Given the scale of life in the cosmos, one human life is no more than a tiny blip. Each one of us is a just visitor to this planet, a guest, who will only stay for a limited time. What greater folly could there be than to spend this short time alone, unhappy, or in conflict with our companions? – Dalai Lama
Providing a quality visitor experience while at the same time protecting wild & scenic river values is one of the most difficult challenges facing a river manager.
Here are some resources that may help with planning and addressing visitor use issues:
Frameworks Crosswalk – This Resource Crosswalk distills resources for achieving essential components of capacity identification and relationships to other Visitor Use Management (VUM) aspects of river management planning by:
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- providing background about the intent of the work of two interagency councils to address capacities;
- clarifying the lexicon of key definitions surrounding capacities;
- synthesizing existing information developed through interagency cooperation and vetted by DOI and DOA solicitors; and
- demonstrating complementary resources for phases of planning that represent recommendations and best practices for all federal land and water managing agencies, regardless of the setting or designation, or need for a capacity.
Visitor Use Management Resources Crosswalk: Comparing Visitor Use and Wild and Scenic Strategies
ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: Visitor Use Management on Federally Managed Lands and Waters (National Park Service) – A position paper to guide policy by the Interagency Visitor Use Management Council.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: Steps to Address User Capacities for Wild and Scenic Rivers – Every river management plan is required to address user capacities. This paper explains how to determine those capacities.