

or 

mechanical 

transport

Type and 

amount of 

administrative 

and 

nonemergency 

use of motor 

vehicles, 

motorized 

equipment, 

or mechanical 

transport

Direct connection. 

Would be a 

measure to guide 

plan conditions 

within plan 

implementation.

Proposed uses can be assessed using a minimum 

requirements analysis as part of the development of the 

fire management plan and compliance documentation. 

Additional analysis may be useful for each specific project. 

Note that due to safety and other concerns at the time of 

implementation, the planned tools may not be what are 

actually used.

Use of motor 

vehicles, 

motorized 

equipment, 

or 

mechanical 

transport

Type and 

amount of 

emergency 

use of motor 

vehicles, 

motorized 

equipment, 

or mechanical 

transport

Direct connection. 

Would be 

covered in the 

fire management 

plan to determine 

situations that 

would justify 

motorized use, 

and strategies to 

avoid it.

Use MRA preplanning during development of the 

fire management plan and compliance documents to 

assess general sideboards and exceptions to the use of 

motorized equipment on unplanned ignitions. Long-term 

events will benefit from the completion of an incidentspecific MRA as part of the long-term implementation 

planning in conjunction with the WFDSS process. Postfire information on actual use may be derived from 

the DI-1202 Fire Report narrative, ICS-209 forms, or a 

Resource Advisor Report. However, this will probably 

be incomplete data and often will not distinguish the 

types of equipment used or exact locations for incidents 

that involve both wilderness and nonwilderness lands. If 

these details are needed to inform wilderness character 

monitoring, establish specific program standards for the 

fire management plan.
Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

59

Quality Indicator Measure Discussion Data Suggestions Other features of value

Deterioration 

or loss of 

cultural 

resources 

integral to 

wilderness 

character

Number of 

unauthorized 

actions that 

result in 

disturbances 

to cultural 

resources 

(looting, 

trespass 

activities, 

noncompliance 

with the 

National 

Historic 

Preservation 

Act)

Direct connection 

for human ignited 

fires (arson or 

accidental) that 

damage cultural 

resources.

The fire management plan should identify cultural 

resources staff that will serve as resource advisors to 

mitigate potential damage to cultural resources by fire 

suppression operations or fire use. Suppression related 

damages should be addressed during suppression 

damage repair.

Number of 

authorized 

actions that 

result in 

disturbances 

to cultural 

resources 

(visitor and 

commercial use 

[e.g., catholes, 

trampling, 

hearths, aircraft 

landings]; 

findings of 

adverse effect 

for projects and 

operations)

Direct connection 

for managementignited prescribed 

fires and 

suppression 

activities that may 

disturb unknown 

cultural resources.

Consult cultural resources staff during prescribed fire 

plan preparation to mitigate known cultural resources 

and provide for contingency planning for unknown 

cultural resources. Cultural resources staff should serve as 

resource advisors to mitigate potential damage to cultural 

resources by fire suppression operations. Suppressionrelated damages should be addressed during suppression 

damage repair. 

Number of 

naturally caused 

disturbances 

(e.g., erosion, 

animal digging, 

floods, rising 

sea levels, fires, 

tree throws)

Direct connection 

for disturbances 

caused by 

naturally ignited 

fire and postfire watershed 

effects. 

The fire management plan should include cultural 

resources in the BAER section to preidentify cultural 

resource types at risk due to post-fire flooding or soil 

erosion, and cultural resource personnel should be 

involved in preparation of the BAER plan after a fire. 

Other features locally defined.
Photo: NPS/Allison 

Banks, Glacier Bay 

Wilderness,Glacier Bay 

National Park & Preserve

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewarship Program

60

Planning for Effects of Climate Change

on Wilderness Character

The National Park Service increasingly needs to consider the effects of global 

climate change on the qualities of wilderness character, the infrastructure that 

allows public access to parks and wilderness, and on the societal implications 

of wilderness. Lands designated for protection as wilderness have been set 

aside to protect valued biological and/or physical attributes in a natural state 

free from human development, disturbance, and manipulation. Climate 

change, particularly to the degree that it is human-caused, threatens all the 

values for which these areas were designated. Climate change will force many 

difficult decisions about wilderness stewardship because it will fundamentally 

compromise the degree to which protected areas function as a refuge from the 

effects of expanding civilization.

Responses to climate change will be highly variable from place to place, 

depending on the localized effects of change. Some examples include:

•  Restoration of the natural process of fire in wilderness to reduce the risk of 

catastrophic fire elevated by past fire suppression practices, the enlarging 

wildland-urban interface, and accelerated climate change.

•  Given that climate change will more than likely adversely affect water 

quality and quantity, proper stewardship of wilderness watersheds—the 

source of much of the remaining high-quality water—is critical. To ensure 

that water quality is not impaired, ongoing uses such as recreation and 

grazing need to be managed and natural disturbance regimes need to be 

sustained.

•  Given the challenges species will have in moving in response to climate 

change, loss of biotic diversity can be minimized by sustaining and/

or restoring undisturbed corridors and elevation gradients among and 

within wildernesses. It is also important to ensure that critical habitat and 

populations remain undisturbed.

An adaptive planning framework is the NPS conceptual approach for considering 

climate change in park planning and management. Considering climate change 

in park planning and management demands flexibility to accommodate how 

understanding of climate change and its impacts will evolve over time through 

observations and scientific projections. The 2010 NPS Climate Change Response 

Strategy instructs NPS planners to “Incorporate 

climate change considerations and responses in 

all levels of NPS Planning.” The Climate Change 

Response Program and the Water Resources 

Division in the Natural Resource Stewardship and 

Science directorate have developed an intranet 

site dedicated to climate change planning. Site 

resources include policy and guidance; climate 

science information, data and reference materials; 

and examples of climate change considerations in 

park planning. The site is available at http://www1.

nrintra.nps.gov/climatechange/planning.cfm.
Chapter 3—Integrating Wilderness Character into Planning

61

During any planning process, there is an opportunity to explore the specific 

relationship between climate change and the indicators and measures under 

each monitoring question in Keeping It Wild (see Chapter 5). As parks begin 

to think through adaptation strategies it may be helpful to work through the 

monitoring questions in conjunction with the following set of trend questions.

•  What are the trends in actions that control or manipulate the “earth and 

its community of life” inside wilderness?

•  What are the trends in terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric natural 

processes inside wilderness?

•  What are the trends in nonrecreational development inside wilderness?

•  What are the trends in mechanization inside wilderness?

•  What are the trends in cultural resources inside wilderness?

•  What are the trends in outstanding opportunities for 

solitude inside wilderness?

•  What are the trends in outstanding opportunities for primitive and 

unconfined recreation inside wilderness?

As an example, the monitoring question, “What are the trends in terrestrial, 

aquatic, and atmospheric resources inside wilderness?” could be explored further 

by considering the following: What effect could climate change have on those 

resources? What monitoring protocols should be developed that will produce 

a “trend analysis” for those resources? What resources are most vulnerable to 

the range of plausible climate futures? Rather than looking at all the resources, 

consider those fitting a particular indicator and measure that might prove to be 

a likely candidate for a vital sign, and for which a data source already exists.

A trend question that could be more challenging is: What are the trends in 

mechanization inside wilderness? As parks become more involved in monitoring 

for wilderness character, and with the potential for more research requests 

within wildernesses, will there be a greater need for mechanical equipment? 

The related indicator is: “Use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, and 

mechanical transport.” The measure is: “What is the type and amount (weather 

stations, use of pumps to check on groundwater, vehicle access to get equipment 

into areas)?” Parks will need to assess each request to determine if there is a 

trend toward increased mechanization, as requests for more scientific activities 

related to climate change are put forward.

Once trend data are available, each question could be expanded to include a 

second question: “How might those trends vary under different climate change 

scenarios?” Finally, a key question is: “How do we adapt to these changes in the 

face of climate change?”
Photo: NPS/Michael Haynie/

Doug Buehler, Guadalupe 

Mountains Wilderness, 

Guadalupe Mountains 

National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewarship Program

62

A scenario planning process has been used as a tool to further climate change 

planning at selected parks and landscapes across the country. The process 

continues to evolve into a versatile tool that can be applied at various spatial 

scales. Potential entry points for wilderness character in scenario planning for 

parks with wilderness include:

•  Existing wilderness character indicators and measures can be used to help 

park staff think about what a specific wilderness area might look like under 

various climate change scenarios.

•  Plant and animal species and communities are important indicators. The 

measures used to determine wilderness character trends will be critical 

for wilderness character monitoring; they can also be tied directly to the 

critical monitoring recommended in climate change scenario planning.

•  If a park does not have existing wilderness character indicators and 

measures, and is thinking about developing a wilderness stewardship plan 

or wilderness character monitoring protocols, it would be appropriate to 

consider scenario planning as a first step. Wilderness character indicators 

and measures could be tied directly to scenario planning monitoring. The 

Climate Change Intranet site’s “Scenario Planning” subpage http://www1.

nrintra.nps.gov/climatechange/planscenarios.cfm contains case examples 

and references and will be a useful source in the consideration of 

scenario planning.
I believe we have a profound 

fundamental need for areas 

of the earth where we stand 

without our mechanisms that 

make us immediate masters 

over out environment. 

 —Howard Zahniser

Photo: 

NPS/Keith Brumid-Smith, 

Stephen Mather Wilderness, 

North Cascades National Park 

Integrating 

Wilderness 

Character into 

Management 

and 

Operations

4

Photo: NPS/Daniel Silva,

Theodore Roosevelt Wilderness, 

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

65

Chapter 4—Integrating

Wilderness Character into

Management and Operations

Daily operations and management decisions can 

have significant immediate impacts to wilderness 

character, as well as more gradual, cumulative 

effects. Management decisions from a wide range 

of park divisions can affect wilderness character. 

This chapter includes information and conceptual 

frameworks to guide decision making in the areas of 

minimum requirements analysis, scientific activities, 

environmental compliance, facility management 

and maintenance activities, emergency services, 

interpretive activities and education, and natural 

and cultural resource management. This chapter 

also includes information and resources for 

wilderness character training, which helps ensure 

a consistent and knowledgeable approach by 

park staff in making day-to-day decisions that can 

affect wilderness character. Emerging guidance 

on commercial services in wilderness is included in 

chapter 6.
Photo: NPS, Denali 

Wilderness, Denali National 

Park & Preserve

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

66

Minimum Requirements Analysis

Any management action within wilderness has the potential to affect wilderness 

character, and should thus be evaluated on its basic necessity, and examined 

for ways to minimize or mediate any adverse effects. A minimum requirements 

analysis guides compliance with NPS management policies, and helps determine 

if potential actions by the National Park Service or government agents are 

the minimum necessary to accomplish a particular objective, and if so, how to 

minimize any adverse effects. Preserving wilderness character should be the 

primary consideration of any MRA decision for potential actions in wilderness.

Although park managers have flexibility in how they apply the MRA process, 

they must clearly weigh and document the positive and negative impacts 

of proposed actions, using wilderness character as a major criterion. The 

analysis must honestly evaluate whether or not the action is necessary and if 

so, what activity is truly the minimum activity (method or tool) necessary to 

accomplish the action. The best way to meet these requirements is by using an 

interdisciplinary team to develop and review the minimum requirements analysis 

so the action is considered from multiple perspectives.

Various methods and standardized forms have been developed to document the 

analysis process. One such method/form is the Minimum Requirement Decision 

Guide (MRDG) developed by the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training 

Center, approved by the four federal agencies administering wilderness. It can 

be found online at http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=MRDG along 

with examples of how wilderness character has been addressed in a variety of 

management scenarios.

The minimum requirements analysis is a two-step process, and wilderness 

character should be evaluated during both steps:

•  Step 1—Determine whether the proposed management action is necessary 

for administration of the area as wilderness and causes no significant 

impact to wilderness resources and character, in accordance with the 

Wilderness Act.

•  Step 2—Determine the techniques and types of equipment necessary to 

minimize impacts on wilderness resources and character.

Key Points:

•  Preserving wilderness

character should

be the primary

consideration of

any minimum

requirements decision.

•  Wilderness character

should be considered

above cost and

convenience.

•  An interdisciplinary

team should complete

the analysis.
Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

67

Step 1: Is the Action Necessary?

First identify the problem or situation that prompts 

a possible need for action; for example, a bridge 

has been washed out over a major river crossing. 

Describe proposed actions to address this situation; 

for example, replace the bridge or refrain from any 

action. Specific activities, methods, and tools used 

to address the issue—for example, the decision to 

use a helicopter to transport bridge materials—

should not be identified at this time. This first step 

is often glossed over, ignored altogether, or used 

to describe a solution, which should be part of step 

2. Step 1 provides the foundation for a minimum 

requirements analysis and must be 

taken seriously.

Step 1 involves the use of several filters, but 

wilderness character will be the only filter discussed 

here. This filter assesses whether the proposed 

action is necessary to preserve or improve one or 

more of the qualities of wilderness character:

•  Untrammeled—This quality is degraded by 

modern human activities or actions that 

control or manipulate the components 

or processes of ecological systems inside 

wilderness.

•  Undeveloped—This quality is degraded by 

the presence of structures, installations, 

habitations, and by the use of motor vehicles, 

motorized equipment, or mechanical transport 

that increases people’s ability to occupy or 

modify the environment.

•  Natural—This quality is degraded by intended 

or unintended effects of modern civilization 

on the ecological systems inside a wilderness 

since the area was designated.

•  Outstanding opportunities for solitude or a 

primitive and unconfined type of recreation—

This quality is degraded by settings that reduce 

these opportunities, such as visitor encounters, 

signs of modern civilization, recreation 

facilities, and management restrictions on 

visitor behavior.

•  Other features of value—This quality refers to 

specific, unique aspects of a wilderness area 

that contribute to its wilderness character. 

These may or may not be present in an area, 

and may be degraded by a variety of specific 

factors such as deterioration in the condition 

of a cultural site or loss of an endangered 

species within the area.

The minimum requirements analysis 

process as it pertains to 

wilderness character

Step 1: 

Is administrative action 

necessary within wilderness?

Filter the proposal primarily based on 

if the action is necessary to preserve or 

improve one or more of the qualities 

wilderness character. If yes, then

Step 2:

What is the Minimum Activity

Identify and describe 

a range of alternatives

Compare the alternatives 

primarily based on positive and negative 

impacts to wilderness character

Step 2 Decision: 

Identify the Minimum Activity 

and describe rationale
Photo:

NPS, Stephen Mather 

Wilderness, North 

Cascades National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

68

In some cases, not all of the qualities of wilderness character may be relevant 

to a proposed action, or a proposed action may cause no change to the existing 

status of wilderness character. For example, replacing an existing trail bridge 

neither increases nor decreases the number of structures in wilderness, so there 

would be no significant change to either the undeveloped or the primitive 

recreation qualities of wilderness character. A proposed action that would 

preserve or degrade certain qualities of wilderness character is treatment to 

control nonnative invasive weeds:

•  Untrammeled—Weed treatment would degrade this quality because the 

action, even if necessary, is an intentional human-caused manipulation of 

“the earth and its community of life.”

•  Undeveloped—Weed treatment does not degrade this quality unless 

motorized equipment or mechanical transport is used. In that case, if an 

action is determined to be necessary, assess the impacts of implementing 

specific alternatives in step 2.

•  Natural—Weed treatment improves naturalness and helps preserve this 

quality, although if nontarget native species were adversely affected this 

would degrade this quality.

•  Outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type 

of recreation—Weed treatment requires field technicians, the presence of 

whom may affect opportunities for solitude. The effect on this quality may 

only be short-term; however, the likelihood and magnitude of an effect 

will vary among the specific alternatives determined in step 2, if an action 

is determined to be necessary.

•  Other features of value—It is likely that weed treatment would have 

negligible impacts on any significant additional value not already 

accounted for in the other qualities, unless, for example, there were 

nonnative species that are now considered an historic cultural resource.

If an action is determined necessary in step 1, after considering all the filters, 

document the rationale, including how the action supports preservation of 

wilderness character, and then proceed to step 2. In the weed example above, 

action may or may not have been determined necessary once all the step 1 

filters were considered.
Photo:

NPS, Yosemite Wilderness, 

Yosemite National Park

Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

69

Step 2: Determine the Minimum Activity.

This step involves developing a range of alternatives that describe what 

specific methods and techniques (often referred to as minimum tool) will be 

used, when and where the activity will take place, what mitigation measures 

will be necessary, and the general effects to the wilderness resource and 

wilderness character.

Identify and describe a full range of feasible alternatives, including, as applicable:

•  No action

•  No section 4(c) prohibited uses

•  Minimal section 4(c) prohibited uses 

(e.g., a combination of motorized and nonmotorized methods or tools)

•  Proposed section 4(c) prohibited uses

The level of detail required in the description of alternatives and effects varies 

by the complexity of the activity (method or tool) necessary to complete an 

action. A “no action” alternative is included to help confirm whether or not an 

action in wilderness is necessary, and to facilitate a comprehensive comparison 

of effects. If an action is necessary, identify all alternatives that were considered 

and rejected as not being feasible to implement, along with the rationale for 

dismissing each alternative. Determining that a proposed action is possible to 

accomplish but would have an unacceptable effect on wilderness character is a 

valid reason for declaring an alternative infeasible.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

70

Compare the potential effects of implementing each action alternative on 

wilderness resources and character using several criteria. In addition to effects 

on wilderness character, these criteria may include maintaining traditional skills, 

legislated special provisions, economic values, and convenience for each phase of 

an activity, including design, construction, management, removal, or restoration. 

NPS management policies state that the potential disruption to wilderness 

character is to be considered before and given significantly more weight than 

the other criteria, such as economic benefits and convenience. Wilderness 

character will be the only criterion discussed here. A “no impact” response would 

be selected if it was determined that there would be no positive or negative 

impact to any quality of wilderness character. This, however, would be a rare case 

in wilderness, with most management actions having an effect on some quality 

of wilderness character. Criteria should be applied by describing in a detailed 

narrative the positive and negative impacts of each alternative in terms of the 

wilderness character qualities:

•  Untrammeled—Discuss the degree to which the components or processes 

of ecological systems are intentionally controlled, manipulated, or hindered 

by each proposed alternative. Typically, actions that affect this quality are 

those that are broader in scale or impact to ecological systems, such as 

weed treatment or prescribed fire. In this case, simply state that there is an 

insignificant effect and, if appropriate, include these effects in a discussion 

of the Natural quality.

•  Undeveloped—Wilderness is meant to be a place where “the imprint of 

man’s work will remain substantially unnoticeable,” and to contrast other 

areas of “growing mechanization.” Include in the discussion the effects 

of the use of any motorized equipment, mechanical transport, structures, 

or installations on maintaining the undeveloped quality of wilderness 

character.

•  Natural—Describe the potential for each proposed alternative to protect, 

degrade, or restore natural conditions (e.g., air, water, soil, wildlife, 

fish, plants) including endangered, threatened, or rare species, natural 

biological diversity, and self-regulating ecosystems. Include, where 

applicable, a discussion of the effects related to protecting natural 

conditions within the regional landscape from, for example, insects, 

disease, or nonnative species.

•  Outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined 

type of recreation—Identify how opportunities for visitors to experience 

solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation will be protected 

or degraded. Describe the impacts that will be noticeable to the visitor and 

which could affect the wilderness experience. Include effects on visitors 

from the use of motorized equipment, mechanical transport, landing of 

aircraft, structures, or installations.

•  Other features of value—Address other features and values that have been 

identified as a part of wilderness character specific to the wilderness by 

describing the potential effects on these other features of value for each 

MRA proposed alternative. All wilderness areas may not have this quality 

of wilderness character.
Photo: NPS, recommended 

wilderness, Kobuk Valley 

National Park

Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

71

In some cases, the impact to wilderness character by two different alternatives 

will be relatively equal. If this occurs, comparison using these other criteria 

can help decide which of these alternatives is preferable. If a compromise 

of wilderness resources or character is unavoidable, only those actions that 

preserve, or improve wilderness character and/or have localized, short-term 

adverse impacts will be acceptable.

Select the alternative that uses the minimum activity (method or tool) necessary 

to administer the area as wilderness and that also conforms to all laws and 

agency policy. Describe the rationale for the selection in terms of the positive 

or negative impacts to the qualities of wilderness character. The rationale for 

the selected alternative should demonstrate that the decision is the result of 

an objective evaluation of the alternatives. It should not be a justification for a 

predetermined decision, a bias toward a certain alternative, or an alternative or 

method not related to the preservation of wilderness character.
Photo:

NPS, Stephen Mather 

Wilderness, North 

Cascades National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

72

Scientific Activities

Science and research, including physical and social, are an integral part of 

wilderness stewardship, and the Wilderness Act and NPS policy support scientific 

activities in wilderness. The Wilderness Act also, however, emphasizes the 

preservation of wilderness character as its principle mandate, and scientific 

activities have the potential to impact wilderness character by increasing 

structures, manipulating the environment, or decreasing solitude. On the other 

hand, some scientific activities are critical to wilderness preservation, and the 

National Park Service encourages scientific study that advances understanding of 

wilderness, provided the benefits outweigh the impacts to wilderness character. 

Proposals for scientific activities within wilderness must be evaluated with a 

high degree of rigor and should undergo a minimum requirements analysis. A 

thorough minimum requirements analysis allows wilderness managers to make 

defensible decisions by weighing impacts and benefits to each of the qualities 

of wilderness character and document how these decisions are made. The 

wilderness character framework also allows managers to set long-term goals 

and desired future conditions for wilderness character, which helps managers 

evaluate proposals, decisions, and cumulative impacts in a broader context. 

The wilderness character framework contributes to improved communication 

between park staff and scientists, thereby decreasing traditional conflict 

between these groups, and increasing the benefits of research to both wilderness 

management and the broader scientific community.

Key Points:

•  Scientific activities are

encouraged when the

benefits outweigh the

impacts to wilderness

character.

•  Managers should vet

the proposal through

A Framework to 

Evaluate Proposals 

for Scientific Activities 

in Wilderness,

and the minimum

requirements analysis

if necessary.

•  Park staff should

communicate

expectations and

the importance of

wilderness character

with researchers early

in the process.

•  Managers should

monitor and log

proposed, active, and

inactive projects as

well as cumulative

impacts.
Photo: NPS, Rocky Mountain 

National Park Wilderness, 

Rocky Mountain 

National Park

Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

73

Evaluating a Proposal for Scientific Activity in Wilderness

When evaluating a proposal for scientific activities in wilderness, managers 

should consult A Framework to Evaluate Proposals for Scientific Activities in 

Wilderness (Landres and others 2010), available in the “Research and Scientific 

Activities Toolbox” at http://www.wilderness.net/toolboxes/documents

/resSciAct/Scientific%20Activities%20Evaluation%20Framework.pdf, and 

use a minimum requirements analysis to vet the proposal. The framework is 

a mechanism to evaluate impacts and benefits of scientific activities to help 

managers make decisions or recommendations on a proposal based on a 

standardized assessment of benefits and impacts. Managers should also complete 

a documented, two-step MRA process to determine if the proposed activity is 

necessary, and if so, how to minimize impacts to wilderness character. Much 

of the minimum requirements analysis can be informed by weighing impacts 

and benefits through the framework referenced above. Scientific activities may 

involve prohibited uses, which mandates a minimum requirements analysis, or 

may have significant cumulative effects on wilderness character, which can be 

thoroughly assessed through a minimum requirements analysis. Failure to pass 

the MRA stage is not necessarily a cause for automatic rejection of a proposal, 

but may inform researchers on how to restructure their research activities in such 

a way as to reduce or eliminate adverse impacts to wilderness character.

Improving the Management of Scientific Activities in Wilderness

An effective process for management of scientific activities in wilderness will 

incorporate these actions:

•  Provide researchers with information on wilderness character, prohibited 

uses, and minimum requirements analysis before they present a proposal.

•  Develop standard operating procedures for evaluating proposed scientific 

activities and their impacts and benefits to wilderness character (see “Other 

Tools to Evaluate Proposals and Their Impacts and Benefits to Wilderness 

Character,” below).

•  Monitor proposed, active, and inactive research projects, as well as all 

existing scientific structures within wilderness. This helps ensure the 

removal of scientific equipment and structures no longer needed for active 

research, and also tracks the cumulative impacts of these projects.

•  Outline wilderness stewardship goals and desired conditions of wilderness 

character to help guide proposal evaluations.
Photo: NPS, Glacier Bay 

Wilderness, Glacier Bay 

National Park & Preserve

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

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Other Tools to Evaluate Proposals and Their Impacts 

and Benefits to Wilderness Character

The “Research and Scientific Activities Toolbox” available online at

http://www.wilderness.net/toolboxes provides law and policy guidance, tools, 

worksheets, and examples for evaluating these activities in wilderness. The 

evaluative tools, framework, and worksheets consider impacts to wilderness 

character through filter questions and other processes that help managers 

determine the appropriateness of a proposed activity. Examples of guidance and 

tools provided include:

•  Scientific Activities and Research in NPS Wilderness: Guidelines for 

Wilderness Managers: http://www.wilderness.net/toolboxes/documents/

resSciAct/Scientific%20Activities%20Evaluation%20Framework.pdf 

•  Wilderness Research in Alaska’s National Parks:

www.nps.gov/akso/Docs/Wilderness.pdf

•  Worksheets and Instructions (Proposal Evaluation Tools): 

http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=toolboxes&sec=resSciAct

Other resources and examples are available at:

•  NPS Wilderness Character Sharepoint site: 

http://share.inside.nps.gov/sites/WASO/WSD/WC

•  Arthur Carhart Minimum Requirements Decision Guide & Examples:

http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=MRDG
Photo: NPS, Lassen Volcanic 

Wilderness, Lassen Volcanic 

National Park

Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

75

Environmental Compliance

This section addresses how to address wilderness character while complying 

with the National Environmental Policy Act. A desired outcome is to increase 

consistency among environmental assessments and environmental impact 

statements to facilitate their development and review. If used consistently, this 

approach will improve broad understanding, both by planning reviewers and 

the public, of the way proposed actions affect wilderness character. Enhancing 

consistency in NEPA documents should also improve wilderness stewardship. 

Note that this section is not intended to address compliance with section 106 of 

the National Historic Preservation Act, compliance with floodplain and wetlands 

requirements, specific resources.

The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to fully consider 

the environmental impacts of any proposed action prior to implementation. 

A variety of NPS plans with the potential to affect wilderness character may 

require NEPA documentation. In addition to wilderness studies and wilderness 

management plans, these may include general management plans, commercial 

services plans, visitor use management plans, and air tour management plans. 

NPS actions to treat invasive plants, install footbridges or food lockers, or build 

climate monitoring stations in wilderness, would trigger a NEPA process.

Determine whether or not wilderness character should be addressed in a NEPA 

document during the scoping phase, when a planning team considers issues 

and concerns regarding a potential action. Always address wilderness character 

when developing a wilderness study or stewardship plan. For actions occurring in 

any category of wilderness (designated, proposed, recommended, and eligible), 

a planning team must determine the potential effect on wilderness character. 

Seven key points in the NEPA process during which wilderness character should 

be considered are:

1.Scoping and preparing an environmental screening form

2.Selecting impact topics

3.Developing the “Affected Environment”

4.Developing the “Alternatives”

5.Writing the “Environmental Consequences”

6.Identifying the NPS preferred alternative

7.Preparing a decision document

For comprehensive guidance about NEPA 

requirements, see NPS Director’s Order 12: 

Conservation Planning, Environmental Impact 

Analysis, and Decision Making and the NPS Director’s 

Order 12 Handbook, available online at http://

planning.nps.gov/document/do12handbook1.pdf.

The following sections describe how to address 

wilderness character at key stages in the NEPA 

process. References to several examples of NEPA 

documents that address wilderness character are 

included at the end of the section.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

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Scoping and Preparing an Environmental Screening Form

Scoping is the process a planning team uses to identify major issues to address in 

a NEPA document, and includes both external scoping (canvassing the public and 

other agencies) and internal scoping (NPS staff). Wilderness has both local and 

national significance, which underscores the need for adequate and effective 

participatory processes for public involvement at broad scales. During scoping, 

an environmental screening form is typically completed. The environmental 

screening form determines the NEPA pathway for a NPS action (e.g., a memo to 

file, categorical exclusion, environmental assessment, or environmental impact 

statement). One of the mandatory criteria to consider in an environmental 

screening form is whether an action could have a significant impact on 

wilderness character.

Many actions in wilderness are routinely categorically excluded from further 

NEPA analysis, such as manual weed control, and maintenance of existing trails 

and campsites. Use care in approving actions under a categorical exclusion. If an 

action could potentially cause more than a minor adverse impact to wilderness 

character, set a national precedent, or be controversial, selecting a categorical 

exclusion is not the appropriate NEPA pathway.

Scoping also involves articulating the purpose and need for the project, and 

project goals. For projects proposed within wilderness it is important to 

properly state the issues being addressed and the need to take action in 

wilderness. It is also important to include the preservation of wilderness 

character in project goals.

Selecting Impact Topics

Planning issues and impact topics focus environmental analysis and ensure the 

relevance of impact evaluation. Based on federal laws, Council on Environmental 

Quality guidelines, NPS management policies, scoping, staff judgments, and 

especially issues, a planning team identifies which impact topics to analyze in 

a NEPA document. Wilderness character should always be the primary impact 

topic when analyzing impacts on wilderness. This ensures that impacts are 

evaluated based on their effects to the qualities of wilderness character. If 

potentially adverse impacts (or benefits) to wilderness character are only minor, 

then wilderness character may be dismissed from detailed analysis. If wilderness 

character is dismissed from detailed analysis, be sure to discuss the rationale in a 

section identifying impact topics that were dismissed from detailed analysis. This 

lets readers know that wilderness character was not overlooked.

In the past, impacts to wilderness have been addressed in NEPA documents 

in inconsistent ways. Impacts to wilderness have been evaluated under titles 

such as “Visitor Experience,” “Wilderness Resources (Including the Wilderness 

Visitor Experience),” “Scenic Resources and Visual Quality,” “Vegetation,” and 

“Wilderness Experience and Noise.” This inconsistent approach can lead to 

confusing descriptions of the affected environment, complicate impact analysis, 

and make it difficult for readers to locate discussions about impacts to wilderness 

resources. To avoid these problems, use wilderness character terminology and 

explicitly identify the location of wilderness character impact analysis in a 

NEPA document.
Photo: NPS/Peter Landres, 

Sequoia-Kings Canyon 

Wilderness, Sequoia and 

Kings Canyon National Parks

Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

77

Developing the “Affected Environment”

This section of a NEPA document succinctly describes existing natural, cultural, 

socioeconomic, and other resources that would be affected either directly or 

indirectly by any of the action alternatives under consideration. The “Affected 

Environment” section of the document should describe a park’s wilderness 

character using the qualities of wilderness character identified in chapter 1 

of this document. Much of this information can be taken from the wilderness 

character narrative portion of wilderness stewardship building blocks (if 

available). Description of wilderness character qualities should include current 

conditions and factors affecting these conditions. Also include discussion of the 

overall condition of wilderness through an integration of these qualities.

Developing the “Alternatives”

Depending on the proposed action, wilderness character may or may not play 

a role in developing alternatives. For example, a general management plan 

alternative for a park with wilderness should normally consider effects to 

wilderness character from all actions that are part of an alternative. 

However, if the NEPA document is evaluating snowmobile use along road 

corridors and developed areas, wilderness character would probably play a very 

small role in developing different alternatives. Wilderness character should 

be integral to the development of all alternatives for wilderness studies and 

wilderness stewardship plans.

Alternatives that propose Wilderness Act section 4(c)-prohibited uses trigger 

the need to incorporate a minimum requirements analysis into the compliance 

document. Evaluate actions using the same two-step process described earlier 

in this chapter: (1) Is the action necessary? and if so, (2) What is the minimum 

activity required to accomplish the desired result? Develop the minimum

requirements analysis concurrently with proposed alternatives and preliminary 

impact analysis, not at the end of the process. This makes development an 

iterative process that refines alternatives to best meet management goals while 

minimizing impacts to wilderness character. Document the MRA process using 

the Carhart or similar worksheets and include this documentation in an appendix 

to the environmental compliance document.
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Writing the “Environmental Consequences”

If wilderness character is determined to be a relevant impact topic, then analyze 

the effects of a potential action along the following dimensions:

•  Direct versus indirect impacts—An alternative can directly affect wilderness 

character (e.g., establishing a backcountry campsite in a wilderness area 

affects the undeveloped quality), and an alternative can also have an 

indirect or delayed effect on wilderness character (e.g., developing a 

campground near a wilderness area, which eventually results in increased 

use and decreased solitude).

•  Quality of the impact—The alternative could have an adverse or beneficial 

effect on wilderness character.

•  Duration of the impact—The alternative could result in a short-term or 

long-term change to wilderness character. Explicitly define the duration of 

these timeframes. Generally, a short-term impact would be temporary and 

is often associated with the effects of construction or a single event (e.g., 

hand-pulling of weeds at a site). Long-term impacts have more permanent 

effects (e.g., a proposal for wilderness designation may protect wilderness 

character in perpetuity).

•  Intensity of the impact—This refers to the degree or magnitude to which 

wilderness character would be beneficially or adversely affected. This 

dimension assesses the relative size or amount of the effect, not the 

geographic extent or duration and frequency (see the NEPA document 

examples at the end of the section for examples of wilderness character 

intensity thresholds).

•  Context of the impact—This refers to the setting within which an impact 

may occur, such as a locality or region. In the case of wilderness character, 

the context is usually either localized or wildernesswide.

When a wilderness extends beyond a park boundary (into an adjacent national 

forest, for instance) the neighboring land management agency should be 

consulted regarding impacts.

When analyzing the effects of alternatives on wilderness character, be 

sure to consider each of the qualities of wilderness character. The analyst 

(with input from the interdisciplinary team) needs to synthesize and integrate 

all of these possible effects into a concise statement of the overall effect on 

wilderness character.

Identifying the NPS Preferred Alternative

The preferred alternative is the one that the NPS is leaning towards 

implementing. In parks with designated or proposed wilderness, wilderness 

character should be an important consideration when identifying an NPS 

preferred alternative.
Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

79

Preparing a Decision Document

Decision documents complete the NEPA process for an environmental assessment 

or environmental impact statement and record the reasons for selecting a 

particular alternative. These documents also provide rationale for EA decisions 

that arrive at a “finding of no significant impact,” or FONSI. Beneficial effects to 

wilderness character are one rationale for selecting a preferred alternative. As 

NPS wilderness is also considered a park resource, planners must affirmatively 

state that park resources would not be impaired by the selected alternative. 

This is particularly important if wilderness is a fundamental resource of a park. 

The qualities of wilderness character should be considered in the rationale for 

justifying why there is no impairment of this resource.

Examples

Examples of this approach to incorporating wilderness character into compliance 

documents include:

•  Nabesna Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement (2010): http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.

cfm?parkID=21&projectID=20698&documentID=35478

•  Climate Monitoring Program in the Arctic Alaska Network (ARCN) National 

Park Service Units Environmental Assessment (2010): http://parkplanning.

nps.gov/documentsList.cfm?parkID=11&projectID=31471

•  Final General Management Plan / Wilderness Management Plan / 

Environmental Impact Statement, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore: 

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=10903

•  Draft Grand Ditch Breach Restoration Environmental Impact Statement,

Rocky Mountain National Park: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.

cfm?projectID=24496

•  Draft General Management Plan Amendment / Wilderness Study / 

Environmental Impact Statement, Gates of the Arctic National Park and 

Preserve (available soon)

•  Draft General Management Plan / East Everglades Wilderness 

Study / Environmental Impact Statement, Everglades 

National Park http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.

cfm?parkID=374&projectID=11170&documentID=51890

External Compliance Document Review

The National Park Service reviews many compliance documents prepared by 

other agencies regarding activities and actions that could potentially affect 

park units and wilderness, such as proposed military aircraft overflights, oil and 

gas development, renewable energy development, transmission corridors, and 

transportation proposals. If wilderness could be affected, the analysis of impacts 

to wilderness character should be identified in such documents and analyzed 

using the qualities of wilderness character.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

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Facility Management and Maintenance Activities

Wilderness character is closely tied to many of the daily activities of facility 

management and maintenance operations staff. Facility management, 

maintenance, and trail work can improve visitor access and experience, help 

protect natural and cultural resources, and improve visitor safety. On the other 

hand, facility management and maintenance activities can also detract from the 

qualities of wilderness character. As with resource management, fire, and other 

divisions within the park, decisions about activities and projects within wilderness 

should consider impacts and benefits to wilderness character. Managers should 

begin by developing and agreeing upon facilities and maintenance standards 

(e.g., width and surface for trails, design and placement of signs, sanitary 

facilities, and levels of equipment and crew noise) through planning or other 

interdisciplinary teamwork. These standards should be informed by desired 

conditions for each of the qualities of wilderness character as well as appropriate 

NPS management policies. In addition, planning facilities management and 

maintenance work in wilderness may require additional time, expertise, and 

funding to achieve project goals and preserve wilderness character.

Facility Management and Maintenance Work and the 

Undeveloped Quality

Park maintenance staff are in a unique position to protect and demonstrate the 

special nature of wilderness. The use of crosscut saws and other nonmechanized 

tools supports the undeveloped quality, strengthens connections with the 

land, perpetuates traditional skills, and demonstrates the special nature of 

wilderness to the public. However, nonrecreational structures, installations, and 

developments in wilderness that are not considered historic or cultural resources, 

impact the undeveloped quality. This includes the presence of buildings, utilities, 

or any other developments within wilderness. Perhaps the most common facility 

management and maintenance activities that affect wilderness character involve 

the use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanized transport:

•  Motor vehicles include any land, water, or air vehicles powered by gas or 

electricity (e.g., boats, aircraft, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles).

•  Motorized equipment includes any machines or tools that use a motor or 

engine (e.g., chainsaws, generators), but does not include small, handheld, 

battery-powered equipment.

•  Mechanical transport is defined in Keeping It Wild as “any contrivance for 

moving people or material in or over land, water, or air, having moving 

parts or providing a mechanical advantage to the user and powered by a 

living or nonliving power source” (e.g., carts, wagons, wheelbarrows).

