Stephen Mather Wilderness: An update of the 2015 wilderness character baseline and completion of the 2020 wilderness character monitoring reporting summary
Oelfke J. 2022. Stephen Mather Wilderness: An update of the 2015 wilderness character baseline and completion of the 2020 wilderness character monitoring reporting summary. Natural Resource Report. NPS/NOCA/NRR—2022/2452. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2294337
The Wilderness Act of 1964 created a legislative mandate to preserve wilderness character on protected federal lands encompassed under the law, leading to the network of lands managed as wilderness that exist today within the National Wilderness Preservation System. Wilderness management policy and practice has evolved to focus on wilderness character monitoring as a means of understanding if the preservation of wilderness character is being achieved. In 2020 staff at the North Cascades National Park Service Complex completed a baseline assessment of wilderness character to begin tracking trends in wilderness character for the Stephen Mather Wilderness. Baseline values were established in 2015 for 22 of the 24 monitoring measures developed within the five tangible qualities of wilderness character – Untrammeled, Natural, Undeveloped, Solitude or Primitive and Unconfined Recreation, and Other Features of Value – and baseline values established in 2020 for the remaining two measures. The first 5-year trend monitoring was completed for those 22 measures with a 2015 baseline and a 2020 monitored value and is discussed in this report. Comparison of data between the 2015 baseline year and 2020 monitoring periods showed that most measures of wilderness character either showed improvement (7 measures) or were stable (13 measures), with two measures showing a declining trend. A 2020 baseline value was completed for two additional measures, and one original measure was revised in response to changed protocols, resulting in a revised 2015 baseline value for that measure.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Oelfke, Jack
- Date of Issue
- 2022-09
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/2294337
- Units
- LACH , NOCA , NRSS , ROLA
- Keywords
- baseline, indicator, management, measure, monitoring, natural, primitive, solitude, Stephen Mather Wilderness, stewardship, trends, undeveloped, untrammeled, Wilderness Act, wilderness character