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The importance of archiving baseline wilderness
data
Cole, David N. 2007. The importance of archiving baseline wilderness data. International Journal of Wilderness 13(1):30, 36.
Baseline wilderness data are of considerable importance for several reasons. One of the primary values of wilderness is as a reference that contrasts with those lands where humans dominate the landscape. Leopold (1941) called wilderness "a base-datum of normality, a picture of how healthy land maintains itself." To realize this value, baseline data on wilderness conditions are needed, for comparison at some future time and for comparison to other lands. Baseline data also contribute knowledge needed to effectively steward wilderness. Baseline recreation data are particularly important to managing recreation in wilderness.
Keywords: baseline wilderness data, human-dominated landscape, steward wilderness, wilderness management
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Publications: The importance of archiving baseline wilderness
data
Electronic Publish Date: July 6, 2007
Last Update: July
6, 2007