The use of any of these vehicles or equipment detracts from the undeveloped 

quality, regardless of whether the use is necessary because of an emergency 

situation. This use must be approved by a minimum requirements analysis 

conducted by an interdisciplinary team that has thoughtfully considered whether 

the action is necessary within wilderness, and if so, what tools, methods, and 

actions are necessary to meet the minimum requirements for the administration 

of the area that result in the least negative impact to wilderness character.

Key Points:

•  Develop and agree

upon facilities

and maintenance

standards through

planning or other

interdisciplinary

teamwork.

•  Analyze facility

management and

maintenance activities

for their effects on

wilderness character,

especially the

undeveloped quality

and the solitude

or primitive and

unconfined recreation

quality.

•  Consider the

use of primitive

tools or modes of

transportation.
Photo: NPS, Yosemite 

Wilderness, Yosemite 

National Park

Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

81

When an action has been determined necessary within wilderness, staff should 

consider the use of primitive hand tools or modes of transportation, such as 

crosscut saws and pack stock, to accomplish management objectives and preserve 

wilderness character. The Wilderness Act contains no exceptions for management 

actions that are quicker, cheaper, or easier, so time and economic constraints are 

secondary to impacts on wilderness character.

Establishing an appropriate level of basic maintenance ensures that facilities, 

trails, or other structures are not “improved” to such a degree that they no 

longer fit the desired condition for the wilderness character of an area. A basic 

level provides clear, predetermined standards for staff to maintain facilities with 

as benign an effect on wilderness character as possible.

Facility Management and Maintenance Work and the Opportunity 

for Solitude or Primitive and Unconfined Recreation

Facility management, maintenance, and trail work may affect the opportunity 

for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation by adding to the number of 

recreation-related developments, reducing the opportunity for primitive and 

unconfined recreation, and decreasing the remoteness from sights and sounds 

of people in wilderness. Recreational developments protect park resources 

and often improve the natural quality, but detract from solitude by reminding 

wilderness users of the presence of other visitors and also by decreasing the 

opportunity for self-reliant recreation. The presence of trails, shelters, signs, or 

bridges improves visitor safety, but reduces the opportunity for visitors to rely on 

their own skills to navigate and travel through wilderness. Developments such as 

toilets, campsites, and signs have an adverse effect on this quality of wilderness 

character whether they are for resource protection or visitor convenience. Facility 

management, maintenance or trail crews, as with resource management crews, 

may also impact the opportunity for solitude by increasing the number of people 

that visitors encounter in the wilderness. If facility management, maintenance, 

or trail crews are considering the use of section 4(c)-prohibited uses, a minimum 

requirements analysis may help them consider the impact of their proposed 

actions on all qualities of wilderness character.

Facility Management and 

Maintenance Work and the 

Natural and Untrammeled Qualities

Facility management, maintenance, and trail 

projects generally play a key role in protecting 

park resources, but crews may need to consider 

their impact on the natural quality of wilderness 

character if their activities have the potential to 

negatively impact water quality, increase erosion, 

or contribute to loss of soil crusts, native plant 

communities, or connectivity with the surrounding 

landscape. Facility management and maintenance 

activities could impact the untrammeled quality if 

they control, manipulate, or alter the biophysical 

environment. This would include large-scale actions 

such as building a dam but would not include smallscale actions such as removing a hazard tree or 

constructing a water bar.
Photo: NPS, Zion Wilderness, 

Zion National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

82

Facility Management and Maintenance Work and the 

Other Features of Value Quality

Facility management and maintenance work play a critical role in protecting the 

other features of value quality of wilderness character. Protective fencing, cave 

exclosures, walkways over archeological sites, and shelters over paleontological 

resources can help protect these other features of value, but can also impact the 

undeveloped and the solitude or primitive and unconfined qualities. Activities 

and projects to protect these other features of value need to be planned 

carefully to minimize impacts to all of the other qualities of wilderness character. 

Historic structures and other cultural resources such as cabins, ruins, or trails may 

be priority assets for a park and part of the other features of value quality of 

wilderness character. Preservation maintenance activities have special planning 

and implementation considerations when they are conducted in wilderness. 

Work on historic structures should be planned with cultural resource and 

wilderness staff to meet both The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the 

Treatment of Historic Properties and minimum requirements for wilderness. 

Importantly, a standard of treatment should be compatible with the preservation 

of wilderness character as well as the methods and materials needed for 

preservation maintenance. Primitive tools and use of local materials can help 

preserve both the historic character and wilderness character of an historic 

structure but could impact the natural quality if, for example, native trees are 

cut and used in the preservation action (see appendix 4.2 for an example in the 

Zion Wilderness in Zion National Park). Maintaining historic structures to desired 

conditions with minimal intervention will protect the historic “fabric” and 

wilderness character, while deferring maintenance until major interventions are 

necessary could impact multiple qualities of wilderness character in addition to 

historic integrity.
Photo: NPS/Peter Landres, 

Olympic Wilderness, 

Olympic National Park

Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

83

Facilities Outside of Wilderness

Facilities outside of wilderness can potentially influence wilderness character 

as well. For example, improvements to parkwide infrastructure, such as 

paving or widening roads and increasing the supply of parking facilities, often 

facilitates higher levels of visitor use and inundates trailheads with visitors. 

These facility improvements outside of the wilderness can indirectly detract 

from the opportunity for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation 

within the wilderness. Increased visitation may lead to social trails and impact 

resources, which may lead to proposals to improve and maintain trails to a 

higher standard than originally intended, or proposals to use motorized and 

mechanized equipment. In other cases, bright lighting, high-traffic roads, and 

large campgrounds near the wilderness boundary may affect opportunities to 

experience natural sounds and dark skies within the wilderness. This concept 

of “trail creep” and other impacts to wilderness character may be mitigated 

by communication among staff, consideration of wilderness character, and 

interdisciplinary planning for visitor use management and facilities outside 

of wilderness.

Decision Making and Further Examples

Wilderness is not intended to be an area of prohibitions that limits access 

and enjoyment, and facilities in wilderness are important aspects of visitor 

safety, experience, and resource protection. Wilderness is intended to provide 

opportunities for a special kind of experience that is markedly different from 

those on other types of public land. Evaluating facility management and 

maintenance activities within wilderness can be a difficult task. Sometimes, 

section 4(c)-prohibited uses are necessary to maintain portions of the wilderness 

to a very basic standard, or in cases where safety is an issue. Managers should still 

engage a variety of staff in honest discussion and consider:

•  What is and is not necessary within wilderness?

•  What should be considered a basic level 

of maintenance?

•  Do the benefits of the proposed activities

justify the impacts to wilderness character?

The Facility Management Software System (FMSS) 

database, which tracks changes in condition of 

facilities and assets including those in wilderness, 

may be a useful data source for tracking change 

in wilderness character over time, particularly for 

assessing impacts on the undeveloped quality and 

opportunity for primitive and unconfined recreation 

quality. Examples of analyzing impacts to wilderness 

character through the Minimum Requirements 

Decision Guide for bridge failures and washouts, 

trail maintenance, and trail reconstruction projects 

are available online at http://www.wilderness.net/

index.cfm?fuse=MRDG.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

84

Emergency Services, Law Enforcement, and Wildland Fire

Impacts to wilderness character caused by administrative activities, including 

emergency operations, will occur. Planned administrative entries into wilderness 

degrade the untrammeled quality, while other activities may alter the natural 

or undeveloped quality. Emergency services can impact the quality of solitude. 

Through training, education, and a consideration of impacts to wilderness 

character in all preplanning efforts, those effects can be reduced. Joint training 

with cooperating agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), 

the U.S. Border Patrol, and county search and rescue teams can raise an 

awareness of wilderness values and an understanding of wilderness character 

concerns. Programmatic minimum requirements decision documents allow for 

consideration of wilderness character impacts prior to an incident and facilitate 

reporting at year’s end.

Search and Rescue, and Risk Management

Search and rescue operations can negatively impact wilderness character. 

Low-level helicopter flights impact the undeveloped quality. Intensive rope 

rescue operations adversely impact the natural quality when the trampling 

of vegetation occurs. Large numbers of searchers eliminate opportunities for 

solitude in the search area.

Parks should consider preventive search and rescue programs as well as programs 

to evaluate public risk. Through the reduction of injuries and incidents, parks 

not only improve visitor safety, they preserve wilderness character. A careful 

evaluation of individual incidents as well as overall trends should lead to 

additional opportunities for education and user group outreach with an 

emphasis on personal responsibility and risk management through appropriate 

decision making.

The Wilderness Act does allow for some prohibited uses, such as helicopter 

landings, during emergencies involving the health and safety of persons within 

the area. Through park search and rescue plans, as well as site-specific preplans 

for common incident locations, parks may be able to avoid impacts to wilderness 

character. For example, if there is a common injury location that is a reasonable 

distance from a trailhead, a park could develop a preplan that states that a 

noncritical patient would be carried by litter to a trailhead as opposed to using a 

helicopter evacuation.

Impacts to wilderness character that occur during search and rescue incidents 

as well as training exercises should be included in monitoring programs. The 

total number of flight hours per year, the number of days when flights occur, or 

the total number of bolts placed could all serve as measures to track impacts to 

wilderness character resulting from search and rescue activities.

Key Points:

•  Uses prohibited

by the Wilderness

Act are allowed in

emergencies but

should only be used

in critical or lifethreatening situations.

•  Education, risk

management, and

preplanning can

reduce impacts to

wilderness character.

•  Impacts by emergency

services on wilderness

character should be

monitored over time.
Photo: NPS, Zion Wilderness, 

Zion National Park

Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

85

Law Enforcement

Illegal activities occurring in NPS wilderness can have substantial negative 

impacts on wilderness character. Plant and animal poaching negatively impact 

both the natural and untrammeled qualities. Illegal all-terrain vehicle use 

impacts both the undeveloped quality as well as the natural quality, and may 

degrade cultural resources in the other features of value quality. Marijuana grow 

sites and illegal U.S. border crossings can impact all five qualities of wilderness 

character. Through an analysis of these impacts, parks may choose to take 

actions that negatively impact wilderness character in the short term with the 

goal of reducing the long-term impacts of the illegal activities. Examples could 

include ranger patrols to deter wilderness regulation violations or the use of a 

helicopter to detect marijuana gardens. Case incident reports (CIRs) document 

law enforcement and emergency services activities in parks. Parks should review 

CIR content and formats and as they relate to documenting wilderness character 

impacts and reporting.

NPS regulations can detract from the unconfined quality of a visitors’ 

recreational experience. The regulations may be necessary to preserve other 

aspects of wilderness character including the opportunity for solitude. Through 

monitoring, the extent of regulations can be tracked over time and evaluated 

for necessity.

As with other emergency services, planning, communication, education, and 

minimum requirements discussions can lead to a reduction in impacts on 

wilderness character.

Wildland Fire Management

Both wildfire management actions and planned fuels treatments (including 

management-ignited fires) have potential to impact the untrammeled, natural, 

and other features of value qualities of wilderness character through altering 

the natural fire regime. Helicopters, other aviation resources, and mechanical 

equipment such as chainsaws and portable pumps impact the undeveloped 

quality, while management-ignited fires and unplanned fires that are allowed to 

burn may improve the natural quality while adversely affecting cultural resources 

in the other features of value quality. Fire management activities protect life 

and property but they also protect or restore resources and may contribute to 

the preservation of wilderness character. Integrating wilderness character into 

management and planning encourages a more holistic view of wildland fire 

management. Chapter 3 provides an in-depth discussion of wilderness character 

and fire management planning.
Photo: NPS, Mojave 

Wilderness, Mojave 

National Preserve

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

86

All actions affecting wilderness character, including the use of aviation resources 

and other motorized equipment, should be evaluated through a minimum 

requirements analysis and monitored with the overall goal to preserve or 

improve wilderness character. Decisions regarding the implementation of 

planned ignitions and management of unplanned ignitions should weigh 

the potential for positive long-term benefits on wilderness character against 

immediate and cumulative negative impacts. Burned area stabilization and 

rehabilitation plans should carefully consider impacts to wilderness character. 

For example, the negative impacts to the untrammeled quality caused by a 

native plant reseeding program should be weighed against the positive impacts 

to the natural quality.

Planning and education can reduce some impacts by identifying alternate 

transportation methods, such as stock use as well as the use of minimum impact 

suppression techniques. The Interagency Incident Response Pocket Guide carried 

by many wildland firefighters includes a section concerning MIST guidelines 

and can be an excellent field resource. Tactics such as the use of Leave No Trace 

principles for spike camps, preplanning to avoid motorized equipment use 

during management-ignited fires, and the use of natural features for fire breaks 

can all maintain or improve wilderness character.
Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

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Interpretive Activities and Education

Incorporating wilderness character into a long range interpretive plan ensures 

that interpretive messages are relevant and effective in preserving wilderness 

character. See chapter 3 for information about developing a long range 

interpretive plan. The concept of wilderness character helps focus discussion 

of wilderness from diverse personal and cultural meanings to a common 

understanding based on the language of the Wilderness Act. The wilderness 

character framework also helps managers consider the potential adverse effects 

of various message-related activities and development actions, as well as benefits 

that may contribute to wilderness character. For example, considering potential 

effects on the opportunity for solitude shapes decisions on the location, 

duration, and frequency of guided activities in wilderness so as to have the least 

impact on this quality to other visitors.

Providing educational opportunities and messages to the public before they get 

to wilderness is among the most effective tools for promoting wilderness ethics 

that preserve wilderness character. The conceptual framework for wilderness 

character facilitates explanations of management decisions to the public. It is 

important that interpretive and educational outreach staff be able to clearly 

articulate the qualities and preservation of wilderness character in a way that 

emphasizes a shared responsibility. For example, increased fire danger may lead 

to increased wilderness restrictions and the decision to prohibit the use of fires, 

smoking, and gas stoves. Interpretive and educational outreach staff can explain 

the tradeoffs between the opportunity for unconfined recreation quality and 

benefits to the natural quality through reduced risk of accidental ignitions.

The following principles could guide the development of educational messages 

that incorporate wilderness character:

•  Promote and perpetuate public awareness of, and appreciation for, 

wilderness character, resources, and ethics, while providing for acceptable 

use limits.

•  Encourage the public to use and accept wilderness on its own terms; 

i.e., the acceptance of an undeveloped, primitive environment and the 

assumption of the potential risks and responsibilities involved in using and 

enjoying wilderness areas.

•  Focus on fostering an understanding of the concept of wilderness that 

includes respect for the resource, willingness to exercise self-restraint in 

demanding access to it, and an ability to adhere to appropriate, minimumimpact techniques.

Key Points:

•  Wilderness character

should be reflected in

interpretive themes

and educational

messages.

•  Education is one of

the most effective

tools for mitigating

visitor use issues in

wilderness.

•  The wilderness

character framework

enables staff to

communicate about

wilderness with the

public.

•  Leave No Trace

messages complement

and enhance

wilderness character

messages.
Photo: NPS, Great Sand 

Dunes Wilderness, 

Great Sand Dunes 

National Park & Preserve

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

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Messages emphasizing Leave No Trace principles mesh easily with preserving 

the qualities of wilderness character. For example, “travel on durable surfaces” 

preserves the natural quality and lessens the chance of social trails developing, 

which may result in a management response to either construct a trail or 

limit visitation, both of which also impact the opportunity for primitive and 

unconfined recreation. The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics produces 

a series of skills and ethics booklets covering a wide range of activities and 

geographic areas (e.g., Canyoneering, Alaska Wildlands) that provide useful 

information for interpreters on minimizing visitor impacts.

Training staff to consider and promote wilderness character when issuing 

wilderness permits improves visitor education, provides consistency, and 

promotes public acceptance and understanding of potentially unpopular 

management policies aimed at preserving wilderness character.

Well-informed park visitors also play a powerful role in not only minimizing 

their own impacts on wilderness character, but as advocates of such action to 

other users and outside influences on the park. An inspired and well-informed 

public can be a powerful advocate to preserve or improve all qualities of 

wilderness character.
Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

89

Natural Resources

Wilderness character is closely tied to many of the daily operations conducted 

by natural resource management staff. Control of invasive species, accumulated 

fuels from fire suppression or exclusion, impacts on natural sounds and night 

skies, protection of paleontological resources, the potential effects of climate 

change, and visitor experience are among the many concerns of natural resource 

managers. Actions associated with such concerns could have a variety of effects 

on wilderness character. Preserving natural resources, the integrity of native 

ecological systems, and improving visitor experience are all key components of 

wilderness character, but natural resource managers must also consider effects 

of any action they take on the qualities of wilderness character. To preserve 

wilderness character, actions must be determined to be necessary. Any activity 

(method or tool) taken to accomplish the action should eliminate or minimize 

any impact to wilderness character. A good way to make these determinations is 

through the completion of a minimum requirements analysis.

Preserving the natural quality and the untrammeled quality can often be 

contradictory; however, the Wilderness Act requires both qualities to be 

preserved to the greatest extent possible. For example, removing invasive 

species can improve the natural quality, but simultaneously degrades the 

untrammeled quality. Staff should engage in discussions about how potential 

actions may affect both qualities and honestly weigh the benefits and impacts to 

wilderness character in decision making. In some cases, a short-term sacrifice in 

the untrammeled quality may be necessary to gain a longer term benefit to the 

natural quality. While this is often a sound and legitimate argument, managers 

should also be conscious of the cumulative impacts of many short-term sacrifices 

to the untrammeled quality. A good time to discuss some of these broader 

issues is during the planning process. Wilderness character should be considered 

and included when developing desired conditions in support of a resource 

stewardship strategy. For more information about wilderness character and 

development of a resource stewardship strategy see chapter 3.

When natural resource staff conducts internal monitoring, surveys, or other 

activities within wilderness, they must be aware that installations may detract 

from the undeveloped quality, and large groups of technicians, volunteer 

groups, or work crews may impact the opportunity for solitude, especially 

when planning to stay in the wilderness for days at a time. Consider conducting 

these activities on days of the week or in seasons with lower visitor use. Much 

of this internal monitoring will be critical for wilderness character monitoring. 

Data regarding plant and animal populations and communities, air and water 

quality, soundscapes and night skies, and status of geologic and other important 

resources are all important components of wilderness character monitoring. 

Much of this data may be gathered from existing efforts or databases so staff 

should consider collaborating with inventory and monitoring (I&M) networks or 

other monitoring efforts. For more information on conducting scientific activities 

within wilderness see the previous section in this chapter.

Key Points:

•  Preserving all the

qualities of wilderness

character is equally

important, so

managers should

carefully weigh

long- and short-term

impacts and benefits.

•  Natural resource

staff should be

especially conscious of

cumulative impacts of

large work or survey

crews, as well as

cumulative trammeling

actions.

•  Wilderness character

monitoring will

probably benefit

from existing data,

such as inventory and

monitoring data or

RSS indicators.
Photo: NPS, Saguaro 

Wilderness, Saguaro 

National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

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Cultural Resources

This section focuses on how the management of cultural resources and 

wilderness overlap, and how cultural resource management and wilderness 

stewardship can be compatible. This section (and appendix 4.1) also offers 

some practical ways to improve communication between wilderness and 

cultural resource staff by identifying incorrect assumptions commonly held 

by both groups. This section builds on prior NPS efforts (NPS 2002) and recent 

publications (Landres and others 2008, Cowley and others 2012) that show 

a strong connection between cultural resources and wilderness. In addition, 

Wild and McLeod (2008) discuss the connection between cultural resources and 

protected areas globally. One of the most important take-home messages of this 

section is that park and project managers need to fully consider the values and 

impacts of all resources as they develop management and operational plans and 

strategies for the programs and resources for which they are responsible.

As described in chapter 1, cultural resources may fit within the other features of 

value quality of wilderness character if they have scientific, educational, scenic, 

or historical value. In some this relationship between cultural resources and 

wilderness character is clear, particularly when wilderness designation provides 

a specific reference to cultural resources such as in 

Mesa Verde Wilderness within Mesa Verde National 

Park. Similarly, the 1994 California Desert Protection 

Act established the Death Valley Wilderness in Death 

Valley National Park and directed the National 

Park Service to protect and preserve “historical and 

cultural values of the California desert associated 

with ancient Indian cultures, patterns of western 

exploration and settlement, and sites exemplifying 

the mining, ranching, and railroading history of 

the Old West.” In these cases it is understood that 

cultural resources are part of the fabric of the 

wilderness and that wilderness designation protects 

these resources. More commonly, however, this 

relationship is not expressed in legislation and this 

lack of clarity has in some cases led to confusion and 

misunderstanding.

Misunderstandings About Cultural 

Resource and Wilderness Laws

There are several misunderstandings about 

wilderness and cultural resource laws. Perhaps 

the most common misunderstanding is that the 

Wilderness Act has priority over cultural resource 

laws, or that cultural resource laws, including the 

NPS Organic Act, have priority over the Wilderness 

Act. This misunderstanding, especially when 

wilderness legislation does not explicitly discuss 

cultural resources, has led some to the view that 

cultural resources must be removed because they 

are “developments” in an otherwise “undeveloped” 

wilderness; or, at the other end of the spectrum, 

the view that cultural resources must be maintained 

and retained in wilderness without considering 
Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

91

the full range of options and their resulting impacts on wilderness. In fact, no 

federal law has priority over another unless explicitly stated in congressional 

legislation and neither wilderness nor cultural resource laws state that they 

have a priority over the other. Therefore, all cultural resource laws apply to 

cultural resources in wilderness, just as the Wilderness Act also applies. Another 

common misunderstanding is that the Wilderness Act section 4(a)(3) statement 

that “Nothing in this Act shall modify the statutory authority under which units 

of the national park system are created” allows park staff to prioritize particular 

provisions of the NPS Organic Act over the Wilderness Act. As discussed in 

scholarly publications on how various laws apply in wilderness (e.g., Rohlf and 

Honnold 1988, Dawson and Hendee 2008, Miles 2009), the congressional and 

policy mandate to park managers is to uphold both laws, not to put either law 

above the other.

Managing Cultural Resources in Wilderness

Planning is fundamentally important to ensure that the values of both wilderness 

and cultural resources are preserved. The sooner that planning occurs the better, 

serving as a mechanism for bringing wilderness and cultural resource staff 

together, along with facility management staff as appropriate, to determine 

which situations will be easy to manage, and which will be difficult to manage, 

and therefore, require greater discussion and care. The challenges in managing 

cultural resources in wilderness are similar to those managing other resources 

inside wilderness. In particular, there may be competing resource-specific goals 

that require tradeoffs, but the overriding goal is to make an informed and 

transparent decision that maximizes the preservation of wilderness character and 

the cultural resource. In many cases there may be a lack of sufficient information 

about cultural resources in a wilderness requiring a long-term, evolving 

discussion between wilderness and cultural resource staff to make these decisions 

as new information becomes available. Resolving these challenges requires a 

common framework for understanding wilderness and cultural resource values 

and laws. Such a framework is presented below and appendix 4.1 provides an 

expanded set of principles to foster better understanding and communication.

The framework presented here is that:

•  Cultural resource laws apply inside wilderness.

•  Cultural resources may be part of wilderness character.

•  The Wilderness Act’s mandate to preserve wilderness character applies to 

managing cultural resources in wilderness.

There are several implications of this framework. First, cultural resources need 

to be inventoried and evaluated so a determination of their significance can 

be established. Second, cultural resource and wilderness staffs need to discuss 

which cultural resources rise to the level of a “character-defining feature” (a 

phrase used in historic preservation) for that wilderness. Third, cultural resources 

that do not rise to this level are still managed under the legal obligations of 

cultural resource laws. Fourth, the management prescription for a particular 

cultural resource inside wilderness needs to consider its role in history and in the 

wilderness, requiring discussion between wilderness and cultural resource staffs 

to reach an informed and transparent decision.
Photo: NPS/Peter Landres, 

Buffalo National River 

Wilderness, Buffalo 

National River

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

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Managing cultural resources in wilderness will require case-by-case application 

of the framework presented here. One tool to help apply this framework is 

the minimum requirements analysis, discussed in detail in chapter 4. NPS policy 

requires that a minimum requirements analysis be completed for preservation 

prescriptions or actions on cultural resources inside of wilderness, including 

inventory, monitoring, scientific investigations, and treatments. The intent of 

this analysis is not to prevent actions but to ensure that they are necessary and 

if so, that the minimum tool is used. Appendix 4.2 offers a summary of the MRA 

process employed to restore an historical wilderness cabin in Zion National Park. 

Cabins often present the greatest challenge to managing cultural resources in 

wilderness, and this example shows how when cultural resource and wilderness 

staffs work together both the cultural resource and wilderness character can 

be preserved.

Another tool to help apply this framework is the set of three online training 

modules on managing cultural resources in wilderness (http://www.wilderness.

net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=elearning) developed by the Arthur Carhart 

National Wilderness Training Center. Both wilderness and cultural resources 

staffs are encouraged to take this training. The modules cover a range of topics, 

including laws, definitions, the scientific and societal importance of cultural 

resources that occur in wilderness, the legal and procedural requirements for 

inventory and monitoring of cultural resources and how these can be conducted 

in wilderness-appropriate ways, examples showing particular areas of potential 

conflict, and examples showing how cultural resource management and 

wilderness stewardship are compatible.
Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

93

Wilderness Character Training for Park Staff

Park superintendents, assisted by wilderness coordinators, are responsible for 

ensuring that park personnel have appropriate wilderness character training. 

Primary goals should be to establish a common understanding of wilderness 

character and stimulate conversation among staff from all divisions about 

how various planning, management, and monitoring activities affect 

wilderness character.

Why and When a Staff Should Participate in Wilderness Training

Wilderness is a special designation and a valuable resource in and of itself, with 

more than 83% of NPS land managed as wilderness. Staff should therefore have 

an understanding of why wilderness is special and of the unique values the 

National Park Service is charged to preserve.

While staff from all divisions should have an understanding of how their job 

relates to wilderness character, wilderness training is especially important 

in conjunction with a formal wilderness planning process, or when staff 

begins to develop the building blocks of wilderness character (see chapter 2). 

Before beginning either process, it is imperative that all staff have a solid and 

common understanding of wilderness character. This significantly improves 

communication and efficiency and allows discussions to move forward positively 

and constructively.

Primary Outlets for Wilderness Character Training

Parks may opt to conduct wilderness training either in-house or seek help from 

outside sources. In addition, joint training, such as has been done with the 

National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Border 

Patrol, can raise awareness of wilderness values and promote understanding of 

wilderness character concerns. The following three groups are available to assist 

parks in wilderness stewardship training, or provide products, materials, 

and guidance:

•  The Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center works with the 

four wilderness-managing agencies to develop interagency solutions to 

wilderness challenges. Materials developed by the Carhart Center are 

distributed to every wilderness unit and training sessions are offered where 

they are needed most. Contact: Tim Devine, (406) 243-4612.

•  The NPS Wilderness Stewardship Division offers planning assistance, 

support, and resources to wilderness parks. Contact: Garry Oye, 

(702) 895-4893.

•  Regional Wilderness Coordinators can help facilitate the integration of 

wilderness character into NPS planning, management, and monitoring 

and can provide useful resources for this purpose. Contact information for 

your regional wilderness coordinator can be found on InsideNPS under 

Wilderness Stewardship Division Contacts http://inside.nps.gov/waso/

contacts.cfm?lv=3&prg=813

Key Points:

•  All divisions and

categories of status

(permanent, term,

seasonal, volunteers)

have a stake in and

can affect wilderness.

•  Staff training can

be done either

in-house or with

assistance from

the Arthur Carhart

National Wilderness

Training Center or the

WASO Wilderness

Stewardship Division.

•  Training should

provide a common

understanding of

wilderness character

and facilitate dialogue

with staff about

wilderness at their

park.

•  Any staff member

may interact with the

public and should be

able to communicate

wilderness values.
Photo: NPS, Everglades 

National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

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Outside Training Assistance

If a park is seeking formal wilderness stewardship training, including wilderness 

character training, the Carhart Center offers both classroom and online 

training. Upcoming opportunities are listed on the course calendar, and further 

information about these opportunities can be found online at 

http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=courses. Information 

about distance education courses available through the University of Montana 

can be found online at: http://wmdep.wilderness.net/.

In-house Training and Resources

Parks may also conduct in-house wilderness stewardship training to help all staff 

improve their understanding of wilderness character. These in-house trainings 

often foster interdisciplinary dialogue that contributes positively to wilderness 

planning, management, and monitoring within a park. Again, the primary goal 

of wilderness stewardship training is to provide a common understanding of 

wilderness character, to involve staff in engaging conversations about wilderness 

issues in their park, and to identify how wilderness character relates to different 

divisions of wilderness stewardship. For wilderness character workshop agendas 

from other parks, please visit the “Wilderness Character” tab on the NPS 

Wilderness Stewardship Program online at http://share.nps.gov/TBD. For further 

guidance and resources, see the resources and contacts below:

•  The NPS Wilderness Stewardship Division provides resources on wilderness 

management, education, training, and research, available online at 

http://wilderness.nps.gov.

•  The Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center provides online 

courses, modules, and webinars on wilderness character and a variety of 

other topics, including cultural resources within the wilderness character 

framework. For a list of courses and topics see http://carhart.wilderness.net.

•  Minimum Requirements Analysis worksheets and information can be found 

under “Management Tools,” available online at 

http://wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=MRDG.
Photo: NPS/Jacob Frank, 

Denali Wilderness, Denali 

National Park & Preserve 

Chapter 4—Integrating Wilderness Character into Management and Operations

95

•  Wilderness Toolboxes provide information on the interface between 

wilderness and specific management issues. The “Wilderness Character” 

toolbox can be found online at http://www.wilderness.net/index.

cfm?fuse=toolboxes&sec=WC and includes:

⚪ Preserving Wilderness Character: Why, What, and How. This 

presentation, including notes, describes the concept of wilderness 

character, why it is important to preserve, and how the concept can be 

used to improve wilderness stewardship.

⚪ Keeping It Wild: An Interagency Strategy to Monitor Trends in 

Wilderness Character Across the National Wilderness Preservation 

System. This publication was developed by an interagency team to help 

improve wilderness stewardship at all administrative levels—from onthe-ground management to national policy review.

⚪ Monitoring Changes in Wilderness Character. This presentation is 

narrated by Peter Landres, ecologist with the Aldo Leopold Wilderness 

Research Institute, and Chris Barns, a wilderness specialist with the 

Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center. This presentation 

is focused on tracking change in wilderness character and includes a 

transcript.

•  The NPS Wilderness Character Integration Team (WCIT) has since 

reexamined and updated recommendations for integrating wilderness 

stewardship into planning, management, and monitoring, so presentations 

should be supplemented with recommendations put forth within this 

User Guide. Guidance documents developed by the Wilderness Character 

Integration Team can be found online at the NPS Wilderness Character 

Sharepoint site: http://share.inside.nps.gov/sites/WASO/WSD/WC. These 

include workshop agendas, guidance for developing wilderness character 

narratives and monitoring strategies, and a wealth of other resources.

•  Videos:

⚪ America’s Wilderness. This three-minute video by the NPS Wilderness 

Stewardship Division provides an inspiring introduction or closing 

to a wilderness stewardship training session and can be viewed and 

downloaded at http://wilderness.nps.gov/.
Photo: NPS/Peter Landres, Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness, 

Sequoia and Kings National Parks 

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

96
Those who contemplate the 

beauty of the earth find reserves 

of strength that will endure as 

long as life lasts. 

—Rachel Carson

Photo: NPS/James Miller, 

Yosemite National Park

Monitoring 

Change in 

Wilderness 

Character

5

Photo: NPS, Wrangell-St. Elias Wilderness, 

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve

Chapter 5—Monitoring change in Wilderness Character

97

Chapter 5—Monitoring Change in

Wilderness Character

Introduction

This chapter describes how to track change in 

wilderness character. This is the process of gathering 

data on selected measures of wilderness character 

to assess their current condition and seeing how 

these measures, and wilderness character, change 

over time. The methods used to assess conditions 

and track change in wilderness character presented 

here are based on those in Keeping It Wild: 

An Interagency Strategy to Monitor Trends in 

Wilderness Character Across the National Wilderness 

Preservation System (Landres and others 2008). 

This chapter describes how park staff can identify 

locally relevant measures to represent each of the 

qualities of wilderness character and the process 

for tracking how they change over time. The trends 

in each measure are then synthesized, using the 

rules described in Keeping It Wild, to assess how 

wilderness character is changing over time. Using 

the Keeping It Wild strategy provides a way to 

track trends in wilderness character within the 

National Park Service that is nationally consistent 

and locally relevant.
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Why Track Change in Wilderness Character

There are many reasons for tracking change in wilderness character. Most 

simply, if we don’t know the status and trend of a resource (whether it is stable, 

improving, or degrading), we don’t know if we are protecting it. This applies to 

the unique wilderness resource. Further, NPS Management Policies 2006, chapter 

6, “Wilderness Preservation and Management,” section 6.3.7, states that, “The 

principle of nondegradation will be applied to wilderness management, and 

each wilderness area’s condition will be measured and assessed against its own 

unimpaired standard.” NPS policy also states that wilderness character is to be 

preserved in potential, proposed, recommended, and designated wilderness. 

From a practical perspective, the most important reason for tracking change in 

wilderness character is to provide solid information that can be used to inform 

management decisions and improve on-the-ground wilderness stewardship in 

parks, for example, by:

•  Evaluating and documenting the short- and long-term effects of actions 

taken inside wilderness, as well as the effects from threats outside 

wilderness, on wilderness character.

•  Providing solid information for park planning and evaluation of the 

effectiveness of management actions.

•  Fostering better internal communication about wilderness among different 

resource staffs and program areas.

•  Synthesizing data from across different resource staffs and program areas 

into a single, holistic assessment of change in wilderness character.

•  Communicating with the public about the condition of the qualities of 

wilderness character and how they are changing over time.

•  Providing legacy information that will endure over time and help guard 

against “shifting baselines” as personnel change.

In addition to improving park wilderness stewardship, tracking change in 

wilderness character can directly help the National Park Service understand and 

track the effects of climate change and fulfill NPS initiatives for “State of the 

Park” reporting.

Terminology of Measures and Indicators

In this User Guide, tracking change in wilderness character uses the term 

“measure” as a specific aspect of wilderness on which data are collected to 

assess the condition and trend of an indicator. The “indicator” is a more general 

concept, in keeping with the dictionary definition, that is something that is 

estimated and not measured directly. The indicator is a distinct and important 

element of one of the qualities of wilderness character that links the measures 

to the qualities of wilderness character, and the qualities link directly to the 

statutory language of the 1964 Wilderness Act. Different NPS programs, however, 

use the same terms in different ways. Monitoring for visitor use, for example, 

uses the term “indicator” to define the object of data collection. Functionally, 

“measure” from tracking change in wilderness character, and “indicator” from 

visitor use, mean the same thing, but this can easily be a source of confusion 

(see table 5 in chapter 3).

Key Points:

•  Keep it useful.

Use measures that

are relevant to the

wilderness.

•  Keep it practical.

Use existing data

whenever and

wherever possible.

•  Keep it simple.

Start with the smallest

number of measures

that allow assessing

current conditions

and tracking change

in the five qualities of

wilderness character

over time, and build

capacity as resources

allow.
Photo: NPS, Glacier Bay 

Wilderness, Glacier Bay 

National Park & Preserve

Chapter 5—Monitoring change in Wilderness Character

99

Overview of How to Track Change in Wilderness Character

Wilderness character is a holistic concept, integrating and synthesizing data from 

many different resource areas and programs within a park. The basic strategy 

for tracking change in wilderness character is for park staff to select at least one 

measure for each of the indicators described in the publication Keeping It Wild

(see table 2 in chapter 1). For national and interagency consistency, the same 

indicators are used in every wilderness. However, wilderness character is a unique 

combination of attributes at each park so the measures must be locally relevant 

and locally selected rather than nationally consistent and nationally selected. 

Each measure should be relevant to tracking change in an attribute or element 

of the indicator or to tracking a threat to this indicator. Much more information 

on selecting measures is provided below in this chapter.

Once measures are selected, data are collected, compiled, or gathered from 

existing sources. The wilderness character baseline, from which all future trends 

are determined, is defined as the first time data are collected for the entire set of 

measures. To maximize efficiency, existing or legacy data are used whenever and 

wherever possible and appropriate. However, where no data exist professional 

judgment may be used with a narrative description of how accurate and 

adequate this judgment is. Park staff will also need to define what a significant 

change is in each measure from one monitoring period to the next. For example, 

staff might define a significant change as any change in the numerical value 

of the measure, or as a certain percentage change in the numerical value of 

the measure, or use the statistical technique of regression analysis if sufficient 

data are available. The publication Technical Guide for Monitoring Selected 

Conditions Related to Wilderness Character provides many examples of how a 

significant change is defined, and is available online at http://www.wilderness.

net/toolboxes/documents/WC/FS%20Wilderness%20Character%20Technical%20

Guide.pdf. The trends (not the data) from every measure are combined using 

the rules in Keeping It Wild to derive a simple composite trend for the indicator; 

trends for each indicator are then combined using these same rules to derive a 

trend for the quality, and trends from the qualities combined to derive a trend 

for wilderness character. Table 10 shows a hypothetical example of how trends 

are combined within one quality of wilderness character.
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100

The trend in the measure is derived by comparing the data from the two 

monitoring periods (2012 and 2017) and park staff establish local rules for 

identifying whether the change is significant. The trend in the indicator is 

derived by combining only the trend (not the data) from each measure using 

the rules from Keeping It Wild. For each measure, assign a numerical value of 

-1 to a downward trend, 0 to a stable trend, and +1 to an improving trend. 

These values are added together for the measures under an indicator and if the 

resulting value is negative the trend in the indicator is downward, if the resulting 

value is zero the trend in the indicator is stable, and if the resulting value is 

positive the trend is improving. The trend in the quality is derived using these 

same rules by combining the trends across the indicators. Trends (improving, 

stable, decreasing) are represented by arrows (up, two-headed sideways, 

down, respectively).

This strategy provides local flexibility and relevance while allowing the trend 

in wilderness character (stable, improving, or degrading) to be consistently and 

easily used for regional and national reporting. A crucial point is that the trend 

in wilderness character is derived only by assessing what is happening over 

time within a park and cannot be determined simply by establishing a baseline. 

Also, wilderness character cannot be compared from one wilderness to another 

because wilderness character is unique at each park. Further, trends in the 

measures, indicators, qualities, or in wilderness character do not mandate certain 

actions—trends inform decisions rather than trigger actions.

