Wildland Recreation E-Book

William E. Hammitt

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 885

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

WILDLAND RECREATION

THE AUTHORITATIVE GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING THE ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES IN WILDLANDS

This third edition provides an updated and thorough examination of the ecological impacts of recreational use on wildlands and the best management practices to employ in places where recreation and preservation of natural conditions are important – and often conflicting – objectives.

Covering the latest research, this edition provides detailed information about the environmental changes that result from recreational use. It describes spatial patterns of impact and trends over time, and then explores the factors that determine the magnitude of impact, including the amount of use, the type and behavior of use, and the environmental durability. Numerous examples, drawn from parks and recreation areas around the world, give readers an insight into why certain areas are more heavily damaged than others, and demonstrate the techniques available to mitigate damage.

The book incorporates both the first-hand experience of the authors and an exhaustive review of the world’s literature on the subject. Boxes provide quick access to important material, and further resources are referenced in an extensive bibliography. Essential reading for all park and protected area management professionals, this book is also a useful textbook for upper division undergraduate and graduate students on recreation ecology and recreation management courses.

Leseprobe

Third Edition

WILDLAND RECREATION

ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

William E. HammittDavid N. ColeChristopher A. Monz

This edition first published 2015 © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, LtdSecond edition © 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hammitt, William E.Wildland recreation : ecology and management / William E. Hammitt, David N. Cole. – Third Edition.  pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index.

 ISBN 978-1-118-39700-8 (Paper)1. Wilderness areas–Recreational use–United States–Management. 2. Wilderness areas–Environmental aspects–United States. I. Cole, David N. II. Title.  GV191.4.H35 2015  333.780973–dc23

    2014030542

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Cover image used by permission of Christopher Monz

PREFACE

Wildland Recreation: Ecology and Management, Third Edition, is concerned with ecological resource problems that arise in wildland areas as a result of recreational use and how these problems can be managed. For our purposes, wildland recreation areas are defined as relatively natural areas that are used primarily for dispersed recreation. Everything from wilderness and wildland rivers to primitively developed campgrounds and off-road vehicle areas are included in our definition of wildland recreation.

The book is intended as a textbook in such disciplines as forest and natural resources recreation, outdoor recreation, park management, geography, environmental science, and conservation. It should also serve as a useful reference for recreation resource and park managers already practicing in the field. In addition, it is intended that the ecological treatment of resource impacts will be of interest to ecologists, foresters, wildlife managers, and others who are trained in the biological sciences yet lack training in the area of recreation resources management.

Although the focus of the book is on recreation-caused impacts to wildland resources, we have not ignored the social and economic factors involved in managing these impacts. Public policy has made these areas available for recreational use, and managers must aim to provide public benefits as well as protect the resource base that provides these benefits. The material is presented in six parts. Part I defines wildland recreation and resource impacts, presents an overview of ecological/recreational impacts, and considers the importance of ecological impacts to wildland recreation management. Part II deals with the ecology and impacts on the soil, vegetation, wildlife, and water resources of wildland recreational areas. Spatial and temporal patterns of these impacts are included in Part III, as well as a chapter devoted to how impacts change over time (trends). Part IV discusses the importance of environmental durability, visitor use, and user behavior in determining the nature and magnitude of recreational impacts. Part V explores strategies and methods for monitoring and managing visitors and site conditions in wildland recreation areas, including impacts related to sound and noise in wildland recreation areas. Finally, Part VI summarizes the book and the importance and challenges of managing ecological impacts.

Portions of the book can be useful without reading the entire text. Parts I and VI provide an overview of recreational impacts. Part V can be useful for managers looking for available management alternatives. Part II is helpful for people wanting a basic understanding of the ecological impacts resulting from recreation use. Part III will be of interest to those wanting information on how impacts change in space and over time.

This book is a third edition of the original text published in 1987, and of the second edition published in 1998. During the 25 years since the first edition was published, wildland recreation areas, use, impacts, and management techniques have increased. Although the entire book has been updated and revised, new information is more plentiful in some subject areas than others. For example, information on wildlife impacts has increased considerably, and information on soundscapes has increased to the extent that we have devoted a major portion in a new issues chapter to it. Other major revisions include new and updated material concerning wildland recreation impacts and ecosystem management, the monitoring of impacts, and strategies/techniques for managing impacts. The addition of a new co-author, Dr Christopher Monz, also adds a new perspective to this edition. The contributions of recreation ecologists around the world have increased profoundly over the past 25 years. In this edition, we have included numerous examples of work done in countries other than the United States, often highlighting examples in boxes.

