ABSTRACT
In chapter 1 we outlined a conceptual framework for addressing problems associated with allocation and management of wildlands and wilderness resources; we provided the background to motivate the development of a simulator. Our emphasis has been to illustrate its application to an existing wilderness area and to examine some of the properties of the simulation model developed to mimic the travel behavior of wilderness users. We have also provided a general structure for analyzing the optimal recreation capacity of a given wilderness area. While it is beyond the scope of the present study to attempt to determine the optimal capacity of the Spanish Peaks Wilderness Area, we shall illustrate in this chapter how the simulator can be used, in conjunction with information on the preferences of wilderness users for reduction of encounters with other parties, to determine the optimal capacity—and also to examine the costs and benefits of various management practices employed for this purpose.
