ABSTRACT
The Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) as a recreational land classification system has gradually evolved over the years into a procedure either used or considered by governmental agencies in planning long-term use of the natural resource base. The ROS criteria were originally developed and applied in the western US The ROS system recognizes that change is a part of the natural environment and that human activity can accelerate and intensify change. Information on the frequency of visitation and user density at various locations within the forest provided the basis for initial decisions in reclassifying areas under the ROS. Visitor demographic characteristics also guided the ROS reclassification process. Refining the ROS and combining it with Limits of Acceptable Change merges economic and carrying capacity theory with applied resource management and provides resource managers with a tool necessary for the accurate identification of that supply.