Frequency of Tracking Change in Wilderness Character

Tracking change and reporting on the trend in park wilderness character should 

generally occur every five years. This time span is sufficient to provide ongoing 

information and keep park staff engaged. Some measures, such as the number 

of structures or installations, may not change at all during this time span and it 

is sufficient to simply record the same number as the previous reporting period. 

Other measures will probably change yearly and should be tracked as such, 

especially management actions under the untrammeled quality, and the use of 

motorized vehicles, mechanized equipment, and mechanical transport under the 

undeveloped quality.

Table 10. A hypothetical example showing how trends are combined across measures and indicators to show 

the trend in the undeveloped quality of wilderness character.

Indicator Measure 2012 

Data

2017 

Data

Trend in 

Measure

Trend in 

Indicator

Trend in 

Quality

Nonrecreational

structures, installations,

and developments

Number of authorized

physical developments 12 5

Number of unauthorized

physical developments 17 21

Inholdings Index combining number of

acres and potential impact 205 90

Use of motor vehicles,

motorized equipment,

or mechanical transport

Index combining type and

amount of administrative

and nonemergency use

74 31

Index combining type and

amount of emergency use

9 21

Index combining type and

amount of unauthorized use

14 27
Photo: NPS, Yosemite

Wilderness, Yosemite

National Park

Chapter 5—Monitoring change in Wilderness Character

101

What Qualifies as Tracking Change in Wilderness Character

As more park staffs have learned about the concept of wilderness character, 

there has been some confusion about what qualifies as tracking change in 

wilderness character. For example, campsite conditions may be monitored 

throughout a park, and while this may be important and an element or attribute 

of wilderness character, monitoring campsites by itself is not wilderness character 

monitoring. So how do we know when a monitoring program qualifies as 

“tracking change in wilderness character”? In general, to qualify as “tracking 

change in wilderness character” or “wilderness character monitoring” the 

following four monitoring requirements must be met:

•  Is conducted in designated wilderness or in an area that is managed as 

wilderness by agency policy.

•  Includes at least one measure for each of the indicators that represent the 

qualities of wilderness character described in chapter 1.

•  Uses a defined baseline and is conducted at least twice (e.g., at five-year 

intervals) to determine a trend in all of the measures.

•  Synthesizes the trends of all the measures into an integrated assessment of 

trend in wilderness character.
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Identifying Measures

Keeping It Wild identifies 37 possible measures (see appendix 5.1) and 

recommends that at least one be selected for each indicator. As described in the 

section on terminology, an indicator is a distinct and important element of one 

of the qualities of wilderness character that links the measures to the qualities 

of wilderness character, and the qualities link directly to the statutory language 

of the 1964 Wilderness Act. A measure is a specific aspect of wilderness on which 

data are collected to assess the condition and trend of an indicator. See the 

adjacent text box for examples that show how measures, indicators, and 

qualities are linked.

Different Approaches to Identify Measures

Given the variety of parks and their differences in size, staffing, complexity 

of wilderness program, and many other factors, there is no single method for 

identifying measures that works best. Park staff will use the indicators 

described in Keeping It Wild but have the latitude to choose whichever measures 

are most meaningful for their wilderness. Measures should be quantifiable, 

relevant to the indicator and the particular wilderness, reliable so that others 

will know the quality of the data, and repeatable so monitoring can continue 

when staff change.

Park staff can use different approaches, and combinations of these, to identify 

measures that will be most relevant to tracking change in wilderness character. 

Keeping It Wild suggests several measures for each indicator—park staff may 

choose one or more measures from the list, modify suggested measures, or 

create their own. Involving a broad range of park disciplines (e.g., facilities, 

interpretation, protection, natural resources, cultural resources, fire) in measure 

selection will ensure they are relevant and enjoy broad support. Ultimately, 

assessing conditions of wilderness character and tracking its change should be 

a parkwide effort because the data spans multiple disciplines. Three potential 

approaches to identify measures are:

•  Convene the park’s wilderness committee (if one exists) or another form 

of interdisciplinary team to review the indicators and example measures 

listed in Keeping It Wild (see appendix 5.1) and identify relevant measures 

on the list and brainstorm modifications or new measures under each of 

the five qualities.

•  Instead of convening the wilderness committee, the project lead or chair 

of the committee can opt to review the indicators in Keeping It Wild and 

brainstorm measures by interviewing staff members individually. Natural 

and cultural resources staff as well as individuals associated with the NPS 

Inventory and Monitoring program may be most qualified to assess the 

availability and quality of existing data.

•  As a third option, the project lead can develop a draft monitoring 

framework for distribution to staff and management for review 

and discussion.

Two examples of 

how measures, 

indicators, and 

qualities are linked:

The measure “amount of

visitor use” informs the

indicator “remoteness

from sights and sounds

of people inside

wilderness,” because a

greater amount of visitor

use would correspond

with a person’s

opportunity to be away

from the sights and

sounds of people. The

concept of remoteness

and the opportunity

to experience places

without the sights

and sounds of other

people directly relates

to opportunities for

solitude or primitive and

unconfined recreation,

one of the five qualities

of wilderness character.

The measure “number

of lakes and other

water bodies stocked

with fish” informs

the indicator “actions

authorized by the

federal land manager

that manipulate

the biophysical

environment.” Tracking

this measure tells us

about the trend in

actions that control or

manipulate the “earth

and its community of

life” inside wilderness,

or, the untrammeled

quality of wilderness

character.
Photo: NPS, Stephen

Mather Wilderness,

North Cascades

National Park

Chapter 5—Monitoring change in Wilderness Character

103

Some wildernesses are co-managed by more than one agency, or a park 

wilderness may adjoin a wilderness managed by another agency. In these 

cases an effort should be made to convene an interagency team to identify 

potential measures and try to select measures that provide for consistency 

across jurisdictional boundaries while accommodating the different data sources 

available to different agencies.

Regardless of the process, park staff can brainstorm measures by identifying 

existing data sources to see what is already being monitored (see the “Gathering 

Data” section in this chapter). Staff can also identify where linkages exist 

with other data collection efforts and/or where data needs might overlap. For 

example, the NPS Ecological Integrity Assessment and the NPScape program may 

be good sources of both ideas for measures and data. In addition, an existing 

trails plan may have identified the need to measure impacts from campsites. 

Wilderness character monitoring efforts could boost support for implementing 

these other monitoring efforts because it would fulfill two purposes. For ideas of 

other possible measures, the U.S. Forest Service has developed a Technical Guide 

for Monitoring Selected Conditions Related to Wilderness Character, and the 

Bureau of Land Management has developed a Technical Guide to Implementing 

Wilderness Character Monitoring. Both of these documents can be a source for 

ideas and are available online at http://www.wilderness.net/WC.
Photo: NPS, Majory Stoneman 

Douglas Wilderness, 

Everglades National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

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Identifying Measures of Positive Change in Wilderness Character

Oftentimes, managers only collect data on measures of impacts or attributes 

that represent a degradation of wilderness character. This can pose a dilemma 

for park staff because showing positive changes in the qualities of wilderness 

character is also important. For example, tracking administrative decisions and 

actions that manipulate ecological systems is relatively easy, such as the use 

of prescribed fire to reduce fuels that have accumulated over decades of fire 

exclusion. This action would degrade the untrammeled quality of wilderness 

character even though it is taken to improve the natural quality of wilderness 

character. Further, actions that are not taken to preserve the untrammeled 

quality typically go unrecorded and therefore do not show how the trend in 

wilderness character may improve. By carefully identifying measures of 

positive change to meet the intent of the indicator, park staff can partially 

overcome this dilemma.

As a hypothetical example of a measure of positive change, consider the natural 

quality indicator “Plant and animal species and communities,” and a multiyear 

effort to reintroduce an extirpated native species, for example a small mammal. 

Such a reintroduction may involve habitat manipulations, which degrade the 

untrammeled quality each year such actions occur, and may involve radio 

collaring or installing other monitoring devices that degrade the undeveloped 

quality. However, the tradeoff in each successive year is an increasing number 

of acres of suitable habitat for the reintroduced species and an increasing 

population size, which is a long-term improvement to the natural quality. To 

better describe these complex relationships and account for the net improvement 

to wilderness character, the measure “number of extirpated indigenous species” 

could be recast as “acres of species X habitat restored or occupied,” or this 

could be an additional measure while keeping the original. This new measure 

accounts for the presence of species that should be there and is consistent with 

the original indicator. This new measure also contributes information about what 

type and how much habitat was restored, thereby accounting for management 

actions that enhance or improve the indicator. Table 11 offers a hypothetical 

example of how a measure of positive change, as described here, would compare 

with failure to use such a measure in tracking change in wilderness character.
Photo: Ken and Mary

Campbell, Olympic

National Park

Chapter 5—Monitoring change in Wilderness Character

105

Table 11. Hypothetical examples measuring positive change in wilderness character.

Timeframe and Actions 

Taken

Original Measure: Number 

of Extirpated Indigenous 

Species

Revised or Additional Measure: Acres of Species X 

Habitat Restored or Occupied

Year 1—habitat preparation •  Degrade untrammeled

quality

•  Degrade untrammeled quality

Year 2—animal release

with radio collars, habitat

improvement

•  Degrade untrammeled

quality

•  Degrade undeveloped

quality

•  Improve natural quality

(decrease number of

extirpated species by one)

•  Degrade untrammeled quality

•  Degrade undeveloped quality

•  Improve natural quality (100 acres restored, three

breeding pairs)

Year 3—monitor collared

animals and population

size, continue habitat

improvement

•  Degrade untrammeled

quality

•  Degrade undeveloped

quality

•  Degrade untrammeled quality

•  Degrade undeveloped quality

•  Improve natural quality (total 300 acres restored, eight

breeding pairs)

Year 4—monitor collared

animals and population

size, continue habitat

improvement

•  Degrade untrammeled

quality

•  Degrade undeveloped

quality

•  Degrade untrammeled quality

•  Degrade undeveloped quality

•  Improve natural quality (total 500 acres restored, 14

breeding pairs)

Year 5—reintroduction effort

successful, cease intensive

monitoring and habitat

improvements

•  Stable untrammeled quality

•  Stable undeveloped quality

•  Stable untrammeled quality

•  Stable undeveloped quality

•  Improve natural quality

Identifying a measure of positive change may work especially well when a shortterm action causes a downward trend in the untrammeled quality in a given 

year and the tradeoff is a long-term improvement in the natural quality that 

can be tracked annually. Alternatively, park staff may simply accept the shortterm downward trend of one quality for the long-term improvement in another 

quality without creating a measure of positive change.
Photo:

NPS/Sarah Crump, 

recommended wilderness, 

Dinosaur National Monument

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

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Identifying Measures for the Other Features 

of Value Quality of Wilderness Character

If park staff determines that the other features of value quality of wilderness 

character applies to their park (for a description of this quality see chapter 

1) they will also need to identify indicators and measures for this quality. 

If included, tracking trends in this quality is important for a complete 

understanding of the overall trend in wilderness character.

It is likely that ecological and geological values can be included in the natural 

quality. Scientific, educational, scenic, and historic values are often more difficult 

to fit within the natural quality. Staff can use this list of wilderness value 

categories to identify site-specific, tangible features that fit within the other 

features of value quality that are integral to the area’s wilderness character. 

Identifying indicators and measures for this quality will require interdisciplinary 

discussion among different divisions at a park, for example, among wilderness 

and cultural resources staff. The other features of value quality should include 

those features that are truly unique to the area, and ideally would be mentioned 

in the enabling legislation or legislative history for the park or wilderness area. In 

many cases, these wilderness features will be the focus of specific management 

action and should be described in the wilderness character narrative and used to 

inform planning.

A generalized example of indicators, measures, and data sources for tangible 

cultural resources is provided in table 12. Cultural resources that are to monitor 

trends in wilderness character must be spatially defined, and their condition can 

be monitored through an active program of inventory, monitoring, and research 

recorded in servicewide databases such as the Archeological Sites Management 

and Information System (ASMIS), the List of Classified Structures, the Cultural 

Landscape Inventory (CLI), the Facility Management Software System (FMSS), or 

by park-specific databases.

Example of a 

Feature that 

Contributes 

to Wilderness 

Character at 

Death Valley:

One of the features

identified during scoping

for the Death Valley

National Park wilderness

and backcountry

management plan is

the Copper Canyon

vertebrate fossil site.

The California Desert

Protection Act of 1994,

which designated

the park’s wilderness,

specifically identifies

paleontological resources

as an “essential and

superlative” value

for the park. Copper

Canyon is an extremely

rare and scientifically

important fossil-rich

canyon that clearly fits

within the “scientific

value” identified in

section 2(c)(4) of

the Wilderness Act.

Because paleontological

resources are tangible

and relatively easy to

monitor, this particular

feature can have a

monitoring indicator and

measure assigned to it

in the park’s wilderness

character monitoring

scheme.
Chapter 5—Monitoring change in Wilderness Character

107

Table 12. Generalized (and hypothetical) example of indicators, measures, and data sources identified for the 

tangible cultural resources recognized in the other features of value quality of wilderness character.

Indicator Potential Measure Data Sources Reporting 

Period

Deterioration or

loss of cultural

resources

integral to

wilderness

character

Number of unauthorized actions that

result in disturbances to cultural resources

(looting, trespass activities, noncompliance

with National Historic Preservation Act)

Citations, Archeological Resources

Preservation Act (ARPA) violations, Secretary’s

annual report to Congress (SRC), Listing of

Outlaw Treachery (LOOT) report in the SRC,

Cultural Landscape Inventory, ASMIS and

PMDS site condition reporting

Annual

Number of authorized actions that result

in disturbances to cultural resources (visitor

and commercial use [catholes, trampling,

hearths, aircraft landings, etc]; findings of

adverse effect for projects and operations)

Citations, ARPA violations, Secretary’s annual

report to Congress, LOOT report in the SRC,

Cultural Landscape Inventory, ASMIS and

PMDS site condition reporting

Annual

Number of naturally caused disturbances

(erosion, animal digging, floods, rising sea

levels, fires, tree throws)

Secretary’s annual report to Congress, ASMIS

and PMDS site condition reporting

Annual

Amount of deterioration in specific

resources (e.g., number of building walls

down, number of trail treads destabilized,

number of orchard trees damaged)

Citations, ARPA violations, Secretary’s annual

report to Congress, LOOT report in the SRC,

Cultural Landscape Inventory, ASMIS and

PMDS site condition reporting

Annual

Be Practical in Identifying Measures

Use measures for wilderness character monitoring already in use, such as a 

measure from a fire management plan, exotic plant management plan, or from 

measures developed under previous wilderness monitoring programs. In some 

cases, these measures may need to be modified so they are relevant to both. 

For example, measures for aspects of visitor experience previously established 

in a backcountry management plan may be changed to more practically fill the 

needs of both wilderness character monitoring and the general management 

plan. Initial selection of wilderness character measures may also be altered or 

augmented during more robust planning processes.

In addition, if a park is conducting monitoring for other programs, such as 

visitor use monitoring or vital signs monitoring as part of the NPS I&M program, 

such ongoing monitoring may also readily fit the needs for tracking change in 

wilderness character. It may also be prudent to consider measures currently in 

use for detecting the effects of climate change on park resources. Also, consider 

measures that can be used to establish baseline information to evaluate impacts 

to wilderness character from any actions park staff may take in the future as a 

response to climate change. See chapter 3 for other types of plans that may have 

existing measures that could serve as good wilderness character measures. When 

searching for such cross-connections, be aware that the terminology used by 

different programs may differ, as described in the subsection on terminology in 

the beginning of this chapter.
Photo: NPS, Yosemite 

Wilderness, Yosemite 

National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

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All the indicators from Keeping It Wild need at least one measure to capture 

the full range of wilderness character, but keep it as simple as possible. Use 

the minimum number of measures that will accomplish the goal of assessing 

current condition and tracking change and add other measures as organizational 

capacity allows. Build a program that will give the park something of value 

for the minimum amount of additional effort. See the following section 

on prioritizing measures to narrow the list to those measures that are most 

important and practical, and see appendix 5.2 for an example of measures 

that were identified for Lake Clark Wilderness in Lake Clark National Park and 

Preserve, Alaska.

Measures Can Change Over Time

While consistently using the same measures over time is necessary to show trend, 

it is also important to allow a monitoring program assessing conditions and 

tracking change in wilderness character to evolve over time. One of the reasons 

that measures may change is that new wilderness issues may arise or lower 

priority issues may become significant in their potential effect on wilderness 

character. As park staff learn more about a particular resource or threat, or as 

management direction changes, it is likely that some measures will need to be 

changed, adapted, added, or deleted. For example, a park may have a general 

management plan or wilderness stewardship plan that calls for collecting data 

on decibel levels to monitor natural sounds, but with the evolution of sound 

monitoring science, park staff may decide that the percentage of time that 

noise is audible in a particular area is a more meaningful measure. Staff may 

want to adapt new or improved measures as they become available. Assessing 

conditions and tracking change in wilderness character is relatively new and a 

park’s monitoring strategy needs to be both effective and flexible, requiring a 

balance between consistently using existing measures and identifying new, more 

appropriate measures. If measures are changed, it is important to document 

when the change occurred and the reason(s) for this action so new park staff will 

understand when and why this change was made.
Chapter 5—Monitoring change in Wilderness Character

109

Prioritizing Measures

It is likely, as experience has shown at many parks, that park staff will identify 

many potential measures for each indicator, even though only one measure 

is required for each. All parks face money and time constraints and the list 

of potential measures will probably need to be winnowed. How do park 

staff decide which measures are cost-efficient and meaningful? How do they 

guarantee that the measures selected will be relevant and practical? Ultimately, 

the goal of prioritizing measures is to select the minimum set of measures that 

is practical and relevant and will provide the most representative picture of a 

park’s wilderness character. The park’s wilderness committee or other wilderness 

interdisciplinary team representing the resources, management, and operational 

divisions should prioritize which measures will be used to track change in 

wilderness character. Such a team approach will significantly improve internal 

dialogue and efficiency because concerns can be addressed in upfront discussion 

rather than after measures have been prioritized by an individual or two. 

Ultimately, this team will determine the final set of measures used by the park, 

balancing oversimplification (selecting too few measures) with overindulgence 

(selecting too many measures).

There is no set number of measures, or any specific measures, that must or should 

be used by a park. As park staff begins the process of prioritizing measures, three 

cautions are worth keeping firmly in mind:

•  First, not all measures are relevant to each wilderness. If staffs choose 

measures solely based on minimizing cost and time for data collection, the 

resulting information may be meaningless.

•  Second, choosing measures to achieve a desired outcome is “gaming the 

system” (for example, to make a manager look good or sound the alarm on 

a “threatened” wilderness) and will result in information that is also largely 

meaningless.

•  Third, a haphazard selection of measures may result in an overall 

assessment that is incoherent, fundamentally flawed, and not viable 

as a useful management tool. In all of these situations, the resulting 

information will not help staff track change in wilderness character, 

wasting valuable time and effort.

A variety of different methods can be used to prioritize measures, such as 

using the opinion of a single individual, the consensus view of the wilderness 

committee, or more formal processes. Appendix 5.3 offers a worksheet based on 

a numeric ranking for each measure as one method of selecting the measures 

that meet the specific criteria in this worksheet. The worksheet can be used 

by the wilderness committee in one session or each team member can work 

separately, with the team convening later to compare results. Another option 

would be to have a lead person create the first set of rankings and then the 

wilderness committee reviews and refines these rankings. The idea is to eliminate 

subjective bias, create a dialogue, and produce a set of measures that has broad 

appeal and usefulness. Appendix 5.4 offers a filled-in example worksheet for 

prioritizing measures from Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness.
Photo: NPS, Sequoia-Kings 

Canyon Wilderness, 

Sequoia and Kings Canyon 

National Parks

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

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Weighting Measures

After selecting measures, park staff may want to weight the individual measures 

to reflect their ecological importance, managerial importance, vulnerability, or 

other factors. Weighting is not required but sometimes helps staff by providing 

a greater sense of practicality and understanding about the measures. If 

weighting is used, the weights assigned to all measures under an indicator must 

equal 100%. Weights for individual measures may be input into the Wilderness 

Character Monitoring Database (chapter 6). Weighting can also be used to 

“game” the monitoring results to show a particular desired trend; to avoid even 

the appearance of such manipulation, park staff need to provide a rationale for 

all weights used and then use these weights consistently over time.

An example of weighting that was used in developing a map of wilderness 

character for Death Valley National Park (see chapter 6) is shown in table 13. 

At Death Valley National Park, planners considered whether the measure was 

an actual degradation or had the potential for degradation, how pervasive or 

localized the impact was, how long-lasting the impact was, and the relationship 

of that measure to the enabling legislation.

Table 13. Example of weighting measures in the undeveloped quality of wilderness character at Death Valley 

National Park, California and Nevada.

Indicator Measure Weight

Nonrecreational

structures, installations,

and developments

Installations (including guzzlers and fences) 55

Unauthorized installations/debris 10

Borrow pits 35

Inholdings State inholdings with road access 15

State inholdings with no road access or held for wildlife 5

Private inholdings 60

Unpatented inholdings 20

Use of motor vehicles,

motorized equipment, or

mechanical transport

Off-road vehicle trespass 60

Administrative uses 40
Chapter 5—Monitoring change in Wilderness Character

111

Gathering Data

After selecting measures to assess the trend of an indicator, staff must either 

gather data or use applicable existing data. Protocols for gathering data on 

measures of wilderness character can be found in the U.S. Forest Service’s 

Technical Guide for Monitoring Selected Conditions Related to Wilderness 

Character, and the Bureau of Land Management’s Technical Guide to 

Implementing Wilderness Character Monitoring, both of which are available 

online at http://www.wilderness.net/WC. Existing data are found at easily 

accessed web sites, while other data must be mined from reports, collected in the 

field, or obtained through interviews with staff. Appendix 5.1 provides likely NPS 

data sources for all the possible measures listed in Keeping It Wild. Appendix 5.5 

provides an extensive table of commonly available NPS data sources. In general, 

there are four primary sources of existing data:

•  Federal agencies—Several federal agencies monitor resources and collect 

data, including the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA), and Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS).

•  National Park Service—There are several servicewide NPS data sources 

along the lines of the Facility Management Software System. A variety 

of servicewide data are available out of the WASO Natural Resource 

Stewardship and Science (NRSS) offices, including Integrated Resource 

Management Applications (IRMA), Air Resource Division (ARD), Inventory 

& Monitoring program, and Exotic Plant Management Teams. Servicewide 

data are also available out of the WASO Cultural Resource Management 

office, including Archeological Sites Management and Information System, 

the List of Classified Structures, and the Cultural Landscape Inventory.

•  Parks—Each park has its own data files and many parks have been 

monitoring wilderness conditions for a long time. Staff should consult with 

long-term employees and check park archives for potential data, along 

with checking case incident reports, commercial use authorizations (CUA), 

Research Permit and Reporting System, and Interagency Monitoring of 

Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE).

•  Partners—A variety of partners offer data, including county and municipal 

governments, state resource management or regulation departments, 

universities, and nongovernmental organizations such as The Nature 

Conservancy, The Wilderness Society, and Audubon Society.

Selecting data for a measure requires a balance of several data-quality factors. 

Data collected using peer-reviewed collection protocols are best, where 

the data are managed with quality assurance and quality controls, and are 

consistently collected over the monitoring period. Some data are not available 

in a standardized format. For example, data on the number of authorized and 

unauthorized entries into wilderness may not be found in a standard format. The 

“data miner,” or person looking for data, may have to compile reports, interview 

staff, and determine if a given report has wilderness-specific information, 

and standardize those data and the way they are collected for future use. For 

example, an off-road vehicle entry would be recorded in a case incident report, 

maintained by the Ranger Division. The violation may be recorded as off-road 

vehicle travel, rather than a wilderness violation, thus requiring the data miner 

to determine if that impact occurred in wilderness.
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112

When choosing a source of data for a measure, four factors—representativeness, 

sustainability, replication, and quality—need to be considered:

•  Representativeness—Do the data reasonably represent the wilderness 

measure? For example, overnight wilderness-use permits, park-issued 

special use permits (SUP) and commercial use authorizations measure the 

amount of visitor use in a given area within a given time. Structures or 

facilities in wilderness inventoried in the Facility Management Software 

System measure the extent of authorized physical development in an area 

for the key facilities. These data sources are park-specific, and are highly 

representative of each park wilderness.

•  Sustainability—How readily are the data retrieved and processed, and 

will the park be able to maintain this level of effort in future years? The 

IMPROVE network is a national program with park-specific monitoring 

stations operated under an agreement between federal agencies and 

a partner university. The program has longevity and support, making 

this data source highly sustainable. In contrast, special use permits and 

commercial use authorizations are highly representative of permitted park 

activities; however, they are not managed using standardized formats, 

with the sustainability of the data subject to the individuals who fill out 

the reports and maintain the files. These permits may not indicate, for 

example, if the authorized activity occurred in wilderness.

•  Replication—Can similar information be collected in the future? There is 

a high confidence level that data collected with peer-reviewed published 

protocols have a high degree of replication and can be consistently 

interpreted. Conversely, while incident reports may be informative, these 

reports often record inconsistent information, lending to their low degree 

of replication.

•  Quality—Are the data high quality, with proper quality assurance and 

quality control (QAQC)? Peer-reviewed data are generally of higher quality. 

Selecting data from existing national monitoring programs provides 

consistency over time and from one location to another, with the added 

benefit of formal QAQC processes. The IMPROVE network is an example of 

data with high quality assurance / quality control.

The optimal data gathering situation would be to use data that are highly 

representative, sustainable, repeatable, and of high quality. It is very likely 

that data used to monitor wilderness character will exhibit some but not all of 

these factors. Data from the NPS I&M program and interagency data sets will 

be of high quality but will be appropriate for only some measures. In contrast, 

other sources such as incident reports and park partners will be able to provide 

park-specific data, but these data may be of lower quality. Tracking change in 

wilderness character will require mining as many applicable data sources as 

possible and fully understanding the tradeoffs of using data from a variety of 

sources. The Wilderness Character Monitoring Database described in chapter 6 

provides ways to describe data quality for each measure, which will be critical for 

both understanding and communicating the uses and limitations of the data.
Photo: NPS/Shan Burson,

Denali Wilderness, Denali

National Park & Preserve

Chapter 5—Monitoring change in Wilderness Character

113

Using the Information

Tracking change in wilderness character provides a variety of data and 

information. How these data and information may be used is summarized below. 

One of the most important uses of the information from tracking change in 

wilderness character is to improve communication both internally and externally. 

While the direction for managing wilderness from the Wilderness Act and 

agency policy may seem clear, there are many sources of contention in wilderness 

stewardship. Using clear and consistent terminology and locally relevant 

measures to track change and report results in a way that is targeted to specific 

audiences will directly improve communication among different divisions within 

a park and with external partners and stakeholders. In addition, this information 

can feed directly into servicewide reporting such as the State of the Parks that is 

included in the NPS Director’s 2012 A Call to Action.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

114

Reporting

Trends calculated from data provide the basis for reports at both a local 

and regional level, although the level of detail and the amount and type of 

information included in the report will vary depending on the target audience 

and geographic scale of the report. The goal is to provide web-based reporting 

that allows a user to see the overall status and trend of wilderness character, and 

then to dig down as deep as the user wants through each quality, indicator, and 

measure to see the data on which the status and trend are based. Similarly, a 

user could begin with the data for a single measure and see how they contribute 

to the indicator, quality, and the overall status and trend of wilderness character.

Local reports include information from individual measures up to wilderness 

qualities and overall wilderness character and are targeted and designed for the 

superintendent, senior park management staff, wilderness managers, and staff, 

and interested internal and external park wilderness stakeholders. The function 

of internal local reports is to provide tangible information on the trend in 

wilderness character, how individual trends within the park interact to influence 

overall trend(s), and the underlying basis for those trends. The reports allow 

managers to better understand and quantify the positive and negative impacts 

of management decisions on wilderness character and provide a feedback loop 

to help guide future management decisions, with the goal to improve wilderness 

stewardship and preservation of wilderness character. Furthermore, local reports 

serve as a communication tool for discussion between management divisions and 

within the wilderness staff, and serve as a tool to compare current conditions 

with the established baseline. Local reports sent to the regional wilderness 

coordinator promote communication and enable dialogue concerning how a 

park might improve its stewardship and the potential resources available to do 

so. External local reports allow the park to communicate the trend in wilderness 

character to interested constituents and increase transparency in wilderness 

stewardship and the underlying factors that influence stewardship decisions.

Regional reports are composed of aggregated trends, from the indicator level 

up, from all wildernesses in the region, and are targeted and designed for senior 

national and regional NPS management (including the director), congressional 

staff, and NWPS partner agencies. Regional reports do not compare separate 

wilderness areas; rather, a regional report gives the proportions of wildernesses 

with improving, stable, or degrading trends. Regional reports provide a means 

for regional and national program managers to understand and communicate 

the current status of servicewide wilderness character, highlight overall strengths 

and weaknesses in servicewide preservation of wilderness character, and serve 

as a discussion tool for the effectiveness of current management approaches, 

initiatives, and policies. For example, if wilderness character is degrading across 

much of the National Park Service, a review of policy implementation may 

provide information on whether this decline is due to policies that are not being 

implemented or policies that are not adequate to preserve wilderness character.
Photo: NPS/Nyssa

Landres, Gates of the

Arctic Wilderness,

Gates of the Arctic

National Park & Preserve

Chapter 5—Monitoring change in Wilderness Character

115

Supporting Wilderness Stewardship

Using a framework of qualities, indicators, and measures derived from 

the Wilderness Act and NPS management policies provides consistent and 

standardized information on assessing trends in wilderness character. NPS staff 

can recognize, understand, and support this direct link between legal mandates 

and the framework of qualities, indicators, and measures.

More specific ways that tracking change in wilderness character can be used to 

support stewardship include:

•  Assessing wilderness conditions—Provide information that allows a park 

to directly assess whether standards established in plan direction are being 

met and management actions being implemented are effective.

•  Prioritizing actions—Evaluate where future actions should be focused and 

where resources may be best invested to improve wilderness character.

•  Informing planning—Help with plan development and revisions by 

identifying monitoring requirements for wilderness.

•  Communicating stewardship needs—Express how different funding levels 

affect the requirements to preserve wilderness character.

•  Improving accountability—Link stewardship actions, as well as actions 

that are not taken, directly to the Wilderness Act mandate to preserve 

wilderness character.

•  Establishing legacy information—Establish a permanent database that 

creates one place for wilderness information to be passed on and used by 

future managers.

Trend information collected over many years, or spans between managers, will 

be especially powerful to preserve wilderness character. For example, knowing 

the number and type of actions taken to manipulate vegetation occurring now 

compared with what occurs 10 years from now will be an important way to know 

whether management programs are trending toward more or less manipulation. 

Similarly, knowing how the number and development level of buildings, trails, 

dams and other physical evidence of human occupation and modification are 

changing over time is the only way to know whether wilderness stewardship is 

improving, or degrading, the undeveloped quality of wilderness character.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

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Dealing with a Downward Trend in Wilderness Character

NPS Management Policies 2006 directly states the need for preserving wilderness 

character. While the intent of these policies is to prevent the deterioration of 

wilderness character from its condition at the time the area was designated as 

wilderness, sometimes downward trends are observed in individual qualities or 

in wilderness character as a whole. By objectively describing the overall trend in 

wilderness character and by understanding the individual components that affect 

this trend, superintendents will be in a much better position to decide whether 

this trend is acceptable or not and then whether any action will be taken. 

Tracking trend in wilderness character also fulfills the 2011 Director’s Order 12: 

Conservation Planning, Environmental Impact Analysis, and Decision-making, 

that appropriate technical and scientific studies will be conducted to provide 

sufficient resource information to make an informed decision.

In wilderness—unlike most other resources that the National Park Service 

manages—taking action to protect one quality of wilderness character will 

almost always lead to a downward trend in another quality. Many impacts that 

occur in park wilderness are the result of actions that are legal, reasonable, 

and often desirable. For example, installing a toilet may be necessary to reduce 

adverse resource impacts to the natural quality of wilderness character, even 

though this action would cause a downward trend in the undeveloped quality. 

Another example would be projects that involve collecting and collaring wildlife 

for monitoring. Presumably such a project went through a thorough evaluation 

process where it was decided that the project was necessary and that the 

benefits outweigh the impacts to wilderness character. The knowledge the park 

gains from the science is reflected in the measures under the natural quality as 

a long-term improvement to wilderness character. When evaluating the impacts 

and benefits of a proposal, a project may be justified in terms of its contribution 

to the natural quality even though there may be short- or long-term negative 

impacts to the untrammeled or undeveloped qualities, or both. Both examples 

above illustrate the difficult nature of wilderness stewardship that involves 

understanding the tradeoffs required in all decisions and actions.

Other impacts may result from activities occurring outside the park boundary or 

on private inholdings. For example, development on inholdings, state hunting 

and trapping regulations, and aircraft overflights are legal activities, over 

which the National Park Service has no, or only limited control or jurisdiction. 

Other impacts may be the result of many sources beyond park boundaries and 

across large geographic spans, such as air and light pollution or impacts of 

anthropogenic climate change. However, adverse impacts, regardless of their 

source, still degrade wilderness character. Therefore, these impacts should be 

reported when tracking trends in wilderness character to provide a complete and 

honest understanding of changes in wilderness character in a particular park.

Generally, the management action taken in response to a downward trend will 

need to be considered in a NEPA document (categorical exclusion, environmental 

assessment, or environmental impact statement). Ideally, the wilderness 

stewardship plan should identify standards (e.g., thresholds) that trigger specific 

and identifiable management actions. Tracking trends in wilderness character is 

then used periodically to assess if that standard is being met and park managers 

may choose to implement one or more of their preidentified management 

actions to try to reverse a downward trend.

Key Points:

•  A downward

trend in wilderness

character or one

of the qualities of

wilderness character

is information, not an

indictment.

•  A downward trend

in one quality of

wilderness character

may be a trigger for

management actions.

•  Efforts to improve

or preserve one

quality of wilderness

character may cause

a downward trend in

another quality.

•  In some cases a

short-term impact to

one of the qualities

may be necessary

to achieve a longterm improvement in

wilderness character.

•  In all cases involving

tradeoffs, the

overriding goal is the

overall preservation of

wilderness character.
Photo: NPS/Garry Oye,

Organ Pipe Cactus

Wilderness, Organ

Pipe Cactus National

Monument

Chapter 5—Monitoring change in Wilderness Character

117

In other cases, the downward trend may be the result of cumulative and 

incremental declines in several measures and qualities over time, and in this 

situation the standards and management actions may not be preidentified. 

But as the charge of the Wilderness Act is to preserve wilderness character, 

these situations should be recognizable as a result of tracking change (if they 

are not, parks should reconsider selection of their measures and data sources 

to increase sensitivity). In this case, the park’s wilderness committee could start 

by backtracking the source of the deteriorating trend from the quality, to the 

indicator, to the measure, to the data source. At the data source level, the 

actual data should be carefully scrutinized. The intent here is not to dodge a 

deteriorating trend, but rather to make sure it is valid and real, and to assure 

that it is not an artifact of some error in data collection or data entry, change in 

instrumentation, or data gap.

Once the data are validated and the trend is determined to be real, the 

committee should carefully consider whether that deteriorating trend in that 

quality of wilderness character is acceptable or unacceptable in the context 

of the overall trend in wilderness character. For example, sometimes there is a 

short-term downward trend in the untrammeled quality (e.g., nonnative plant 

control) in order to provide for a long-term improvement to the natural quality 

(e.g., maintain native species composition), which may be acceptable to park 

managers in the context of preserving wilderness character as a whole. Where 

it is determined that the downward trend is unacceptable, the next step is to 

determine if the National Park Service has any control or jurisdiction over the 

source of the impact. As previously discussed, it may be well outside of NPS 

jurisdictional authority. In other cases, it may be something that the National 

Park Service could control but didn’t have a reason to previously or it was simply 

not salient to park managers.
Photo: NPS, Otis Pike Fire 

Island High Dune Wilderness, 

Fire Island National Seashore

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

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The deteriorating trend should alert agency staff to the need for actions 

designed to preserve and improve wilderness character. An example of 

this situation might be that the number of signs in wilderness keeps going 

up incrementally which leads to a deteriorating trend in the solitude or 

undeveloped quality, or both. While each sign by itself may be considered 

a negligible and justifiable impact, taken as a whole it may inspire the park 

to reconsider the use of signs and use a different method of information 

delivery for park visitors. Another example of this situation may occur with an 

increasing use of motorized and mechanized equipment in wilderness which 

degrades the undeveloped quality, where the increased use of such equipment 

may not be intentional but rather the indirect result of staff turnover and 

the subsequent loss of primitive skills. In this case, a renewed training effort 

might be undertaken to teach primitive skills so that there is less reliance on 

motorized and mechanized equipment. The point is to use the tracking change 

in wilderness character to periodically determine what the trends are in each 

quality of wilderness character and the overall composite of all qualities of 

wilderness character to assure that we are meeting our mandate to preserve 

wilderness character. And, if not, take reasonable actions to address the 

problems. A flowchart, figure 2, is provided to illustrate this process as a diagram.

In extreme cases of unacceptable deteriorating trends in wilderness character 

where the agency has no control or jurisdiction over the source of the impacts, 

the park may want to consider whether the overall condition results in 

impairment to park resources and values using the criteria and procedures 

provided in chapter 1 of NPS Management Policies 2006. Parks considering this 

course of action should consult with their regional legal counsel, environmental 

coordinator, and regional wilderness coordinator for additional guidance.
Chapter 5—Monitoring change in Wilderness Character

119

Figure 2. Flowchart showing the general process to respond to

downward trends in wilderness character.

Validate trend by 

looking at source data

Does the NPS have control or jurisdiction 

over the source of deterioration?

Continue monitoring

unacceptable

no

no

yes

yes acceptable

Take action(s) to 

resolve the source of 

deterioration

Is trend corrected?

Evaluate trend in the 

overall context of 

wilderness character

Is the downward 

trend acceptable or 

unacceptable?

