USGS Scientist is Recipient of Wilderness Science Award

USDA Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth named USGS scientist Dr. Jan van Wagtendonk recipient of the 2002 Excellence in Wilderness Stewardship Research Award. Van Wagtendonk, an internationally known research forester stationed at Yosemite National Park, received his award at the Forest Service’s 2002 National Wilderness Awards ceremony, on June 12 in Arlington, Va.

The Excellence in Wilderness Stewardship Research Award recognizes van Wagtendonk’s career of over 30 years in wilderness science. His research at Yosemite National Park has assisted in the development of wilderness fire management and visitor use management programs for the park that have contributed substantially to interagency wilderness stewardship programs in the Sierra Nevada. He has made major contributions to wilderness fire programs both in the Sierra Nevada and across the country with his work on fuels dynamics, fire prescriptions, remote sensing and the application of geographic information systems to fire management.

Van Wagtendonk was nominated for this award by David Parsons, Director of the interagency Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute in Missoula, Montana. Dr. Parsons commented that “Jan’s dedication to providing sound science to the challenging dilemmas facing wilderness managers in Yosemite and across the country is unparalleled.” In recognition of his achievements, van Wagtendonk was an invited speaker at the 7th World Wilderness Congress held in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, in 2001.

Van Wagtendonk developed a conceptual basis and methodology for determining trailhead quotas and recreational carrying capacities – that is, how many people engaged in recreational activities a wilderness area can “support” without adverse effects. This information has been critical for making decisions relating to development, visitor use, and staffing plans. Although other researchers were developing similar work concurrently, his was the first to take a numerical approach and to be applied to an actual management situation. Use limits based on his model have been in effect for over 25 years and have allowed managers to minimize resource impacts and redistribute visitor use. The techniques developed by van Wagtendonk have been used in several other national parks as well as in wildernesses in national forests in Oregon, North Carolina and California.

Although a native of California, van Wagtendonk grew up in Indiana, where he began his study of forestry at Purdue University. Summer seasonal work as a smokejumper for the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management led him to finish his undergraduate work at Oregon State University, where he received his B.S. in Forest Management in 1963. After serving four and a half years as an officer in the U.S. Army with the 101st Airborne Division and as an advisor to the Vietnamese army, he entered graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley. There van Wagtendonk obtained his M.S. in Range Management in 1968 and his Ph.D. in Wildland Resource Science with a specialty in fire ecology in 1972.

From 1972 through 1993, van Wagtendonk was employed as a research scientist with the National Park Service at Yosemite National Park. Since 1994, van Wagtendonk has been a research scientist with the U. S. Geological Survey at Yosemite.

The USGS serves the nation by providing reliable scientific information to: describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life.

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