486
categories have also increased. The most avid participants are white males under 60 years of age, but
in recent years participation by females has risen
significantly. Several outdoor recreation surveys
provided data useful for the analysis, but the data
were not always available in sufficient geographic
detail to be able to isolate the assessment area. Nevertheless, the trends are sufficiently clear to verify
the increased demand already being felt by most
land managers in the region.
Approximately 75 visitor surveys were reviewed
to determine kinds of experiences that people were
seeking when visiting the region's parks and
forests. It was no surprise that most wanted to get
away from the urban environment and enjoy the
tranquility and beauty of a natural setting.
Roadless and Designated Wilderness Areas
The interest in roadless areas and wilderness focused mainly on national forests, because this topic
is important during the revision of the forest plans.
In previous planning efforts, the Forest Service was
criticized because the criteria for roadless designation were not consistent from forest to forest and
there appeared to be little coordination among
forests. The majority of roadless areas are on National Forests. However, one area is in a national
park and four areas are in state parks. The Great
Smoky Mountains National Park is the largest single area, making up more than one-third of the total acreage.
There are 39 units of the National Wilderness
Preservation System in the assessment region. The
Shenandoah National Park is the largest (80,555
acres) and also the only National Park Service unit
in the area. Others range in size from less than 100
acres to more than 35,000 acres on Forest Service
land.
32.7 Results of the Analysis
The results of the assessment are published in four
technical reports and a summary report (see Section 32.9). Each team produced a detailed report
that was organized in the same general way. The
questions are stated, key findings are highlighted,
data methods and analyses are described, and important data gaps and research or monitoring needs
are identified. The summary report attempts to capture the essential elements of the technical reports
and presents them for a more general readership.
The conclusions of the assessment had both immediate and long-term implications. The key findSouthern Appalachian Case Study
ings have been published in the Federal Register
as part of the Notice of Intent to revise the forest
plans. This is the first time that the plans of five
National Forests were coordinated around a set of
common issues.
32.8 Innovations Resulting from
the Assessment
Analysts working on the assessment started with a
broad and somewhat undefined assignment. The
teams were made up of specialists representing several agencies and disciplines confronting a relatively large geographic area and a diverse body of
public interests. They seemed eager for the opportunity to tackle difficult problems that sometimes
challenged their discipline, but were often outside
their usual sphere of responsibility.
Nationwide, several regional assessments were
underway simultaneously, and we make no claim
that the innovations we developed are unique.
Other assessment teams probably arrived at similar solutions to problems that they faced, but there
was little communication between the regional assessment efforts. The only effective means of sharing information between these regional efforts was
through the Ecosystem Management Staff of the
Forest Service in the Washington Office.
The widely varied initial conditions that exist for
each assessment make each project fundamentally
different. Consequently, every assessment must
take an approach that is tailored to these conditions.
In the Southern Appalachian region, the existence
of the SAMAB cooperative was one of these initial conditions. SAMAB offered the Forest Service
an opportunity to enlist the participation and support of an established network of cooperating federal and state agencies.
Rallying the cooperation of numerous agency
partners requires compromise. Objectives must be
negotiated with all the participants. The scope and
time schedules need to be compatible with the human and financial resources that are being committed. During the course of the assessment, numerous opportunities emerged to expand our efforts
and take advantage of data sources or partnerships
that we simply did not know existed when we outlined the initial objectives. Each of these new possibilities had to be evaluated to see how it might
add to the assessment and whether it would be consistent with our time and content constraints.
Projects such as the assessment involve learning
as you go. The majority of the participants had no
categories have also increased. The most avid participants are white males under 60 years of age, but
in recent years participation by females has risen
significantly. Several outdoor recreation surveys
provided data useful for the analysis, but the data
were not always available in sufficient geographic
detail to be able to isolate the assessment area. Nevertheless, the trends are sufficiently clear to verify
the increased demand already being felt by most
land managers in the region.
Approximately 75 visitor surveys were reviewed
to determine kinds of experiences that people were
seeking when visiting the region's parks and
forests. It was no surprise that most wanted to get
away from the urban environment and enjoy the
tranquility and beauty of a natural setting.
Roadless and Designated Wilderness Areas
The interest in roadless areas and wilderness focused mainly on national forests, because this topic
is important during the revision of the forest plans.
In previous planning efforts, the Forest Service was
criticized because the criteria for roadless designation were not consistent from forest to forest and
there appeared to be little coordination among
forests. The majority of roadless areas are on National Forests. However, one area is in a national
park and four areas are in state parks. The Great
Smoky Mountains National Park is the largest single area, making up more than one-third of the total acreage.
There are 39 units of the National Wilderness
Preservation System in the assessment region. The
Shenandoah National Park is the largest (80,555
acres) and also the only National Park Service unit
in the area. Others range in size from less than 100
acres to more than 35,000 acres on Forest Service
land.
32.7 Results of the Analysis
The results of the assessment are published in four
technical reports and a summary report (see Section 32.9). Each team produced a detailed report
that was organized in the same general way. The
questions are stated, key findings are highlighted,
data methods and analyses are described, and important data gaps and research or monitoring needs
are identified. The summary report attempts to capture the essential elements of the technical reports
and presents them for a more general readership.
The conclusions of the assessment had both immediate and long-term implications. The key findSouthern Appalachian Case Study
ings have been published in the Federal Register
as part of the Notice of Intent to revise the forest
plans. This is the first time that the plans of five
National Forests were coordinated around a set of
common issues.
32.8 Innovations Resulting from
the Assessment
Analysts working on the assessment started with a
broad and somewhat undefined assignment. The
teams were made up of specialists representing several agencies and disciplines confronting a relatively large geographic area and a diverse body of
public interests. They seemed eager for the opportunity to tackle difficult problems that sometimes
challenged their discipline, but were often outside
their usual sphere of responsibility.
Nationwide, several regional assessments were
underway simultaneously, and we make no claim
that the innovations we developed are unique.
Other assessment teams probably arrived at similar solutions to problems that they faced, but there
was little communication between the regional assessment efforts. The only effective means of sharing information between these regional efforts was
through the Ecosystem Management Staff of the
Forest Service in the Washington Office.
The widely varied initial conditions that exist for
each assessment make each project fundamentally
different. Consequently, every assessment must
take an approach that is tailored to these conditions.
In the Southern Appalachian region, the existence
of the SAMAB cooperative was one of these initial conditions. SAMAB offered the Forest Service
an opportunity to enlist the participation and support of an established network of cooperating federal and state agencies.
Rallying the cooperation of numerous agency
partners requires compromise. Objectives must be
negotiated with all the participants. The scope and
time schedules need to be compatible with the human and financial resources that are being committed. During the course of the assessment, numerous opportunities emerged to expand our efforts
and take advantage of data sources or partnerships
that we simply did not know existed when we outlined the initial objectives. Each of these new possibilities had to be evaluated to see how it might
add to the assessment and whether it would be consistent with our time and content constraints.
Projects such as the assessment involve learning
as you go. The majority of the participants had no