Advantages And Disadvantages Of Wilderness Management

Throughout history, both the portrayal and perception of wilderness has evolved drastically. What was long described as a godless, desolate wasteland later became a focal point for artists who romanticized wilderness, modifying common outlook on such places. Due to their complexity, scarcity, and embodiment of spirituality, wilderness was now something to be valued and treasured. Then with the turn of the 19th century, the Manifest Destiny doctrine took hold, characterizing wilderness as a thing to be conquered and as a place where one could make an investment. Today, the portrayal and perception of wilderness embodies all these components; it’s a setting where people can fulfill their innate need for nature and solitude, where various recreational …show more content…
Such obstacles have arisen primarily due to insufficiently understanding the complexity of natural components. As David Cole explains, with the progression of science, the complexity of how ecosystems work and the magnitude of support that wilderness management needs are far greater than previously envisioned. Due to the complexity of natural components, regardless of how well-studied, there are various information gaps which severely constrain management efforts. Likewise, many monitoring approaches are ineffective and poorly planned, prompting contradictory results and restricting of the successful development and advancement of management strategies. However, one thing has been learned, and it is that wilderness areas cannot truly be “wild,” as there is constraint between trying to keep wildlands natural and providing solitude and recreational opportunities to citizens. Cole elaborates on this predicament in his paper, Wilderness Management Dilemmas: Fertile Ground for Wilderness Management Research, by stating:
“Management…must either intentionally manipulate wilderness to compensate for the unnatural effects of human activity, or to avoid exerting human control, it must allow conditions to become increasingly unnatural…Management cannot have wild use and provide opportunities for solitude… Unrestricted and unmanipulated use often results in lost opportunities …show more content…
In symmetry with preservation, use allows people to satisfy their innate need to be in connection with nature and the desire for solitude. It also provides people with a variety of avenues in which to do so, ranging from leisurely hikes and camping to more intensive actives such as rock-climbing and backcountry hunting. While these activities allow people to fulfill their primitive psychological needs, they also provide massive benefits of a more lucrative form. Ultimately, use allows for ever-increasing economic gains. While extraction industries are a large source of these gains, those derived from ecotourism and recreation are exceedingly more prominent. Regardless of the type of recreational activity, costs are often associated. The money visitors spend on entry, permits, licensing, lodging, campsites, fuel, food, and gear, all trickles back into the economy. Simply put, revenue obtained from recreational use has become an important staple for income and stability. However, with the increase in recognition of protected areas, along with the immense capacity for financial returns, an assortment of issues surrounding use have