Template
Commercial Services Needs Assessment and Capacity Allocation
For
The Extent Necessary Determination
2/6/06
For Management of Wilderness Areas on the National Forests
Note – This template was compiled from examples of Needs Assessments. It represents suggested guidelines only and not agency policy.
I.Introduction
A. Purpose of Analysis
(Wilderness Act, agency policy, park, forest, refuge, or wilderness area plan direction )
B. Description of Wilderness Area (and non-wilderness lands if included in analysis)
C. Desired Condition or Design Guidelines
D. Indicators and Standards (limiting factors)
II.Current Situation
A. Demand for commercial services permits/authorizations (business opportunities, visitor inquiries, etc.)
B. Existing commercial services (number, type, location, season, service days authorized and used, trends)
C. Biological and physical resource conditions (overview, conditions which exceed standards, etc.)
D. Social resource conditions (overview, conditions which exceed standards, etc.)
E. Visitor need for commercial services for recreation (amount, type, season, location, etc.)
1. Visitor preference for why services are needed (i.e lack of equipment, inexperience, safety, etc.)
2. Expected future trend in visitor need for service
F. Wilderness Management Objectives (information, education, resource protection, conservation, stewardship, increase awareness and appreciation, etc.)
G. Other needs for commercial services (research, scientific study, access to installations or private land, etc.)
IV. Determination of Need for Commercial Services
A. Opportunities for realizing the recreation purpose of wilderness by…. (providing access to the wilderness for visitors who are inexperienced, un- equipped, disabled, young or old, etc.)
B. Achieve wilderness management objectives by…. (providing information and education to visitors, by improving resource protection, etc.)
C. Other purposes of wilderness such as providing access for…(research, scientific study, access to installations or private land, etc
V. Determination of Amount of Commercial Services Needed
A. To allow opportunities for the recreation purpose of wilderness
1. How many people would use commercial services if offered (based on existing use, survey, etc.)?
2. What type of service, what location and season?
B. To help achieve wilderness management objectives
1. Can use be re-directed without displacement of impacts? How much ? Where?
2. Can providers help improve conditions through information and education? Are more or less service days needed? What type, when, where?
C. To provide for the other purposes of wilderness
1. How much use is required and for what purpose?
2. When, where, and how often is the use needed?
Note Section VI illustrates two possible methodologies; the LAC Method and the Limiting Factor Method. Section VI is repeated for each method.
VI. Determination of Capacity for Commercial Services Needed (LAC Method)
A. Correlation of visitor use data to biological, physical, and social standards
1. Are inventoried conditions above or below (LAC) standards ?
What is the trend?
2. Are management actions in place or could they be put in place to maintain conditions within standards or reverse a downward trend, without
use limits or reductions?
3. What is the current level and trend of visitor use (especially in areas
meeting and exceeding standard)?
B. Determination of available capacity (assuming conditions are within standards and/or management actions are in place to address conditions)
1. How much capacity is available for all visitor use? (by zone, season, etc.)
2. How much capacity is already authorized for commercial services?
3. Is any portion of authorized capacity currently unused?
C. Identification of Capacity for Commercial Services (by location, season, etc.)
1. How much capacity is required to meet needs for commercial services identified by visitors?
2. Are adjustments needed to match visitor preferences for commercial services to conditions (location, season, type, etc.)?
VI. Determination of Capacity for Commercial Services Needed (Limiting Factor Method)
A. Correlation of visitor use data to Limiting Factor
(limiting factor example: available campsites)
1. Are all available campsites in use (peak use and non-peak days)? What is the trend?
2. Are management actions in place or could they be put in place to re- distribute use over time (not location) without use limits or reductions?
3. What is current level and trend of visitor use (in areas where limiting factors apply)?
B. Determination of available capacity (assuming not all campsites are in use)
1. How much capacity is available for all visitor use? (number of campsites by zone, season, etc.)
2. How much capacity is already authorized for commercial services?
3. Is any portion of authorized capacity currently unused
C. Identification of Capacity for Commercial Services (by location, season, etc.)
1. How much capacity is required to meet needs for commercial services identified by visitors?
2. Are adjustments needed to match visitor preferences for commercial services to conditions (location, season, type, etc.)?
Note – Section VII. Includes an allocation of capacity using either the LAC Method where overall capacity is known or an alternate method where overall capacity has not been determined.
VII. Allocation of Capacity for Commercial Services (LAC method)
A. What is the portion of the overall, adjusted capacity for commercial services based on need and conditions?
B. Break down of permanent and temporary use days by type, location, season, etc.
VII. Allocation of Capacity for Commercial Services (alternate method – without overall capacity data)
A. Select an amount of use (capacity) for commercial services based on past use, trends, visitor preference, best professional judgment.
B. Break down of permanent and temporary use days by type, location, season, etc.
VIII. Management Actions
A. What other related actions are needed to manage wilderness within standards (information and education, regulations, etc.)
B. Use Adaptive Management to adjust management actions (education, regulations, etc.) as impacts and use changes to keep conditions within standards
IX. Monitoring
A. Periodic re-inventory of social, biological, and physical conditions
B. Visitor Use data collection
C. Correlation of use levels to conditions
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