A Pilot Assessment of Mapping Wilderness Character in the Muskwa-Kechika

Management Area

Lindi Anderson, UNBC MNRES Student

CommitteePam WrightKathy Parker

Roger Wheate

Context• Background: The M-K legislation (preamble) identifies the centrality of the wilderness

concept to its management

“Whereas the M-KMA is an area of unique wilderness….and whereas the management intent for the M-KMA is to maintain in perpetuity the wilderness quality….and whereas the long term maintenance of wilderness characteristics”

• The M-K Advisory board has been working to develop a definition of wilderness to help define the concept in an operational sense.

• One of the next steps involves applying this wilderness definition in a spatially-explicit way in the M-K in order to put wilderness on an equal footing with other resource values in planning/management to assist in scenario planning.

Project Overview• Research Purpose: To develop an approach to map (and ultimately monitor/assess)

wilderness values within the M-K.

• Project Outcome: a comprehensive GIS project of the wilderness value surface that can be used in conjunction with other resource mapping layers (e.g., wildlife, minerals, timber) to identify potential areas of conflict to aid in ongoing adaptive management.

Approach

• Identify indicators of wilderness characters within the study area

• Identify data sources appropriate for each indicator

• Develop a method for mapping wilderness

• Map wilderness values within a pilot area of the M-K; and

• Examine the fit of the wilderness maps with various wilderness users

Example from U.S. Defining Wilderness Character

Indicators: untrammeled, undeveloped, natural, solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation

Example from U.S. Defining Wilderness Character

Example from U.S. Defining Wilderness Character

Pilot AreaThe study area of this pilot will stretch from Kwadacha Wilderness Park and the Fox SRM in the south, north to Muncho Lake.

• Provides areas with different types and scales of recreation use.

• High timber values in the southern portion suggest forestry will likely be one of the first major developments in the M-K.

• Area from Muncho Lake south thru Frog-Gataga parks has high wilderness and recreation values (more complexity for developing a method).

• Differing wilderness values in the area will provide a good test for wilderness monitoring and mapping project.

Map of Pilot Area

Pilot Area

Map and Slide background retrieved from http://spacesfornature.org/greatspaces/muskwa.html

Thank-you for your time

Any questions?