Mapping the Wilderness Character of the Stephen Mather Wilderness in North Cascades National Park

684,000 acres make up the North Cascades National Park Service Complex. About 94% is designated wilderness, which is rarely seen by most park visitors. Join us as we explore the Stephen Mather Wilderness and the mapping tool created to observe and monitor the wilderness character of the park.
📣 About the project ➡ A Stewardship Toolbox for Mapping Wilderness Character: A Case Study in the North Cascades
Made possible through donors of Washington's National Park Fund (WNPF) and collaboration between the North Cascades National Park Service Complex (NOCA) and Andrew Giacomelli - a Western Washington University graduate student - a GIS toolbox was developed to create and assess spatial baselines of wilderness character at NOCA and other wilderness areas under the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS).
A series of maps were generated depicting the positive and negative effects on the five qualities of wilderness character defined under the NWPS, which include the degree to which a wilderness is untrammeled, natural, undeveloped, provides outstanding opportunities for solitude or primitive an unconfined recreation, and other features of value unique to each wilderness area. In addition, a GIS toolbox was developed to streamline the process and increase ease of replicability for other wilderness areas.
This presentation will explore the background on wilderness character in the United States, assess the baseline of wilderness character at the Stephen Mather Wilderness in NOCA, and take a peak behind the scenes at the wilderness character mapping GIS toolbox developed for use throughout federally designated wilderness areas in the United States
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