Visitor Capacity Guidebook: Managing the Amounts and Types of Visitor Use to Achieve Desired Conditions

This visitor capacity guidebook, in combination with the “Visitor Use Management Framework,” provides managers with processes to collaboratively develop long-term strategies to manage the amounts and types of visitor use to protect resources, improve access, connect visitors to key experiences, and achieve desired conditions. The purpose of this guidebook is to provide cohesive guidance on identifying visitor capacity and implementing related management strategies and actions on federally managed lands and waters. Similar to the framework, the sliding scale of analysis is discussed throughout this guidebook to ensure the investment of time, money, and other resources for a project is commensurate with the complexity of the project and the consequences of the decision. Overall, this guidebook is meant to expand on the framework, guiding a professional and consistent approach to identifying and implementing visitor capacity.