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USDA Forest Service
Daniel Boone
National Forest
1700 Bypass Road
Winchester, KY 40391

Phone: 859-745-3100
FAX: 859-744-1568

Limits of Acceptable Change

The Daniel Boone National Forest is seeking public input to determine future management in the Red River Gorge. A process called "Limits of Acceptable Change", or LAC, invites the public to work with Forest Service managers to balance recreational use with resource protection needs. A series of workshops has begun, and the public is encouraged to attend.

The LAC process consists of 9 steps. We began with Step 1 in the summer of 2004. We are winding down Steps 7 and 8 in early 2008.

We anticipate beginning to implement LAC projects in the summer of 2008.

Step 6 is “Identify alternative opportunity zone allocations”. The purpose of this step is to decide what resource and social conditions are to be maintained or achieved in specific areas of the Gorge. This is a prescriptive step (it is concerned with establishing what should be), and input from both the Forest Service and the public should be used to make these decisions. Step 6 involves an analysis of inventory data collected in step 4, along with area issues and concerns identified in step 1. Some issues might prove mutually contradictory (“increase opportunities for easier access into most portions of the wilderness” and “provide greater opportunities for solitude”).

During Step 6, we selected alternatives for mapping the opportunity zones by reviewing all the previous steps. The alternatives should relate back to the original issues. Maps showing locations for the six opportunity zones identified in Step 2 will be produced for each alternative.

We decided Alternative 2 would be the preferred alternative.

Step 7 is “Identify management actions for each alternative”. Now that maps showing locations of the opportunity zones have been developed (Step 6), we can see where management actions will be needed to meet standards we established in Step 5. The purpose of this step is to identify the differences, if any, that exist between current conditions (inventoried in step 4) and the standards (identified in step 5). This will identify places where problems exist and what management actions are needed.
The final product of Step 7 is a list or maps of all places where existing conditions are worse that standard and identification of what management actions would best bring conditions up to standard.

To find out more about has been accomplished in earlier steps, go to the workshops page.

About the Gorge...

Overview of the Red River Gorge pdf.Describes the Red River Gorge's significate features.

Visitor Impacts pdf. Descibes the impacts visitor use has had on the Red River Gorge.

What Is Limits of Acceptable Change? pdf. Describes the LAC process.

About Heritage Resources in the Gorge...

Heritage Resource Managment in the Red River Gorge - pdf. Describes archaeologists's work in the Gorge and recreation impacts on archaeological sites.

Red River Gorge in Prehistoric Times - pdf. Description of prehistoric occupation of the Gorge from 10,000 BC to 1700 AD.

Historic Times in the Gorge - pdf. Describes salt petre mining, logging, farming, and moonshining in the Gorge.

Author: Tim Eling
Last Updated: February 21, 2008