Date of Award:

5-2015

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA)

Department:

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning

Committee Chair(s)

Sean E. Michael

Committee

Sean E. Michael

Committee

Michael L. Timmons

Committee

Steven W. Burr

Abstract

Outdoor recreation management has become common practice on public lands over the past century. The United States Forest Service (USFS) has been a leader in the category of recreation management during that time period as well. One management niche associated specifically with national forest land is the field of dispersed recreation. Within the field of dispersed recreation management, USFS staff address recreation use in a variety of ways. One such method has been the development of Concentrated Use Areas (CUAs) in dispersed recreation settings. These areas are generally defined as undeveloped recreation areas that sustain resource impacts and require management time and dollars. Several studies have looked at how dispersed recreation is managed and what it consists of in terms of recreational uses and natural resource impacts. Despite research describing dispersed recreation and its management, very little research has specifically studied the managerial phenomenon of CUAs. Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (UWCNF) managers identified CUAs in their forest management plans, and defined monitoring protocol for collecting data involving their locations and management. This study focused on the management of CUAs on the UWCNF to better understand CUAs on USFS lands and the management techniques used in these areas. This study takes a qualitative and quantitative, mixed-methods approach to better define CUAs and their management on the UWCNF. In particular, this study approaches CUAs by inventorying CUA data on various districts, quantitatively analyzing GPS-based data, and qualitatively analyzing interviews of recreation and resource personnel. The study focused on recreation occurring in the non-winter seasons.

Overall, data were analyzed from all districts, including GPS-based data that consisted of over 8000 GPS data points. Several management documents were examined to understand techniques used on the UWCNF to manage CUAs. Moreover, twenty-one interviews were conducted with twenty-four recreation and resource personnel. Overall, these three approaches resulted in a more robust definition of CUAs and their management. Generally speaking, GPS data and interviews determined that CUAs are generally undeveloped areas in a dispersed setting that are managed with an emphasis on balancing resource protection and recreational use. CUAs generally have characteristics defining them as located in relatively flat areas in the landscape that are very accessible to use via a travel system, and within close proximity to a natural water feature and shade. These areas are managed using a mixture of direct and indirect management techniques designed to reduce impacts to natural resources while still allowing a high amount of use. CUAs are also commonly designed sites that rely heavily on user-created recreation patterns to determine the location of future designated sites. These areas, despite their design, generally are developed at such a low level, that they are still considered undeveloped when compared to a developed campground or similar facility.

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