Deteriorating 

trend observed in 

monitoring data

Take action(s) as 

needed to correct the 

downward trend

Continue monitoring

Prepare impairment 

analysis if warranted
Photo: NPS/Daniel Silva, Shenandoah Wilderness,

Shenandoah National Park

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The earth does not belong to 

man; man belongs to earth... 

with all your strength, with all 

your mind, with all your heart, 

preserve it for your children.... 

—Chief Seattle

Photo: NPS/Matt Limmer, 

Sequoia-Kings Canyon 

Wilderness, Sequoia and Kings 

Canyon National Parks

Emerging 

Tools and 

Topics to 

Intergrate 

Wilderness 

Character

6

Photo: NPS/Kevin Hendricks, Sequoia-Kings Canyon 

Wilderness, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Chapter 6—Emerging Tools and Topics to Integrate Wilderness Character

121

Chapter 6—Emerging Tools

and Topics to Integrate

Wilderness Character

As wilderness character continues to be embraced by 

NPS staff, new tools will be developed to help integrate 

it into park planning, management, and monitoring. 

When such tools are shared, different parks can learn 

from one another and apply these tools if desired. A 

variety of tools are described below, and as other tools 

are developed they will be added to this chapter.

Mapping Wilderness Character

A wilderness character map based on GIS data depicts 

the status of wilderness character and how it varies 

across a park. As developed in Keeping It Wild, the 

qualities of wilderness character apply throughout an 

entire wilderness, even though features of the landscape 

and impacts to wilderness character vary from one 

place to another. Specific wilderness attributes have 

been mapped globally (Sanderson and others 2002), 

continentally (Carver and others in press), and nationally 

(Aplet, Thomson, and Wilbert 2000), yet procedures for 

mapping wilderness character have not been developed 

until now. A wilderness character map would:

•  Show the current overall condition of wilderness 

character and how it varies across a landscape.

•  Allow analysis of the effects of different planning 

alternatives on wilderness character by varying 

different factors that combine to produce the map 

and examining the results. Similarly, the map could 

be used for project planning to analyze the effects 

of proposed actions on wilderness character.

•  Provide a baseline from which future monitoring 

could show the trend in wilderness character over 

time. As part of this process, a park would gain 

better understanding of their current data and 

whether new or better data would be needed 

for future planning and analyses of effects on 

wilderness character.

In addition to the three primary benefits described 

above, other potential benefits of a wilderness character 

map include identifying specific areas where actions 

could be taken inside the wilderness to improve 

wilderness character, or areas where actions should 

not be taken because they would degrade wilderness 

character. A wilderness character map would also help 

identify specific areas that are close to but outside the 

wilderness where actions might pose a significant risk of 

degrading wilderness character.
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A Map of Wilderness Character for Death Valley Wilderness

New procedures were developed to map wilderness character in 2010 for the 3.1 

million-acre Death Valley Wilderness, in Death Valley National Park. Death Valley 

staff wanted to develop this wilderness character map to help analyze the effects 

of different planning alternatives on wilderness character as they developed 

their wilderness and backcountry stewardship plan and to serve as a baseline for 

future monitoring of the trend in wilderness character. These new procedures 

are briefly described here and details on developing this map can be found on 

the NPS Wilderness Character Sharepoint site at http://share.inside.nps.gov/

sites/WASO/WSD/WC and on wilderness.net at http://www.wilderness.net/index.

cfm?fuse=toolboxes&sec=WC.

A team consensus approach was used for all decisions in developing the 

wilderness character map, tapping the experience and knowledge of park staff. 

Together, the interdivisional team had approximately 50 person-years of onthe-ground experience in the Death Valley Wilderness. This team conducted 

four face-to-face meetings and had several phone and email conversations in 

developing the wilderness character map.

The team developed this wilderness character map by first identifying potential 

measures for use as indicators of the qualities of wilderness character. From these 

potential measures, the team identified possible data sources and examined the 

quality of the spatial data for accuracy and completeness. In most cases there 

was more than one data source for a measure. For example, the measure “type 

and extent of visitor restrictions” (under the indicator “management restrictions 

on visitor behavior” in the solitude quality) could use two data sources: camping 

restrictions and areas closed to visitor use. Each measure was then “weighted” 

by the team; these weights reflect the importance of the measure in relation 

to the others under a particular indicator. The indicators for each quality were 

combined to produce a map for that quality, and the four maps, one for each 

quality, were in turn combined to create an overall map of wilderness character 

in the Death Valley Wilderness. Note that only four qualities of wilderness 

character were mapped in Death Valley; other parks may consider using the 

procedures described here for all five qualities. The overall steps for developing 

this map are shown in figure 3.

Wilderness 

Character

Quality

(e.g., natural)

Indicator

(e.g., physical 

resources)

Measure

(e.g., location 

of mines)

Data source(s) 

formatted and 

normalized

Measures added 

together using a 

weighting system

Indicators added 

together equally

Qualities added 

together equally

Figure 3. Overall flowchart for building a map of wilderness character for

Death Valley Wilderness.
Photo: NPS/Peter Landres, 

Death Valley Wilderness, 

Death Valley National Park

Chapter 6—Emerging Tools and Topics to Integrate Wilderness Character

123

The detailed steps to create the wilderness character map are described in 

Mapping Wilderness Character in Death Valley National Park – Technical Report 

and Methodology, available on the NPS Wilderness Character Sharepoint site at 

http://share.inside.nps.gov/sites/WASO/WSD/WC and on wilderness.net at http://

www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=toolboxes&sec=WC. The basic steps to 

develop this map are:

1. Answer the strategic questions described in appendix 6.1 to set the 

context for how the wilderness character map will be developed and 

what it will be used for.

2. Identify potential measures for each of the indicators for the qualities of 

wilderness character.

3. Identify spatial data sources for each potential measure.

4. Assess relevance, accuracy, completeness, and additional work required 

for the data sources for each measure.

5. Select measures based on the criteria in step 4.

6. Weight selected measures by their relative importance within each 

indicator to total 100. Measures and their weights within each indicator 

for the qualities of wilderness character developed by Death Valley 

National Park staff are provided in appendix 6.2. Each park needs to 

develop its own weighting scheme.

7. Using GIS, add the measures together for each indicator using their 

relative weights.

8. Using GIS, add the indicators together for each quality using equal 

weighting (or relative weighting if deemed appropriate in answering the 

strategic question in step 1).

9. Using GIS, add the qualities together for wilderness character using 

equal weighting.

The resulting maps of wilderness character are shown for each of the qualities of 

wilderness character (figure 4). These four maps of the qualities were combined 

using GIS, resulting in an overall map of wilderness character for the Death 

Valley Wilderness (figure 5). It is expected that the experience gained from 

building this first-ever wilderness character map for Death Valley National Park, 

which required approximately four months and a substantial amount of park 

staff time, will allow other parks to build a wilderness character map in much 

less time.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

124

Figure 4. The natural quality (A), untrammeled quality (B), 

undeveloped quality (C), and solitude or primitive and unconfined

quality (D) of wilderness character at Death Valley Wilderness.
Chapter 6—Emerging Tools and Topics to Integrate Wilderness Character

125

Figure 5. Wilderness character at Death Valley Wilderness from

the combined qualities. The scale divides all the pixels in this map

into 10% categories, with the top 10% of pixels that are the least

degraded in darkest green, and the bottom 10% of pixels that are

the most degraded in darkest brown.
Photo: NPS/Peter Landres, 

Death Valley Wilderness, 

Death Valley National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

126

Cautions About Developing a Wilderness Character Map

While there are several potential benefits to developing a wilderness character 

map, there are also concerns or cautions about its use. Understanding these 

concerns helps to avoid invalid and inappropriate uses of the map. These primary 

concerns are:

•  Creating sacrifice zones—A map may facilitate inappropriate creation of 

“sacrifice zones” within the wilderness, directly contravening congressional 

and agency mandates to preserve wilderness character across the entire 

wilderness. For example, if the map shows that some areas are “better” 

or of “higher quality” than others, the tendency may be to focus efforts 

on preserving wilderness character only in these specific areas and allow 

wilderness character to degrade in other areas. By showing the current 

condition of wilderness character and how it varies across the entire 

wilderness, the intent of the map is to help staff maintain high-quality 

areas while raising the quality of wilderness character in other areas.

•  Comparing the condition of wilderness character between wildernesses—

A map may facilitate inappropriate comparison of wilderness character 

among different wildernesses when such maps are developed for other 

parks. The maps will show the current status or trend of wilderness 

character in different colors, and it will be easy for users to compare 

the quantity of a given color among different wildernesses. Comparing 

these maps among different wildernesses, however, is neither valid nor 

appropriate because each wilderness is unique, and the map for each 

wilderness is built with data for that wilderness and no others.

•  Assuming that the resulting maps accurately and precisely describe 

wilderness character—Map products can be misconstrued as an accurate 

and precise description of wilderness character. These map products are 

really only an estimate of selected aspects of wilderness character for 

which spatial data were available for a particular wilderness at a certain 

point in time. In addition, these map products do not portray in any way 

the symbolic, intangible, spiritual, or experiential values of wilderness 

character. In short, while these map products are useful for the purposes 

described in this User Guide, these products do not describe the complexity, 

richness, or depth of wilderness character.
Photo: NPS/Peter Landres, 

Bridge Canyon Wilderness,

Lake Mead National 

Recreation Area

Chapter 6—Emerging Tools and Topics to Integrate Wilderness Character

127

Wilderness Character Monitoring Database

The Wilderness Character Monitoring Database is software that allows parks 

to enter monitoring data and other information on wilderness character. 

The database is currently a standalone Microsoft Access desktop application, 

although an online application is planned for the future. The desktop 

application houses data on each wilderness within its jurisdiction. Once the 

online capability is made available, the database will make it possible to track 

change in wilderness character throughout the National Park Service, as well as 

across the National Wilderness Preservation System. It will provide consistency in 

tracking measures, yet it also provides local flexibility to alter or add measures. 

Importantly, all measures entered into the database are pooled in a library of 

potential measures that is available to new users.

The database is based on the hierarchical framework described in Keeping 

It Wild. This framework takes wilderness character and breaks it down into 

qualities. Each quality is divided into monitoring questions, monitoring questions 

are divided into indicators, and finally indicators are divided into measures. The 

database is standardized from the qualities down to the indicator level. Measures 

are flexible and can be chosen by the park and unique to each wilderness. This 

design balances the need for national consistency and standardization with the 

flexibility required for local relevance and use.

Park staff will set up the measures in the database and enter the data for each 

measure. Trend in each measure is evaluated as stable, improving, or degrading 

based on the data. There is no national standard that can be used to determine 

the direction of this trend because each wilderness is unique and each park must 

determine what constitutes a “significant” change in each measure. Trends across 

measures are “rolled up,” or aggregated, based on rules for combining trends in 

Keeping It Wild. Trends in wilderness character cannot and will not be compared 

across different wildernesses. What can be collected and reported, however, is 

the proportion of wildernesses in a region, or the nation, that show whether 

wilderness character is preserved or degrading.

At the park level, the database can be used as a tool to help staff understand 

how a management action in one measure or a number of measures affects the 

trend in wilderness character. Staff can add comments on the reasons for data 

and trends in the database. Parks can report the overall trends in wilderness 

character to interested parties and have the background information to 

understand why those trends are occurring. Each park can download a copy of 

the database from the NPS Wilderness Stewardship Program SharePoint site, 

Wilderness Character tab, at http://share.inside.nps.gov/sites /WASO/WSD/WC. A 

“Quickstart Overview” of how to use this database is in 

appendix 6.3.
Photo: NPS/Kevin 

Hendricks, Sequoia-Kings 

Canyon Wilderness, 

Sequoia and Kings 

Canyon National Parks

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

128

Determining the “Extent Necessary” 

for Commercial Services

Wilderness character can be used to inform decisions concerning commercial use 

in wilderness. The National Park Service, as well as other agencies that manage 

wilderness, are developing tools to address section 4(d)(6) of the Wilderness 

Act which states, “Commercial services may be performed within the wilderness 

areas designated by this Act to the extent necessary for activities which are 

proper for realizing the recreational or other wilderness purposes of the areas.” 

The “purposes” referred to in section 4(d)(6) are those enumerated in section 

4(b). Section 4(b) provides that “wilderness areas shall be devoted to the public 

purposes of recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, conservation, and 

historical use.”

The following considerations in this User Guide are provided for making 

decisions affecting the type, amount, location, and timing of commercial services 

allowed within NPS wilderness areas. It offers elements to consider when 

evaluating the “extent necessary” for commercial services in a specific wilderness 

until a more defined process and specific steps are developed and adopted 

by the National Park Service. Wilderness character is integral to making these 

decisions. Such evaluations could be addressed within a planning effort such as a 

general management plan or wilderness stewardship plan or could be addressed 

as a standalone effort. Determining the extent necessary for commercial services 

in wilderness should be undertaken using an interdisciplinary approach that 

includes the wilderness manager, commercial services staff, and other specialists 

as appropriate. Each park will present a different situation so the discussion 

offered here must be adapted for the circumstances at each park. Until a more 

specific NPS process is adopted, consultation with NPS solicitors is advised.

Is the commercial service necessary, appropriate, and consistent with the National 

Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998?—The act states, “It is the policy of the 

Congress that the development of public accommodations, facilities, and services 

in units of the National Park System shall be limited to those accommodations, 

facilities, and services that—(1) are necessary and appropriate for public use and 

enjoyment of the unit of the National Park System in which they are located; and 

(2) are consistent to the highest practicable degree with the preservation and 

conservation of resources and values of the unit.” This wording is a first filter for 

the types of commercial services that are necessary and appropriate to the park 

unit and to the wilderness management zone, and may filter out some services 

without having to further evaluate “extent necessary” from the Wilderness Act.

What other existing guidance is available?—Consult 

enabling legislation and legislative history for 

the park and wilderness area and other relevant 

legislation. For example, does the legislation allow 

any types of uses that are not normally allowed in 

wilderness? If so, they should be described in detail 

and included in this analysis. Also consult parkspecific documents, including general management 

plans, wilderness stewardship plans, commercial 

services plans, foundation documents, cultural 

resource management plans, and other applicable 

documents.
Chapter 6—Emerging Tools and Topics to Integrate Wilderness Character

129

Which activities (commercial services) are proper for realizing the recreational or 

other wilderness purposes of the areas?—The “purposes” referred to in section 

4(d)(6) are those enumerated in section 4(b). Section 4(b) provides that “...

wilderness areas shall be devoted to the public purposes of recreational, scenic, 

scientific, educational, conservation, and historical use.” This involves analyzing 

the available opportunities for each of the public purposes to determine whether 

the proposed commercial service enables visitors to realize any public purpose 

which is not currently available through noncommercial means.

A distinction between commercial services and nonrecreational educational 

groups can be based on the NPS educational fee waiver definition of an 

educational group (Director’s Order 22: Recreation Fees). Such nonrecreational 

educational groups are usually permitted under a special park use permit, and 

a similar but separate evaluation process could be used to determine whether 

or not to issue a requested permit, and if so, the conditions required under the 

permit to maintain wilderness character.

What is the extent necessary for activities that are proper?—Evaluate the amount 

of commercial use that is necessary to achieve the purposes identified earlier. 

Visitor capacity is one important consideration in determining the extent of 

commercial services. If a wilderness has determined visitor capacity, activities 

that are at or near visitor capacity may not be able to accommodate commercial 

services. Within established capacities, the minimum amount of commercial 

services necessary should be balanced with noncommercial activities. Commercial 

services, similar to all other activities, may only be allowed in wilderness if while 

doing so wilderness character is preserved or improved. Commercial services may 

be limited to preserve opportunities for primitive recreation or other aspects of 

wilderness character. Specific consideration should also be given to the potential 

long-term and short-term impacts such use might have on each quality of 

wilderness character, with an indication of whether such use would degrade, 

maintain, or improve each quality of wilderness character. Wilderness areas with 

potential commercial use conflicts should consider using measures in wilderness 

character assessment that will monitor the condition of wilderness qualities 

affected by commercial use. Examples include hiker encounter rates, the health 

of meadows, and the size of campsites.

How do “extent necessary determinations“ fit with planning —A number 

of different types of planning processes could include the determination of 

the extent necessary for commercial services in wilderness, including general 

management plans, wilderness stewardship plans, and commercial service plans. 

Making this determination within a planning framework includes an analysis of 

impacts and public involvement. Zoning can be completed as part of a wilderness 

stewardship plan or general management plan to define the types and amounts 

of use, as well as other designations intended to preserve wilderness character. 

Through the creation of zones, commercial use in different portions of a 

wilderness can be managed in a different manner. Maintaining consistency with 

the wilderness character identified in zoning should be a key element in the 

evaluation of a proposed commercial service.

Considerations in 

Commercial Service 

Decisions:

•  Is the commercial 

service “necessary and 

appropriate for public 

use and enjoyment?”

•  Is there guidance in 

legislation or other 

park plans?

•  Which activities are 

proper for realizing 

one or more of the 

public purposes of 

wilderness?

•  What is the extent 

necessary for the 

activities which are 

proper?

•  Does it preserve 

wilderness character?

•  Is the commercial use 

consistent with visitor 

use standards?

•  Can commercial 

services be 

appropriately 

managed through 

zoning?

•  Are use allocations 

concerning amount, 

timing, type, and 

location of use 

acceptable to the 

public?

•  Have impacts to 

wilderness character 

been evaluated 

through a minimum 

requirements analysis?
Photo: NPS, Yosemite 

Wilderness, Yosemite 

National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program

130

Parks completing wilderness stewardship plans or general management plans 

can use wilderness character measures and standards to guide establishment of 

visitor capacities (maximum amount of use that can be accommodated) for all 

users, commercial and noncommercial. A challenge facing many parks is the issue 

of day use. Many staffs have developed capacities for overnight use but have not 

begun the difficult task of identifying capacities for wilderness day use. Areas 

at or near capacity should consider prohibiting additional types or increased 

amounts of commercial use. Maintaining consistency with capacities and related 

standards for a given location and season should be a key element in the 

evaluation of a proposed commercial service. Areas with an established visitor 

capacity must next determine how use will be allocated between the general 

public, commercial users, and those with special use permits. The amount, timing, 

type, and location of use must all be determined using a NEPA-compliant public 

participatory process.

Apply the minimum requirements process for operations plans—NPS 

Management Policies 2006, section 6.4.4, requires the application of the 

minimum requirement concept to the operation plans of commercial services. 

When analyzing an operating plan, emphasize activities and methods that have 

the least amount of adverse effect on wilderness character.

Example

Zion National Park recently completed a commercial services evaluation using 

portions of the eight-step process. The park completed a general management 

plan in 2001. The plan created two zones for the Zion Wilderness, a primitive 

zone and a pristine zone. Through the general management plan, the decision 

was made to not allow commercial use in the pristine zone. The general 

management plan called for a wilderness stewardship plan to be completed 

within five years. Two goals for the wilderness stewardship plan were to create a 

carrying capacity based on resource protection and visitor experience standards 

for the area, and to decide whether commercial services were necessary in the 

primitive zone. Through two comment periods, members of the public were 

asked if commercial use should be allowed in the primitive zone. A strong 

majority of respondents indicated that they did not wish for commercial use to 

occur. Additionally, many areas within the primitive zone were already at or near 

standards. Based on these two factors, the park made the decision not to allow 

commercial use in any portion of the Zion Wilderness.

Next Steps

NPS Director’s Order 41: Wilderness Stewardship

provides direction for managing commercial 

services in wilderness and will be followed by an 

update to the commercial services section in NPS

Reference Manual 41: Wilderness Stewardship,

being undertaken by the NPS National Wilderness 

Leadership Council. There are also “extent necessary 

determinations” underway within wilderness 

stewardship plans for Death Valley, SequoiaKings Canyon, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and 

Haleakela national parks.
“.... in Wildness is the 

preservation of the World.” 

—Henry David Thoreau

Photo: 

NPS/Dan Niosi, Denali 

Wilderness, Denali National 

Park & Preserve

References

and

Appendixes

References and Appendix

133

Glossary

Term/Phrase Definition

Affected Environment Existing biological, physical, social, and economic conditions of an area that are subject to 

change, both directly and indirectly, as a result of a proposed human action.

Alternatives Sets of management elements that represent a range of options for how, or whether, to 

proceed with a proposed project. An environmental impact statement or environmental 

assessment analyzes the potential environmental and social impacts of the range of alternatives 

presented.

Archeological Resources Any material remains or physical evidence of past human life or activities that are of 

archeological interest, including the record of the effects of human activities on the 

environment. They are capable of revealing scientific or humanistic information through 

archeological research. 

Building Blocks of 

Wilderness Character

Crucial steps needed to provide the foundation for effectively integrating wilderness character 

into planning management and monitoring. The blocks include: assemble wilderness basics, 

assess wilderness character, and integrate wilderness character into management and 

operations.

Commercial Services Commercial (for profit) operations, either ongoing or occasional in nature, that operate under 

NPS-issued permits or contracts to provide appropriate and necessary visitor services in national 

parks. 

Cultural Landscape A geographic area, including both cultural and natural resources and the wildlife or domestic 

animals therein, associated with an historic event, activity, or person or exhibiting other cultural 

or aesthetic values. There are four general types of cultural landscapes, not mutually exclusive: 

historic sites, historic designed landscapes, historic vernacular landscapes, and ethnographic 

landscapes (Birnbaum 2004).

Cultural Landscape 

Inventory

The Cultural Landscape Inventory is an NPS website database containing information on 

national register-eligible and potentially eligible cultural landscapes, as well as cultural 

landscapes determined noneligible but which are managed as cultural resources, within the 

national park system. This evaluated inventory identifies and documents each landscape’s 

location, size, physical development, condition, landscape characteristics, character-defining 

features, as well as other valuable information useful to park management.

Cultural Resources Those tangible and intangible aspects of cultural systems, both living and dead, that are valued 

by or representative of a given culture or that contain information about a culture. They include 

but are not limited to sites, structures, districts, objects, landscapes, and historic documents 

associated with or representative of peoples, cultures, and human activities and events, either 

in the present or in the past. Cultural resources also can include primary written and verbal data 

for interpretation and understanding of those tangible resources.

Designated Potential 

Wilderness

Federal lands that Congress intends to become fully designated wilderness upon the elimination 

of a nonconforming use prohibited by the Wilderness Act. 

Eligible Wilderness A finding of a formal eligibility assessment process whereby NPS lands were determined to be 

eligible for further wilderness study. The determination of an area’s eligibility, or ineligibility, for 

further study must be approved by the Director of the National Park Service before publication 

of the final eligibility determination in the Federal Register.

Ethnographic Resource See “Traditional Cultural Resource.”

Extirpated Species A species that formerly occurred within a wilderness but is no longer present there. An 

extirpated species is different from an extinct species in that extinction is the loss of all the 

individuals of a species, whereas a species may be extirpated from one area but still living in 

another area.

Facilities Buildings and the associated supporting infrastructure such as roads, trails, and utilities.

Feasibility As used as a criterion in evaluating possible measures for tracking change in wilderness 

character, this term evaluates how practical it would be to monitor the measure.
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Term/Phrase Definition

Historic Structure As defined by Director’s Order 28: Cultural Resource Management, an historic structure is “a 

constructed work . . . consciously created to serve some human activity.” Historic structures are 

usually immovable, although some have been relocated and others are mobile by design. They 

include buildings and monuments, dams, millraces and canals, nautical vessels, bridges, tunnels 

and roads, railroad locomotives, rolling stock and track, stockades and fences, defensive works, 

temple mounds and kivas, ruins of all structural types, and outdoor sculpture. 

Indicators Distinct and important elements within each monitoring question. In nearly all cases, there is 

more than one indicator under a monitoring question. See “Wilderness Character Monitoring.” 

A selected subset of components or elements of a resource or value that are particularly 

“information rich” and that represent or “indicate” the overall condition of the resource or 

value. There may be one or several indicators of condition for a particular resource (National 

Park Service 2012a).

Indigenous Species A species that originally inhabited the area now designated as wilderness.

Infrastructure (nonlinear) Installations or structures used to support activities such as telecommunications, water 

development, livestock grazing, or wildlife management. It includes debris such as old 

dump sites, plane crash sites, or locations of unexploded ordinance. It includes memorials or 

other monuments other than those placed during land surveys. It also includes unattended 

measurement devices left in place for at least one year for the purpose of recording 

environmental data, such as meteorology or seismic activity.

Installations Same as “Infrastructure (nonlinear).”

Inholding Nonfederal land within the boundary of a wilderness.

Invasive Species An “invasive species” is defined as a species that is 1) nonnative (or alien) to the

ecosystem under consideration and 2) whose introduction causes or is likely to

cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health (Executive

Order 13112, appendix 1).

Inventory An extensive point-in-time effort to determine location or condition of a resource, including 

the presence, class, distribution, and status of plants, animals, and abiotic components such as 

water, soils, landforms, and climate. Inventories contribute to a statement of park resources, 

which is best described in relation to a standard condition such as the natural or unimpaired 

state. Inventories may involve both the compilation of existing information and the acquisition 

of new information. They may be relative to either a particular point in space (synoptic) or time 

(temporal). See “Monitoring.”

Keeping It Wild An interagency strategy to monitor trends in wilderness character across the National 

Wilderness Preservation System.

Major Trail Feature A significant constructed feature associated with a system trail. Most commonly, this term refers 

to a trail bridge, but it also includes a dock, constructed stairs, and a boardwalk, excluding other 

minor features such as trail signs and culverts.

Management Ignited Fire Also referred to as “prescribed fire,” this would be any fire ignited by management actions 

under certain predetermined conditions to meet specific objectives related to hazardous fuels 

reduction or habitat improvement. A written, approved prescribed fire plan must exist, and 

NEPA requirements must be met before ignition. Prescribed fires are ignited and managed 

within a “window” of very specific conditions, including winds, temperatures, humidity, and 

other factors specified in the burn plan.

Management Zone A geographical area for which management directions or prescriptions have been developed 

to determine what can and cannot occur in terms of resource management, visitor use, access, 

facilities or development, and park operations.

Manipulation Any action taken inside a wilderness boundary to affect a biophysical environment.
References and Appendix

135

Term/Phrase Definition

Measures A specific aspect of wilderness that can be measured or quantified.

Specific feature(s) used to quantify an indicator, as specified in a sampling protocol. For 

example, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and specific conductivity are all measures of water 

chemistry (National Park Service 2012).

One or more specific measurements used to quantify or qualitatively evaluate the condition 

of an indicator at a particular place and time. There may be one or more specific measures of 

condition for each indicator of condition (National Park Service 2012a).

Mechanical Transport Any contrivance for moving people or material in or over land, water, or air, having moving 

parts, that provides a mechanical advantage to the user, and that is powered by a living or 

nonmotorized power source. This includes, but is not limited to, sailboats, hang gliders, 

parachutes, bicycles, game carriers, carts, and wagons. It does not include wheelchairs when 

used as necessary medical appliances. It also does not include skis, snowshoes, rafts, canoes, 

sleds, travois, or similar primitive devices without moving parts. 

Minimum Requirements 

Analysis

A written analysis that helps determine and document if potential actions by the National Park 

Service or government agents are the minimum necessary to accomplish a particular objective in 

wilderness and, if so, how to minimize any adverse effects. 

Monitoring The general purpose of monitoring is to detect changes or trends in a resource over time. 

Further defined as the collection and analysis of repeated observations or measurements to 

evaluate changes in condition and progress toward meeting a management objective. As used 

in this document, it is synonymous with tracking change in wilderness character.

Monitoring Questions Major elements under each quality that are significantly different from one another. Monitoring 

questions frame wilderness character monitoring to answer particular management questions. 

In this context, monitoring questions are similar to monitoring goals. See “Wilderness Character 

Monitoring.”

Motor Vehicle Machines used to transport people or material across or over land, water, or air, and which are 

powered by the use of a motor, engine, or other nonliving power source. This includes, but is 

not limited to motor boats, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, and aircraft that either land or 

drop off or pick up people or material (i.e., not aircraft that merely fly over the wilderness). 

Motorized Equipment Machines that are not used for transportation but are powered by a motor, engine, or 

other nonliving source. This includes, but is not limited to, machines such as chain saws and 

generators. It does not include small hand-carried devices such as shavers, wristwatches, 

flashlights, cameras, stoves, or other similar small equipment. 

Museum Collections Assemblage of objects, works of art, historic documents, and/or natural history specimens 

collected according to a rational scheme and maintained so they can be preserved, studied, and 

interpreted for public benefit. Museum collections normally are kept in park museums, although 

they may also be maintained in archeological and historic preservation centers. 

Natural Quality One of the qualities of wilderness character. This quality monitors effects of modern people 

on ecological systems inside wilderness since the time the area was designated. Wilderness 

ecological systems are substantially free from the effects of modern civilization.

Natural Processes All processes such as hydrologic, geologic, and ecosystem that are not the result of human 

manipulation.

Natural Wilderness Lake A body of water not originally created by human impoundment (such as via a dam or levee).

Nonnative Species Species of plants or wildlife that are not native to a particular area and may interfere with 

natural biological systems.

Paleontology The study of the forms of life existing in prehistoric or geologic time, as represented by the 

fossils of plants, animals, and other organisms.
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Term/Phrase Definition

Other Features of Value 

Quality

This quality of wilderness character has been defined by the National Park Service to capture 

features with scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value that may not be included under 

the other four qualities. This quality is unique to an individual wilderness and, typically, the 

“other feature of value” occurs only in specific locations within a wilderness. 

Paleoecology The branch of ecology that deals with the interactions between ancient organisms and their 

environment.

Park Foundation 

Document 

This is a foundational statement for the park that provides basic guidance for planning and 

management decisions. Through the identification of core components—park purpose, 

significance, fundamental and important resources and values, and interpretive themes—the 

foundation fosters a shared understanding of what is most important about the park. The 

foundation also describes special mandates and administrative commitments, which provide 

context for park management; includes an assessment of planning and data needs that provides 

a focus for planning at the park; and a park atlas, composed of geo-spatial data about the park 

and its setting. A park foundation document provides a focus for park planning activities and 

establishes a baseline from which planning proposals are developed.

Potential Wilderness Lands identified in a wilderness study that are surrounded by or adjacent to lands proposed for 

wilderness designation but that do not themselves qualify for immediate designation due to 

temporary nonconforming or incompatible conditions.

Proposed Wilderness The lands proposed for wilderness designation as identified by the Director of the National Park 

Service to the Department of the Interior as an outcome of a formal wilderness study.

Qualities Primary elements of wilderness character that link directly to the statutory language of the 1964 

Wilderness Act. The qualities of wilderness are untrammeled, undeveloped, natural, outstanding 

opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation, and other features 

of value. All five qualities are of equal importance and stature to understand, describe, and 

assess trends in wilderness character. 

Recommended 

Wilderness

The lands recommended by the Secretary of the Interior to the president of the United States 

as suitable for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. The president is then 

responsible for transmitting his recommendations with respect to wilderness designation to 

both houses of Congress for formal designation.

Record of Decision The public document describing the decision made on an alternative in an environmental 

impact statement.

Reliability As used as a criterion in evaluating possible measures for tracking change in wilderness 

character, this term evaluates whether the measure can be monitored accurately with a high 

degree of confidence and would yield the same result if measured by different people at 

different times. 

Representativeness As used in choosing data sources for a measure for tracking change in wilderness character, this 

term asks whether the data source reasonably captures, or stands for, the information needed 

to track the wilderness measure. 

Replication As used in choosing data sources for a measure for tracking change in wilderness character, this 

term asks whether similar information can be collected in the future.

Resource Stewardship 

Strategy

A written document that presents long-term, comprehensive strategies for managing natural 

and cultural resources. It is not a decision-making document, but rather an analytical document 

that identifies and tracks indicators of desired conditions and recommends comprehensive 

strategies to achieve and maintain desired conditions over time. 

Road A motor vehicle travelway wider than 50 inches, unless classified and managed as a trail. (36 

C.F.R. 212.1.)

Significance As used as a criterion in evaluating possible measures for tracking change in wilderness 

character, this term evaluates the degree to which the measure is directly related to the quality 

of wilderness character and is relevant and useful to park staff in the management of that 

quality.
References and Appendix

137

Term/Phrase Definition

Site Hardening Any development that creates an impervious ground surface. Usually used as a way to direct 

visitor use and reduce impacts to resources.

Social Trails (User Trails) A social trail is an informal, nondesignated trail between two locations. Social trails often result 

in trampling stresses to vegetation and soils.

Solitude, or Primitive and 

Unconfined Recreation 

Quality

Wilderness provides opportunities to experience solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation, 

including the values of inspiration and physical and mental challenge. One of the qualities of 

wilderness character. This quality monitors conditions that affect the opportunity for people 

to experience solitude or primitive, unconfined recreation, rather than monitoring visitor 

experiences per se.

Sustainability As used as a consideration in choosing data sources for a measure for tracking change in 

wilderness character, this term asks how readily the data are retrieved and processed, and 

whether the park will be able to maintain this level of effort in future years.

System Trail A linear feature constructed or delineated by the National Park Service for the purpose of 

allowing the free movement of people or stock. This is distinct from nonsystem trails (“userdeveloped” or “social” trails) that are not delineated by the agency.

Traditional Cultural 

Resource

Any site, structure, object, landscape, or natural resource feature assigned traditional, legendary, 

religious, subsistence, or other significance in the cultural system of a group traditionally 

associated with it.

Traditional Cultural 

Property

A resource (property) associated with cultural practices, beliefs, the sense of purpose, or 

existence of a living community that is rooted in that community’s history or is important in 

maintaining its cultural identity and development as an ethnically distinctive people. Traditional 

cultural properties are ethnographic resources eligible for listing in the National Register of 

Historic Places.

Trend Directional change measured in resources by monitoring their condition over time. Trends can 

be measured by examining individual change (change experienced by individual sample units) or 

by examining net change (change in mean response of all sample units) (National Park Service 

2012b). 

Unauthorized Action Any action undertaken by anyone, any group, or any agency without specific approval by the 

authorized line officer.

Undeveloped Quality Wilderness is essentially without permanent improvements or modern human occupation. 

One of the qualities of wilderness character. This quality monitors the presence of structures, 

construction, habitations, and other evidence of modern human presence or occupation.

Unfinished Wilderness Geographic areas that have been through some level of study or recommendation for 

wilderness but have yet to be designated by Congress. This is a global term used to encompass 

potential wilderness, proposed wilderness, and recommended wilderness.

Visitor Capacity As it applies to parks, visitor capacity is a component of visitor use management consisting of 

the maximum amounts and types of visitor use that an area can accommodate while sustaining 

desired resource conditions and visitor experiences, consistent with the purpose for which the 

area was established. 

Untrammeled Quality Wilderness is essentially unhindered and free from modern human control or manipulation. 

One of the qualities of wilderness character. This quality monitors human activities that directly 

control or manipulate the components or processes of ecological systems inside wilderness.

Visitor Experience The perceptions, feelings, and reactions a park visitor has in relationship with the surrounding 

environment.

Visitor Use Refers to the physical, human presence in an area for recreational, educational and interpretive, 

inspirational, or scientific purposes.

Visitor Use Characteristics Includes the amount, type, timing, and distribution of visitor use, including visitor activities and 

behaviors.

Visitor Use Levels Refers to the quantity or amount of use a specific area receives, or the amount of parkwide 

visitation on a daily, monthly, or annual basis.
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Term/Phrase Definition

Visitor Use Management The proactive and adaptive process of planning for and managing characteristics of visitor use 

and its physical and social setting, using a variety of strategies and tools, to sustain desired 

resource conditions and visitor experiences.

Vulnerability As used as a criteria in evaluating possible measures for tracking change in wilderness character, 

this term evaluates both and current and near term (within 10–15 years) level of risk or threat to 

a quality of wilderness character.

Wilderness Federal lands that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System as designated by the 

U.S. Congress.

Wilderness Basics One of the building blocks of wilderness character, this includes assembling the background 

wilderness information, developing a wilderness character narrative, and identifying issues for 

future wilderness stewardship planning. 

Wilderness Character Wilderness character may be described as the combination of biophysical, experiential, and 

symbolic ideals that distinguishes wilderness from other lands. These ideals combine to form a 

complex and subtle set of relationships between the land, its management, and the meanings 

people associate with wilderness. For practical purposes it is generally defined as the composite 

of the qualities of wilderness character. Note: The Wilderness Act does not define “wilderness 

character” and despite a rich legislative history on many aspects of the Wilderness Act, the 

congressional committees that developed and debated the Wilderness Act of 1964 did not 

discuss the meaning of this phrase. 

Wilderness Character 

Baseline Condition 

Assessment

Provides the reference point against which change to wilderness character is measured and 

evaluated. 

Wilderness Character 

Monitoring

A process of hierarchically dividing wilderness character into successively finer elements. In 

order, these elements are: 

Qualities à Monitoring Questions à Indicators à Measures. 

Data are gathered on selected measures of wilderness character to assess how wilderness 

character is changing over time. 

Wilderness Character 

Narrative

Describes what is unique and special about the wilderness, and the major issues that need 

to be addressed to preserve wilderness character. The narrative is composed of an overview 

that provides a broad context of the wilderness within the region, followed by each of the 

qualities of wilderness character. The narrative is a positive and affirming description of what 

the wilderness is now and into the foreseeable future and is not intended for criticizing current 

management programs or for analyzing or balancing tradeoffs among different resources and 

values of wilderness. 

Wilderness Stewardship 

Plan Handbook

An NPS-specific comprehensive guidance document for the process and content of wilderness 

stewardship plans. The first edition was released in 2004 and it was substantially revised and 

released again in 2014 as a companion to the document Keeping it Wild in the National Parks: 

A User Guide to Integrating Wilderness Character into Park Planning, Management, and 

Monitoring.

Wilderness Resources Any specific resource within a wilderness. This is not the same as “wilderness character” that 

refers to the holistic aggregate of all the individual wilderness resources that occur within an 

area.

Wilderness Study A formal study, by a federal land management agency, of areas that are eligible for wilderness 

designation. The study typically evaluates lands and waters against the criteria outlined in the 

Wilderness Act of 1964. If the wilderness study results in a wilderness proposal for NPS lands, 

the findings are forwarded to the Director of the National Park Service for consideration and 

possible action. 
References and Appendix

139

The primary sources for this glossary are NPS Management Policies 2006,

NPS Director’s orders and their predecessors (e.g., NPS-28: Cultural Resource 

Management Guideline, Natural Resource Management Reference Manual #77)

and Keeping It Wild (2008), or else the definitions were created specifically for 

this User Guide. Where other sources were used they are shown as abbreviations 

in parentheses following the definition. Those other sources used in compiling 

this glossary are listed below by the citation:

Birnbaum, C. A.

