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<br />OOfJ023 <br /> <br />Economy <br /> <br />Designation of 239,835 acres of wilderness within five units in Rocky <br />Mountain National Park precludes 91.5 percent of the park from further <br />development by private interests for lodging, skiing, or other visitor <br />services. Such facilities would have to be provided by the business <br />communities surrounding the park. Since use of the park is now pre- <br />dominantly day use, wilderness designation can be expected to provide <br />a further economic stimulus to adjacent commercial enterprises. <br /> <br />Wilderness use itself is not expected to provide any significant <br />increase in economic benefits since use is already rationed to an <br />established carrying capacity of an estimated 2,000 campers per night. <br />Assurance of a wilderness experience within the park, however, would <br />continue to provide a distinct economic advantage to nearby communities <br />as they provide visitor services such as pack horses, motels, restau- <br />rants, and miscellaneous food supplies. In 1972, 36,132 hikers camped <br />in the backcountry. <br /> <br />Wilderness designation would help to assure perpetuation of the scenic <br />splendor of the park by maintenance of natural conditions and by pre- <br />clusion of adverse developments. The park would thus remain an attrac- <br />tion, continuing to provide economic benefits for the region. Visitor <br />use increased by 2.8 percent from 1971 to 1972. <br /> <br />Other Considerations <br /> <br />Some aspects of the park environment and needed management will have <br />an impact on the wilderness itself. Rocky Mountain is a relatively <br />small national park, and the multiple use activities along the bound- <br />aries will intrude and may affect the quality of the wilderness to a <br />considerable extent. This includes housing developments, motorized <br />equipment, timber harvest and grazing. "Seen" areas and noise pollu- <br />tion from the highways and developments can have an effect many miles <br />from the wilderness boundaries. <br /> <br />The wilderness designation of lands within the national park could <br />cause increased recreational demands on surrounding areas for noncon- <br />forming uses or backcountry overflow. The national forests would be <br />expected to receive the major portion of this use. However, since most <br />use not compatible with wilderness is already not allowed in the park <br />by present policy, the immediate impact would not be great. This <br />impact would be expected to increase as the demand for camping and <br />other backcountry use in the region exceeds the carrying capacity of <br />the designated wilderness within the park. Research facilities not <br />allowed in the wilderness would also be expected to be redirected <br />outside if comparable sites are available. <br /> <br />25 <br />