Measuring attributes of wilderness character: BLM implementation guide, version 1.4

Bureau of Land Management

Brief Description: Protocols for monitoring wilderness character, including brief outlines on how the data for each measure are collected, processed, and reported Full Description: This monitoring effort is based on the statutory requirements of The Wilderness Act of 1964. In both the Act’s "Statement of Policy" (Section 2(a)) and "Use of Wilderness Areas" (Section 4(b)), managers are directed to "preserve wilderness character." An interagency team developed fourteen indicators and suggested possible measures used to monitor trends in wilderness character as described in Keeping It Wild: an Interagency Strategy to Monitor Trends in Wilderness Character. An interdisciplinary team of BLM employees selected the measures for those indicators to be used in BLM wilderness areas, and developed the techniques detailed to generate data for each measure. Because of differences between wilderness areas due to geography, biology, legal constraints, and social pressures, these indicators should not and cannot be used to compare different wildernesses; rather, they are designed to monitor changes at one wilderness over time.