9495

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9495
• Author: Knight, R. L. and K. J. Gutzwiller, eds.
• Title: Wildlife and Recreationists Coexistence through Management and Research,
• USFW Year: 1995.
• USFW - Doc Type: Island Press,
• Copyright Material: YES

Preface
As we near the end of the twentieth century, a paradigm shift in land manage-
ment is nearing fruition. Historically, human activities on public and private
lands were extractive (e.g., logging, grazing, hunting). Today, we live in a so-
ciety that speaks nearly as one in its objections to primarily utilitarian uses of
our once-vast natural resources. With an ever-expanding world population, a
shift from rural to urban societies, and a concomitant increase in leisure time
in developed countries, there has been adecades-long increase in outdoor
recreational activity, and there is no decline in sight. In addition, ecotourism,
a form of recreation focused on bringing tourists to biologically rich ecosys-
tems, is becoming increasingly popular. Our society seems to have requested
that the primary use of public lands be that of outdoor recreation, and to the
degree that utilitarian uses conflict with recreation, they should be of sec-
ondaryimportance.
One upshot of this "recreation boom" is the recognition that wildlife and
recreational activities are not compatible without some form of overall man-
agement. Researchers continue to report damaging effects of recreationists on
wildlife. Whether it be a shift in age and sex ratios of a hunted population of
big game or displacement of a species sensitive to off-road-vehicle activity,
recreational disturbance can have previously unappreciated impacts on
wildlife. Legislation protecting wildlife (e.g., the Endangered Species Act, Na-
tional Forest Management Act) may conflict with expanding recreational dis-
turbance in shrinking wildlands, so the need for understanding and managing
recreational impacts on wildlife will continue.
We believe that the principal natural-resource management issue for the
remainder of this century, and into the next, will revolve around conflicts be-
tween outdoor recreationists and wildlife (and between different types of out-
door recreationists!). Today, natural-resource agencies are preoccupied with
changing their focus from Largely extractive uses of the land to increasing out-
door recreation opportunities; we envision the next step in agency evolution
will be toward land health and stewardship. We feel certain, however, that
these agencies will not be able to accomplish this transition without first
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