Leave No Trace Practices: Behaviors and Preferences of Wilderness Visitors Regarding Use of Cookstoves and Camping Away From Lakes

Abstract

This research used descriptive information collected in visitor studies conducted between 1990 and 1992 in eight different wildernesses around the United States to evaluate behaviors and preferences of wilderness visitors regarding cookstoves and camp- ing away from lakes. The majority of visitors used stoves for cooking. However, in all but the Desolation Wilderness, at least 50% of visitors had a wood fire on their trip. In all five areas, most visitors prefer camping within 200 feet of a lake. Appeals were successful in convincing over half of the campers to move farther away from lakeshores. Ecological appeals were more persuasive than social appeals. Progress has been made in persuading visitors to reduce fire use and camp farther from lakes. Wilderness managers are challenged by the need to con- trol the social and ecological impacts of recreation use while minimizing restrictions on access and behavior in wilder- ness. Visitor education is a preferred management tech- nique because it does not restrict access or freedom. The primary objections to relying too much on education are its effectiveness, its timeliness (how long will it take for educa- tion to work?) and whether costs are distributed equitably. When behaviors are recommended rather than required, conscientious users absorb all the costs (in terms of giving up preferred activities, such as having a fire), while uncon- scientious visitors do not. Although there is controversy about the extent to which education should be considered an appropriate response to specific existing management problems (Cole 1995), most people agree that education is a worthwhile preventive action that should be universally applied. Over the past few decades, numerous idiosyncratic programs have been devel- oped that attempted to teach visitors low-impact practices. Recently, these efforts have culminated in the coordinated Leave No Trace program, an effort promoted by all manage- ment agencies, as well as private nongovernmental organi- zations and for-profit corporations.