Wildland recreation provides many societal and personal benefits but if left unmanaged can also result in undesirable impacts to ecological conditions. The field of recreation ecology investigates the relationships between recreation use and natural resource conditions and the knowledge from scientific studies forms the basis for developing appropriate management strategies and policy. This talk will present a synthesis of recreation ecology knowledge, a discussion of the relationship between recreation use and resulting ecological impact, and implications for wildland visitor use management for western Colorado.

Presentations are Wednesdays at 6pm at the Third Street Center in Carbondale, CO, and Thursdays at 6pm at Pitkin County Library, in Aspen, CO.