The Recreation Opportunity Spectrum

Recreation on our National Forests is more than

just camping, fishing, and hiking Research has 

shown that people choose a specific setting for 

each of these activities in order to realize a desired set of experiences. For example, camping 

in a large undeveloped setting with difficult access and few facilities offers a sense of solitude, 

challenge, and self-reliance In contrast, camping 

in a setting having easy access and highly

developed facilities offers more comfort, security, 

and social opportunities.

The Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) 

offers a framework for understanding these relationships and interactions. The Spectrum has 

been divided into six major classes for Forest 

Service use Urban (U), Rural (R), Roaded 

Modified (RM) in some areas, Roaded Natural 

(RN), Semi-Primitive Non-Motorized (SPNM), 

Semi-primitive Motorized (SPM), and Primitive

(P). Maintaining a broad spectrum of these

classes is very important to provide people with 

choices ROS is also flexible; it can be further 

subdivided into subclasses as the need arises.

You will find that ROS is an indispensable tool for 

recreation planning on your Forest ROS can be

used to

• Inventory existing opportunities. 

• Analyze the effects of other resource activities. 

• Estimate the consequences of management 

decisions on planned opportunities. 

• Link user desires with recreation opportunities

• Identify complementary roles of all recreation 

suppliers. 

• Develop standards and guidelines for planned 

settings and monitoring activities. 

• Help design integrated project sets for Forest 

Plan implementation. 

The end product of recreation management is 

the experience people have. The key to providing most experience opportunities is the setting 

and how it is managed. As a land manager, you 

can facilitate (or hamper) many desired experi- ences by the way you manage such "setting 

indicators" as access, remoteness, naturalness, 

facilities, social encounters, visitor impacts, and 

the visitors themselves.

The matrices presented in this brochure will help 

you perform many of the ROS planning steps, including integrated project design. The 

matrices establish limits of acceptable change 

for each indicator in a given setting. The "norm" in the matrices describes normal 

conditions found in the setting. "Fully compatible" describes conditions that meet or

exceed the
norm. "Inconsistent" (INCON) represents conditions 

that are not generally compatible with the norm, but

may be necessary under some circumstances to

meet overall management objectives.

"Unacceptable" defines conditions that, under any

circumstance, do not permit the creation or 

maintenance of a given setting. Where

unacceptable conditions are unavoidable, a change 

in setting will often result, which must be handled

appropriately in the Forest planning NEPA process.

For inventory guidelines and additional details 

on evaluating inconsistencies, consult Chapter 

20 of the USDA ROS Users Guide. The complete process for using ROS in plan implementation can be found in Chapter 60 Other ROS 

references are listed in the red 1986 ROS book 

on pages III-59-76. 

Access includes type and mode of travel. Highly

developed access generally reduces the opportunities for solitude risk, and challenge. However, it

can enhance opportunities for socializing, and 

feelings of safety and comfort Accessibility for

persons with disabilities can be organized along the

ROS framework Access in Rural and Urban 

settings should be completely barrier-free 

Increasing difficulty should be designed into

travelways as one moves toward the Primitive end of 

the spectrum to elicit greater feelings of challenge 

and achievement.

Remoteness refers to the extent to which individuals perceive themselves removed from the 

sights and sounds of human activity. A lack of

remoteness is important for some setting experiences.
This factor refers to the number and type of 

other recreationists met along travelways, or

camped within sight or sound of others. This 

setting indicator measures the extent to which 

an area provides experiences such as solitude, 

or the opportunity for social interaction. Increasing the number of visitors to an area changes 

the kind of recreation experience offered, attracting new users and causing others to leave.

This includes the degree to which visitors are 

regulated and controlled as well as the level of 

information and services provided for visitor enjoyment In some opportunity settings, controls 

are expected and appropriate. For instance, 

people sometimes seek developed settings for 

security and safety. Elsewhere, on-site controls 

may detract from desired experiences, such as 

independence, self-reliance, and risk-taking.

The type and level of information, and where it 

is provided to the visitor, may facilitate or hinder 

a desired experience. On-site interpretive and 

directional signing may adversely affect the visitor where experiences such as self-discovery, 

challenge, and risk are important. In other situations, on-site information may be essential to 

achieve desired experiences. Generally, on-site 

information is more appropriate at the developed 

end of the spectrum, while off-site sources are 

preferable at the primitive end.
This indicator refers to the level of site development. A lack of facilities and site modifications 

can enhance feelings of self-reliance and independence, and can provide experiences with a 

high degree of naturalness. Highly developed 

facilities can add feelings of comfort and convenience, and increase opportunities for socializing.

This factor refers to the impacts of visitor use on 

the environment. The relevant question for managers is not "how can impacts be prevented", but 

rather, "how much change will be allowed and 

which actions are appropriate for control." The

matrix on the following page suggest appropriate 

actions for controlling impacts on soil and 

vegetation. Impacts on wildlife habitat, and on air,

water, and sound quality affect the visitor's

experience as well. Visitor impacts can alter

wildlife habitat or displace wildlife species, 

including indicator species, which provide an 

important means of monitoring recreation related

impacts on fish and other wildlife. Maintaining air,

water, and noise quality standards in the face of

visitor impacts is important in all ROS classes.

8
Refers to the degree of naturalness of the setting it affects psychological outcomes associated with enjoying nature. This indicator is 

portrayed by using a compatible visual quality

objective (VQO) for each setting as shown in 

the matrix on the next page. The USDA Landscape Management Handbook series can provide further guidance.

ROS offers a unique way of thinking about 

recreation opportunities--they are more than 

just activities or areas. Clearly, ROS can play

an integral role in all aspects of recreation

planning on your Forest. You can use it to

inventory recreational resources, to estimate

the consequences of management decisions,

and to match experiences desired by

recreationists with available opportunities.

10 US GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1990—794-499