Several of our colleagues have contributed to the preparation of this revised book, for which we are greatly appreciative. Jeff Marion and Yu-Fai Leung are acknowledged for the use of their personal libraries on recreation impacts. We also profited from increased interaction with recreation ecologists around the world. The U.S. Forest Service is acknowledged for contributing a significant portion of the photographs. The Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Clemson University, South Carolina; the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Institute of the Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Montana; and the Department of Environment and Society, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, contributed space, sabbatical time, and services during the revision of the manuscript. Final editing and typing of the manuscript were admirably performed by Sheila Ray (first edition) and Karin Emmons (second and third editions). Most sincerely, our families are thanked for the many hours of loneliness they endured during the writing and revision of the book.

William E. HammittClemson, South Carolina

David N. ColeMissoula, Montana

Christopher A. MonzLogan, Utah

Part IINTRODUCTION

Chapter 1WILDLAND RECREATION AND RESOURCE IMPACTS

Recreational use of wildland areas has increased dramatically during the past half century. Along with this increase in recreational use have come human disturbance and degradation to the conditions of wildland areas. Examined in this book are the nature and degree of these disturbances and ways in which they can be managed. First, we need to define wildland recreation and recreation resource impacts. Then, we must consider the importance of recreational-ecological impacts and the role of the wildland recreation manager in balancing use and preservation of wildland areas.

1.1 WHAT IS WILDLAND RECREATION?

Although most types of recreation are fun and non-work-oriented, their goals and benefits are usually diverse. The notions of recreation as constructive, rewarding, and restorative are at least as important as the notion of recreation as fun (Brockman and Merriam 1973).

More specifically, the term recreation (Kelly 1996, p. 25):

stems from the Latin recreatio, which refers to restoration or recovery. The term implies the renewal of energy and mental alertness or the restoration of ability to function. Recreation contains the concept of restoration of wholeness of mind, spirit, and body. It presupposes some other activity that depletes, tires, or deteriorates that wholeness.

This restorative definition of recreation argues that recovery is involved, where an ability to function is restored, involving the mind and body, and necessitates some other process that leads to fatiguing or deterioration within humans that prevents functioning as desired (see Box 1.1 for an explanation). For our purposes, recreation is defined as activities that offer a contrast to work-related activities and that offer the possibility of constructive, restorative, and pleasurable benefits.

Box 1.1 Recreation: a restorative process.

To demonstrate the restorative process of recreation, the function of a pencil will be used. A wooden pencil, when sharpened, fully functions to aid in the writing of words on a piece of paper. But should one write for an extended period of time, wearing the lead down until it no longer extends from the end of the pencil, the pencil can no longer function as it did in its original state. However, the worn-down pencil can be easily restored to its original condition by simply sharpening the pencil. In this scenario, the pencil was not re-created; it was simply restored. Now, if one were to take a hammer and smash the pencil, both wood and lead, into splinters and dust, the pencil would need to be re-created anew before it could function in its original state as a writing device. As with the pencil demonstration, we are seldom involved in recreation with the process of creating as new something that has been destroyed and lost, but rather, we are involved in the recovery and restoration of something that is worn out and fatigued so that it is once again in a wholesome functioning condition.

Even with Kelly’s restorative definition of recreation and the pencil demonstration, we are still without a psychological and physiological foundation for how the fatigue, recovery, and restoration processes occur. Fortunately, attention restoration theory (ART) provides an explanation for both the fatigue and recovery/restoration processes (Kaplan 1995).

The fatiguing process concerns two types of mental attention states utilized by humans while processing information and functioning in most environmental settings. The first type of attention is involuntary, which requires little effort in terms of remaining focused on the environmental information to be processed. It is employed when the stimuli, in terms of both content and process, are interesting, involving, and automatically hold our mental alertness and focus. As a result, involuntary attention is a pleasurable mode of environmental information processing and functioning, and comes at no cost to humans.

