Managing wilderness areas

Safeguarding wild habitat by setting rules for visitation and use.

Controversy surrounds the extent to which such areas can or should be "managed". Wilderness may be viewed from primarily a sociological perspective in which the naturalness of the wilderness is less important than its maximum direct use in ways valued by man. This is called an anthropocentric perspective to wilderness. The biocentric approach to wilderness places emphasis on the maintenance of the natural systems at the expense of recreational and other human uses if necessary. The goal of this "biocentric" approach is to permit the natural ecological processes to operate as freely as possible because wilderness values for society ultimately depend on the retention of naturalness.

Wilderness can be looked at as both a biophysical reality and as a social/cultural/legal construct. Wilderness management from the ecological perspective is characterized as making and implementing decisions to sustain intact or naturally functioning ecosystems at large spatial scales and over very long periods of time. Wilderness management applies basic ecological and other biological principles specific to the function of large scale ecosystems and permanent conservation to management decisions and actions.

Restrictions may be placed on camping, hiking, boating, hunting, fishing and climbing in backcountry. Campfires may be forbidden. Dogs may be forbidden or allowed on a leash provided the owner removes the animal's excrement. In a growing number of places, responsible behaviour now dictates that humans carry out their own excrement as well.

When wilderness is intensely managed, it ceases to be wild.