Recreation and Tourism Planning Pilot Projects
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why Use Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC)?
- What are the objectives of the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) Pilot Projects?
- What is the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) Process?
- What are the key Steps to the Limits of Acceptable Change process?
- How is Limits of Acceptable Change different than carrying capacity?
- How can First Nations be involved in the pilot projects?
- How might the pilot projects affect land tenuring decisions for recreation?
- What is the scope of the Limits of Acceptable Change pilot projects?
- How might the pilot projects affect other non-recreation resource users and interests?
- What is the relationship between the pilot projects and existing land use plans?
- Why did we choose Golden and the Johnstone Strait as pilot areas for LAC?
Answers
Q: Why Use Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC)?
To effectively address the growing challenge of balancing two major needs: encouraging public and commercial recreation and tourism while maintaining the social and environmental values on which they are based.
Q: What are the objectives of the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) Pilot Projects?
The pilots are testing the usefulness of LAC in a B.C. context for potential broader application in order to better integrate public and commercial recreation use. The objectives of the pilot projects are;
- Test the utility of the LAC system for public recreation and adventure tourism in B.C. in two pilot areas; (1) Johnstone Strait ('Johnstone pilot area'), and (2) area near Golden, B.C. ('Golden pilot area');
- Examine environmental and experiential issues in the two pilots so that use can be sustained without unacceptably impacting the environment or user experiences; and
- Propose how the LAC system could be used in other areas of British Columbia.
Q: What is the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) Process?
The LAC process boils down to three questions:
- What resource and social conditions do we wish to have?
- If we currently have them, what do we need to do to retain them?
- If we haven't achieved them, what do we need to attain them?
The objective of LAC is not to prevent change but rather to control it, and to decide what management actions are needed to maintain or enhance desired conditions. The Limits of Acceptable Change process has four major components:
- Specification of acceptable and achievable resource and social conditions; defined by a series of measurable parameters;
- An analysis of the relationship between existing conditions and those judged acceptable;
- Identification of management actions judged to best maintain or achieve desired conditions; and
- Monitoring and evaluating management effectiveness.
Q: What are the key Steps to the Limits of Acceptable Change process?
The Limits of Acceptable Change process has nine key steps:
- Identify issues & concerns;
- Define and describe a diversity opportunity classes;
- Select indicators of resource and social conditions;
- Inventory existing conditions;
- Specify standards for resource and social conditions;
- Allocate opportunity classes;
- Identify management actions for each alternative;
- Finalize opportunity classes and develop action plan;
- Implement actions and monitor conditions.
Q: How is Limits of Acceptable Change different than carrying capacity?
The focus of LAC is on defining desired outcomes and managing recreation use impacts to maintain desired resource and social conditions. Innovative tools for attaining or maintaining desired conditions can be explored through LAC (eg. timing or season of use, geographic spacing, behaviour of users, kind or level of management). Putting limits on the absolute number of visitors, which is the focus of carrying capacity, is seldom 'the answer'.
Q: How can First Nations be involved in the pilot projects?
The LAC pilots will be carried out in a manner that actively seeks First Nations participation so that First Nations interests are recognized, understood, well-integrated and respected. First Nations are free to participate without prejudice to land claims and treaty negotiations.
Q: How might the pilot projects affect land tenuring decisions for recreation?
The primary purpose of the pilot projects is to test the Limits of Acceptable Change process to assess how it can be effectively applied in British Columbia. The pilot projects will be carried out in a manner that supports land tenuring decisions by providing information, but the pilots themselves at this stage do not affect the land use application and tenuring process.
Q: What is the scope of the Limits of Acceptable Change pilot projects?
Within scope of the projects:
- Testing the utility of the nine step LAC process for recreation
- Identifying interested government, First Nations, and public and commercial recreation operators and associations who would like to participate in the pilot
- Consider land use plans and policies that should guide the pilot projects
- Ensuring that the LAC process appropriately addresses economic, social and environmental sustainability from a recreation perspective
Out of scope of the projects:
- The LAC pilot projects are not a land use planning process; the purpose of the pilots is to test the LAC process. That said if the information provided from the pilot project is believed to be useful, a land use planning process may adopt the outcomes of the pilot projects.
- The LAC pilots will not address tenure decisions; these decisions are 'business as usual' while the pilots are underway. The pilots however may provide information that can be considered in the tenure process along with other information.
- The LAC pilots will not address nor prejudice First Nations land claims and Treaty Negotiations.
- The LAC pilots will not address nor impact non-recreation use such as forestry, mining and trapping.
Q: How might the pilot projects affect other non-recreation resource users and interests?
The Limits of Acceptable Change process, and the pilots, are focused on public and commercial recreation and do not affect the activities of other resource users such as forestry and mining.
Q: What is the relationship between the pilot projects and existing land use plans?
The pilot projects will be guided by existing land use plans as well as policies and guidelines.
Q: What is the relationship between the pilot projects and existing land use plans?
The pilot projects will be guided by existing land use plans as well as policies and guidelines.
Q: Why did we choose Golden and the Johnstone Strait as pilot areas for LAC?
The Golden pilot is useful in that it tests LAC where considerable recreation plan guidance is provided for a land-based recreation area in the Golden Backcountry Recreation Access Plan (GBRAP), whereas the Johnstone Strait pilot provides a useful contrast to test LAC where there is relatively little guidance for water-based recreation/tourism in existing plans.
