Rationing Recreational Access to Wilderness and Other Natural Areas

Abstract

An unusual feature of the management of wilderness and other natural areas is that price is rarely used to ration recreational access. This often leads to queuing for access. At the same time there is often a relatively poor level of infrastructure provided for recreation. This paper argues that it is the relatively high level of public and political involvement in the management of wilderness and other natural areas that is ultimately responsible for the particular way in which recreational access is allocated. This introduces two ‘biases’ into managerial objectives. Queuing and infrastructure distortion are the symptom of these biases.