The Exploration and Development of Alternative Management Strategies for Mining and Recreational Activities Atop Mount Antero and Mount White; Chaffee County, Colorado

The Mount Antero/White area is a popular prospecting area. Recent expansions in the recreation economy is drawing more visitors to the area. Consequently, visitors may be placing unsustainable pressures on the landscape. In order to help rectify this, the legal, ecological, geologic, aesthetic, recreational, historic, social, and economic character of the Antero/White area has been identified. Four feasible management alternatives have also been recognized. They are a) take no new management actions, b) prohibit motorized activities in the area, c) develop a mineralogical park, and d) a combination of options b and c. Option C has been defended, as it best balances the desires of area users with the underlying ecological and geological character of the area.

Policy Changes to the Federal and State Management of Subsistence Hunting and Fishing in Alaska

Subsistence in Alaska is currently being impacted by naturally occurring factors such as global warming, species migration shifts, and the declination of fishery and wildlife populations. Not only are external factors pressuring the debate, management strategies from the dual management operation appear to have failed. The current national focus has been centered on federal policy changes regarding subsistence. This project extends the federal subsistence review process into the state management of subsistence and provides practical solutions for enhancing both policy programs.

Response of Catch-Per-Unit-Effort to Spatial and Environmental Factors: an Exploratory Data Analysis Using Generalized Additive Models

Understanding spatial distributions and how environmental conditions influence catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) is important for increased fishing efficiency and sustainable fisheries management. This study investigated the relationship between CPUE, spatial factors, temperature, and depth using generalized additive models. Combinations of factors, and not one single factor, were frequently included in the best model. Parameters which best described CPUE varied by geographic region. The amount of variance, or deviance, explained by the best models ranged from a low of 29% (halibut, Charlotte region) to a high of 94% (sablefish, Charlotte region). Depth, latitude, and longitude influenced most species in several regions. On the broad geographic scale, depth was associated with CPUE for every species, except dogfish. Latitude and longitude influenced most species, except halibut (Areas 4 A/D), sablefish, and cod. Temperature was important for describing distributions of halibut in Alaska, arrowtooth flounder in British Columbia, dogfish, Alaska skate, and Aleutian skate. The species-habitat relationships revealed in this study can be used to create improved fishing and management strategies.

Developing an Interdependent Relationship between Preservation and Recreation: Managing Mountain Bicycling in National Parks

Increasing demand from mountain bikers for greater access to riding in National Park Service (NPS) units is driving the need for park managers to seriously look at the impacts from and feasibility of permitting this recreational use. Currently, NPS units that permit mountain bicycling do not have formal mountain bicycling management plans. An analysis of recreational policies and existing research was conducted to identify criteria for effective mountain bicycling management strategies. Criteria were developed for trail selection, establishment, use, closures and rehabilitation. Criteria were also developed for user education, participatory planning and monitoring. This study shows that the NPS needs formal mountain bicycling management plans that focus on the preservation of natural and cultural resources and consider the appropriateness of proposed recreational uses.