RR Credit 1: Carrying
Capacity
1
- 2 Points
To preserve high quality public and
private recreation
resources by reducing the negative impacts of increasing numbers of
users.
Option 1:
For projects on or adjacent to public
land that may cause potential impact to the environment
and/or quality of
recreation experiences:
Carrying
Capacity Assessment
and Plan: Assess
your project’s
impact on public land recreation resources and opportunities in
cooperation
with appropriate resource management agencies, nonprofit organizations
and
interested businesses and individuals. Identify where recreational
carrying
capacity limits are likely to be approached or exceeded; note potential
impacts
from increased use, and outline mitigation options.
Outline
and submit to the lead
resource agency a consensus plan for mitigation that is collaborative
in
approach. (1 point)
AND FOR AN ADDITIONAL POINT
Plan
Implementation. Assist
public agencies in funding and
implementing the mitigation plan created above using the calculation
shown
below that determines the appropriate investment value for your size of
development. Submit a letter of completion from the lead agency. (1 point)
Investment
Calculation: Use this formula to determine the minimum value
of investment
required to implement your mitigation strategy. This is based upon the
total
number of recreationists who are likely to be attracted to public lands
in your
area of impact. The
investment value may
be fulfilled in any combination of donated funds, volunteer labor,
materials,
expertise or equipment contributed to the mitigation project.
(Number
of people) x (portion of
year people are present) x ($100 per person)
Example:
For a real estate development
planning 100 houses, assuming on-average 3 people per household x 1.0
(year-round residents) would be: 300
x 1
x 100 = $30,000 of value.
Option 2:
For projects on private land where
impacts of increasing use would affect the quality of recreation
opportunities
on your project and in the immediate vicinity:
Carrying
Capacity Assessment
and Plan: For all recreational components of the project,
briefly describe
the carrying capacities (i.e. ecological, community, perceptual -
subjective or
spatial - design) relevant to the project’s activities and
numbers of
recreationists. Identify
threshold
indicators for determining limits of those capacities, and describe
what
measures will be implemented to avoid approaching or exceeding those
capacities. (2 points)
For
municipalities, counties, or regulatory agencies:
Document
reduction in barriers:
For
Option 1, “They” refers to
public land managers, i.e., Federal or State land managers. Federal and State
bureaucratic processes for
involving partners in projects are sometimes cumbersome to the point of
being
discouraging.
Document
incentives provided:
For
Option 1, there are no
incentives realized currently for private developers to work with
public land
management agencies, except through tax deductions for contributions.
For
Option 2, there are incentives
in place for most counties and cities, i.e., for local governments.
Document
requirements that
support this credit:
For
Option 1, there is no
requirement in the Greater Yellowstone Region (GYR) for private
developers to
work with public land management agencies to address carrying capacity.
For
Option 2, there are some zoning
and subdivision requirements for parks, trails, etc.
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