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SINCE PASSAGE OF THE WILDERNESS ACT in 1964, the NWPS in the United States has grown from approximately 9 million acres to over 103 million acres. With this growth has come a corresponding increase in the challenges involved in managing these irreplaceable wildlands. In order to assist wilderness managers in meeting these challenges the IACNWTC conducted a Wilderness Education and Training Needs Assessment Survey. Two Goals First, identify the issues that confront wilderness managers in the four federal wilderness managing agencies—Forest Service (FS), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and National Park Service (NPS). Second, identify the education and training needed to prepare managers and staffs to successfully respond to these wilderness issues. Needs Assessment Survey Early in 1996 a total of 1,704 Wilderness Education and Training Needs Assessment surveys were sent to the 893 offices of the four agencies that manage wilderness or wilderness study areas. Two surveys were mailed to each office—one to the manager and one to the staff person most responsible for wilderness management. Response: Eight hundred forty surveys were returned, from 575 (64%) of the 893 offices surveyed (see Figure 1). The survey results included more responses from the FS than from the three other agencies combined. This is simply due to the fact that there are more wilderness units and personnel in the FS than in the other agencies. Current Issues: Each response was first categorized into a broad general category and then into a more specific category. Recreation (including specific issues such as overuse, trails, outfitters, STEWARDSHIP NATIONAL SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS AGENCY TRAINING NEEDS IN THE UNITED STATES BY RICHARD CONRAD Abstract: What education and training do wilderness managers need to meet current and future challenges? This is the question the Interagency Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center (IACNWTC) examined by surveying the four federal agencies that manage the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) in the United States. The major finding was that while there are many similarities in management issues, internal training needs, and external educational outreach, there are also some differences. These differences will require specialized training targeted to satisfy unique situations. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WILDERNESS Volume 3, Number 4 9
pack stock, human waste, etc.) was the number-one general issue for the four agencies combined (see Figure 2). When the four agencies were examined separately, recreation was the number-one general issue for all the agencies except the BLM, whose number-one general issue was administration (see Table 1). The number-one specific issue for the four agencies combined was Recreation Overuse (see Figure 3). When examined separately, Recreation Overuse was the number-one issue for the FS and FWS. Illegal Vehicle Use was number-one for the BLM. Planning was the numberone issue for the NPS, followed closely by Overuse (see Table 2). Anticipated Issues: Forty-two percent of the respondents anticipated a change in issues over the next five years (see Figure 4). Recreation Overuse was anticipated to be the number-one new issue over the next five years for the four agencies combined. Training Needs: The number-one training need for the four agencies combined was Plan Preparation/Implementation, followed by Leave No Trace/Wilderness Ethic, and Public Education/Wilderness Values (see Figure 5). When examined individually, Plan Preparation/Implementation was identified by the BLM and NPS as being the number-one training need. The FS ranked Leave No Trace/Wilder- 10 THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WILDERNESS Volume 3, Number 4 ness Ethic highest while Agency Policy and Regulations training was most important to the FWS (see Table 3). Internal Audience: For the four agencies combined, managers were identified as the number-one internal audience that would benefit most from training, followed by nonwilderness staff, wilderness staff, and receptionists. Delivery Method: Videos, courses taught locally, and three-ring binders, in that order, were the preferred delivery methods for the four agencies combined. Educational Public Outreach: The wilderness education materials and programs
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