Rationing wilderness use : methods, problems, and guidelines /

Abstract

Wilderness managers can regulate ecological and social impacts by implementing one or more of five basic rationing systems: reser- vations, fees, queuing, lottery, or merit.Each system has advantages and disadvantages for both administrators and users.Managers must consider the effect on user groups, administrative experience with the rationing system, acceptability to users, difficulty of administration, efficiency, principal way impacts are controlled, and effect on user behavior.Managers should strive to control environmental and social impacts, not merely visitor numbers, with a minimum of regimentation.The following guidelines will help managers implement effective ra- tioning: (1) Know both the wilderness and its users, (2) Ration only when less restrictive measures fail, (3) Combine rationing systems to help minimize costs to users and administrators, (4) Adopt ra- tioning systems that require users to judge the relative value of the opportunity, (5) Monitor and evaluate rationing programs.