 1994 “NPS Preservation Brief 36: Protecting Cultural Landscapes: Planning, Treatment and 

Management of Historic Landscapes.” Accessed October 15, 2012 at http://www.nps.gov/

history/hps/tps/briefs/brief36.htm.

National Invasive Species Council

2001 “National Invasive Species Management Plan,” at http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/

council/main.shtml.

National Park Service

2012a “Draft Guidance for the Development of NPS Resource Stewardship Strategies.”

2012b “Glossary of Terms Used by the NPS Inventory & Monitoring Program.” Accessed October 

15, 2012 at https://science.nature.nps.gov/im/monitor/glossary.cfm.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program 

140

Aplet, G., J. Thomson, and M.M. Wilbert

2000 “Indicators of Wildness: Using Attributes of the Land to Assess the Context of Wilderness.” 

In Proceedings of the Wilderness Science in a Time of Change Conference (S. F. McCool, D. 

N. Cole, W. T. Borrie, and J. O’Loughlin, editors). USDA Forest Service Proceedings, RMRS-P15-VOL-2, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO.

Appel, P.A.

2010 “Wilderness and the Courts.” Stanford Environmental Law Journal 29:62-129.

Ashley, P.

2010 “Toward an Understanding and Definition of Wilderness Spirituality.” Australian 

Geographer 38:53–69.

Cafaro, P.

2001 “Thoreau, Leopold, and Carson: Toward an Environmental Virtue Ethics.” Environmental 

Ethics 22:3–17.

Carver, S., A. Comber, R. McMorran, and S. Nutter

In Press “A GIS Model for Mapping Spatial Patterns and Distribution of Wild Land in Scotland.” 

Landscape and Urban Planning.

Cordell, K. H., J. C. Bergstrom, and J. M. Bowker, editors

2005 The Multiple Values of Wilderness. Venture Publishing, State College, PA.

Cowley, J., P. Landres, M. Memory, D. Scott, and A. Lindholm

2012 “Integrating Cultural Resources and Wilderness Character.” Park Science 28(3):29-33.

Dawson, C.P., and J.C. Hendee

2008 Wilderness Management: Stewardship and Protection of Resources and Values. Fourth 

edition. Fulcrum Publishers, Golden, CO.

Harmon, D., and A.D. Putney, editors

2003 The Full Value of Parks, from Economics to the Intangible. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 

Lanham, MD.

Landres, P., C. Barns, J. G. Dennis, T. Devine, P. Geissler, C. S. McCasland, L. Merigliano, J. Seastrand, 

and R. Swain

2008 Keeping It Wild: An Interagency Strategy to Monitor Trends in Wilderness Character Across 

the National Wilderness Preservation System. General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-212. 

USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO.

Landres, P., M. Fincher, L. Sharman, J. Alderson, C. Barns, T. Carlson, R. L. Anderson, S. Boudreau, D. J. 

Parsons, L. Boyers, and K. Hood

2010 An Interagency Framework to Evaluate Proposals for Scientific Activities in Wilderness.

General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-234WWW. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain 

Research Station, Fort Collins, CO.

Selected References
References and Appendix

141

Marion, J.L. and S.E. Reid

2007 “Minimising Visitor Impacts to Protected Areas: The Efficacy of Low Impact Education 

Programmes.” Journal of Sustainable Tourism 15(1):5-27.

McCloskey, M.

1999 “Changing Views of What the Wilderness System Is All About.” Denver University Law 

Review 76:369–381.

Miles, J.C.

2009 Wilderness in National Parks: Playground or Preserve. University of Washington Press, 

Seattle, WA.

Moore, K.D.

2007 “In the Shadow of the Cedars: The Spiritual Value of Old-growth Forests.” Conservation 

Biology 21:1120-1123.

National Park Service

2002 “Guidance ‘White Paper’ Number 1: Cultural Resources and Wilderness.” National 

Wilderness Steering Committee. Washington, DC.

Rohlf, D., and D. L. Honnold

1988 “Managing the Balances of Nature: The Legal Framework of Wilderness Management.” 

Ecology Law Quarterly 15:249–279.

Sanderson E.W., M. Jaiteh, M.A. Levy, K.H. Redford, A.V. Wannebo, and G. Woolmer

2002 “The Human Footprint and the Last of the Wild.” Bioscience 52:891-904.

Scott, D. W.

2002 ’Untrammeled,’ ‘Wilderness Character,’ and the Challenges of Wilderness Preservation.” 

Wild Earth 11(3/4):72–79.

Tweed, W.C.

2010 Uncertain Path: A Search for the Future of National Parks. University of California press, 

Berkeley, CA.

Wild, R., and C. McLeod, editors

2008 Sacred Natural Sites: Guidelines for Protected Area Managers. World Commission on 

Protected Areas, Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series No. 16. International Union 

for the Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland and UNESCO, Paris, France.

Zahniser, H.

1962 Hearings before the Subcommittee on Public Lands of the Committee on Interior Affairs, 

House of Representatives, 87th Congress, 2nd session, 7–11 May, serial no. 12, part IV.
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Appendix 1—

How this User Guide was Developed

This User Guide was developed by the NPS Wilderness Character Integration 

Team for all parks with wilderness resources. This team was jointly chartered 

in 2010 by the NPS Office of Park Planning and Special Studies and the NPS 

Wilderness Stewardship Division to “provide leadership within the NPS for 

integrating and using wilderness character in park planning, management, and 

monitoring. The intended outcome from the work of this team will be for all 

NPS wilderness parks to understand how the idea of wilderness character applies 

to their park and how wilderness character informs and guides their day-today and on-the-ground activities that occur within a wilderness park.” The User 

Guide is the primary product by which this team intends to accomplish wilderness 

character integration within the NPS.

The team was composed of the following 20 people with a combined total of 

234 years of experience in wilderness stewardship:

•  Mike Bilecki, Chief of Resource Management, 

Fire Island National Seashore, Patchtogue, New York

•  Carol Cook, Program Analyst, 

Park Planning and Special Studies, Washington, D.C.

•  Sarah Craighead, Superintendent, 

Death Valley National Park, Death Valley, California

•  Jeremy Curtis, Chief of Maintenance for Chiricahua National Monument, 

Ft. Bowie National Historic Site and Coronado National Monument, Wilcox, 

Arizona

•  Tim Devine, Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center, 

Missoula, Montana

•  Sandee Dingman, Biologist, 

Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Boulder City, Nevada

•  Michael Haynie, Park Ranger Interpretation, 

Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Salt Flat, Texas

•  Chris Holbeck, Natural Resource Program Manager, 

Midwest Regional Office, Omaha, Nebraska

•  Chip Jenkins, Superintendent, 

North Cascades National Park, Sedro-Wolley, Washington

•  Peter Landres, Ecologist and WCIT co-chair, 

Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, 

Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S. Forest Service, Missoula, Montana

•  Adrienne Lindholm, Regional Wilderness Coordinator, 

Alaska Regional Office, Anchorage, Alaska

•  Melissa Memory, Chief of Cultural Resources, 

Everglades and Dry Tortugas national parks, Homestead, Florida

•  Christina Mills, Wilderness Fellow, Wilderness Stewardship Division, 

Washington, D.C. (WCIT co-chair beginning the second year)

•  Ray O’Neil, Plateau District Ranger, Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah

•  Ruth Scott, Natural Resource Specialist, 

Olympic National Park, Port Angeles, Washington
References and Appendix

143

•  Miki Stuebe, Environmental Protection Specialist, Environmental Quality 

Division, Natural Resources Stewardship and Science, Lakewood, Colorado

•  Suzy Stuzman, Regional Wilderness Coordinator and WCIT co-chair, 

Intermountain Region, Lakewood, Colorado

•  Karen Trevino, Director, Natural Sounds and Night Skies Program, 

Natural Resources Stewardship and Science, Fort Collins, Colorado 

(WCIT member the first year)

•  Frank Turina, Planner, Natural Sounds and Night Skies Program, 

Natural Resources Stewardship and Science, Fort Collins, Colorado 

(WCIT member beginning the second year)

•  Wade Vagias, Management Assistant and WCIT co-chair, Yellowstone 

National Park, Mammoth, Wyoming (WCIT co-chair for the first year)

As the work began, all team members agreed to spend a total of four weeks per 

year on this effort: two face-to-face meetings per year that focused on discussion 

and making the decisions that were needed, and two weeks of time in their 

offices developing products. Face-to-face meetings were held in September 2010, 

February 2011, September 2011, February 2012, and October 2012. Monthly 

conference calls were held to assess progress and address issues requiring the 

team’s discussion and decision. Decisions made by the team were based on the 

majority view. When strongly divergent yet minority views were expressed, these 

views were included in the User Guide.

This large team was divided into three working groups that corresponded 

roughly with the User Guide chapters on planning, management and operations, 

and tracking change. There was, however, substantial interaction among these 

working groups on an as-needed basis and some individuals worked closely with 

more than one working groups. Peter Landres was responsible for overall editing 

and organization of the User Guide. Principal authors for each User Guide

chapter were:

•  Chapter 1 – Peter Landres

•  Chapter 2 – Suzy Stutzman

•  Chapter 3 – Carol Cook (chapter lead), Suzy Stutzman, Sandee Dingman, 

Ruth Scott, Sarah Craighead, Mike Bilecki, Chip Jenkins

•  Chapter 4 – Tim Devine (chapter lead), Wade Vagias and Christina Mills 

(initial chapter leads), Miki Stuebe, Ray O’Neil, Melissa Memory

•  Chapter 5 – Peter Landres (chapter lead), Adrienne Lindholm, Michael 

Haynie, Chris Holbeck, Karen Trevino, Frank Turina, Jeremy Curtis

•  Chapter 6 – Peter Landres (chapter lead), Suzy Stutzman

•  Glossary – Sandee Dingman

•  Appendices – Peter Landres (lead), Suzy Stutzman, Sandee Dingman, 

Chris Holbeck
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As products were developed they were posted on the NPS Wilderness Character 

Sharepoint site, reviewed, and discussed on monthly conference calls and 

biannual face-to-face meetings. The first rough draft of the User Guide was 

completed for in-depth review at the September 2011 meeting, revised based 

on discussion at this meeting, and reviewed by a technical writer for review at 

the February 2012 meeting. This draft was released in April 2012 for pilot testing 

over the spring and summer. Input from pilot testing was incorporated into the 

User Guide in late summer and the final draft User Guide reviewed at the final 

meeting of the WCIT in October 2012 and subsequent revisions made through 

March 2013.
References and Appendix

145

Appendix 2.1—Developing a Wilderness Character

Narrative with an Interdisciplinary Group

Purpose of a Wilderness Character Narrative

A wilderness character narrative describes what is unique and special about a 

specific wilderness, organized by each of the qualities of wilderness character. 

This narrative is a positive, affirming description of a wilderness now and into the 

foreseeable future and includes a description of major influences on wilderness 

character. A narrative may be used in several ways:

•  By providing considerable detail, it provides a basis for park foundation 

documents and serves as a framework for a wilderness stewardship plan.

•  By addressing multiple resources (including both natural cultural 

resources), it fosters integration among different staff and program areas 

that need to function together to effectively preserve wilderness character.

•  By clarifying the concept of wilderness character and the primary forces 

that affect it, a narrative provides a solid basis for identifying appropriate 

measures to assess trends in wilderness character.

•  By explaining what is unique and special about a wilderness, it informs 

interpretive themes and serves as a starting point for discussion with the 

public about the current and future state of the wilderness.

Park staff who have developed a wilderness character narrative describe it 

as a “compass bearing” for what the wilderness is and the values that define 

wilderness character in the park. Another benefit of the narrative is that it 

provides a way to embrace and describe things that staff and visitors feel yet are 

typically ignored in formal park planning processes, such as stories about the 

land, the feelings that visitors are likely to experience, or the spiritual connection 

between people and the land.

In general, a wilderness character narrative, by making the concept of wilderness 

character tangible and specific for a park, provides a robust way to frame 

and articulate management decisions, including decisions about minimum 

requirements, scientific activities, and environmental impact analyses.

Wilderness 

Character Narrative

The narrative is a 

qualitative description 

of what is unique 

and special about the 

wilderness, organized 

by each quality of 

wilderness character.
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Approaches for Developing a Wilderness Character Narrative

A wilderness character narrative should be developed by an interdisciplinary 

group representing a broad cross section of park staff and, when relevant, 

can include other stakeholders and tribes during the process or in review. The 

narrative can be developed in several ways.

•  Facilitated workshop—The optimal situation is to convene an interactive 

session with the identified group, led by the person designated to write the 

narratives. This offers the greatest opportunity for the interaction of staff 

and others and is very efficient in the use of people’s time. In general, such 

a workshop should take about half a day, plus time for preparation and 

follow-up. It requires the lead to consolidate the results of the workshop 

into a draft document, involves the selected group in review, and the 

narrative is finalized by the lead.

•  Remote facilitated process—Travel ceilings and time may make it too 

difficult to assemble the optimal group in one room at one time. It 

is possible to structure a process that provides adequate background 

information to participants, involves several group phone calls and/or 

webinars, and similarly has the lead consolidate results into a draft, engage 

the group in review, and finalize the narrative.

•  Individual interviews—Another approach is for the narrative lead to 

individually interview each of the identified interdisciplinary group 

members. This method is less efficient for the lead (experience has shown 

that individual interviews could take one to two hours each) and there 

is a loss of interaction and synergy that occurs in a group setting. This is 

a viable alternative where staff and other key participants are scattered, 

travel limitations are tight, and a workshop is not viable.

•  Combination—A variety of techniques could be combined to get 

interdisciplinary participation in developing a wilderness character 

narrative. For example, it may be possible to assemble a core 

interdisciplinary group for a workshop and include other key participants 

through interviews. Experience with such interviews shows that interviews 

should be conducted prior to the workshop so this information can be 

included in subsequent discussion.
References and Appendix

147

Steps for Developing a Wilderness Character Narrative

There are several steps for developing a wilderness character narrative with an 

interdisciplinary team and every park will be different in how they develop this 

narrative. In general, the steps would be:

1. Identify a leader for developing a wilderness character narrative—The 

leader should understand the concept of wilderness character and be able 

to facilitate a group through this process and write the narrative. This 

could be someone at the park, a wilderness fellow, a planner who will 

later lead a foundation workshop, or another person. The leader will have 

additional steps, described below.

2. Determine the scope if there is more than one wilderness unit or 

a combination of designated and other categories of wilderness—A 

fundamental decision will be whether wilderness units or areas of 

differing status will be lumped together in a single narrative, or if 

narratives for these different areas will be determined separately.

3. Ensure that all relevant staff participate—Because wilderness is 

interwoven through all resource areas of park management (e.g., 

interpretation, protection, facilities, natural resources, cultural resources, 

fire), it is important that all resource areas are represented in this effort.

4. Consider some outside perspectives—Without making this exercise 

overly complex, consider ways to get input from other agency staff, tribes, 

partners, or stakeholders. A wilderness character narrative is descriptive 

of the qualities of wilderness and its condition, but makes no decisions 

and is not subject to the rules of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. One 

simple way to get feedback is to let the public review and comment on 

a draft narrative in a newsletter or other public document. A park could 

(but by no means is required to) invite stakeholders to participate in the 

process, but care must be taken not to have too large a group or raise 

expectations for a large public meeting. Determine in advance if outside 

perspectives are to be incorporated and plan how to accomplish that 

effort.

5. Determine the format—After identifying who would be best to 

include in developing a wilderness character narrative, determine 

the best format for participation. A facilitated workshop is the ideal 

method for generating narratives because if an appropriate group can 

be assembled, it is very efficient, develops a common understanding 

of wilderness character, and benefits from synergy between group 

members. If a workshop is not possible, design a format of interviews, 

remote facilitation, or combination that will be inclusive of the identified 

participants.

Ideas on 

How to Get It Done

•  Schedule a Wilderness 

101 training with 

the Arthur Carhart 

National Wilderness 

Training Center and 

include a wilderness 

character narrative 

workshop within the 

agenda (a park lead 

would need to 

follow up).

•  If the park is doing 

a park foundation 

document, schedule 

the completion of a 

wilderness character 

narrative through 

a workshop or 

facilitated process 

three to six months 

ahead of the 

foundation workshop 

(and consider having 

the foundation 

facilitator lead this 

exercise).

•  Include a wilderness 

character workshop 

within a scoping or 

other early meeting 

for a wilderness 

stewardship planning 

process.

•  Engage a wilderness 

fellow.
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6. Ensure that all participants have a good and common understanding 

of wilderness character—All participants should review Keeping It 

Wild or hear a presentation by someone familiar with this publication. 

A workshop provides an opportunity for such a presentation, while 

a remotely facilitated process or interviews would require the leader 

to conduct a phone/PowerPoint session or direct people to wilderness 

character presentations available on http://www.wilderness.net. Typically, 

there is some uncertainty about how the concept of wilderness character 

applies to on-the-ground management because our understanding of 

this concept is quite new, so it is important to ensure participants have an 

opportunity to ask questions and discuss their concerns prior to beginning 

their work.

7. Decide whether to break into subgroups or have all participants 

together in one group—If there are sufficient people, typically more than 

about 12, it might be more efficient to divide the work among subgroups 

of 3 to 4 people for each of the qualities of wilderness character. In a 

workshop, let each group work separately, then share and discuss the 

results with the entire group to refine the results. In interviews or a 

facilitated process, assign each person in a subgroup to work on one of 

the wilderness character qualities. If there are fewer people, it is probably 

best to keep everyone together and working on all qualities. Sample 

worksheets are included in this appendix.

8. Identify the narrative elements for each of the qualities of wilderness 

character—First, each person expresses their feelings, perceptions, and 

gut reactions about what makes this wilderness a unique and special 

place. The narrative elements are purposefully based on feelings and 

not intellectualized thoughts to capture the experience, wisdom, and 

passion that participants have for this wilderness. Second, and this is the 

intellectual part, the set of initial narrative elements are considered as a 

whole and redundancies identified and removed, elements condensed and 

possibly moved among the qualities, and words refined to better reflect 

overall participants’ feelings. This second step should result in a refined 

set of narrative elements for each of the qualities of wilderness character, 

thereby providing a fairly detailed picture of what is unique and special 

about each of the qualities of wilderness character in this wilderness. 

Sample worksheets are included in this appendix.

9. Identify the things that are known to or could degrade the narrative 

elements within each of the qualities of wilderness character—These 

things could include known threats that occur within the wilderness 

(internal threats), present and future threats that impact the wilderness 

from outside the boundaries of the area (external threats), administrative 

actions, allowed and permitted uses, or anything else. Even threats that 

are difficult to manage should be included (e.g., light and noise pollution). 

Sample worksheets are included in this appendix.
References and Appendix

149

After the elements of the wilderness character narrative have been identified, 

as well as potential threats to these elements, the leader will need to provide 

additional direction to develop a wilderness character narrative. These additional 

steps include:

1. Write the wilderness character narrative—This step requires developing 

text that weaves together the narrative elements into a cohesive 

paragraph that describes what is unique and special about each quality 

of wilderness character for this wilderness. The things that degrade this 

quality also need to be written into this narrative, either woven into 

the text about each of the unique and special elements or as a separate 

paragraph. It is extremely important that the things that are degrading 

wilderness character are written in a neutral, objective tone that does not 

imply blame or neglect.

2. Write an “Overview” paragraph that introduces the wilderness 

character narrative—This overview sets the context for the wilderness 

character narrative, and would typically include statements about the 

legislation that designated the wilderness, the setting of the wilderness 

within the park, and any overarching statements about what makes this 

wilderness unique and special. Include a few sentences, such as those at 

the beginning of this appendix, that give the definition and purpose of a 

wilderness character narrative.

3. Solicit feedback from participants and revise the narrative—Once the 

draft wilderness character narrative is written, all participants in the 

process need to be given the opportunity to review and comment. It is 

also worth considering having a few key people in the park who did not 

participate in identifying narrative elements review the draft for accuracy 

and tone. The leader responsible for developing the narrative will then 

need to incorporate these comments and potentially hold additional 

meetings or phone conferences with certain people to refine the text.

4. Develop the final narrative—A wilderness character narrative should 

be evocative, descriptive, and accurate, finding a balance between either 

too “flowery” or too technical. It needs to convey that special sense of 

place. Consider including inspirational quotes about this wilderness from 

the legislative history or other sources. Its length is about 3 to possibly 10 

pages, not a heavy tome.

5. Use the final narrative—Widely announce and circulate the wilderness 

character narrative among park staff. Promote its use in future park 

foundation documents, other related planning and compliance efforts, 

minimum requirements decisions, managing scientific activities in 

wilderness, and interpretation and education.
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Appendix 2.2—Worksheet for a Wilderness Character

Narrative Workshop

This worksheet is intended for a facilitated wilderness character narrative 

workshop where there are representatives from all park divisions at the 

workshop. Note that there will be separate worksheets for each of the five 

qualities of wilderness character.

Wilderness Name: ___________________________________________________

Date: __________________________________________________________________

Names and position titles of workshop participant(s) filling out this worksheet:

__________________________________________________________________________

Which quality of wilderness character is this worksheet being used for 

(circle one)?

NATURAL UNDEVELOPED UNTRAMMELED

SOLITUDE OR PRIMITIVE AND UNCONFINED RECREATION 

OTHER FEATURES OF VALUE

Identify the narrative elements for each of the qualities of wilderness character—

Each participant shares their feelings, perceptions, and gut reactions about what 

makes this wilderness a unique and special place. The narrative elements are 

purposefully based on feelings and not intellectualized thoughts to capture the 

experience, wisdom, and passion that participants have for this wilderness.

Unique and Special Elements Notes
References and Appendix

151

Worksheet for the Wilderness Character Narrative Workshop – Continued

Wilderness Name: _________________________________________________

Which quality of wilderness character is this worksheet being used for 

(circle one)?

NATURAL UNDEVELOPED UNTRAMMELED

SOLITUDE OR PRIMITIVE AND UNCONFINED RECREATION 

OTHER FEATURES OF VALUE

Identify the things that are known to or could degrade the narrative elements 

within this quality of wilderness character—These things could include known 

threats that occur within the wilderness (internal threats), present and future 

threats that impact the wilderness from outside the boundaries of the area 

(external threats), administrative actions, allowed and permitted uses, or 

anything else. Even threats that are difficult to manage should be included 

(e.g., light and noise pollution).

Things That Degrade These Elements Notes
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Appendix 2.3—Worksheets for Remotely Developing a

Wilderness Character Narrative

The worksheets on the following pages are intended to facilitate developing a 

wilderness character narrative when a face-to-face workshop with all participants 

is not feasible. The worksheets could be filled in by a facilitator to record a 

phone or video conference with one or more people who are at a remote site, 

to record an individual on-site interview, or they could be filled in by staff at a 

remote site and then sent to a facilitator. The worksheets are intended to be 

used after participants have received a sufficient introduction to the concept 

of wilderness character through shared documents, remote presentations, and 

phone conferences.

This appendix is divided into sections. The first section shows on separate pages 

an example for each quality of wilderness character from Guadalupe Mountains 

Wilderness in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The second section provides 

open worksheets for participants to identify unique and special elements, things 

that degrade these elements, and room for notes and suggested language.
References and Appendix

153

Wilderness Character Narrative Worksheet

Wilderness: _________________________________________________________

Name of facilitator and interviewee(s): ________________________________ 

_____________________________________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________________

Quality of Wilderness Character: Natural

Definition of this quality: Wilderness ecological systems are substantially free 

from the effects of modern civilization

Indicators: Plant and animal species and communities, physical resources, 

biophysical processes

Examples of things that degrade this quality: Air pollutants, occurrence of 

nonindigenous species, altered water flow, extirpated or extinct native animals 

and plants, altered disturbance regimes

Example from Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas

Unique and Special 

Elements

Things that Degrade 

These Elements

Narrative

variety of native, 

endangered, and 

threatened plant and 

animal species

livestock grazing, 

invasive species, 

extirpation

“A variety of species within the park are listed as rare or endangered, 

such as the Mexican spotted owl and peregrine falcon, and many grasses 

are still recovering from the past effects of livestock grazing. Some 

animals that once were present in the park have been extirpated, such as 

the bighorn sheep and Mexican gray wolf. Several invasive species have 

been introduced, modifying natural species composition.”

unique geologic 

resources

degradation by 

geologic tools, removal 

of samples

“The Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness provides a unique opportunity 

to explore and study a one-of-a-kind geologic resource, and actions that 

damage the resource demean this wilderness quality. The resource has 

suffered some, although limited, degradation by geologic tools such as 

rock hammers, and samples are periodically removed from the wilderness 

by both scientists and visitors. However, researchers are required to go 

through a stringent process in order to obtain a permit and must follow 

specific guidelines mandated by park managers.”
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Wilderness Character Narrative Worksheet

Wilderness: _________________________________________________________

Name of facilitator and interviewee(s): ________________________________ 

_____________________________________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________________

Quality of Wilderness Character: Untrammeled

Definition of this quality: Wilderness is essentially unhindered and free from the 

actions of modern human control or manipulation.

Indicators: Actions authorized by the federal land manager that manipulate the 

biophysical environment, actions not authorized by the federal land manager 

that manipulate the biophysical environment

Examples of things that degrade these elements: Spraying weeds, suppressing 

or lighting fire, introducing nonnative species, unauthorized actions such as 

predator control

Example from Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas

Unique and Special 

Elements

Things that Degrade 

These Elements

Narrative

The wilderness has been 

affected primarily by the 

forces of nature

Removal of nonnative species, 

native plant revegetation, 

prescription and suppression 

of fire

“The untrammeled quality of the Guadalupe Mountains 

Wilderness can be seen in the water-carved canyons, the track 

of a mountain lion, or in the delicate shoots of new grass 

emerging from a lightning charred landscape . . . the primary 

actions that degrade the untrammeled quality . . . include 

removal of exotic species, native plant vegetation, and the 

prescription and suppression of fire.”
References and Appendix

155

Wilderness Character Narrative Worksheet

Wilderness: _________________________________________________________

Name of facilitator and interviewee(s): ________________________________ 

_____________________________________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________________

Quality of Wilderness Character: 

Solitude or Primitive and Unconfined Recreation

Definition of this quality: Wilderness provides outstanding opportunities for 

solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation

Indicators: Remoteness from sights and sounds of people inside the wilderness; 

remoteness from occupied and modified areas outside the wilderness; facilities 

that decrease self-reliant recreation; management restrictions on visitor behavior

Examples of things that degrade these elements: Facilities that decrease selfreliant recreation; management restrictions on visitor behavior; the sights and 

sounds of people inside wilderness; the sights and sounds of occupied and 

modified areas outside the wilderness

Example from Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas

Unique and Special 

Elements

Things that Degrade 

These Elements

Narrative

Hiking available on an 

extensive trail system

User restrictions put in place 

by management, such as 

designating campsites and 

designating day-use-only areas

“Visitors can hike an extensive trail system and in most places 

explore what lies beyond them. Several user restrictions, 

however, can confine visitor opportunities for recreation. 

Limiting some trails to hikers only, designating campsites, 

and allowing only day use of McKittrick Canyon, along with 

prohibitions of visitor actions such as lighting a campfire, 

diminish this unconfined quality of wilderness.”

Remote landscape and 

topography contributes to 

the feelings of solitude

Park affiliated and non-park 

affiliated development on 

wilderness vistas, noise from 

commercial aircraft

“The vast views of endless sky and impossibly distant horizons, 

secluded canyons, and secret springs elicit a liberating 

isolation from the urban world. . . . From many wilderness 

vistas, Highway 62/180 is a prominent feature, as are the 

visitor center, McKittrick Canyon Contact Station, Frijole 

Ranch, parking lots, and buildings within Pine Springs. Other 

developments not affiliated with the park also detract from 

one’s sense of remoteness, ranging from urban centers 

and their lights to fences and wind turbines. Noise from 

commercial aircraft further serves as an intermittent reminder 

of happenings outside of wilderness.”
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Wilderness Character Narrative Worksheet

Wilderness: _________________________________________________________

Name of facilitator and interviewee(s): ________________________________ 

_____________________________________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________________

Quality of Wilderness Character: Undeveloped

Definition of this quality: Wilderness retains its primeval character and 

influence, and is essentially without permanent improvements or modern human 

occupation

Indicators: Nonrecreational structures, installations, developments; inholdings; 

use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanical transport

Examples of things that degrade these elements: Nonrecreational structures, 

installations, and developments; inholdings; use of motor vehicles, motorized 

equipment, or mechanical transport

Example from Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas

Unique and Special 

Elements

Things that Degrade 

These Elements

Narrative

Remoteness as 

exemplified by relatively 

unobstructed views

Modern development for park 

use, such as a patrol cabin, 

signage, water tanks, and 

piping

“The remoteness of the Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness 

exemplifies the undeveloped quality. Visitors are allured by 

the relatively unobstructed views, both into the park from the 

surrounding Chihuahuan Desert, as well as from the mountain 

peaks outward. . . . Several areas within the wilderness do, 

however, contain modern development. The patrol cabin at 

Pine Top has been constructed for patrol use and visitor safety. 

Radio repeaters exist within the wilderness, although they are 

critical for ensuring safety. Signage can be found along the 

Permian Reef trail. . . . Several large water tanks and piping 

constructed by settlers can be found within the Bowl.”
References and Appendix

157

Wilderness Character Narrative Worksheet

Wilderness: _________________________________________________________

Name of facilitator and interviewee(s): ________________________________ 

_____________________________________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________________

Quality of Wilderness Character: Other Features of Value

Definition of this quality: Wilderness preserves other tangible features that 

typically occur in specific locations within a wilderness that are of scientific, 

educational, scenic, or historical value

Indicators: There are no predetermined indicators for this quality because the 

specific features must be identified separately for each wilderness and not 

readily fit within one of the other qualities. Examples include cultural resources 

and paleontological localities, and may also include National Natural Landmark 

sites if these are not included in the natural quality.

Examples of things that degrade these elements: Loss or impacts to all features 

identified in this quality

Example from Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas

Unique and Special 

Elements

Things that Degrade 

These Elements

Narrative

Statutorily protected 

historic structures related 

to past human use

Loss of statutorily protected 

cultural resources

“Hunter Line Shack, while clearly a development, is remnant 

of ranching history and is eligible for listing in the National 

Register of Historic Places, rendering it appropriate within 

wilderness.”
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Wilderness Character Narrative Worksheet

Wilderness: _________________________________________________________

Name of facilitator and interviewee(s): ________________________________ 

_____________________________________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________________

Quality of Wilderness Character: Natural

Definition of this quality: Wilderness ecological systems are substantially free 

from the effects of modern civilization

Indicators: Plant and animal species and communities, physical resources, 

biophysical processes

Examples of things that degrade this quality: Air pollutants, occurrence of 

nonindigenous species, altered water flow, extirpated or extinct native animals 

and plants, altered disturbance regimes

Unique and Special 

Elements

Things that Degrade 

These Elements

Notes and Supporting Details
References and Appendix

159

Wilderness Character Narrative Worksheet

Wilderness: _________________________________________________________

Name of facilitator and interviewee(s): ________________________________ 

_____________________________________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________________

Quality of Wilderness Character: Untrammeled 

Definition of this quality: Wilderness is essentially unhindered and free from the 

actions of modern human control or manipulation.

Indicators: Actions authorized by the federal land manager that manipulate the 

biophysical environment, actions not authorized by the federal land manager 

that manipulate the biophysical environment

Examples of things that degrade these elements: Spraying weeds, suppressing 

or lighting fire, introducing nonnative species, unauthorized actions such as 

predator control

Unique and Special 

Elements

Things that Degrade 

These Elements

Notes and Supporting Details
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Wilderness Character Narrative Worksheet

Wilderness: _________________________________________________________

Name of facilitator and interviewee(s): ________________________________ 

_____________________________________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________________

Quality of Wilderness Character: 

Solitude or Primitive and Unconfined Recreation

Definition of this quality: Wilderness provides outstanding opportunities for 

solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation

Indicators: Remoteness from sights and sounds of people inside the wilderness; 

remoteness from occupied and modified areas outside the wilderness; facilities 

that decrease self-reliant recreation; management restrictions on visitor behavior

Examples of things that degrade these elements: Facilities that decrease selfreliant recreation; management restrictions on visitor behavior; the sights and 

sounds of people inside wilderness; the sights and sounds of occupied and 

modified areas outside the wilderness

Unique and Special 

Elements

Things that Degrade 

These Elements

Notes and Supporting Details
References and Appendix

161

Wilderness Character Narrative Worksheet

Wilderness: _________________________________________________________

Name of facilitator and interviewee(s): ________________________________ 

_____________________________________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________________

Quality of Wilderness Character: Undeveloped

Definition of this quality: Wilderness retains its primeval character 

and influence, and is essentially without permanent improvements or 

modern human occupation

Indicators: Nonrecreational structures, installations, developments; inholdings; 

use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanical transport

Examples of things that degrade these elements: Nonrecreational structures, 

installations, and developments; inholdings; use of motor vehicles, motorized 

equipment, or mechanical transport

Unique and Special 

Elements

Things that Degrade 

These Elements

Notes and Supporting Details
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Wilderness Character Narrative Worksheet

Wilderness: _________________________________________________________

Name of facilitator and interviewee(s): ________________________________ 

_____________________________________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________________

Quality of Wilderness Character: Other Features of Value 

Definition of this quality: Wilderness preserves other tangible features that 

typically occur in specific locations within a wilderness that are of scientific, 

educational, scenic, or historical value

Indicators: There are no predetermined indicators for this quality because the 

specific features must be identified separately for each wilderness and not 

readily fit within one of the other qualities. Examples include cultural resources 

and paleontological localities, and may also include National Natural Landmark 

sites if these are not included in the natural quality.

Examples of things that degrade these elements: Loss or impacts to all features 

identified in this quality

Unique and Special 

Elements

Things that Degrade 

These Elements

Notes and Supporting Details
References and Appendix

163

Appendix 2.4—Wilderness Character Narrative

for Lake Clark Wilderness

Developed by Adrienne Lindholm with Lake Clark National Park 

and Preserve staff in 2011

Lake Clark Wilderness is Kijik (Qizhjeh), a place where people gathered. First the 

mountains were gathered; brought north by the Pacific Plate and scraped off on 

the edge of the North American Plate. The colliding plates tore faults through 

the mountains and left weak spots where rising magma has formed a string 

of volcanoes. Older mountains on the western flank are eroded and rounded, 

becoming more recent and rugged east across the Alaska Range and ending 

at Cook Inlet in raw exposures of Jurassic sediments that shed fossils onto the 

beach.

Storms gathered over the mountains, brought to the region by North Pacific low 

pressure systems, cooled by Arctic highs. The mountains serve as a fulcrum for the 

air masses pushing and tugging each other across the park. Copious snows fill the 

cirques and valleys with glaciers. At least four major glacial advances have carved 

a cradle of lakes that form the headwaters of three major drainage systems and 

are the nursery for rearing the largest wild salmon run in the world.

Melting snow and rains gather to form a network of rivers flowing from the 

Alaska Range into three different seas. These rivers are the bloodstreams of the 

landscape, flowing from the first drop gathered on a leaf in the alpine, through 

cirques, over waterfalls, braiding through wide valleys, traversing large lakes and 

into arctic oceans. In return, salmon pulse upstream every summer; scarlet cells of 

protein, fats and nutrients that nourish the landscape, the bears and ravens, the 

people, and the next generations of salmon.

The Dena’ina gathered and spread throughout this region as well, forming 

an enduring connection to what we now call the Lake Clark Wilderness. 

What emerged from this relationship with the land is the Dena’ina language, 

spirituality, identity, and cultural connection to the land.

This narrative describes five tangible and measurable qualities of wilderness 

character at Lake Clark Wilderness: natural, solitude or primitive and unconfined 

recreation, untrammeled, undeveloped, and other features of value. These 

qualities provide the setting from which a suite of wilderness values are derived. 

One of the most important of these values is the connection the Dena‘ina have 

to this place and the role it has played in shaping the Dena‘ina culture. An essay 

that recognizes and celebrates this vital connection closes this narrative.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program 

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Natural: Wilderness maintains ecological systems that are substantially free from 

the effects of modern civilization

Lake Clark Wilderness is a dynamic landscape where forces of nature continue 

unfettered and whole ecosystems function. The park has four major ecosystems: 

Boreal in the northwest, Subarctic in the western Bristol Bay basin, a Maritime 

fringe on the Cook Inlet coast, and the Montane spine of the park.

This rich diversity provides a framework for natural functioning of spectacular 

ecosystems. The park holds two active volcanoes, vast icefield and glacier 

systems, and coastal salt marshes where brown bears gather to feed and breed. 

Complex riverine systems carry nutrients both up- and downstream. Ground 

water allows late freeze-up of sloughs and facilitates salmon spawning into early 

winter. Bears patrol the rivers as ice closes in, taking the last few salmon before 

heading up the mountain to hibernate. Throughout the park, complex predator 

and prey webs play out their evolving adaptations and patterns. Caribou herds 

swell and decline and grow again. Moose and sheep populations colonize new 

territory and retreat with weather and predator pressures. Shorebirds and 

waterfowl arrive with breakup, breed, nest, and return to wintering grounds. 

And over it all the storms sweep among the peaks, the lakes freeze and break up 

and berries bloom and ripen and, for thousands of years, people have gathered 

to harvest the returning salmon. Today, local residents continue to pursue a 

subsistence lifestyle dependent on resources including salmon, wildlife, berries, 

birch bark, and spruce. There are few remaining places in the United States 

where subsistence lifestyles are an active part of the ecological integrity.

Lake Clark’s ecosystems are among the most dynamic in the world: tectonics, 

glaciers, volcanoes, intact wildlife and fish populations, and human activities. 

Dynamic landscapes, by their very nature, are capable of absorbing a wide range 

of changes while maintaining their fundamental functionality. The problem 

arises when the changes exceed the ecosystem’s capacity to absorb them, driving 

the country to a different ecological state. Often these changes are forced by 

human activities. Multiple human activities interact with each other and with 

natural systems to produce unexpected consequences that the park cannot 

absorb. These activities cause a cascade of impacts that exceed natural buffering 

in the system and often result in completely different ecosystem processes. Major 

threats to Lake Clark’s natural character at this time include impacts from climate 

change and external developments.

