Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Results From the 2014 National Wilderness Manager Survey

Informally Refereed

Abstract

A national survey of managers was developed to support interagency wilderness strategic planning. The focus was on major challenges, perceived needs for science and training, and accomplishments of 1995 Strategic Plan objectives. The survey was administered to managers at the four federal agencies with wilderness management responsibilities: the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service. In spring 2014, responses were received from 368 managers. The highest ranking threat perceived was "lack of political and financial support for wilderness protection and management," followed by "invasive species," "disconnected urban audiences" and "adjacent land use and management." The greatest need for science-based information was "public attitudes toward intervention to adapt to climate change influences" and "public attitudes toward ecological restoration activities" The majority of managers commonly perceived no or only slight accomplishment of previous strategic plan objectives.

Keywords

wilderness, manager survey, wilderness science, wilderness training, wilderness values

Citation

Ghimire, Ramesh; Cordell, Ken; Watson, Alan; Dawson, Chad; Green, Gary T. 2015. Results From the 2014 National Wilderness Manager Survey. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-336. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 96 p.
Citations
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/49224