Visitor management strategies in the era of ecosystem management: A regional approach to management of Alaska's agency-managed bear viewing areas.

摘要

This study took a regional approach to examining the policies, decision making and planning processes, and management strategies of ten agency-managed bear viewing sites in Alaska. The bear viewing area site opportunities were categorized based on their social, environmental, and managerial factors to provide an understanding of the current spectrum of agency-managed bear viewing opportunities within a regional context. The sites represented a diversity of agencies, visitation levels, and management approaches in two regions of Alaska. This provided a basis for comparing visitor management strategies and resulting implications in a regional context.Results suggest bear viewing area managers could benefit from more effective application of an integrated, regional management approach to bear viewing management. Management implications and suggestions focused on ecosystem management considerations that emphasized integrated objectives, interagency cooperation, stakeholder collaboration, use of social science data, and a regional planning perspective.