Climate change is already changing temperature and precipitation regimes 

in the region, resulting in longer growing seasons, shorter ice seasons, glacial 

retreat, warmer lakes, shrub and tree invasion into tundra (fewer berries and 

lichens), more lightning, and warmer and acidic oceans. External developments 

and associated activities are also changing Lake Clark ecosystems. Exploratory 

work brings many people and aircraft into the region, many of them flying 

through and now subsisting in Lake Clark. Predator control on two sides of the 

park impacts the natural predator/prey systems that are a hallmark of the area. 

Developments will probably change streams with major impacts to salmon runs 

throughout the park.
References and Appendix

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Solitude or Primitive and Unconfined Recreation: Wilderness provides 

outstanding opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation

Unforgettably beautiful and unforgivingly rugged, Lake Clark Wilderness 

provides a setting where visitors can leave behind societal constraints in search of 

solitude, challenge, discovery, and renewal.

Largely void of recreational developments and management restrictions on 

visitor behavior, Lake Clark Wilderness is a place where it’s possible to detach 

from modern life and become steeped in the timelessness of a landscape that 

hasn’t been altered in hundreds of years. Such a place gives one’s soul a chance 

to experience the unencumbered freedom that often corresponds with seeing 

wild country expand to the horizon.

Here a person can choose from a variety of activities and modes of travel, though 

whether one chooses to hike, climb, boat, ski, snowmachine, hunt, fish, or camp, 

visitors tend to experience the wilderness on the land’s terms. Rapidly changing 

weather, rugged topography, and abundant wildlife force us to relinquish 

control over the land. The immensity of the landscape (large glaciers, waves of 

mountains, sweeping tundra plains) makes people feel small and insignificant, 

which can be both a profoundly humbling and empowering experience. It is 

these same qualities that provide an opportunity for a heightened awareness of 

the senses, evoke a connection with the larger community of life, and awaken a 

sense of mystery.

The sense of immersion in the landscape that one feels at Lake Clark is enhanced 

by the physical separation of the wilderness from urban centers and the fact 

that, practically speaking, a person can only get there by using an airplane. Inside 

the Lake Clark Wilderness, the feeling of remoteness is heightened by knowing 

it is a great distance to assistance should a person need it. Most forms of 

communication aren’t reliable and weather can prevent aircraft from rescue. The 

sense of isolation enhances the feeling of being on one’s own, and while it may 

feel disconcerting, part of the appeal is knowing that the Lake Clark Wilderness 

is a place where true challenge exists.

Lake Clark Wilderness combines remoteness with harsh weather, lack of 

infrastructure, and rugged geography (including an extensive network of 

crevassed glaciers, steep mountainsides carpeted in thick vegetation, swift cold 

rivers); this combination creates opportunities for personal growth, self-discovery, 

and the self-fulfillment that comes from overcoming obstacles. Without trails, 

bridges, designated campsites, markers, and public use cabins, visitors must 

rely on themselves. There are real consequences for mistakes. The physical and 

mental challenge is a positive aspect that forces people to live in the moment, 

pay attention, and participate in their present reality in a way that often isn’t 

easy to do in everyday life.

Visitors get the opportunity to navigate the challenges associated with 

protecting food from weather and wildlife, staying dry, traveling through bear 

country, staying warm in extreme weather, figuring out how to cross rivers, 

avoiding falls down cliffs or slips into crevasses, and evaluating the hazards of 

active volcanoes, rock fall, and avalanches. It is these challenges and the promise 

of the corresponding rewards that attract people to the Lake Clark Wilderness.
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There are a number of things on the horizon that could degrade opportunities 

for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation. Unmitigated impacts of 

increased visitation, and increased availability and use of technology—from 

satellite phones to web cams to personal tracking devices—diminish solitude. 

Developments outside the park boundary including the prospective Pebble Mine, 

Chakachamna Lake Hydro Project, and Chuitna Coal Mine could degrade the 

feeling of remoteness.

A paradox exists with aircraft, which degrade the undeveloped quality and can 

be heard frequently in many parts of the wilderness. The ability to use aircraft 

to transport people into a remote setting is an integral part of the Alaska 

wilderness experience. In fact, the way people access wilderness can be part of 

the wilderness experience itself: the quick feeling of isolation when a plane takes 

off and leaves you there can enhance the feeling of intimidation and excitement 

of being truly alone in a vast landscape.

It may be necessary in the future for park managers to take actions that restrict 

visitor behavior or movement in the wilderness in order to protect natural or 

cultural resources or to reduce visitor conflict. Restrictions on where visitors 

can go and conditions on their use of the wilderness can negatively affect 

unconfined recreation. Similarly, visitor contacts and ranger patrols reduce the 

feeling of being alone and relying solely on yourself.

The park must also consider the tradeoff of recreational facilities such as trails, 

outhouses, and cabins that facilitate access and use of the wilderness, and/or 

help protect park resources, but that also diminish the self-reliant quality.

Untrammeled: Wilderness is essentially unhindered and free from modern 

human actions that control or manipulate the community of life

Lake Clark Wilderness protects a complex mosaic of landforms and ecosystems 

that continue to evolve from dynamic tectonic, volcanic, glacial, and climatic 

processes. The isolation, geography, and weather associated with the Lake Clark 

Wilderness make human influence difficult. If explorers from the 1800s returned 

to the region, they would see a similar landscape (with the exception of more 

vegetation and receded glaciers) and similar fish and wildlife as they did in the 

1800s. It’s one of the few areas in the world where ecological systems are not 

intentionally modified by the actions of our modern management.

The park resists wildlife manipulation, and wildlife habitat in the wilderness 

varies naturally based on complex interactions between recent physical (e.g., 

precipitation, temperature) and biological (e.g., insect outbreaks, plant disease) 

factors. Wildlife is free to move through the landscape and populations such as 

caribou that currently range outside the park are free to return and populate the 

area as before.

Water flows through intact ecosystems connecting mountain headwaters with 

tidally influenced streams. Lake Clark Wilderness protects critical habitat at the 

headwaters of the world’s most productive red salmon fishery, which anchors the 

economy, ecology, culture, and history of southwest Alaska. Dynamic ecological 

processes continue as they have for millennia, unimpeded by park management.

There is a legacy of not taking management actions in order to maintain the 

untrammeled quality of wilderness character. The park’s attitude in protecting 

magnificent landscapes from development reflects a culture of restraint and 

humility.
References and Appendix

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This legacy has an inspirational value to people in a larger public arena including 

those who may never visit but who take solace in knowing such protected places 

exist. It has also inspired the park’s visitors, who seem to quietly come in without 

publicizing their arrival, float rivers, pick berries, and quietly leave with blueberry 

stains on their behinds. The legacy extends also to local residents and commercial 

operators who share a sense of responsibility for Lake Clark Wilderness as a land 

that is wild and free.

Forces largely beyond the control of park managers threaten to erode the 

untrammeled quality. Predator control efforts outside the park boundary 

threaten to manipulate natural predator/prey systems. Mining districts around 

the border of the park could introduce pollution to the water, air, fish, and 

wildlife. Climate change could create higher incidences of fire and perhaps a 

corresponding rate of suppressing fires in order to protect private property.

Undeveloped: Wilderness retains its primeval character and influence, and is 

essentially without permanent improvements or modern human occupation

Lake Clark Wilderness has an undeveloped feel despite numerous cabins and 

ruins throughout the park. The 37 installations in wilderness include equipment 

used to improve communication, aviation safety, and to monitor the park’s 

volcanoes, climate, and geologic dynamics. In general, developments that occur 

in the Lake Clark Wilderness are barely noticeable across the landscape and do 

not include large structures such as prominent buildings or roads. It is unlikely 

that visitors will find any sign of contemporary human civilization such as 

mechanized equipment, signs, unnatural noise aside from airplane noise, and 

other modern artifacts. A mental and emotional freedom emerges from such 

settings where visitors experience nature essentially free of the reminders of 

society, and can feel part of this vast landscape.

There is a sense of mystery and the unknown that comes with a lack of 

development and lack of assigning English names to natural features. Visitors 

have the opportunity to feel like the first person to ever be there. Standing on 

a high point a person can look to the horizon and know there are no roads, no 

traffic. The undeveloped quality allows people to feel released from the grip of 

civilization.

The park actively preserves the undeveloped quality by administering its 

commercial services program in a manner that allows people with an existing 

connection to the place to continue to work here but without adding structures 

or facilities. In addition, while the park continues to make significant progress 

acquiring inholdings, there still exist numerous parcels within the park where 

development could occur.

A couple of paradoxes exist within the undeveloped quality. For example, 

structures and installations that support scientific inquiries or park 

communications degrade this quality but also provide essential information for 

park management. The data gained from many scientific installations are often 

our best indicator and assessment of the natural quality. Cultural resources 

such as historic cabins can negatively impact one’s ability to feel free from the 

reminders of civilization and connect to the larger community of life; however, 

for others, the presence of that same cabin enhances the connection to place and 

the meanings associated with it bolster appreciation and enjoyment of the area 

(see “Cultural Resources” section below).
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Other Features of Value: Wilderness preserves other features that are of 

scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value

Many specific features that are of exceptional cultural, historic, and scientific 

value are preserved because of their location within Lake Clark Wilderness.

Prehistoric sites and cultural artifacts lend a sense of timelessness to the 

Lake Clark Wilderness. Prehistoric sites represent past human and ecological 

interaction on ancient landscapes and relict lake shores. These sites contain 

fish and animal bones as refuse or as artifacts representing species hunted 

or gathered since the close of the last Ice Age. In rare cases, such as high 

elevation ice patch sites that are melting with global warming, organic artifacts 

are preserved, providing direct radiocarbon dates and a point in time for 

extraordinary bone and wood artifacts. Faunal remains in sites may contain proxy 

climate data that can be derived from their isotopes as well as DNA possibly 

distinct from what exists today. Cultural sites are windows into other worlds, 

worlds that no longer exist, and although they are invisible, we know that 

ancient footsteps crisscross our wilderness. The undeveloped and untrammeled 

character of the Lake Clark Wilderness allows us to discover and preserve these 

sites and artifacts and to imagine these other worlds without the disruption of 

inventions of modern humans.

Historic sites like the Proenneke cabin contribute to education and 

understanding of the rusticator era when many people like Dick Proenneke 

went into the country to carve out their own personal relationship with the 

wilderness. The Proenneke site represents the intrepid, pioneering spirit and the 

courage to follow the pull of one’s own inner compass to immerse oneself in a 

rural environment free from developments and amenities.

In general, a number of things threaten cultural resources: loss of traditional 

knowledge, place names, stories, and traditional practices that are practiced on 

the landscape; off-airport landings on exposed areas with near-surface artifact 

scatters; vandalism; catholes excavated year after year at popular camping 

sites disturb vegetation cover as well as shallowly buried cultural sites; fire 

rings placed on surface or shallowly buried sites can move rocks from original 

prehistoric placement; and heat from campfires or wildland fires alters 

surface artifacts (the heat fractures the lithics) and introduces contaminant 

wood charcoal.

Specifically, overuse of the Proenneke site can break down the stream bank at 

the Hope Creek outlet, trample vegetation, and increase human waste. These 

impacts degrade the symbolic value of this important cultural site. The park will 

need to find the right balance of protecting this site and providing appropriate 

infrastructure to accommodate visitors.
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A Dena’ina Perspective: Respecting Ełnena (Land)

The legacy of unseen footprints of the Dena’ina people has sustained the place now called 

Lake Clark Wilderness for centuries. The Dena’ina people of the Lake Clark area believe that 

everything has a spirit and should be treated with respect. We call this ‘K’etniyi’ meaning 

‘it’s saying something.’ This is the power of nature’s voice – an ancient connection to the 

spirit of the Dena’ina people. This is how we define wilderness. Our ancestors’ beliefs for 

caring for the land has been simple – respect all living things; not taking more than you 

need, giving something back when you take – this can be a prayer, deep thoughtful respect 

or a small material item such as a safety pin. What has emerged from this relationship with 

the land is the Dena’ina language, spirituality, cultural connection to the land, and identity.

The land provides for us and we were taught to be respectful. This respect is not questioned 

and we are conscious that when we interact with nature, we are praying. We harvest 

our food from the land, we put up salmon every summer, we hunt for meat, and we pick 

berries. As we stoke the fire in the smokehouse full of drying salmon, this is prayer. As we 

pressure cook the meat from the black bear for canning, being careful not to waste any of 

the meat, this is prayer. As we pick berries this is done with prayer. The relationship with 

the land is filled with gratitude and respect, for we are nothing without the blessings of the 

land in which we were raised.

We recognize and feel the connection to weather and understand the importance of paying 

attention. Look to the tops of spruce trees; if there are a lot of spruce cones this means 

there will be a lot of snow. If there are a lot of white Hudson bay tea blossoms, this tells us 

that there will be a lot of salmon this summer. Just this fall before the lakes froze, a heavy 

fog came over the lakes – hovering over Sixmile Lake and up through Lake Clark. A Dena’ina 

elder watching through the window said, “A long time ago they used to say that when the 

fog came in over the lakes, this means that the fog is spreading the word over the lakes – 

the fog is sending the message that the lakes will be freezing soon.”

Fish camp continues to be an important tradition of the Dena’ina people. The comparison 

used, when asked what fish camp is: It’s like Christmas, only better. We are not paying a 

price for gifts or experiencing a fleeting moment of joy and celebration. We are preparing 

all year long for our few months of celebration. We are coming together as family and 

community and sharing the gratitude of putting up fish – fulfilling our spirits, minds, 

emotions, and bodies from the same source and practices our ancestors did. It’s hard to 

put into words the feeling – the connection that ignites the spirit when it comes time for 

fish camp. It is an ingrained, unconscious movement that is felt when spring turns into 

summer. Fish camp is a communion with every aspect of putting up fish. It’s a relationship 

that has been created from the time of birth, sensing when summer comes, it’s time to 

go back to fish camp, it’s the smell, the slime, it’s nature – connecting back to the water, 

bringing relatives home, it’s knowing you have fish for winter not only for your family but 

to share at potlucks and with relatives and friends. It’s a spiritual igniter that restores this 

underlying excitement after a long winter. It’s a part of life that is not questioned, whether 

we go to fishcamp or not. It’s done every summer. It’s the contented labor of splitting fish, 

of stoking the smoke house fire, and of taking care and pride in putting up fish the right 

way. This deep-rooted way of life cannot be measured, cannot be priced, and it can be easily 

overlooked by an outsider, because it’s beyond the visual and the spoken.
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Reflecting on the idea of wilderness, Michelle Ravenmoon noted, “I have learned to 

appreciate even the smallest interactions between animal and land. As a child, I would 

watch the spiders spin webs; they put unwearied effort into their webs. I learned a respect 

for the work put into a web and I took great care not to destroy webs just because they 

were in my path. I also learned to pay attention to when spiders spun webs because spiders 

seem to have an ability to predict when the wind would not blow and that was web-making 

time. By paying attention to the spiders, I learned a technique to predict the weather. I 

think many people look at wilderness and think that they need to see a bear or a moose 

for a true experience with nature, but it is through patience and mindfulness that the true 

experience takes place.”

To some people, the word “wilderness” conjures thoughts that we are separate from 

nature, that the woods are unknown, untouched, perhaps mysterious, or even dangerous. 

This may create feelings of fear, excitement, adventure, longing for connection to nature 

. . . but when all thoughts of the individual components dissolve and we let go of the 

attachment or judgments we’ve given them, all we see is the beauty of the natural 

surroundings. We feel right at home, we want to care for and not take from the land, and 

we realize that we are not separate from nature but part of it. The wilderness and all that it 

encompasses is not a mystery; it is us and it is home. It’s as familiar as looking in the mirror.

Many places in the Lake Clark Wilderness have Dena’ina place names developed over time 

through stories, events and experiences. It was not common to name a place after a person; 

natural places were left with a name that came from the experience and gifts it offered – 

‘Dilah Vena’ – fish swim in lake; ‘K’dalghek’tnu’ – scraping noise (of antlers) stream; and 

‘Ch’kentałqeyitnu’ – someone throws spear stream. Over two thousand place names like this 

are spread across the region and each place holds meaning. It is important that the Lake 

Clark Wilderness encompasses these meanings and that we continue to honor the footprints 

of culture as integral to our contemporary idea of wilderness.

Reflecting on the idea of wilderness, Michelle Ravenmoon noted, “I have learned to 

appreciate even the smallest interactions between animal and land. As a child, I would 

watch the spiders spin webs; they put unwearied effort into their webs. I learned a respect 

for the work put into a web and I took great care not to destroy webs just because they 

were in my path. I also learned to pay attention to when spiders spun webs because spiders 

seem to have an ability to predict when the wind would not blow and that was web-making 

time. By paying attention to the spiders, I learned a technique to predict the weather. I 

think many people look at wilderness and think that they need to see a bear or a moose 

for a true experience with nature, but it is through patience and mindfulness that the true 

experience takes place.”

To some people, the word “wilderness” conjures thoughts that we are separate from 

nature, that the woods are unknown, untouched, perhaps mysterious, or even dangerous. 

This may create feelings of fear, excitement, adventure, longing for connection to nature 

. . . but when all thoughts of the individual components dissolve and we let go of the 

attachment or judgments we’ve given them, all we see is the beauty of the natural 

surroundings. We feel right at home, we want to care for and not take from the land, and 

we realize that we are not separate from nature but part of it. The wilderness and all that it 

encompasses is not a mystery; it is us and it is home. It’s as familiar as looking in the mirror.

Many places in the Lake Clark Wilderness have Dena’ina place names developed over time 

through stories, events and experiences. It was not common to name a place after a person; 

natural places were left with a name that came from the experience and gifts it offered – 

‘Dilah Vena’ – fish swim in lake; ‘K’dalghek’tnu’ – scraping noise (of antlers) stream; and 

‘Ch’kentałqeyitnu’ – someone throws spear stream. Over two thousand place names like this 

are spread across the region and each place holds meaning. It is important that the Lake 

Clark Wilderness encompasses these meanings and that we continue to honor the footprints 

of culture as integral to our contemporary idea of wilderness.
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Appendix 2.5—Wilderness Character Narrative

for Olympic Wilderness

Developed by Christina Mills with Olympic National Park 

staff in 2012

The Olympic Wilderness is a paradox of time. It is a place of movement, 

change, and variation, but with an undercurrent of agelessness. There is an 

ancient, primeval quality about this place, and its presence abides as the drama 

of life unfolds.

Even the landscape itself is in transition. Within a relatively small span of 

space, the environment changes from sandy, rocky coast to verdant rain forest 

to rugged alpine peaks. Yet while these environs transition rapidly through a 

biological and elevational gradient, there is a timelessness to their existence. 

Waves have pounded this coast for millennia, and pillow basalt reminds us of 

when the Olympic massif was part of the ocean floor. Ancient red cedars dwarf 

both our perspective of ourselves and our place in history.

This place simultaneously houses some of both the fastest growing organisms as 

well as some of the oldest living organisms in the world. Here, life is always on 

the move, growing, changing, dying, and revitalizing. The cycle of life is rarely 

more markedly apparent than in the beached carcass of a decaying whale, or 

in the fast-growing Douglas-firs of the lowlands. Like the venerable red cedars, 

however, much of the life here is an enduring presence. The Olympic marmot 

and other endemic species are relics of thousands of years of isolated evolution.

For the diverse abundance of life in the Olympic Wilderness, water is the 

sustaining element, a vital force that is also constantly in flux. Whether water 

manifests itself in a torrential storm or in the ice of a brilliantly austere glacier, 

it is a powerful force. It be may be impalpably present in a shrouding fog, and 

then condense to its tangible form to drip from the leaves to the forest floor 

below. Water is the force that sculpts and shapes this landscape, and although 

its form changes, it is an ever-present element that has and will sustain the 

landscape in perpetuity.

As landscape, life, and water are mutable across the peninsula, so too have 

people lived and moved through this landscape. American Indians had 

permanent homes but moved among settlements with the seasons, fluctuating 

between the mountains in the summer and lowlands in the winter, and like the 

salmon, often journeyed up and down the rivers. People have been an enduring 

presence in this wilderness, inhabiting this peninsula for at least 12,000 years, 

and the relationship of people with this land has shaped both the spirit of the 

wilderness and the people themselves.

The following narrative describes the five qualities of wilderness character 

(natural, solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation, undeveloped, 

untrammeled, and cultural resources) as they pertain to the Olympic Wilderness.
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Natural: Wilderness maintains ecological systems that are substantially free from 

the effects of modern civilization

The Olympic Wilderness is characterized by its superlative diversity. It is so 

diverse, in fact, that its distinct ecosystems seem almost incongruous considering 

the relative size of the peninsula they occupy. Here, rugged mountains and 

glacial features coexist with damp rainforests and miles of coastline. But a closer 

look reveals their fundamental interconnectedness, which results in a truly 

unique array of inhabitants.

The Olympic Mountains trace their origins to the sea. Before their existence on 

the peninsula, sediments accumulated into shale and sandstone on the sea floor, 

and lava flowed through cracks to create seamounts, or subaquatic mountain 

ranges. As the Juan de Fuca plate collided with the North American plate, 

some of the sea floor scraped onto the continental plate and the force of the 

collision fractured, folded, and overturned rock formations, creating the jagged 

and irregular range we see today. Earthquakes rocked this volatile subduction 

zone, corroborating American Indian stories of shaking ground and devastating 

tsunamis. As the Ice Age descended on the peninsula, the shifting climate and 

sliding glaciers barricaded the Olympic Peninsula, increasing the isolation of the 

biogeographic island and imposing centuries of autonomous evolution on this 

mountain range.

Thousands of years of glacially and geographically imposed separation have 

made the Olympic Wilderness a paragon of genetic diversification. The most 

renowned example is the Olympic marmot, chromosomally and behaviorally 

different from its neighbors. This wilderness is home to 22 endemic species, 

including Olympic violet, Hulbirt’s skipper, Tiger beetle, Olympic yellow-pine 

chipmunk, Olympic snow mole, and Olympic mudminnow. These species, among 

others, are found here and nowhere else in the world.

Along with these distinctly local inhabitants, one can find a remarkable 

combination of wildlife. Black bears and cougars reside alongside marmots, 

salamanders, sea lions, shorebirds, and diverse intertidal and riparian 

communities. Roosevelt Elk, one of the primary reasons the park was established, 

have lived here for more than 3,000 years. The tailed frogs found in streams are 

among the most primitive living frogs in the world, and more than 70 uniquely 

adapted local populations of salmonids live here.

The salmon is a vitally important species in this wilderness. Salmon migrate 

upstream from the ocean seeking places to spawn and in turn, provide food for 

more than 130 species of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife species. Twenty percent 

to forty percent of the phosphorous, nitrogen, and carbon in freshwater may 

be derived through carcasses of spawned salmon. However, introduced stock, 

overfishing, and impaired habitat have led to the loss of wild, native strains of 

fish and modified aquatic systems.

Several anthropogenic factors are impacting this extraordinary ecosystem, such 

as habitat fragmentation from logging on surrounding lands, the poaching 

of cedar, salal, and moss, and commercial fisheries that affect anadromous 

fish on their way to the wilderness. Wolves were extirpated in the early 1900s, 

with substantial effects on ungulates and vegetation. Mountain goats were 

introduced in the 1920s for hunting, and the establishment of the park in 1938 

offered protection for the goat population. Mountain goat numbers soared, and 

although the population was greatly reduced in the 1980s, the park currently 

hosts about 350 goats that are damaging endemic and rare alpine plants.
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While mostly found in frontcountry sites, a few nonnative invasive plant species 

are found within the wilderness, such as Canada thistle and Herb Robert. Most 

park nonnative plants are perennials that are particularly persistent and difficult 

to eradicate, and could potentially endanger endemic or sensitive plants. Visitors 

unaware of the consequences of their actions endanger wildlife by feeding 

animals or improperly securing food. Stepping on fragile high country vegetation 

can impact plant communities for a century or beyond, and harvesting or 

trampling intertidal organisms can damage marine nurseries, the critical seed 

banks of marine organisms. This wilderness, however, is remarkably resilient and 

resistant. Coastal and lowland plants quickly reclaim trampled vegetation and 

the stately old growth occupants are reminders that these forests have survived 

for hundreds of years.

The Olympic Wilderness has relatively high air quality, is designated as a Class I 

airshed, and experiences very little haze. The primary air and water pollutants 

come from Asia, but when the weather is clear, unspoiled views of the Olympics 

are spectacular.

Climate change is affecting temperature and precipitation regimes throughout 

the region and is manifesting in the Olympic Wilderness in the form of 

retreating glaciers, changing weather patterns, rising sea levels, and warmer 

temperatures. Climate change is a global issue, yet higher latitudes and 

elevations are warming the fastest, and glaciers are particularly indicative of 

regional change. As flora and fauna are shifting higher up the mountains to 

keep up with their habitat, and as sea levels rise, we may see a very different 

Olympic Wilderness in the future.

Because of its exceptionally diverse and resilient ecosystems, history of 

biogeographic isolation, and sensitivity to climate change in many areas, the 

Olympic Wilderness protects an exemplary natural laboratory and classroom. 

It adjoins five U.S. Forest Service wildernesses and one U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service wilderness. The Olympic Wilderness has been designated an International 

Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and coastal portions of the wilderness 

are part of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary and the Washington 

Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Educational and scientific opportunities 

abound to study salmon, old growth forests, canopies, mosses, lichens, and 

countless other aspects of this wilderness.

In 1971, Point of the Arches off the northwestern coast of the Olympic 

Wilderness was designated as a National Natural Landmark as it, “illustrates a 

pristine spectrum of environmental conditions from rocky tidelands to climax 

upland vegetation. The site is also an outstanding exhibit of sea action in 

sculpturing a rocky shoreline.” This prestigious national designation further 

confirms the remarkable natural quality of this wilderness.
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Solitude or Primitive and Unconfined Recreation: Wilderness provides 

outstanding opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation

The ecological diversity of the Olympic Wilderness provides an equally diverse 

array of opportunities. Visitors to the Olympic Wilderness can experience 

solitude, a deep connection with nature, discovery, revitalization, freedom from 

the pressures of society, or personal challenge and self-reliance.

Within a 5 hour drive of more than 5 million people, this wilderness is widely 

accessible, and the experiences can vary as much as the visitor themselves. 

Precipitous trails lead to majestic peaks that gratify those seeking loftier 

adventures. Massive glaciers and crevasses present technical routes that can 

challenge the most skilled climbers. Visitors can trek through the damp mossy 

rainforest, clamber over soft nurse logs, or stroll down the beach and discover 

sea stars nestled amongst the tide pools. This can also be a kind wilderness. It 

contains no poisonous snakes or grizzly bears and very few poisonous plants. 

Yet the elements and rugged terrain here offer an experience that is truly wild. 

Despite the accessibility to millions of people, opportunities for solitude abound. 

One can easily stumble upon a hidden nook and feel as if they are the first 

person to ever occupy this spot.

The clouds and vistas are a particularly remarkable presence in the Olympic 

Wilderness. On any given day, the clouds may be shrouding the mountaintops 

above or flooding the valleys, with solitary peaks piercing the ethereal swirls 

below. The clouds may be playful on a sunny day, or entirely enveloping, 

shrinking one’s view of the world to immediate surroundings. Clouds or dense 

forests block out sights and sounds of civilization, creating a mantle of solitude. 

From the craggy highcountry, one can smell the yellow cedar and subalpine 

fir while watching raptors dive and wheel below. On a clear day, occasional 

sightings of Seattle and Victoria are reminders of the valuable opportunity to 

turn one’s back on civilization and trek into the mountains to be immersed in the 

expanse of the wilderness.

Here, one can escape the constraints of society and discover the freedom of 

self-reliance. The vastness of this wilderness allows visitors to spend several days 

hiking in, out, or across, where they can forage berries, mushrooms, or shellfish, 

and sleep under spectacular dark night skies. On a given trip into the Olympic 

Wilderness one may hear a screamin catg, bugling elk, whistling marmots, birds, 

bears, pounding ocean waves, the drip of water from the tree canopies, or even 

the sound of the trees “talking.”

People are deeply attracted to this wilderness, and many return year after year. 

They come to hike, camp, backpack, raft, fish, ski, or snowshoe, and new types 

of recreation continue to develop that may or may not be appropriate in a 

wilderness setting. As society progresses and access improves, increased numbers 

of people may impact opportunities for solitude. The presence of park staff is 

not an exception. Development is expanding into the foothills outside the park 

and continuing to dot the scenic vistas. Lights from surrounding urban areas 

affect the night sky, and overhead aircraft, whether commercial, military, or 

park sanctioned, are a periodic reminder of civilization. Increased research leads 

to increasing numbers of people and installations that impact solitude. Bridges, 

toilets, and technology reduce opportunities for self-reliance and personal 

challenge. Designated campsites, signs, and other recreational infrastructure 

protect valuable park resources but simultaneously confine recreational 

opportunities. In the future, it may become increasingly difficult to protect both 

opportunities for solitude and unrestricted, unconfined recreation.
References and Appendix

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Undeveloped: Wilderness retains its primeval character and influence, and is 

essentially without permanent improvements or modern human occupation

The Olympic Wilderness still possesses the spirit of the far edge of the continent. 

European Americans didn’t arrive in large numbers until the late 19th century, 

and it was one of the last places in the country to be mapped by the U.S. 

Geological Survey. No roads bisect the mountainous core of the wilderness, and 

although humans have occupied this place for thousands of years, the hand of 

modern man is largely unnoticeable. On even a brief sojourn, a hiker can traverse 

a second-growth, previously managed area to old-growth Douglas-firs and 

western hemlocks, some more than 200 years old, and feel exceptionally small in 

the shadow of a giant western red cedar. The forests of the Olympic Wilderness 

exude an ancient, timeless quality and will continue to do the same after we’re 

gone.

From the air, the Olympic Wilderness appears as an unscathed island in the midst 

of an altered landscape, highlighted by the evidence of adjacent logging, paving, 

or industrialization. Here, one can rejoin the community of life as part of an 

interconnected ecosystem, something greater than oneself.

Evidence of the interconnectedness of this wilderness is apparent in a sea fossil 

found on the mountaintops, indicating that this mountain was once a part of the 

floor of the ocean visible in the distance. A sea fossil on a mountain top is more 

than a geologic and visual connection; it is a reminder of the primeval spirit of 

this place that humbles human existence in the context of time.

Visitors to the high country are rewarded with expansive views and awe-inspiring 

vistas. Seattle and Victoria can occasionally be seen, although the vastness and 

grandeur of the Olympics seem to dwarf these human creations. On the coast, 

huge piles of driftwood lie in jumbled heaps, frequently redistributed by the 

tide, yet trash and debris can be found amongst the driftwood. Ranger stations 

and associated tent platforms, administrative cache boxes, research equipment, 

and other installations dot other areas of the wilderness. While ranger patrols, 

science, and research are imperative to responsibly managing wilderness, 

associated structures are evidence of modern human occupation and influence. 

Administrative use of motorized equipment and mechanical transport, though 

permitted when it is the minimum requirement, degrade the primitive nature of 

wilderness by reinforcing our ability to develop, occupy, and modify the land by 

our dominance.
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Untrammeled: Wilderness is essentially unhindered and free from modern 

human actions that control or manipulate the community of life

The wildness and untamed nature of the Olympics was renowned for many years 

before, and was one of the reasons for, the area’s establishment as a national 

park. It has been called wilderness long before its congressional designation as 

such, and its untrammeled quality was esteemed and emphasized even before 

the adoption of the term by the writers of The Wilderness Act. Prior to the 1938 

establishment of Olympic as a national park, much of the area was managed 

by the U.S. Forest Service. The following quote from a 1929 Forest Service 

publication, Report on Olympic Forest Recreation Plan, discussing two potential 

but never constructed roads, highlights the untrammeled quality of the area: 

“The building of two such roads would be inimical to the generally accepted 

wilderness idea of the high Olympics as a whole, but would leave the proposed 

primitive area intact, so that immense territories of the mountain vastness would 

be left untrammeled.”

To this day, Olympic Wilderness has remained largely unhindered and free 

from modern human control. Although American Indians have lived here for 

thousands of years and we do not fully comprehend the influence they had on 

the landscape, the Olympic Wilderness has seen relatively little major visible 

anthropogenic manipulation. Natural forces are dominant here, as glaciers 

continue to sculpt mountain peaks and waves relentlessly pound the coast. 

Wildfires clear and rejuvenate the landscape, contributing to the natural cycle of 

succession. Violent storms hammer the peninsula, and rivers surge with autumnal 

floods and gush milky blue with the spring glacial melt. Avalanches thunder 

down mountainsides, and ice forms in fissures, rupturing rocks into pieces. 

Despite human management, the tides will continue to ebb and flow, and the 

force of water will continue to erode, shape, and rejuvenate the landscape.

The cycle of life here continues largely unfettered. The park is improving this 

quality by ensuring the free movement of salmon through the rivers that 

have become arteries of nutrients and life to wilderness ecosystems. However, 

management actions that are undertaken to improve the natural quality often 

impact the untrammeled quality by manipulating the community of life. The 

suppression and ignition of fires, removal of nonnative species, revegetation 

and restoration projects, tagging and collaring plants and animals, and other 

manipulative research activities impact this quality.
References and Appendix

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Cultural Resources: Ethnographic resources associated with 

American Indian tribes

The place that is now called the Olympic Wilderness has been the homeland to 

tribes on the Olympic Peninsula for much longer than it has been considered 

“wilderness” in the current sense of the term. American Indians have lived on 

the peninsula for at least 12,000 years, and several tribes believe their people 

have been here since time immemorial. Eight tribes continue to recognize 

a relationship to the park based on traditional land use, origin, beliefs, and 

ethnographic landscapes: the Lower Elwha Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam, Port 

Gamble S’Klallam, Skokomish, Quinault, Hoh, Quileute, and Makah. While 

native ties to the land are ancient and the setting aside of areas as designated 

wilderness is a modern concept, the continued relationship of the traditionally 

associated peoples and the values they associate with the land are integral to 

wilderness character.

Each tribe’s relationship to the land is based on a great respect for the sentient 

spirit of plants and animals. For both terrestrial and aquatic beings, each species 

has its own chief and respective tribe, and this spirit chief must be placated 

before the species is utilized. Ceremonies were conducted to honor the animal 

chief in conjunction with the first salmon and first elk of the season. Special 

reverence and care was associated with the salmon run to ensure that nothing 

would contaminate it.

The spirit of the cedar tree was also particularly important to all area tribes, 

considered a “gift from the gods” by the Quileute. A Salish story says that the 

Great Spirit created red cedar in honor of a man who was always helping others: 

“When he dies and where he is buried, a cedar tree will grow and be useful to 

the people – the roots for baskets, the bark for clothing, the wood for shelter” 

(Stewart 1984:27). Cedars have been used for canoe making, as well as for 

mats, clothing, tools, baskets, rope, canoe sails, and shelters. The bark was used 

thoughtfully; only one or two strips were taken from each tree to refrain from 

causing harm to the cedar, and tribes often expressed contrition to the trees 

before stripping their bark. A variety of other plants are central to the culture 

and subsistence of peninsula tribes, including berries, bear grass, sea grass, eel 

grass, basket sedge, and others. These belief systems continue to today and 

reflect a tradition of interdependence and harmony with the environment we 

now call wilderness.

The Olympic Mountains have been and still are important to the tribes, 

traditionally used as a travelling thoroughfare, hunting grounds, and focal in 

the origins of significant events in tribal history. All eight tribes tell of a Great 

Flood, in which people tied their canoes to the tops of the mountain peaks. Sam 

Ulmer of the Lower Elwha Klallam reported that the canoes were moored to 

a mountaintop that broke off, “leaving the two points now visible at the ends 

of a saddle-like ridge in the Olympics” (Clark 1953:45). The peaks may refer to 

Mt. Carrie and Cat Peak, or Mt. Olympus. Blue Glacier on Mount Olympus is 

considered to be the home of Thunderbird by the Quileute and Hoh. While other 

tribes may consider Thunderbird’s home in a different location, Thunderbird is 

celebrated as an entity of strength and power by all of the Olympic Peninsula 

tribes, and his spirit is often called upon to aid in pursuits, such as whaling. He 

causes thunder and lightning, and in a Hoh story, he causes ice to roll down the 

side of the mountains. For the Klallam, possessing a Thunderbird spirit was a 

source of wealth and power, as well as strength in war.
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The area that is now the Olympic Wilderness is home to plants and animals, 

landscapes, and spiritual aspects that are fundamental to the culture of the 

surrounding tribes. The Skokomish believe that the sacred breath of life was 

blown into all living things at once, so that the same breath that created 

humans simultaneously created all living things. This belief illustrates the deep 

and elemental connection of the tribes to this place from the time of creation 

and in perpetuity.

References cited in this narrative:

Clark, Ella E. 1953. Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest. Berkeley: University 

of California Press.

Stewart, H. 1984. Cedar: Tree of Life. Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver, British 

Columbia.

Wray, Jacilee. 1997. Olympic National Park Ethnographic Overview and 

Assessment.
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Appendix 2.6—Examples of Wilderness Stewardship Planning

The following examples are available at the time of the publication of the 

Wilderness Stewardship Planning Handbook 2014. Check for emerging, more 

current examples at the NPS Wilderness Character Sharepoint site at 

http://share.inside.nps.gov/sites/WASO/WSD/WC.

Table 14. Examples of wilderness stewardship planning, arranged alphabetically.

Plan Notes

Apostle Islands

General Management Plan

Wilderness Management Plan

Environmental Impact Statement

August 2009

Example of combined general management plan and 

wilderness stewardship plan.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park / 

Curecanti National Recreation Area

Draft Wilderness / Backcountry Management Plan

Environmental Assessment

August 2011

Combines backcountry and wilderness stewardship for the two 

park units into one plan; includes a climbing management plan 

and addresses commercial services.

Death Valley National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Plan

August 2012

This effort has fully adopted wilderness character throughout 

the process and provides examples of tribal consultation, 

selection of measures, development of alternatives and cost 

estimates, and applying wilderness character mapping to 

planning.

