• The U.S. Forest Service's overall recreation strategy can be found at www.fs.fed.us/recreation
• The complete wilderness zoning proposal is available from www.wildwilderness.org
• Read specific federal strategies for Mount Hood at www.fs.fed.us/r6/mthood/wildnu.htm
• An analysis of the policy change can be found at www.wildernesswatch.org
• For information on a variety of Wilderness Act controversies, see www.wilderness.net

Thinking of clambering around some of Mount Hood's 130,700 acres of designated wilderness this fall? Here's what the rangers will tell you: If you stop on a high-use trail, either to camp or take a picnic break, you should expect to set down your pack only in officially designated sites. Newly conscripted volunteer "wilderness stewards" will greet you with policy information and advice on "Leave No Trace" etiquette. And—as is the case on other Western mountains—visitors will be strongly encouraged to pack out human waste. "We are still managing Mount Hood as wilderness, but not as pristinewilderness," explains Kathleen Walker, a National Forest ranger at the area.

For the time being, bushwacking will still be permitted, as will adventuring on unofficial boot trails, but protecting low-use zones will be a high priority. If flora is trampled or trails begin to erode, the rangers will clamp down on access. In other words: Please follow the herd.

According to the Forest Service, this plan balances the demands of the 100-odd climbers who on busy days scale the 11,237-foot peak's south face with those of the handful of overnighters who trek into the region's more remote areas. Critics, however, see the plan as the undoing of the wilderness system, making what was intended to be solitary wilds all too reminiscent of National Parks.  —J.M.T.