RESEARCH SUMMARY 



Wilderness managers can regulate ecological and social impacts 

 by implementing one or more of five basic rationing systems: reser- 

 vations, fees, queuing, lottery, or merit. Each system has advan- 

 tages and disadvantages for both administrators and users. Managers 

 must consider the effect on user groups, administrative experience 

 with the rationing system, acceptability to users, difficulty of admin- 

 istration, efficiency, principal way impacts are controlled, and effect 

 on user behavior. 



Managers should strive to control environmental and social im- 

 pacts, not merely visitor numbers, with a minimum of regimentation. 

 The following guidelines will help managers implement effective ra- 

 tioning: (1) Know both the wilderness and its users, (2) Ration only 

 when less restrictive measures fail, (3) Combine rationing systems 

 to help minimize costs to users and administrators, (4) Adopt ra- 

 tioning systems that require users to judge the relative value of the 

 opportunity, (5) Monitor and evaluate rationing programs. 