Denali National Park and Preserve

Final Backcountry Management Plan

General Management Plan Amendment

Environmental Impact Statement

January 2006

The summary notes that this plan also serves as a soundscape 

preservation and noise management plan, wilderness 

management plan, and commercial services plan for the 

backcountry.

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve 

Draft Backcountry Management Plan

General Management Plan

Environmental Impact Statement

Internal Draft 2011

This plan includes wilderness character narratives, and 

integration of wilderness character.

Jimbilnan, Pinto Valley, Black Canyon, Eldorado, Ireteba 

Peaks, Nellis Wash, Spirit Mountain, and Bridge Canyon 

Wilderness Areas, Clark County, Nevada

Draft Wilderness Management Plan

Environmental Assessment

April 2008

This is an interagency plan with Bureau of Land Management 

and addresses multiple wilderness units.

Joshua Tree National Park

Backcountry and Wilderness Management Plan, 

General Management Plan Amendment

Environmental Assessment

January 2002

This plan combines wilderness and backcountry with a general 

management plan amendment, and has a significant climbing 

component.

Lava Beds National Monument

Wilderness Management Plan

Environmental Assessment

November 2006

A straightforward wilderness plan that closely follows the 2004 

Wilderness Stewardship Plan Handbook format and content. It 

generically incorporates the term wilderness character, but not 

the specific qualities.
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Plan Notes

Petrified Forest National Park

Wilderness Stewardship Plan / Environmental Assessment

February 2013

The plan describes the new wilderness stewardship framework 

and states that “Wilderness character is the framework’s 

unifying element and the foundation of all management 

decisions proposed in the plan.” The other features of 

value quality of wilderness character, relating to the park’s 

paleontological resources, is identified.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Wilderness and Backcountry Management Plan

Environmental Assessment

2002

One of the first newer generation wilderness stewardship plans 

that was more than a visitor use plan.

Saguaro National Park

Comprehensive Trails Management Plan

Environmental Assessment

2009

This is not a wilderness stewardship plan, but has many aspects 

that are relevant for wilderness planning such as visitor use 

indicators and standards.

Zion National Park

Backcountry Management Plan

Environmental Assessment

2007

Backcountry plan with good examples of visitor use indicators 

and standards.
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181

Appendix 3.1—Examples from Park Foundation Documents

Incorporating Wilderness Character

This material is a supplement to chapter 3, which describes the foundation 

document components most relevant to wilderness character. As discussed 

in chapter 3, practitioners stress that it is very helpful to have developed a 

wilderness character narrative (see appendix 2.1) before a park foundation 

process, so that the narrative can inform the expression of park purpose and 

significance, interpretive themes, fundamental and other important resources 

and values, and other components of the foundation.

Purpose. If legislation specifically identifies wilderness or wilderness values, then 

wilderness should be incorporated into a park purpose statement. For example, 

in the case of Everglades National Park, wilderness was mentioned in the 

legislation establishing the park: “The said area or areas shall be permanently 

reserved as a wilderness, and no development of the project or plan for the 

entertainment of visitors shall be undertaken which will interfere with the 

preservation intact of the unique flora and fauna and the essential primitive 

natural conditions now prevailing in this area” (1934 Enabling Legislation). Thus 

the park purpose statement (2011 internal draft general management plan) 

reads as follows: “Everglades National Park is a public park for the benefit and 

enjoyment of the people. It is set apart as a permanent wilderness preserving 

essential primitive conditions, including the natural abundance, diversity, 

behavior, and ecological integrity of the unique flora and fauna.”

If a park has no specific mention of wilderness in its enabling legislation, but 

does have designated wilderness, the congressional designation of wilderness is 

considered an element of enabling legislation and is therefore included in the 

park purpose statement, as in the following examples:

•  One of the purposes of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is to “Secure the 

benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness in Apostle Island National 

Lakeshore’s Gaylord Nelson Wilderness for present and future generations 

of Americans.” (Apostle Islands National Lakeshore General Management 

Plan 2004)

•  One of the purposes of Saguaro National Park is to “Preserve and protect 

wilderness qualities such as solitude, natural quiet, scenic vistas, and 

natural conditions.” (Saguaro National Park General Management Plan 

2008)

•  The purpose of Rocky Mountain National Park is to “Preserve the high 

elevation landscapes and wilderness character of the southern Rocky 

Mountains, and to provide the freest recreational use of and access to the 

park’s scenic beauties, wild life, natural features and processes, and cultural 

objects.” (Rocky Mountain National Park Foundation Statement 2012)

Purpose statements are concise and do not elaborate much on wilderness 

character, but they can help set the stage for wilderness character by identifying 

wilderness character qualities (e.g., the natural quality of Everglades National 

Park or the solitude of Saguaro National Park).
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Park significance. Parks with designated wilderness should recognize wilderness 

or wilderness character within the set of significance statements. Examples 

include:

•  Everglades National Park Internal Draft General Management Plan (2011)

Everglades National Park is nationally and internationally significant 

because it comprises the largest subtropical wilderness reserve in North 

America. The park contains vast ecosystems, including freshwater marshes, 

tropical hardwood, pine Rockland, extensive mangrove estuaries, and 

seagrasses, which support a diverse mix of tropical and temperate plants 

and animals.

•  Bandelier National Monument Foundation (2008)

The Bandelier Wilderness provides opportunities for visitors to easily 

access primeval conditions and experience views, air quality, night sky, 

natural soundscapes, solitude, and healthy ecosystems in the context of a 

prehistoric cultural setting having thousands of archeological sites.

Note that the Everglades significance statement (which predates the Keeping 

It Wild framework) could be strengthened by tying its cultural resources within 

wilderness to the significance of wilderness. Try to express the key qualities of 

wilderness character that are inherent in a specific wilderness in one or more 

significance statements. Significance statements that simply use the words 

wilderness or wilderness character may not adequately convey the uniqueness of 

a particular wilderness area.

Fundamental Resources and Values. If wilderness or wilderness character has 

been identified in the purpose or significance statements, the fundamental 

resources and values component will typically recognize one or more qualities 

of wilderness character. The description of the identified resources and values 

should be more specific about the quality or qualities of wilderness character 

than significance statements. Examples include the following:

•  Bandelier National Monument Foundation (2008)

⚪ Bandelier’s wilderness is a natural environment closely tied to 

communities and contemporary Pueblo peoples. The high density of 

archeological sites within a designated wilderness is an area considered 

remote and untrammeled by contemporary standards. Untrammeled 

landscape wilderness is accessible, yet remote.

•  Apostle Islands National Lakeshore General Management Plan (2004)

⚪ Wilderness qualities (high degree of naturalness and primitive 

recreation opportunities) including the phenomenon of re-wilding 

(lands that were settled, logged and quarried are naturally returning to 

their former condition).

⚪ Sense of discovery associated with viewing and learning about the 

historic and continuing relationship between humans and the natural 

resources of the land.

⚪ Sense of adventure and challenge where “lake is the boss.”

•  Canyonlands National Park Foundation (2012)

⚪ Primitive aspects / wilderness character, night sky / soundscapes.
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•  Rocky Mountain National Park Foundation (2012)

⚪ Wilderness character—Ninety-five percent of Rocky Mountain National 

Park is designated as wilderness, and this vast and steep landscape 

strongly exemplifies the qualities that comprise wilderness character. 

The largely pristine and primitive landscape provides opportunities for 

personal challenge and a natural haven for flora and fauna to thrive.

Interpretive themes. If wilderness or wilderness character has been identified in 

purpose or significance statements, interpretive themes should incorporate key 

messages on wilderness character. Examples include:

•  Apostle Islands National Lakeshore General Management Plan (2004)

⚪ After being altered by centuries of exploitation, the Apostle Islands’ 

environment is regaining its wilderness characteristics.

•  Bandelier National Monument Foundation (2008)

⚪ The Bandelier Wilderness, rich with evidence of long human habitation 

yet a seemingly timeless natural landscape, offers rare opportunities 

for exploration, inspiration, solitude, and reflection on how “wildness” 

relates to human use of the land.

•  Canyonlands National Park Foundation (2012)

⚪ Wilderness: Traveling into the backcountry of Canyonlands National 

Park can provide an opportunity for solitude in a location where 

natural systems and the feelings of wilderness predominate.

The first two examples were created before Keeping It Wild was available 

and adopted. For new efforts, it will be desirable to be more specific about 

wilderness character. In addition, the words wilderness characteristics (in the 

Apostle Islands example) and wildness (Bandelier) lack authoritative definitions 

and should be avoided (see table 1 in chapter 1). The terms wilderness character

and qualities of wilderness character should be used instead.

Special mandates and administrative commitments. This component should 

identify the applicable categories of the park’s wilderness (whether designated, 

potential, eligible, potential, proposed, or recommended) and briefly indicate 

the required management approach established in NPS policies. The status, size, 

and extent of each area should be described. An example is:

•  Petrified Forest National Park Foundation (2006) – Designated Wilderness

Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area was the first designated 

wilderness area in the national park system. It was designated by Congress 

on October 23, 1970 (84 Stat. 1105). The wilderness area within Petrified 

Forest National Park is composed of 50,260 acres (about 54% of the park) 

and consists of two separate units. The Painted Desert unit in the northern 

segment of the park comprises 43,020 acres, and the Rainbow Forest unit in 

the southeast segment of the park comprises 7,240 acres.
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Appendix 3.2—Examples of General Management Plans

(GMPs) and Wilderness Character

General management plans have many places to integrate wilderness character, 

as noted in chapter 3 of the User Guide. Below is a list of some of the parks 

with wilderness resources that have relatively recently completed a general 

management plan or have a general management plan or general management 

plan amendment underway. Approved plans are typically found on park web sites 

and other documents can be found archived on the NPS PEPC site.

•  Apostle Islands National Lakeshore General Management Plan (2004)

•  Assateague Island National Seashore General Management Plan (underway)

•  Everglades National Park General Management Plan (draft 2011)

•  Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve General Management Plan 

Amendment (underway)

•  Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve General Management Plan 

and Wilderness Study (2007)

•  Isle Royale National Park General Management Plan (1998)

•  Olympic National Park General Management Plan (2008)

•  Saguaro National Park General Management Plan (2008)

•  Zion National Park General Management Plan (2001)

Goals and Objectives in General Management Plans

Goals and objectives are typically part of the introduction of the general 

management plan and important for articulating what a park intends to achieve. 

This example of a GMP goal and objective statement is noteworthy because 

it goes beyond a simple statement about preserving wilderness character and 

begins to express the qualities of wilderness character, even though it was 

developed before Keeping It Wild was published and adopted.

•  Apostle Islands National Lakeshore General Management Plan (2004)

The National Park Service manages the Gaylord Nelson Wilderness for the 

use and enjoyment of the American people in such a manner that leaves the 

area unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness. Wilderness 

characteristics and values are retained and protected so that visitors 

continue to find opportunities for solitude and primitive, unconfined 

recreation, and so that signs of people remain substantially unnoticeable. 

Natural processes, native species, and the interrelationships among them 

are protected, maintained, and/or restored to the extent possible, while 

providing opportunities for their enjoyment as wilderness. Cultural 

resources such as archeological sites, cultural landscapes, and structures 

that have been included within wilderness are protected and maintained 

using methods that are consistent with preservation of wilderness character 

and values. Present and future visitors enjoy the unique qualities offered 

in wilderness, including the experiences of solitude, remoteness, risk, 

challenge, self-sufficiency, discovery, and observation of an untrammeled 

ecosystem. The values of the Gaylord Nelson Wilderness are understood 

by the public (through education in wilderness ethics and use) and by 

park staff (through learning management skills) so that both will promote 

and preserve these values. Park operations and wilderness functions 

are coordinated in the park to manage and protect natural and cultural 

resources in wilderness and preserve wilderness character.
References and Appendix

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Appendix 4.1—Principles to Foster Wilderness and

Cultural Resource Integration

In many cases, integrating wilderness character and cultural resources occurs 

easily. However, in some cases there is confusion and misunderstanding on 

the part of both wilderness and cultural resources staff. And in other cases 

there is a misperception that cultural resources management and preservation 

is incompatible with wilderness and its stewardship. This appendix provides 

background information on cultural resources and then a set of principles to 

foster better communication and coordination between wilderness and cultural 

resources staffs.

As described in the section on cultural resource management in chapter 4, 

planning is necessary to foster informed discussion between wilderness and 

cultural resources staff. Interdisciplinary teams are best suited to describe the 

relationship of wilderness character and cultural resources in park foundations, 

wilderness character narratives, and other planning processes. Because of the 

number of cultural resource laws and required consultation with state historic 

preservation offices, and tribal historic preservation offices or representatives, 

the park’s cultural resource manager or cultural resources staff from a regional 

office or an archeological center should be involved in wilderness stewardship 

planning as part of the interdisciplinary team. Similarly, park staff representing 

wilderness should be involved in developing park cultural resource management 

plans to help identify actions that may degrade wilderness character. For example, 

in developing a wilderness stewardship plan, cultural resources and wilderness 

staffs should work together to identify cultural resources within the wilderness, 

and then through established processes (such as section 106 and minimum 

requirements analysis) determine the appropriate preservation prescription for 

cultural resources that also preserve wilderness character. And in developing 

cultural resource management plans, as well as in identifying inventory needs, 

cultural resources and wilderness staffs should work together to identify cultural 

resource management actions that may impact wilderness character and try to 

develop strategies that improve wilderness 

character, such as through the use of hand tools, as well as steps to mitigate 

any negative impacts.

The Diversity of Cultural Resources and Cultural Resource 

Laws in Wilderness

Cultural resources represent the human experience of our nation and 

preservation of these resources is one of three primary objectives of the NPS 

mission. These resources can be tangible and place-based, occurring in a single, 

small area (e.g., a rock art panel) or over a large area (e.g., a cultural landscape 

or historic district); tangible and historically based (e.g., correspondence related 

to a wilderness designation in a park’s archive) or intangible (e.g., the spiritual 

significance of a landscape to an American Indian Tribe); and all may overlap one 

another and contribute to understanding the setting of a wilderness.

All NPS wildernesses have associated cultural resources. Cultural resources that 

are actively managed by the National Park Service are defined as archeological 

sites, historic structures, cultural landscapes, ethnographic resources, and museum 

collections. Many tribal entities place significance on cultural resources as 

defined by the National Park Service, but can also have different perspectives and 

relationships to these resources that are unique to their culture.
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The importance of spiritual values, traditional practices, traditional and historic 

stories, and all other intangible cultural resources in a wilderness may be 

acknowledged, respected, and generally described in the wilderness character 

narrative (see chapter 2 and the Lake Clark wilderness character narrative 

in appendix 2.4) and park foundation documents. These intangible cultural 

resources, however, may be difficult if not impossible to measure, typically 

derive from a time before the Wilderness Act and the concept of wilderness 

character, and may not be meant to be shared with others. Park staffs, including 

wilderness staff, therefore need to be aware of the importance of intangible 

cultural resources so they can be appropriately considered in park interpretation, 

planning, and management, but it may not be appropriate to include them in 

wilderness character monitoring or in other public documents.

In addition to the 1916 National Park Service Organic Act, numerous other 

laws protect cultural resources on all federal lands, including wilderness areas, 

including but not limited to the National Historic Preservation Act (as amended), 

the Archeological Resources Protection Act, the American Antiquities Act, the 

Historic Sites Act, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 

the Abandoned Shipwreck Act, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, and 

the National Environmental Policy Act. While many of these laws were passed 

subsequent to the passage of the Wilderness Act, reference to the American 

Antiquities Act of 1906 and the Historic Sites Act of 1935 in section 4(a)(3) of 

the Wilderness Act sets an important standard for the “use and preservation 

of parks, monuments, or other units of the national park system.” As described 

in chapter 4, cultural resource protection is explicitly noted in the enabling 

legislation for some monuments, parks, and wildernesses.

Principles to Foster Better Communication

Because integrating cultural resources with wilderness character has not yet been 

articulated in policy or planning documents, the following principles are offered 

to provide a beginning point or foundation for discussion and planning between 

wilderness and cultural resources staffs. These principles go from general to 

specific and must be considered as an entire set.

1. Preserving cultural resources and wilderness resources are equally 

important park management objectives.

2. Wilderness designation can benefit cultural resources by protecting 

them from modern human development and activity that could destroy 

them or diminish their integrity.

3. Cultural resources can benefit wilderness by allowing visitors to 

understand and feel connected to the vital and varied relationships 

between people and nature.

4. The passage of the Wilderness Act and the concept of wilderness 

represent significant contributions to the history of our nation. The 

history of wilderness is an important historic theme along with other 

historic or ethnographic themes that a wilderness or sites within a 

wilderness may represent.

5. All applicable resource protection laws and regulations must be 

followed inside wilderness, unless explicitly stated otherwise in law.

6. Cultural resources are an integral part of an area’s wilderness character 

when these resources are specified in the enabling legislation of the 

wilderness unit.
References and Appendix

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7. Cultural resources that are not specified in the enabling legislation of 

the wilderness unit may still be part of the area’s wilderness character. 

Pursuant to law and policy, parks must go through an inventory and 

planning process to determine which cultural resources are significant 

and establish objectives for managing them.

8. In all cases, the goal is to understand and respect the integrity of 

both cultural and wilderness resources and to then determine the 

appropriate management action. These management actions should 

be considered as both wilderness stewardship and cultural resource 

stewardship objectives, be developed in tandem, and be reflected in 

both wilderness stewardship and cultural resource stewardship plans. 

Proposed management actions that would negatively impact either 

cultural resources, wilderness resources, or both, must be resolved on a 

case-by-case basis.

In addition, broad guidelines to foster better communication between cultural 

resource and natural resource staffs were developed by the Advisory Council on 

Historic Preservation (http://www.achp.gov/achpcultnatpolicy.html) to promote 

“an approach to resource management and conflict resolution on federally 

owned public lands that achieves balance between natural and cultural values.”

Selected excerpts from these guidelines may also help discussion between 

wilderness and cultural resource managers:

•  Identify potential conflicts early.

•  Differentiate between real and perceived conflicts.

•  Recognize that competing values involve competing constituencies.

•  Broaden understanding of all affected resources.

•  Recognize that acknowledgement of barriers is a first step toward problem 

solving when cultural and natural values compete.

•  Consider a full range of feasible alternatives when cultural and natural 

values interrelate.

•  Use an integrated approach to environmental compliance requirements.

•  Consult with Indian tribes and native Hawaiian organizations on the full 

range of cultural and natural values.
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Appendix 4.2—An Example of Preserving Cultural Resources

and Wilderness Character

This appendix excerpts the May 31, 2012, minimum requirements analysis 

conducted by staff at Zion National Park (ZION) for cultural resource preservation 

actions on cabins in the Zion Wilderness. The excerpts below only show a portion 

of step 1 of the minimum requirements analysis; these excerpts were selected 

to show the interplay between cultural resources and wilderness character, and 

they have been reformatted from the original minimum requirements analysis to 

condense them.

Project Title and Description: Middle Fork Taylor 

Creek Cabin Maintenance

“Three historic cabins are located along the Middle Fork of Taylor Creek and 

are recorded as archaeological sites 42WS1795, 1797 and 1799. Currently, all 

three cabins are still standing but are deteriorating. The cabins are an excellent 

representation of pioneer use and habitation of lands that are now managed 

by Zion National Park. There are no other examples of this type of cultural 

resource within the park and few examples exist in the geographic region of 

southwest Utah. Preservation of these cabins is in keeping with the National 

Park Service Organic Act, ‘to conserve the . . . historic objects . . . therein’ while 

also in keeping with the definitions under the Wilderness Act, recognizing that 

wilderness, ‘may also contain . . . features of . . . historical value,’ and in §4 (a)

(3), ‘the [Wilderness] Act shall in no manner lower the standards evolved for the 

use and preservation of . . . unit[s] of the national park system in accordance 

with the Act of August 25, 1916’ (the NPS Organic Act). There is no intent to 

reconstruct these historic structures to return them to their former function or to 

an adaptive use. The aspect that these cabins are no longer inhabitable and their 

once-modified surroundings are being reclaimed by the forces of nature supports 

the wilderness definition of, ‘man himself is a visitor who does not remain,’ but 

just on a slightly extended temporal scale when one considers the time period 

from original construction to abandonment.

“This proposal has three primary goals: 1) maintaining historic integrity of 

each structure; 2) continued use of these unique cabins for interpretation 

and education thereby providing a safe venue for researchers and the public 

to be informed of the early 20th century human occupation and use of these 

magnificent canyons; and 3) to create media products that promote the project 

as a model of appropriate cultural resource preservation in a wilderness setting 

in ZION.

“In 2011 the cabins were visited by historic preservation experts to determine 

treatment needs within the parameters of minimum efforts to achieve the 

greatest preservation results (with the goal being up to 50 years of extended 

lifespan). Details of proposed preservation actions are described below for each 

of the two cabins located in wilderness.
References and Appendix

189

“The work itself will be taking place in July and August and will take 

approximately 2–3 weeks of field work at the cabins. All of the work will be 

done with hand tools. In wilderness areas the work will not use any motorized 

equipment with the possible exception of a battery powered nail gun due to 

the repetitive force strain on the cabins if regular hammers are used to drive 

nails. Trees will be cut from the local area using an axe and crosscut saw. Live 

trees may be cut and used for the cabin only if there is no other alternative and 

if the cutting the tree would further the goals of maintaining and improving 

forest health. Stumps will be cut to the ground so that they are not visible. The 

exact number of trees that will be cut has yet to be determined but it will range 

between 3–6 trees.

“Crew size will be determined on an as-needed basis but will follow the 

guidelines set for wilderness standards. For initially hauling in gear for work, 

a large crew of 12 people, if available, will be used to bring the gear in and 

out. Any unused material or excess material will be removed at the end of the 

project. The work on the cabins will be done by a small crew of people who will 

hike in and out each day.”

Step 1 Analysis: Determine if any administrative action is necessary.

A Describe Options Outside of Wilderness—Is action necessary within the wilderness? Yes

Explanation: The Larsen and Fife cabins were built in the 1920s. In 2009 this area was designated as 

Zion Wilderness. The cabins are deteriorating and if the cabins are to be preserved in their original locations, that 

location lies within wilderness.

B Describe Valid Existing Rights or Special Provisions of Wilderness Legislation—Is the action necessary to 

satisfy valid existing rights or special provision in wilderness legislation that allows consideration of the 

section 4(c)-prohibited uses?

No

Explanation: The legislation designating Zion Wilderness did not cite any special provisions to the Wilderness Act. The 

proposed action is not part of any valid existing right within Zion Wilderness.

C Describe Requirements of Other Legislation—Is the action necessary to meet the requirements of other 

laws?

Yes

The following laws pertain to the proposed action:

•  Antiquities Act (1906) and regulations at 43 CFR 3 (16 U.S.C. 431, 432, 433; P. L. 59-209 (June 8, 1906))—Provides 

for the protection of historic resources.

•  NPS Organic Act (1916) (16 U.S.C. 1)—“which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects 

and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will 

leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

•  Historic Sites Act (1935) and regulations at 36 CFR Part 65 (49 USC 303, P. L. 100-17, 1987. Previously section 4(f) of 

49 USC 1653 (f))—declared “a national policy to preserve for public use historic sites, buildings, and objects.”

•  National Historic Preservation Act (1966) as amended and regulations at 36 CFR 60, 63, 65, 78, 79, and 800 (16 

U.S.C. et seq.; P. L. 89-665 (October15, 1966); P. L. 96-515 (December 12, 1980); title XL of P. L. 102-575 (October 

30, 1992))—declared a national policy of historic preservation.

•  National Environmental Policy Act of 1968 (P.L. 91-190; 31 Stat. 852)—declared a federal policy to “preserve 

important historic, cultural, and natural aspects of our national heritage.”

•  Archeological and Historic Preservation Act (1974) (16 U.S.C. 469-469c; P. L. 93-291)—consists of amendments to 

the Reservoir Salvage Act (P. L. 86-532; June 27, 1960) made in 1974 by P. L. 93-291 and in 1978 by P. L. 95-625; 

provided for the preservation of significant scientific, prehistoric, historic, and archeological materials and data that 

might be lost or destroyed as a result of federally sponsored projects.

•  The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties (1995) in 36 CFR chapter 1, part 

68—to set forth standards for the treatment of historic properties.

Important Note: To prevent multiple interpretations of terminology, “preservation,” as described in this minimum 

requirements analysis, comes from the treatment as defined in The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the 

Treatment of Historic Properties.
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D Describe Other Guidance—Is the action necessary to conform to direction contained in agency policy, 

unit and wilderness management plans, special recovery plans, or agreements with tribal, state and local 

governments or other agencies?

Yes

The following policies, plans, and agreements pertain to the proposed action:

•  Zion National Park General Management Plan (2001)—desired condition for cultural resources: “Zion’s cultural 

resources are protected and the integrity of the park’s cultural resources is preserved unimpaired. Park visitors and 

employees recognize and understand the value of the park’s cultural resources.”

•  NPS Management Policies 2006 – 6.3.8, “Cultural Resources”—The Wilderness Act specifies that the designation 

of any area of the park system as wilderness “shall in no manner lower the standards evolved for the use and 

preservation of” such unit of the park system under the various laws applicable to that unit. Thus, the laws pertaining 

to historic preservation also remain applicable within wilderness but must generally be administered to preserve 

the area’s wilderness character. The section goes on to state, “Cultural resources that have been included within 

wilderness will be protected and maintained according to applicable laws and policies governing cultural resources 

using management methods that are consistent with the preservation of wilderness character and values.”

•  NPS Director’s Order 28: Cultural Resource Management (1998)—The NPS will comply with the substantive and 

procedural requirements described in The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and 

Historic Preservation. Additionally, the National Park Service will comply with the 1995 (revised in 2008) Servicewide 

Programmatic Agreement with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the National Conference of State 

Historic Preservation Officers.

•  NPS-28: Cultural Resource Management Guideline (1998)—specific guidance for the management and protection of 

historic properties (as defined in 36 CFR 800) within the National Park Service.

•  NPS Director’s Order 28A: Archeology (2004)—It is NPS policy to ensure that archeological resources under its 

stewardship are conserved, protected and managed to prevent the impairment of archeological resources or their 

values.

Important Note: According to the National Historic Preservation Act, the term “historic properties” is a collective term 

for all entries in the National Register of Historic Places. In other words, the term “historic properties” includes any 

prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure or object included in, or eligible for inclusion in the National 

Register of Historic Places. The three Taylor Creek cabins are historic properties, as per the National Historic Preservation 

Act, that have been formally recorded as archeological sites that date to an historic time period and are therefore 

historic era archeological sites.
References and Appendix

191

E Wilderness Character—Is action necessary to preserve one or more of the qualities of wilderness character including: 

untrammeled, undeveloped, natural, outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of 

recreation, or unique components that reflect the character of this wilderness area?

Untrammeled: Although the action of preserving an historic human construct in wilderness is a human 

manipulation, it is not a trammeling or manipulation of the ecological system within the wilderness. 

Harvesting 3–6 trees is a human manipulation, however, at this scale has no effect

on the overall untrammeled wilderness character.

No

Undeveloped: The action of preserving an historic human construct in wilderness, although unoccupied, 

is considered a permanent improvement as long as the current and future preservation actions persist. 

However, the action does not increase or decrease the background number of structures that existed in 

the wilderness area at time of wilderness designation. Cultural resources on the land prior to wilderness 

designation represent human relationships with the land and are not considered developments.

No

Natural: The action of preserving an historic human construct in wilderness is not the result of and does not 

lend to natural conditions.

Yes

Solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation: The action of preserving an historic human 

construct in wilderness adversely affects the opportunity for solitude during the preservation process but 

would have no effect on opportunities for solitude or primitive or unconfined recreation upon completion.

No

Other unique components that reflect the character of this wilderness: The cabins were formally recorded 

and documented in 1984 and determined to be regionally significant. The cabins are eligible for listing 

in the National Register of Historic Places in accordance with 36 CFR part 60-National Register of Historic 

Places, §60.4 Criteria for Evaluation: “The quality of significance in American history, architecture, 

archeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that 

possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association; and Criteria 

(c) that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent 

the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable 

entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or Criteria (d) that have yielded, or may be likely 

to yield, information important in prehistory or history.”

If the cabins are not restored and they continue to deteriorate, the park will lose an historic resource that 

illustrates an important time in the history in the area, an important construction style, and the information 

potential of human behavior and use of the landscape.

Yes

F Describe Effects on the Public Purposes of Wilderness—Is action necessary to support one or more of the public 

purposes of wilderness (as stated in section 4(b) of the Wilderness Act) of recreation, scenic, scientific, education, 

conservation, and historical use?

Recreation: The action of preserving an historic human construct in wilderness has no effect on the public’s 

ability to recreate in the wilderness.

No

Scenic: The action of preserving an historic human construct in wilderness may be considered by some to 

be a scenic blight within a wild area, while others would consider the cabins as lending rustic charm to the 

scenic quality of the landscape.

No

Scientific: The action of preserving an historic human construct in wilderness contributes no scientific data 

to the existence or management of the wilderness area.

No

Education: The action of preserving an historic human construct in wilderness contributes to the public 

understanding of homestead construction techniques and materials of the early 20th Century.

Yes

Conservation: The action of preserving an historic human construct that predates the designation of the 

wilderness area supports the public purpose of conservation of historic objects therein as identified under 

the NPS Organic Act, and § 4 (a)(3) of the Wilderness Act that states that the Wilderness Act shall in no 

manner lower the standards evolved for the use and preservation of units of the national park system in 

accordance with the NPS Organic Act.

Yes

Historical Use: The two cabins were built in the late 1920s by professors at a local college who wished to 

study appropriate land management and prevent over grazing. The cabins were determined to be regionally 

significant (with Southwest Utah as the region) representing the vernacular architecture of those who 

homesteaded the area. Other similar cabins in Zion National Park as well as the local area have degraded 

and collapsed.

Yes
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Step 1 Decision: Is Any Administrative Action 

Necessary in Wilderness?

Answer: Yes. “The cabins were formally recorded and documented in 1984 

and determined to be regionally significant. The cabins are eligible for listing 

in the National Register of Historic Places in accordance with 36 CFR part 

60-National Register of Historic Places, §60.4 Criteria for Evaluation: ‘The quality 

of significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, 

and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that 

possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, 

and association; and Criteria (c) that embody the distinctive characteristics 

of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a 

master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and 

distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or 

Criteria (d) that have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in 

prehistory or history.’

“If the cabins are not restored and they continue to deteriorate, the park will 

lose an historic resource that illustrates an important time in the history in the 

area, an important construction style, and the information potential of human 

behavior and use of the landscape.

“Wilderness offers all people the opportunity to fully and deeply experience the 

natural world, and according to Wallace Stegner, feel ‘competent to belong in 

it.’(1) The highly rustic condition and appearance of these cabins helps each visitor 

to establish a human-to-nature connection with the landscape and understand 

the contributions of those who survived in the once and current ‘wild’ places 

through their own labor and ingenuity. Such connections are crucial to foster 

and promote Wilderness stewardship, particularly today, as technology further 

separates us from our natural environment. These rustic cabins help us to 

remember that Wilderness is a part of us and we are a part of it, too.

“Encounter rates along the Middle Fork of Taylor Creek Trail currently exceed 

standards created through the 2007 Zion Wilderness / Backcountry Management 

Plan. All efforts made to interpret the cabins and their historic value should be 

made off site. For example, additional hikes to the cabins by interpretive rangers 

should not occur. Information concerning the historic value and preservation 

efforts could be added to the park website as long as the information does not 

provide specific locations.”

1. Stegner, Wallace. 1960. Wilderness Letter. 

Wilderness.org/content/wilderness-letter
References and Appendix

193

Figure 6. Fife Cabin in Zion National Park before restoration (top) and after (bottom) 

following close communication between cultural resource and wilderness staff

to both preserve the cabin and wilderness character

Photos:

NPS/Russ Cash, 

Zion Wilderness, 

Zion National Park
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Appendix 5.1—Indicators, Measures, and NPS Data Sources

for the Qualities of Wilderness Character

Qualities, indicators, and possible measures in this appendix are from Keeping It 

Wild (Landres and others 2008). This appendix includes the column “Monitoring 

Questions” for consistency with Keeping It Wild, although some users may find 

that this column is not necessary. Also, because Keeping It Wild did not include 

the other features of value quality, the monitoring questions provided for this 

quality in the table below were developed by the NPS Wilderness Character 

Integration Team for this User Guide. Park staff need to verify if the national and 

regional data sources listed in this appendix are available and appropriate for 

the park and their intended use. In addition, many parks have their own data.

Table 15. Indicators, measures, and NPS data sources for the qualities of wilderness.

NATURAL QUALITY

Monitoring 

Question

Indicator Possible Measures Likely NPS Data Sources

What are 

the trends 

in terrestrial, 

aquatic, and 

atmospheric 

natural 

resources inside 

wilderness?

Plant and 

animal 

species and 

communities

Abundance, distribution, 

or number of indigenous 

species that are listed 

as threatened and 

endangered, sensitive, or 

of concern

NPS Integration of Resource Management Applications 

(IRMA) NPSpecies database 

http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/datamgmt/IRMA.cfm

State agencies and other partners (e.g. NatureServe data)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife recovery records for listed species

Number of extirpated 

indigenous species

NPS IRMA NPSpecies database

State agencies and other partners (e.g. NatureServe data)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife recovery records for listed species)

Number of 

nonindigenous species

Veg Map inventory data

I&M monitoring data; NPS IRMA NPSpecies Database

National Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data

Fire Monitoring Handbook (FMH) plot records or FEAT/

FIREMON Integration (FFI) data 

http://www.frames.gov/portal/server.pt/community/feat_

firemon_integrated_(ffi)/483

Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database

http://nas.er.usgs.gov/

Abundance, distribution, 

or number of invasive 

nonindigenous species

Alien Plant Control and Monitoring (APCAM) database for 

gross infested acres

Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database

LANDFIRE Uncharacteristic Vegetation data

Number of acres of 

authorized active grazing 

allotments and number 

of animal unit months 

(AUMs) of actual use 

inside wilderness

Park data

Change in demography 

or composition of 

communities

LANDFIRE data

I&M Veg Monitoring Data
References and Appendix

195

NATURAL QUALITY

Monitoring 

Question

Indicator Possible Measures Likely NPS Data Sources

What are 

the trends 

in terrestrial, 

aquatic, and 

atmospheric 

natural 

resources inside 

wilderness?

Physical 

resources

Visibility based on 

average deciview and 

sum of anthropogenic 

fine nitrate and sulfate

•  National IMPROVE data 

http://views.cira.colostate.edu/web/

Ozone air pollution based 

on concentration of 

N100 episodic and W126 

chronic ozone exposure 

affecting sensitive plants

•  National EPA AIRS data 

http://epa.gov/airdata/aqsdb.html

•  National CASTNET data 

http://epa.gov/castnet/javaweb/index.html

Acid deposition based on 

concentration of sulfur 

and nitrogen in wet 

deposition

•  National NADP/NTN data 

http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/

Extent and magnitude of 

change in water quality 

•  I&M monitoring data

Extent and magnitude 

of human-caused stream 

bank erosion

•  I&M monitoring data

•  Trail monitoring data

Extent and magnitude of 

disturbance or loss of soil 

or soil crusts

•  I&M monitoring data

•  Trail/campsite monitoring data

What are 

the trends 

in terrestrial, 

aquatic, and 

atmospheric 

natural 

processes inside 

wilderness?

Biophysical 

processes

Departure from natural 

fire regimes averaged 

over the wilderness

•  LANDFIRE Ecosystem Alteration Departure Index 

http://www.landfire.gov/

•  Local Fire Regime Condition Class maps available from 

local Fire Management Office

Extent and magnitude of 

global climate change

•  LANDFIRE Uncharacteristic Vegetation Map 

http://www.landfire.gov/

•  Species shift data from local or regional sources (check 

with Department of the Interior (DOI) Regional Climate 

Science Center to see what is available at 

http://www.doi.gov/csc/index.cfm)

Area and magnitude for 

pathways for movement 

of nonindigenous species 

into the wilderness

•  NPS IRMA NPScape

•  GIS analysis of pathways and vectors adjacent to 

wilderness (roads, trails, trailheads, waterways, and other 

common pathways)

Area and magnitude 

of loss of connectivity 

with the surrounding 

landscape

•  NPS IRMA NPScape

•  GIS analysis using landscape ecology tools 

(e.g., FragStats at 

http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/3064)
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UNTRAMMELED QUALITY

Monitoring 

Question

Indicator Possible Measures Likely NPS Data Sources

What are the 

trends in actions 

that control or 

manipulate the 

“earth and its 

community of life” 

inside wilderness?

Actions authorized 

by the federal 

land manager 

that manipulate 

the biophysical 

environment

Number of actions 

to manage plants, 

animals, pathogens, 

soil, water, or fire

•  Minimum requirements analyses

•  WFMI records and/or fire narratives (DI-1202 or ICS209 

forms) for fire incidents

•  National Fire Plan Operating and Reporting System for 

prescribed fire and fuel treatments

•  Alien Plant Control and Monitoring (APCAM) database 

for nonnative plant treatments

•  Other park specific data sources

Percent of 

natural fire starts 

that received 

a suppression 

response

•  WFMI records for fire incidents (check with fire 

management officer for access to database at 

http://www.nifc.blm.gov/) and/or fire narratives (DI-1202 

or ICS209 forms)

Number of lakes and 

other water bodies 

stocked with fish

•  Minimum requirements analyses

•  State wildlife agency records for game species

•  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service records for threatened and 

endangered recovery species

Actions not 

authorized by 

the federal land 

manager that 

manipulate 

the biophysical 

environment

Number of 

unauthorized 

actions by agencies, 

citizen groups, or 

individuals that 

manipulate plants, 

animals, pathogens, 

soil, water, or fire

•  Law enforcement data systems (e.g., case incident 

reports)
References and Appendix

197

SOLITUDE OR PRIMITIVE AND UNCONFINED RECREATION QUALITY

Monitoring 

Question

Indicator Possible Measures Likely NPS Data Sources

What are the trends 

in outstanding 

opportunities for 

solitude inside 

wilderness?

