Understanding Place Meanings on the Bitterroot National Forest, Montana

This study describes local personal and community relationships with the Bitterroot National Forest, Montana. Using a rapid appraisal research approach, a range of personal and community values was identified. Participants were asked to identify places they valued on the forest and why they valued them. Study results indicate that local relationships exist on several scales. First, people differentiate the set of values they ascribe to places they have visited from those places they have not. Two sets of values, at two very different scales, emerged in their descriptions of places they visit and those they do not. Community residents were also asked about things that influence their response to fuel management treatments. Managers and planners can benefit from understanding local relationships with public lands through narratives that describe why some locations are more important to residents than others and anticipate reactions to planned projects that may alter those relationships.