United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Intermountain Research Station Research Note INT-RP-475 April 1994

The Wilderness Threats Matrix: A Framework for Assessing Impacts

David N. Cole

Cole, David N. 1994. The wilderness threats matrix: a framework for assessing impacts. Res. Pap. INT-475. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 14 p.

A comprehensive framework for assessing threats to wilderness is described. The framework is represented as a matrix of potential threats and attributes of wilderness character. Cells in the matrix represent the impacts of threats on each attribute. Potential applications of the matrix are described. An application of the matrix to the wildernesses in the Forest Service's Northern Region (northern Idaho and Montana) suggests that fire management is the most significant threat to those wildernesses and that aquatic systems are the most threatened wilderness attribute.

David N. Cole is Research Biologist for the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, P.O. Box 8089, Missoula, MT 59807. Dr. Cole received his A.B. degree in geography from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1972. He received his Ph.D. degree, also in geography, from the University of Oregon in 1977. He has written many papers on wilderness management, particularly on the impacts of recreational use.

Contents

Research Summary and Acknowledgments

Introduction

Conceptual Framework

Potential Applications

Application to Northern Region Wilderness

Conclusions

References

Ordering a copy

Title: INT-RP-475: The Wilderness Threats Matrix: A Framework for Assessing Impacts
Electronic Publish Date: October 31, 1996
Expires: Indefinite
Last Update: January 15, 2002

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