Remoteness from 

sights and sounds 

of people inside the 

wilderness

Amount of visitor use •  Permit records, including number of permits, 

who issued them, where issued, type of use, 

number of people in party, trip itinerary

Number of trail contacts •  Trail counters

•  Staff reports

Number and condition of 

campsites

•  Campsite monitoring records (see Carhart 

Visitor Use Management training for 

more details)

Area of wilderness 

affected by access or travel 

routes that are inside the 

wilderness

•  FMSS data

•  NPS IRMA NPScape

Remoteness 

from occupied 

and modified 

areas outside the 

wilderness

Area of wilderness affected 

by access or travel routes 

that are adjacent to the 

wilderness

•  NPS IRMA NPScape

•  Agency GIS data systems

•  Aerial photography

•  GIS analysis using landscape ecology tools 

(e.g., FragStats at 

http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/3064)

Night sky visibility averaged 

over the wilderness

•  National night sky visibility maps

•  Local data if available from the NPS 

Night Sky Program

Extent and magnitude of 

intrusions on the natural 

soundscape

•  Soundscape data from the NPS Natural 

Sounds Program

What are the trends 

in outstanding 

opportunities 

for primitive 

and unconfined 

recreation inside 

wilderness?

Facilities that 

decrease self-reliant 

recreation

Type and number of agencyprovided recreation facilities•  FMSS data

Type and number of usercreated recreation facilities•  Local knowledge

•  Law enforcement data systems (e.g., case 

incident reports)

•  Aerial photography for some types of 

facilities (e.g., social trails)

Management 

restrictions on visitor 

behavior

Type and extent of 

management restrictions 

•  Superintendent’s Compendium

•  Backcountry/wilderness permit terms 

and conditions
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UNDEVELOPED QUALITY

Monitoring 

Question

Indicator Possible Measures Likely NPS Data Sources

What are 

the trends in 

nonrecreational 

development 

inside wilderness?

Nonrecreational 

structures, 

installations, and 

developments

Index of authorized physical 

development

•  Local GIS data and FMSS for locations of 

communication installations, utilities, other 

rights-of-way, research installations, grazing 

infrastructure, etc.

Index of unauthorized 

(user-created) physical 

development

•  Law enforcement data systems (e.g., case 

incident reports)

Inholdings Area and existing or 

potential impact of 

inholdings

•  NPS Regional Lands Office records (may 

consider splitting apart state sections from 

private inholdings, divide by parcels with road 

access and those without, and include mining 

claims)

What are 

the trends in 

mechanization 

inside wilderness?

Use of motor 

vehicles, motorized 

equipment, 

or mechanical 

transport

Type and amount of 

administrative and 

nonemergency use of 

motor vehicles, motorized 

equipment, or mechanical 

transport 

•  Extract from minimum requirements analyses

Type and amount of 

emergency use of motor 

vehicles, motorized 

equipment, or mechanical 

transport

•  Extract from minimum requirements analyses

•  Case incident reports for law enforcement and 

search and rescue operations

•  Fire incident narratives (DI-1202 and/or ICS 

209 reports)

Type and amount of 

motor vehicle, motorized 

equipment, or mechanical 

transport use not authorized 

by the federal land manager

•  Case incident reports for law enforcement and 

search and rescue operations
References and Appendix

199

OTHER FEATURES QUALITY

Monitoring 

Question

Indicator Possible Measures Likely NPS Data Sources

What are the trends 

in the preservation 

of cultural 

resources integral 

to wilderness 

character?

Deterioration or 

loss of cultural 

resources integral 

to wilderness 

character

Number of unauthorized 

actions that result in 

disturbances to cultural 

resources (looting, trespass 

activities, noncompliance 

with National Historic 

Preservation Act )

•  Citations, ARPA violations, Secretary’s Annual 

Report to Congress (SRC), LOOT report in SRC, 

ASMIS and PMDS site condition reporting

Number of authorized 

actions that result in 

disturbances to cultural 

resources (visitor and 

commercial use (e.g., 

catholes, trampling, hearths, 

aircraft landings); findings 

of adverse effect for projects 

and operations)

•  Citations, ARPA violations, Secretary’s Annual 

Report to Congress (SRC), LOOT report in SRC, 

ASMIS and PMDS site condition reporting

Number of naturally caused 

disturbances (e.g., erosion, 

animal digging, floods, 

rising sea levels, fires, tree 

throws)

•  Citations, ARPA violations, Secretary’s Annual 

Report to Congress (SRC), LOOT report in SRC, 

ASMIS and PMDS site condition reporting

What are the trends 

in the preservation 

of paleontological 

resources in 

wilderness?

Human-caused 

loss of important 

paleontological 

resources

Number and severity 

of disturbances to 

paleontological resources

•  NPS Geologic Resources Division’s literature 

based paleontological resource inventory 

(accessed via IRMA system)

•  I&M monitoring data

•  Local data
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Appendix 5.2—Example of Measures Identified at

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Table 16. Examples of measures identified at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

UNTRAMMELED QUALITY

Indicator Measure

Actions authorized by the National Park Service 

that manipulate the biophysical environment

Number of permits the National Park Service issues that authorize 

collection of plant, animal, or physical resources, or collaring of wildlife

Number of actions taken to eradicate invasive species

Actions not authorized by the National Park 

Service that manipulate the biophysical 

environment: Modern human control over wolf 

and bear mortality

Change in harvest limit by State of Alaska for intensive management of 

wolves and bears in GMU 17B, 19B, 9B

NATURAL QUALITY

Indicator Measure

Plant and animal species and communities: 

Modern human control over timber resources

Escapement of salmon on the Newhalen River

Sheep abundance 

Moose abundance

Bear abundance

Bald eagle abundance

Abundance, distribution, or number of invasive nonindigenous species 

Biophysical processes: Extent and magnitude of 

climate change

Glacial extent, area of ice or percent change

Physical resources Length of growing season 

Environmental contaminants / persistent organic pollutants

Airborne contaminants from stair step moss 

Subsistence Subsistence salmon harvest for Port Alsworth and Nondalton
References and Appendix

201

UNDEVELOPED QUALITY

Indicator Measure

Nonrecreational structures, installations, and 

developments 

Number of structures, installations and developments in wilderness

Number of criminal cases of unlawful trail building

Inholdings Number of nonsubsistence developments on inholdings

Number of acres of nonfederal lands the National Park Service acquires

Use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or 

mechanical transport

Number of hours of NPS airplane flight time per year

Number of hours of NPS helicopter flight time per year

SOLITUDE OR PRIMITIVE AND UNCONFINED RECREATION QUALITY

Indicator Measure

Solitude: Remoteness from sights and sounds of 

people inside the wilderness

Amount of visitor use: Number of user days (served by CUA holders)

Number of special use waivers issued for party size

Solitude: Remoteness from occupied and modified 

areas outside the wilderness 

Acres of wilderness affected by sights and sounds outside the 

wilderness

Primitive Recreation: Facilities that decrease selfreliant recreationNumber of miles of trails in wilderness

Unconfined Recreation Number of management actions in wilderness that restrict visitor 

behavior (where you can go, how many can go there)
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Appendix 5.3—Worksheet to Prioritize Measures

As park staff begin identifying measures to track trend in wilderness character, 

they will most likely identify more measures than are feasible to monitor. This 

appendix provides a worksheet to help staff determine which measures are the 

highest priority.

Four criteria are used to rank each potential measure in the worksheet: 

significance, vulnerability, reliability, and feasibility. These criteria have proven to 

be readily understood and useful, but park staff can select any criteria that are 

most effective for their park. These criteria are defined as:

•  Significance—The degree to which the measure is directly related to the 

quality of wilderness character and is relevant and useful to park staff in 

the management of that quality.

•  Vulnerability—Both the current and near-term (within 10–15 years) level of 

risk or threat to a quality of wilderness character.

•  Reliability—Whether the measure can be monitored accurately with a 

high degree of confidence and would yield the same result if measured by 

different people at different times.

•  Feasibility—How practical it would be to monitor the measure.

There are two steps to using the worksheet. First, assign points to the first two 

criteria (significance, vulnerability) as follows: high = 3 points; medium = 2 points; 

low = 1 point. Staff can use whatever point ranking they want, but we have 

found this system to work efficiently. Any measure that scores “low” in both 

categories for a combined 2 points can be dismissed at this point. Second, assign 

points to the second two criteria (reliability, feasibility) for all measures that 

received 3 or more points.

Feasibility is treated differently than the other criteria. Many measures will 

have been identified according to the availability of existing data sets (see the 

section “Identifying Measures” in chapter 5). For those measures that do not 

have existing data sets, assign numerical scores based on how much additional 

effort they will require to monitor. Factors such as cost, time, and staffing will 

come into play. This category uses a slightly different point system that forces 

an either/or decision, which provides another point in the ranking process 

where some measures can be readily dismissed. If a measure can be reasonably 

monitored considering the limitations imposed by cost or availability of staff 

time, it is assigned 1 point; if not, it is assigned 0 points and dismissed.

After all the measures have been assigned points, there will most likely be a 

natural cut-point that allows staff to separate the lower- from the higher-scoring 

measures. Sometimes there will not be a clean cut-point and park staff will 

face the difficult task of culling lower scoring measures. Decisions about which 

measures to use should not be based entirely on these numeric scores, but should 

also be tempered by professional judgment—the numeric score is only a tool to 

help make the decision.

Once staff prioritizes potential measures it is crucial to look at the entire set 

of final measures being considered and ask, “Is this set of measures adequate 

for tracking change in wilderness character for our park?” Or, more simply, “Is 

anything missing from this list that should be there?” If the answer is “yes” then 

staff can move forward to identify data sources for the measures. If the answer is 

“no” then staff will need to identify what quality of wilderness character is not 

adequately represented and identify additional measures to fill this gap.
References and Appendix

203

Worksheet to prioritize potential measures of wilderness character Wilderness DateNames of people and their positions filling out this worksheet:In each row, write the potential measure in the left column under the appropriate indicator. Add or delete rows as needed. Use the criteria and ranking guide below to create an overall score for each measure. If the combined score for criteria A + B is ≤ 2, stop and do not score criteria C and D. Those measures with the highest overall scores should be the highest priority for tracking trend in wilderness character.A. Level of significance (the measure is highly relevant to the quality and indicator of wilderness character, and is highly useful for managing the wilderness):High = 3 points, Medium = 2 points, Low = 1 pointB. Level of vulnerability (measures an attribute of wilderness character that currently is at risk, or is likely to be at risk over 10–15 years):High = 3 points, Medium = 2 points, Low = 1 point

C. Degree of reliability (the measure can be monitored accurately with a high degree of confidence and would yield the same result if measured by different people at different times):High = 3 points, Medium = 2 points, Low = 1 pointD. Degree of feasibility (the measure is related to an existing effort or could be monitored without significant additional effort):High = 1 point, Low = 0 point (if 0 is given, do not use)

POTENTIAL MEASURE Criteria for Prioritizing Potential Measures OVERALL SCORE A. Significance B. Vulnerability C. Reliability D. FeasibilityUntrammeled QualityIndicator: Authorized actions that manipulate the biophysical environmentMeasure:Indicator: Unauthorized actions that manipulate the biophysical environmentMeasure: Natural QualityIndicator: Plant and animal species and communitiesMeasure: Indicator: Physical resourcesMeasure:Indicator: Biophysical processesMeasure: 
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POTENTIAL MEASURE Criteria for Prioritizing Potential Measures OVERALL SCORE A. Significance B. Vulnerability C. Reliability D. FeasibilityUndeveloped QualityIndicator: Nonrecreational structures, installations, or developmentsMeasure: Indicator: Use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanical transportMeasure: Indicator: InholdingsMeasure: Solitude or Primitive and Unconfined Recreation QualityIndicator: Remoteness from sights and sounds of people inside the wildernessMeasure: Indicator: Remoteness from occupied and modified areas outside the wildernessMeasure:Indicator: Facilities that decrease self-reliant recreationMeasure: Indicator: Management restrictions on visitor behaviorMeasure: Other Features of Value Quality

Worksheet to prioritize potential measures of wilderness character

Indicator:Measure:

Wilderness Date

Names of people and their positions filling out this worksheet:
References and Appendix

205

Appendix 5.4—Example of Worksheet Used to Prioritze

Measures from Guadalupe Mountains Wildernes

The following is an example of a worksheet used by Guadalupe Mountain 

National Park (GUMO) in developing a program to track change in wilderness 

character in the Guadalupe Mountain Wilderness. In this example, some of the 

measures may have ranked high in importance, but due to lack of reliable data, 

were not used (e.g., departure from natural fire regime, global climate change). 

In the initial screening, some categories were overly broad (e.g., air quality, 

water quality) and not true measures. They were subsequently refined into more 

specific measures (e.g., sum of anthropogenic fine nitrate and sulfate, highest 

eight-hour average ozone concentration, acid deposition for air quality and 

dissolved oxygen) because data for these measures already existed. At Guadalupe 

Mountain National Park, a Student Conservation Association Wilderness Fellow 

(part of NPS Together Wild initiative) used the worksheet and then consulted 

with the park’s wilderness coordinator and resource management staff. 

Revisions were made to some of the measures and some were dropped after 

these discussions. Although several measures were ranked high and ultimately 

were used, they did not require significant amounts of additional field time 

for monitoring as the data had already been gathered as part of the park’s 

resource management program. Individual parks may choose to select only the 

highest ranking measures to streamline the number of measures used, or they 

may decide to use all of the higher-ranking measures for which data already 

exists. In the case of Guadalupe Mountain National Park, if only the highestscoring measures were used (9’s), some measures that staff considered key to 

determining impacts to wilderness character (e.g., number of nonindigenous 

species, visitor use numbers, and administrative use of motorized equipment or 

mechanical transport for nonemergency purposes) would have been dropped. 

Because the data for these measures already existed, GUMO staff decided to 

include them.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program 

206Worksheet to prioritize potential measures of wilderness character Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness 2010 Date

Names of people and their positions filling out this worksheet:In each row, write the potential measure in the left column under the appropriate indicator. Add or delete rows as needed. Use the criteria and ranking guide below to create an overall score for each measure. If the combined score for criteria A + B is ≤ 2, stop and do not score criteria C and D. Those measures with the highest overall scores should be the highest priority for tracking trend in wilderness character.A. Level of significance (the measure is highly relevant to the quality and indicator of wilderness character, and is highly useful for managing the wilderness):High = 3 points, Medium = 2 points, Low = 1 pointB. Level of vulnerability (measures an attribute of wilderness character that currently is at risk, or is likely to be at risk over 10–15 years):High = 3 points, Medium = 2 points, Low = 1 point

C. Degree of reliability (the measure can be monitored accurately with a high degree of confidence and would yield the same result if measured by different people at different times):High = 3 points, Medium = 2 points, Low = 1 pointD. Degree of feasibility (the measure is related to an existing effort or could be monitored without significant additional effort):High = 1 point, Low = 0 point (if 0 is given, do not use)

POTENTIAL MEASURE Criteria for Prioritizing Potential Measures OVERALL SCORE A. Significance B. Vulnerability C. Reliability D. FeasibilityUntrammeled QualityIndicator: Authorized actions that manipulate the biophysical environmentMeasure: Number of species removal projects

3 1 2 1 7

Indicator: Authorized actions that manipulate the biophysical environmentMeasure: Number of prescribed burns

3 2 3 1 9

Indicator: Authorized actions that manipulate the biophysical environmentMeasure: Percentage of natural fire starts suppressed

3 2 3 1 9

Indicator: Unauthorized actions that manipulate the biophysical environmentMeasure: Number of human-ignited fires

3 1 3 1 8
References and Appendix

207

POTENTIAL MEASURE Criteria for Prioritizing Potential Measures OVERALL SCORE A. Significance B. Vulnerability C. Reliability D. FeasibilityNatural QualityIndicator: Plant and animal species and communitiesMeasure: Number of threatened, endangered, and species of concern

2 1 2 1 6

Indicator: Plant and animal species and communitiesMeasure: Number of extirpated indigenous species

2 1 3 1 7

Indicator: Plant and animal species and communitiesMeasure: Area treated for invasive species

3 2 2 1 8

Indicator: Plant and animal species and communitiesMeasure: Number of nonindigenous species

2 2 3 1 8

Indicator: Physical resourcesMeasure: Visibility based on average deciview and sum of anthropogenic and fine nitrate and sulfate

3 3 3 1 10

Indicator: Physical resourcesMeasure: Visibility based on average deciview and sum of anthropogenic and fine nitrate and sulfate

3 2 3 1 9

Indicator: Physical resourcesMeasure: Change in water quality

3 2 1 1 7

Indicator: Physical resourcesMeasure: Change in geological specimen abundance

2 1 1 0 4

Indicator: Physical resourcesMeasure: Percent of dune spatial extent

3 1 1 1 6

Indicator: Physical resourcesMeasure: Caves and karst condition

2 2 1 0 5

Indicator: Biophysical PocessesMeasure: Departure from natural fire regime

3 3 2 1 9

Indicator: Biophysical PocessesMeasure: Global climate change 3 3 2 1 9
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208POTENTIAL MEASURE Criteria for Prioritizing Potential Measures OVERALL SCORE A. Significance B. Vulnerability C. Reliability D. Feasibility

Undeveloped QualityIndicator: Nonrecreational structures, installations, or developmentsMeasure: Number of nonrecreational developments 

3 1 3 1 8

Indicator: Nonrecreational structures, installations, or developmentsMeasure: Unauthorized nonrecreational developments 

1 1 2 1 5

Indicator: Use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanical transportMeasure: Administrative nonemergency use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanical transport (number of minimum requirements documents)

2 2 2 1 7

Indicator: Use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanical transportMeasure: Administrative emergency use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanical transport

2 1 3 1 7

Solitude or Primitive and Unconfined Recreation QualityIndicator: Remoteness from sights and sounds of people inside the wildernessMeasure: Amount of visitor use

3 2 3 1 8

Indicator: Remoteness from sights and sounds of people inside the wildernessMeasure: Signs of visitor presence

3 1 1 1 6

Indicator: Remoteness from occupied and modified areas outside the wildernessMeasure: Viewsheds

3 3 1 0 7

Indicator: Remoteness from occupied and modified areas outside the wildernessMeasure: Night sky visibility

3 2 2 1 8

Indicator: Remoteness from occupied and modified areas outside the wildernessMeasure: Noise pollution

3 2 1 0 6

Indicator: Facilities that decrease self-reliant recreationMeasure: Agency provided recreation facilities (tent pads &recreational signs)

3 1 3 1 8

Indicator: Management restrictions on visitor behaviorMeasure: Number of management restrictions on visitor behavior

3 3 2 1 9

Other Features of Value QualityIndicator: Loss of statutorily protected cultural resourcesMeasure: Disturbances to cultural resource

2 1 1 1 5
References and Appendix

209

Appendix 5.5—Data Sources Generally

Available in the National Park Service

Table 17. Data sources generally available in the National Park Service. Note that this table is highly dynamic 

and subject to change over time. Data sources are arranged based on their source.

Name Purpose Organization Source

Wildland Fire Management 

Information

DOI system records all fire ignitions in a park, either 

management ignited or natural starts from the National 

Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)

NIFC Fed

Wildland Fire Decision Support 

System

All federal land management agencies system records all 

wildfires, fire use fires, but not prescribed fires

NIFC Fed

National Fire Plan Operations 

and Reporting System

Identifies and reports fuels treatments including prescribed 

fire

NIFC Fed

National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration

Atmospheric data on climate, weather, oceans, and 

coastal, and fisheries resources 

NOAA Fed

U.S. Geological Survey Science Center Reports, publications from the Department 

of the Interior

DOI Fed

Natural Resource Conservation 

Service

Soil, water, air, plants, and animal data, focus on private 

land owners and conservation

NRCS Fed

U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency

Reports on environmental quality, air, water, radiation, 

toxicology, and other data

EPA Fed

Planning, Environment, and 

Public Comments System

Project tracking and management; team collaboration and 

communications for compliance processes; and increasing 

public involvement by use of the Internet

NRSS NPS

Abandoned Mines Database Database containing information about abandoned mines NRSS NPS

Geologic Resources Inventory Database of park geologic resources inventory (metadata 

and products being incorporated into IRMA system)

NRSS NPS

Soil Resource Inventory Database of soil resources in parks (metadata and products 

being incorporated into IRMA system)

NRSS NPS

Integrated Resource 

Management Applications

Web-based system for documenting, uploading, searching, 

and retrieving documents, data sets, species and 

taxonomic information, etc.; includes records previously 

contained in NPS Data Store, NatureBib, NPSpecies, and 

other databases

NRSS NPS

Natural Sounds Database Database containing soundscape monitoring data NRSS NPS

Night Skies Database Database containing information about night sky resources NRSS NPS

Nature & Science (Nature and 

Science)

Website that provides information on natural resource 

stewardship, conservation, education in national parks, 

and protection of park natural resources

NRSS NPS

Research Permit and Reporting 

System

Servicewide E-gov system solution supporting the 

application, permitting, and reporting processes associated 

with the NPS Scientific Research and Collecting Permit

NRSS NPS

Public Use Statistics Office 

Reporting System

Supports the collection and reporting of public use 

visitation data

NRSS NPS

NPS Water Rights Docket Files 

(Dockets)

Stores documentation for water rights / water uses in park 

units

NRSS NPS
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Name Purpose Organization Source

STORET Water Quality 

Database

Interagency water quality database developed/supported 

by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to house 

local, state, and federal water-quality data; Water 

Resources Division operates a copy of STORET for archiving 

NPS water-quality data

NRSS NPS

Inventory and Monitoring 

Networks

The 32 NPS I&M networks inventory and monitor the 

condition of priority natural resources to determine status 

and trends in selected indicators of park ecosystems; 

provides data to better understand condition of park 

resources

I&M NPS

NPS Web Mapping System 

(NPMap)

Servicewide GIS system NRSS NPS

Management Information 

System-Master Deed Listing 

(MIS-MDL)

Data base of inholdings and non-NPS lands within parks Lands NPS

LandsNet Mapping interface with MIS-MDL Lands NPS

TracksNet Geo-referenced GIS layers mapping interface with MISMDLLands NPS

Incident Management and 

Reporting System

Servicewide program to catalog and manage law 

enforcement (LE) and search and rescue incidents. May 

have location codes for incidents (management actions) in 

wilderness 

LE NPS

Archaeological Sites 

Management Information 

System

Database for the basic registration and management of 

park prehistoric and historic archeological resources

CRM NPS

List of Classified Structures Report and inventory of historic structures, with condition 

assessments done every five years 

CRM Park

Cultural Landscape Inventory 

(CLI)

Report and inventory of cultural landscapes, with condition 

assessments done every five years

CRM Park

Historic Structures Report 

(HSR)

Park specific study of the history of structures CRM Park

Annual Financial Report Park generated annual report, schedule M may include 

statistics on concessions contracts, including the number 

of wilderness entries

Commercial 

Services

Park

Commercial Use Authorization 

Annual Report

Web-based annual report, generated by parks, compiled 

by WASO Commercial Services, may include information 

on authorized entries into wilderness

Commercial 

Services

Park

Department of Natural 

Resources

Environmental quality monitoring, resource reports and 

studies

State Partner
References and Appendix

211

Appendix 6.1—Strategic Questions to Answer in Developing

a Wilderness Character Map

There are several strategic questions that drive the entire process of building a 

wilderness character map. Answering these questions at the beginning of the 

process will allow a park to move forward in a more efficient way without having 

to go back and revisit these issues as they develop the map. These questions are 

listed approximately from general to specific. Potential answers, developed by 

other parks as they answered these questions (as of the time of the publication 

of this User Guide, answers to these questions have been developed by Death 

Valley National Park, Olympic National Park, Buffalo National River, Saguaro 

National Park, and Denali National Park and Preserve), are offered below the 

explanation of each strategic question.

1. Why is the park building a wilderness character map and how will it be used?

There are many different reasons and each will drive the selection of measures 

and data sources that strongly affects the map.

Potential reasons include:

•  Assess the effects of different plan alternatives on wilderness character.

•  Establish a baseline to assess future trend in wilderness character.

•  Evaluate cumulative impacts across all the qualities of wilderness character.

•  Improve internal staff communication about wilderness and wilderness 

character.

•  Improve external communication between the park and the public.

•  Identify different zones within the wilderness to aid allocating resources 

and establishing thresholds for impacts.

2. Should the park strictly follow the qualities and indicators from 

Keeping It Wild?

The park could add other indicators if those from Keeping It Wild do not 

adequately capture something important.

All the parks that developed a wilderness character map have used the indicators 

from Keeping It Wild and so far no parks have added additional indicators, 

although they all reserved the right to do so if deemed necessary to capture an 

important element of the wilderness that wasn’t adequately accounted for in 

Keeping It Wild.

3. Should the park include the “other features of value” quality 

of wilderness character?

The park could include measures for the other features of value quality of 

wilderness character, such as cultural resources and paleontological resources, or 

other measures as appropriate.

Staff at all the parks have expressed interest in including this quality but have 

not developed specific measures, so while conceptually this quality has been 

included no park has actually developed spatially explicit layers to include it. 

There are also serious concerns about making such data available in a map that 

could be seen by the public.
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4. Should the park try to incorporate intangible measures (such as spiritual or 

symbolic values, or visitor experiences)?

Wilderness character could include intangible and experiential aspects, so the 

park could try to incorporate these into the map, although the park would most 

likely need to develop new protocols to do this.

None of the parks that developed a wilderness character map have tried to 

develop and incorporate intangible measures. There are several reasons for this, 

including the lack of an ability to adequately quantify any intangible measures 

in a way that could be mapped, and the desire to not map spiritual values of 

traditionally associated people. All parks acknowledged that intangible values 

were important but such information would only be used internally by park staff 

for planning purposes to ensure that management activities didn’t compromise 

these values.

5. Should the map show only degradation to wilderness character?

This is primarily a technical issue of distilling many different types of data 

into a single spatial product. All parks want to show the positive effects of 

management actions on wilderness character but showing these on the same 

map that depicts degradation of wilderness character masks what is happening. 

For example, if herbicides are used to treat nonnative, invasive plants, the 

natural quality would improve and the untrammeled quality would degrade—

the positive and degrading effects cancel each other out on the map.

All the parks that developed a wilderness character map chose to use one map to 

show degradation of wilderness character and a separate map to show positive 

management actions that have improved wilderness character. All the parks were 

interested in correlating where management actions had been taken with the 

degradation map to show how wilderness character had improved because of 

management actions. All the parks were interested in exploring whether both 

positive actions and degraded conditions could be shown on one map by using 

shading or different fills to show positive, negative, and net changes, but to date 

no such composite map has been developed.

6. Should the park use the same measure in more than one quality?

Most measures could be included in more than one quality. For example, the 

data point for the presence of a management-created barrier in a stream to 

prevent nonnative fish from moving upstream could be included in any of four 

qualities (the barrier disrupts water flow and so degrades the natural quality; 

building the barrier degrades the untrammeled quality; the presence of the 

structure degrades the undeveloped quality; seeing the structure degrades the 

solitude quality).

In general, all parks chose to use a measure under what park staff felt was the 

single most appropriate quality because of concerns about overemphasizing a 

particular measure if it was included in more than one quality. However, all parks 

decided that different types of data for a single measure were appropriate to 

use in different qualities. For example, the physical structure of artificial water 

sources (guzzlers) in Death Valley were shown as degrading the undeveloped 

quality, and the area around the guzzlers was shown as degrading the natural 

quality because of the multiple effects on flora and fauna caused by the 

increased ungulate presence. All parks reserved the right to include a measure 

in more than one quality and then weight the measure differently in the 

different qualities.
References and Appendix

213

7. Should the park weight the qualities or just weight the measures 

within each indicator?

The Wilderness Act does not state that any one aspect of wilderness is more 

important than any other, even though the on-the-ground reality is that some 

things cause greater impacts than others and the establishing legislation for 

some wildernesses may place greater emphasis on one aspect of a wilderness.

All the parks that developed a wilderness character map chose to weight the 

qualities equally, the indicators under each quality equally, and only identify 

weights for the measures under an indicator.

8. Should the park include measures that they do not have data for?

No park will have data for all the things that degrade wilderness character, 

even for some of the most important things such as climate change or loss of 

connectivity with the surrounding landscape, so how should these situations 

be treated?

All the parks that developed a wilderness character map chose to include 

measures that were deemed crucial or of such importance that they wouldn’t 

pass the red-face test if they weren’t included, even when data for such measures 

did not exist or were not sufficiently reliable to be used. These measures were 

included under their appropriate indicator, weighted along with the other 

measures under that indicator, but not included in the mapping process. By 

including them and weighting them, such measures could be easily incorporated 

into the map when the data become available, and they have been identified as 

of high priority for future data collection efforts when resources 

become available.

9. Should the park create separate wilderness character maps for different units, 

or for designated, recommended, and eligible wilderness?

There are many different configurations of wilderness across the National Park 

Service and each park will need to decide if they want to create one map or 

separate maps.

Buffalo National River decided to create different maps for its three spatially 

separated wilderness units, but all three maps would be created using a single 

protocol and weighting scheme. Denali National Park and Preserve decided to 

create one map for designated and eligible wilderness, and include both park 

and preserve lands in this map.

10. Should the park create different wilderness character maps to reflect 

different seasonal patterns?

This strongly depends on the park and the seasonality in use and impacts.

Denali decided to create different maps to reflect summer and winter patterns 

because use and impacts are so different between these two seasons.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program 

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11. What is the spatial resolution for the map?

Spatial data come in a variety of different resolutions, from 1 square meter up to 

many square kilometers.

Parks have used either 30-meter or 100-meter resolution, depending on the data 

availability and the size of the park. Some parks used 30-meter resolution even 

though they had 10-meter data because 30-meter resolution was adequate for 

the purposes of the wilderness character map.

12. How far back in time will data be used in creating the map?

Ideally, data are available back to the date when the wilderness was established, 

but rarely will a park have such data. Instead, the first time the wilderness 

character map is created will become the de facto baseline, and parks will need 

to decide how far back in time to use data if it is available.

All parks decided that the year the wilderness character map is created will 

define its baseline for evaluating future change. However, parks have used a 

variety of approaches to whether they will use data from prior years. Buffalo 

National River decided to use the current year as its baseline for the map 

but would use data from prior years if appropriate and data were available. 

Denali National Park and Preserve decided to go back up to five years for the 

untrammeled quality, depending on data availability, and go back as far as 

possible for the other qualities, as data availability allows. Denali also decided to 

create a “retrospective” wilderness character map using professional judgment 

back to the time of wilderness designation to use in estimating change to 

wilderness character since it was designated wilderness.
References and Appendix

215

Appendix 6.2—Weighting of Measures

Used in Developing a Map of Wilderness Character

at Death Valley National Park

The following examples are the measures and weighting for the qualities of 

wilderness character used to develop the wilderness character map at Death 

Valley National Park. Weights within an indicator total 100. Asterisks under the 

Measure column denote that currently there are no data for this measure but it 

was deemed sufficiently important to include and weight.

Table 18. Weighting of measures used in developing a map of wilderness character at 

Death Valley National Park.

NATURAL QUALITY

Indicator Measure Weight

Plant and animal species and 

communities

Land cover 50

Nonnative plants 25

Nonnative animals 25

Physical resources Ozone (air quality) 5

Wet deposited nitrate and ammonium (air quality) 10

Mining sites 30

Springs 35

Night sky – deviation from natural 20

Biophysical processes Grazing 30

Guzzlers 15

Fire regime (FRCC)* 25

Climate change* 30

SOLITUDE OR PRIMITIVE AND UNCONFINED RECREATION QUALITY

Indicator Measure Weight

Remoteness from sights and sounds 

of people inside the wilderness

Travel time submodel 70

Viewshed submodel 30

Remoteness from occupied and 

modified areas outside the wilderness

Over-flights 25

Soundscape 20

Night sky – dark sky index 35

Visibility (air quality) 20

Facilities that decrease self-reliant 

recreation

Trails 20

Visitor facilities 80

Management restrictions on visitor 

behavior

Camping restrictions 20

Closed to visitor use 80
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UNTRAMMELED QUALITY

Indicators Measure Weight

Authorized actions Suppressed fires (natural ignitions) 20

Weed treatments 20

Burro removals 20

Installation of mine closures / bat gates 20

Manipulation of landscape that alters water flow* 20

Unauthorized actions Poaching incidents* 100

UNDEVELOPED QUALITY

Indicator Measure Weight

Nonrecreational structures, 

installations, and 

developments

Installations (including guzzlers and fences) 55

Unauthorized installations/debris 10

Borrow pits 35

Inholdings State inholdings with road access 15

State inholdings with no road access or held for wildlife 5

Private inholdings 60

Unpatented inholdings 20

Use of motor vehicles, 

motorized equipment, or 

mechanical transport

Off-road vehicle trespass 60

Administrative uses 40
References and Appendix

217

Appendix 6.3—Quickstart Overview of the Wilderness

Character Monitoring Database

The overview below is intended only to provide the most basic information 

for using the Wilderness Character Monitoring Database. For more in-depth 

information see the Wilderness Character Monitoring Database Users Guide at 

the NPS Wilderness Character tab under the Wilderness Stewardship Program 

Sharepoint site at http://share.inside.nps.gov/sites/WASO/WSD/WC.

Opening the Database

•  There are three files required to use the database:

⚪ User interface file (WildernessCharacter_UI.mdb)

⚪ Database file (WildernessCharacter_data_blank.mdb)

⚪ Look-up table file (Wilderness_lookup.mdb)

•  Double-click on the user interface file. It will prompt you to connect your 

backend files (the database file and the look-up table). Once connected, 

the user interface file will remember the location of these backend files 

and will automatically connect you to them. If, however, you need to 

change backend files, you can manage these connections at any time by 

going to the Utilities tab on the home page of the database and choosing 

Connect data tables.

•  If a pop-up window opens requesting you to disable macros, click OK.

Then, when the message pops up with the security warning, click Options

and re-enable macros.

•  If you cannot open the user interface file, you probably need to set the 

location of the files in the Trust Center. Follow these steps:

⚪ Put all the database files into a new folder on the desktop.

⚪ Click on the upper left-most corner of the screen, the circle.

⚪ Click on Open Access Options at the lower right.

⚪ Click on the Trust Center to open it.

⚪ Click on Trust Center Settings.

⚪ Click on Trusted Locations on the left side of the screen to open it.

⚪ Click on Add New Location.

⚪ In the new window that opens, click on Browse, then find your folder 

with the database files in it, and then click on this folder, then click OK.

⚪ Back in the Add New Location window you should see the folder, then 

click OK.

⚪ Click OK in the Trusted Locations window.

⚪ Click OK in the Trust Center window.
Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program 

218

Initial Set-up

1. Select Wilderness

•  You must choose at least one wilderness area from the list. You can return 

at any time and select additional wilderness areas, if desired. Baseline year 

refers to the year that you complete a baseline assessment of wilderness 

character and is the year from which trend is measured for comparison.

2. Select Measures

•  After you have chosen a wilderness area, click Select Measures to add the 

measures you will monitor. You will be prompted to indicate user and 

wilderness area; then you can either add new measures or edit existing 

measures.

•  Add New allows you to add a new measure. Choose which Quality / 

Monitoring Question / Indicator the measure will fall under, and a Measure 

Definition screen pops up. Enter the name and definitions of the new 

measure.

•  Enter at least one measure for every indicator question.

3. Weight Measures

•  When you are finished selecting measures, you need to weight the relative 

importance of each measure within its indicator.

•  If you have just one measure for an indicator the weight of the measure 

should be 100%.

•  If you have multiple measures for an indicator, and you do not know the 

relative importance of the measures, weight the measures equally under 

the indicator so that the measures total 100%. For example, if you had four 

measures, each measure would receive a weight of 25%.

•  If you have multiple measures for an indicator, and you have a reason to 

weight the relative importance of the measures unequally, you may do so, 

as long as the total weight of all measures combined equals 100%

•  The total weight of all measures under an indicator must equal 100%. If 

the measures total 100% the weight number will be green. If the measures 

do not total 100% the number will be red.
References and Appendix

219

Data Entry

1. Enter/Edit Data Values

•  Once you have completed the initial setup you can begin entering data 

values. Choose Enter/Edit Data Values, then click on Add New. Select the 

measure that you would like to enter data for. When viewing the list of 

measures, if the measure needs data and is past due or needs to be initially 

filled, the text will be red under “Year of Measurement Value: Next:”. If the 

measure needs to have data in the current year, the text will be yellow.

•  You will be prompted to enter the measure value and the condition of the 

measure, the trend in the measure, and the quality of the data. You may 

comment on any of these entries.

•  If this is not the first time you have entered data for the particular measure 

the previous data entries are displayed at the bottom of the window for 

reference.

•  Closing the window saves the new values and returns you to the home 

main page.

2. Quality Control / Trend Calculation

•  To complete a quality assurance review, choose QA Checks/Calculate 

Trends. Next, choose which year to evaluate. The Quality Assurance page 

will highlight where you have missing or incorrect information (highlighted 

in red) for that year and will redirect you to where you can fix the 

problem(s).

•  Once problems have been fixed, and trends have been manually calculated 

for all measures, you can click the Calculate Trends button and the trends 

will be calculated for all levels (Indicators, Monitoring Questions, Qualities, 

Character).

3. Reporting

•  To generate a report, click Trend Report, and choose the wilderness and 

year that you would like to generate the report for.

•  You can only generate a report for a year that has passed its quality 

assurance check and has had its trends calculated.

Tools

Copy Data. You may copy measures, measure weights, and measure values from 

one wilderness to another if you want these to apply to different wildernesses 

that are under your jurisdiction.

Import National Data. In the future the database will have a function that will 

allow you to import data collected at the national level for specific measures into 

your database.
Keeping It Wild in the National Park Service: A User Guide to Integrating Wilderness Character into

Park Planning, Management, and Monitoring. 

As the nation’s principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has responsibility for 

most of our nationally owned public lands and natural resources. This includes fostering sound use 

of our land and water resources; protecting our fish, wildlife, and biological diversity; preserving 

the environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historic places; and providing for 

the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The department assesses our energy and mineral 

resources and works to ensure that their development is in the best interests of all our people by 

encouraging stewardship and citizen participation in their care. The department also has a major 

responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in island 

territories under U.S. administration.

WASO 909/121797; January 2014

National Park Service | U.S. Department of the Interior

Wilderness Stewardship Division | Wilderness Stewardship Program