Owen Nevin's presentation (plse note what Owen wrote at the beginning: this is no science!) during the Wilderness at the edge of survival in Europe symposium during the 3rd European Conference on Conservation Biology in Glasgow on August 2012. Silvia's conclusions included the following: Even well informed enthusiasts will respond to what they experience. Therefore experiences and iconic animals are important when trying to sell tourism in wilderness

1. How wild is wild enough: do
bears make the wilderness wild
for tourists?
Owen Nevin
University of Cumbria

2. Overview
• Introduction
• Wilderness defined
• Study site characterised
• Tourist demography
• Tourist response
• Conclusions

3. Introduction
• WARNING! This isn’t science!

4. How do we define wilderness?
• “A large area of unmodified or
slightly modified land, and/or sea
retaining its natural character and
influence, without permanent or
significant habitation, which is
protected and managed so as to
preserve its natural condition”
– IUCN

5. How do we define wilderness?
• “an area where the earth and its
community of life are untrammelled
by man, where man himself is a
visitor who does not remain”
– US Wilderness Act 1964

6. How do we define wilderness?
• Intact
• Roadless
• Pristine
•…

7. How does the tourist define
wilderness?
• Remote
• Wild
• Natural
• Untouched
•…

8. How does the tourist define
wilderness?
• “Wilderness or wildland is a natural
environment on Earth that has not
been significantly modified by human
activity”
– Wikipedia

9. Study site

10. British Columbia, Canada
Glendale
Cove

11. Study site
• Glendale Cove (historically)
– First Nations settlement
– Salmon Cannery
– Logging camp and supply depot

12. Study site

13. Study site
• Hyper-maritime forest
– Second growth
• Natural regeneration
• Planted monoculture stands
– Harvest of both old-growth and second
growth continues

14. Study site

15. Study site

16. Study Site

17. Study site
• Successful salmon restoration
– Highly engineered

18. Study site

19. Study site

20. Study site

21. Tourist demography

22. Tourist demography

23. Tourist demography

24. Tourist response
• “it’s so pristine”
• “what a fantastic opportunity to
experience the wilderness”
• “I really felt like I had got out into
the wild”
•…

25. Conclusions
• Degraded is good enough?
• The public don’t know what they
want?
• Bears make the wilderness wild?

26. Conclusions
• We have a complex message
– Even well informed enthusiasts will
respond to what they experience
– Therefore experiences and iconic
animals are important
• Using the same words does not
mean we are talking about the same
thing!

27. Questions?