Watson, Alan E.; Alessa, Lilian; Sproull, Janet, comps. 2002. Wilderness in the Circumpolar North: searching for compatibility in ecological, traditional, and ecotourism values; 2001 May 15-16; Anchorage, AK. Proceedings RMRS-P-26. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 143 p.
There are growing pressures on undeveloped (wild) places in the Circumpolar North. Among them are pressures for economic development, oil and gas exploration and extraction, development of geothermal energy resources, development of heavy industry close to energy sources, and lack of appreciation for "other" orientations toward wilderness resources by interested parties from broad geographical origins. An international seminar in Anchorage, Alaska, in May of 2001, was the first step in providing basic input to an analysis of the primary set of values associated with Circumpolar North wilderness and the constraints and contributors (factors of influence) that either limit or facilitate receipt of those values to various segments of society.
Keywords: biodiversity, tourism, wilderness, conflict, collaboration, culture, traditional ecological knowledge
Alan E. Watson is the Research Social Scientist with the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute
and Executive Editor for Science for the International Journal of Wilderness. The Aldo Leopold
Wilderness Research Institute is an interagency (Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management,
National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey) unit administered by the
USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. The Leopold Institute is located on the
campus of the University of Montana, Missoula. Dr. Watson's research interests are primarily in
understanding the values humans associate with wilderness, experience quality, and conflicts arising
from divergent orientations toward wilderness resources. As a Fulbright Scholar at the Arctic Centre
of the University of Lapland in Finland in 1999, Dr. Watson became intimately involved in Circumpolar
North wilderness research issues.
Dr. Lilian Alessa recently received her Ph.D. degree from the University of British Columbia,
Canada, and is an Assistant Professor of Biology (Anchorage) and cross-appointed with the School of
Natural Resources (Fairbanks) at the University of Alaska. She is an Interdisciplinary Scientist with
a combined background in biology, sociology, and cognition. Dr. Alessa's current research foci span three
areas: (1) Integrated coastal zone management, specifically looking at the biological cost of small-scale
human activities, such as recreation and tourism in the marine protected areas and their mitigation
using education; (2) The role of uncertainty and culture in perceiving and managing natural
environments; and (3) The effects of chlorinated fatty acids on cells of organisms living in cold
environments. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Arctic Research Consortium (www.arcus.org)
and is the cofounder (with Alan Watson) of the University of Alaska Center for Wild Lands and Waters.
Dr. Alessa works internationally with resource managers, researchers, and industry.
Janet Sproull is a Project Coordinator at the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute. Ms.
Sproull co-coordinated technical symposia for the 6th and 7th World Wilderness Congresses (India and
South Africa) and assisted with compilation of Congress Proceedings. As a dedicated conservationist,
Ms. Sproull donates her time and expertise to several community organizations, including: local land
trust, Save Open Space (SOS); the Missoula Parks, Recreation and Urban Forestry Board; and the
Mount Jumbo Advisory Committee. Grant writing efforts by Ms. Sproull in 2001 have provided
funding for improvements at City Wetlands Parks, and also for activation of an Integrated Pest
Management Plan for two SOS conservation easements.
Cover art by Neal Christensen (Polar bear and
Inuit woman photographs by Hinrich Baesemann,
www.polarfoto.de).