Wilderness and Technology Food For Thought Ann Schwaller Forest Wilderness Specialist Superior National Forest

How do you define “new technologies”?

And how do you define “wilderness experience”? physical and mental challenge difficult self-sufficiency fun race Self-awareness sport And how do you define “wilderness experience”? freedom risk Adrenaline rush quiet danger responsibility Self-reliance epic Self discovery LNT crazy uncertainty individuality competence extreme training survival primitive play preparedness

“It is our view that the range of recreation opportunities currently offered in the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) is incomplete. Specifically, we believe opportunities are lacking at the primitive end.” “Users are all too aware that should they become injured, ill, lost, or declared overdue, the managing agency stands ready to rescue them...“

“People who risk nothing simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live. Chained by certitudes, they have forfeited their freedom. Only a person who risks is free.” “It is not up to taxpayers to absorb rescue costs, it is up to us, as a nation, to accept wilderness for what it is—a place where we assume responsibility for ourselves as an act of respect for ourselves.”

“Visitors may come to rely on these devices in the wilderness instead of developing appropriate knowledge, abilities, experience, and skills.” “Between 1992 and 2007, the NPS responded to 65,439 search and rescue incidents…common causes for these search and rescue incidents were judgment errors (22.3%); lack of physical preparation/fatigue (16.8%); insufficient equipment, clothing, or experience (15.6%); falls (8.9%); and weather (7.4%).

What guides me in this discussion at work?

BWCAW Wilderness Character Mapping Project: Threats Solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation quality Indicator: Remoteness from sights and sounds of people inside the wilderness Measure - Administrative motorized noise inside wilderness Measure - Campsite noise inside wilderness Indicator: Facilities that decrease self-reliant recreation Measure: Wireless coverage

Superior National Forest Plan: [Wilderness] Serves as a haven of solitude and freedom from the pressures of our fast-paced, industrialized society. Visitors will experience freedom, challenge, and risk.

Forest Service Manual (2320.3 - Policy)

Forest Service Manual – (2320.5 – Definitions) & Bug fogger

How would you define “new technology” How would you define “new technology”? And what does it mean for your wilderness experience?