How important is wilderness? Results from a United States Survey

Abstract

The designation and management of federal wilderness areas has generated much controversy in the United States. The decade of the 1980s has been a difficult one for public land managers as there has been growing opposition to their traditional "conserve but use philosophy." Public lands are to be managed for the public benefit. Unfortunately there has been little survey research to find out what the attitudes of the public are towards the management of federally designated wilderness. We report the results of a national survey of 2670 residents of wilderness counties. We found that the presence of wilderness is an important reason why 53% of the people moved to or live in the area; 81% felt that wilderness areas are important to their counties; and 65% were against mineral or energy development in wilderness areas. Qn some issues there was less agreement as 43% of the respondents wanted more access to wilderness, and 39% were in favor of additional wilderness with 26% undecided. There were no large differences between counties and regions despite the differences in economic and social characteristics and the historical contexts within which they evolved.

Rural environmental attitudes

“…As a result, they underestimate rural environmental attitudes. Some exceptions to this are the studies of B uttel and Flinn (1977), Fortmann and Kusel (1990), Rudzitis andJohansen (1991), andStern (1992).…”

“…Furthermore, these researchers discovered that the voice was likely to be female. Rudzitis and Johansen (1991), in a comprehensive study of wilderness areas, discovered that rural citizens living adjacent to wilderness areas strongly support the wilderness designation and want other nearby public lands and forests "managed as an environment rather than developed for commodity production." The authors also found slight to significant differences between rural migrants and rural residents in regard to wilderness issues, with rural migrants being more environmentally concerned (Rudzitis and Johansen 1991).…”

Public attitudes toward restoration of impaired river ecosystems: Does residents’ attachment to place matter?

“…Unlike other cases in the Western world where people settle along the edges of the river due to their attraction for aesthetic appeal, scenic beauty, and natural qualities of the river valleys (Rudzitis and Johansen 1991), most people choose to live on the BR corridors because of the availability of low-cost shelter for poor migrants. Despite close proximity of residence, these people failed to develop any emotional ties with the river.…”

Ecological Causes and Consequences of Demographic Change in the New West

“…Surveys of new residents and businesses in counties with high levels of natural amenities found that factors such as scenery, environmental quality, pace of life, outdoor recreation, and climate were more important reasons for relocation than job opportunity or cost of living (Johnson andRasker 1995, Rudzitis 1999). Rapid population growth was also associated with proximity to wilderness, and residents frequently cited access to wilderness as important to them (Rudzitis and Johansen 1991). Wildlife presence might influence economic development by supporting hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, and sense of wilderness (Ingram and Lewandrowski 1999).…”