In concert with Warren's response, I would speculate that as the wilderness designation tends to protect large areas with a range of biological productivity, they are unique in their high *gamma* diversity. Ross Conover
On Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 11:41 PM, Warren W. Aney <[email protected]> wrote: > As a field ecologist, my observations are not entirely scientific or > empirical but I hope they are objective. First, a Wilderness designation > does not generally prevent mining since the Federal Mining Act of 1872 > precedes and supersedes the Wilderness Act of 1964. > Second, designated Wilderness Areas vary so much ecologically it is > difficult to generalize about conditions of air, water, and biota. > Generally, however, it has been my observation that designated Wilderness > Areas tend to have these qualities in comparison to adjacent non-wilderness > lands: > > 1. Wilderness tends to be structurally and biologically more diverse and > resilient. > 2. Wilderness source streams and lakes tend to be cleaner in terms of > pathogens, pollutants and silt (but grazing is still allowed in wilderness > areas, so don't drink downstream from the sheep herd -- and even high > altitude wilderness streams may contain giardia). > 3. The greatest risks to headwaters are from soil disturbance due to road > construction and mining, steep slope soil movement due to tree removal, > chemical-laden seepages and runoff from mined areas, over-grazing, and > riparian area disturbances. Except for mining and grazing, these > activities > do not occur in designated Wilderness Areas. > 4. Certain species assemblages are much more likely to exist and be > productive in designated Wilderness Areas or in areas with wilderness > conditions, e.g., wolverine, fisher, lynx, brown and grizzly bears, > Capercaillie, Northern Spotted Owl and some of its prey species, bull > trout. > 5. Several species are less likely to conflict with humans and human > enterprises when they inhabit large, contiguous wilderness areas, e.g., > cougar, grizzly bear, wolves. > > Hope this helps a little, and I'm sure others on this list will provide > more > specific information. > > Warren W. Aney > Senior Wildlife Ecologist > 9403 SW 74th Ave > Tigard, OR 97223 > (503) 539-1009 > (503) 246-2605 fax > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jonathan Brown > Sent: Thursday, 28 April, 2011 14:15 > To: [email protected] > Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Media Inquiry: Wilderness > > Hello- > > My name is Jonathan Brown. I'm a reporter with Colorado Public Radio and > I'm > > working on a story about federal designations of wilderness. > > I'm trying to get a scientific/empirical response to this question: > > "What do federal wilderness designations do?" > > We already know they prevent road building, construction of any kind, > motorized > use, drilling, mining, timber harvesting and humans can only visit, not > remain. > But what - if anything - is the result of all this? Are the air and water > cleaner? Fauna and flora healthier somehow? Do wilderness areas protect > headwaters, as many proponents claim? > > > Again, I'm looking for an empirical response to these questions and I'm > hoping > someone out there can provide substantive answers. > > Thank you- > > Jonathan Brown > Colorado Public Radio > (303) 871-9191 x 456 > [email protected] > -- Ross R. Conover "In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create, but by what we refuse to destroy" --John Sawhill