Unfortunately, not all social and work environmental stimuli are interesting and involving in terms of information processing and functioning. In fact, the majority of our everyday existence may find us in environmental settings where the stimuli we must deal with are not the most interesting and involving, yet must be processed and acted upon. In these situations, humans must call upon directed attention. This involves a forced and burdensome form of focused attention that requires great effort to remain with the information and task functioning at hand. The stimuli that must be dealt with may be mentally demanding and of little interest in terms of desired mental involvement. While people seem to be quite efficient at using directed attention, there is a mental fatiguing cost and it can only be employed efficiently for a limited period. As the mind (and perhaps the body) tires from the forced attention required, it wanders to more appealing stimuli, thereby decreasing the efficiency of directed attention. When this occurs, a period is necessary to allow recovery from mental fatigue and restoration of the ability to use directed attention once again as necessary.

The restorative process therefore involves recovery from the cost and pain associated with directed attention and mental fatigue. Kaplan (1995) theorizes that the restorative process involves the recovery of a worn-out inhibitor control mechanism that is employed by humans during directed attention to ward off or inhibit more appealing stimuli from dominating our attention. The means by which the inhibitor control mechanism is restored is to not use it; to use no-cost involuntary attention instead of the costly directed attention. How is this done? By seeking environmental settings where the dominant form of information processing and functioning is involuntary attention. Such environments and experiences are restorative. Restorative environments and experiences provide for states of involuntary attention, where the inhibitor control can recover and we restore the ability once again to use directed attention when needed (Kaplan 1995). The availability of restorative environments, for which most outdoor and wildland recreation areas qualify, are essential for the recreation restorative experience (Hammitt 2005).

This broad definition provides room for a tremendous variety of activities. We are restricting ourselves here to recreational activities conducted outdoors in wildland areas that are dependent on the natural resources of these areas (Fig. 1.1). In wildland recreation the importance of the environment or setting for activities is greater than in developedrecreation situations. Moreover, these wildland settings are largely natural, and management strives to maintain a natural appearance. Facility development is limited in both areal extent and function. Facilities in wildland areas are limited to small sites, if present at all, and are more likely to enhance visitor safety and resource protection than visitor comfort and convenience (Fig. 1.2). Accessibility is more difficult with wildland recreation. Distances from urban populations are often greater. Roads, if they are present at all, tend to be of a low standard and less frequently maintained. Where absent, trails may or may not be provided. Finally, use tends to be dispersed, creating a social environment with less emphasis on certain types of social interaction. Interaction takes place in smaller groups, with less interparty contact.

Fig. 1.1 Recreational activities in wildland areas are greatly dependent on the natural resources of these areas.

(Source: W. E. Hammitt.)

Fig. 1.2 Recreational facilities in wildland areas are limited in both areal extent and function, and are more likely to enhance visitor safety and resource protection than visitor convenience.

(Source: W. E. Hammitt.)

In the US, most wildland recreation takes place on public lands, such as those managed by the Forest Service, National Park Service, other federal agencies, or state park departments. The same is true in most other countries. These lands may or may not be specifically designated for recreational use. For example, trails, campgrounds, and other visitor use areas are designated and specifically managed for visitor enjoyment on National Park Service lands, whereas adjacent and intervening Forest Service land permits recreational use but may emphasize other uses, such as timber production. Some lands emphasize nature protection or biodiversity conservation but allow compatible recreation use. Similarly, wildland recreation use also occurs on private lands not specifically designated recreation areas. However, most wildland recreation occurs on public lands, and most of the management responsibility falls on public agencies. Often, few services may be provided and users are expected to be self-reliant, managing their own use of the resource. This is one aspect that differentiates wildland recreation from ecotourism (see Box 1.2 for a comparison).

Box 1.2 Wildland recreation versus ecotourism

An interesting topic for debate is the difference, if indeed there is any, between outdoor recreation and tourism, and, more specifically, between wildland recreation and ecotourism. Many of my colleagues argue that the fields have merged. While our book deals with the resource impacts of wildland recreation, a similar book published in 2013 deals with the ecological impacts of ecotourism (Newsome, Moore, and Dowling 2013). In fact, one of the co-authors of our book has jointly written one of the chapters in the ecotourism book. Some would even argue that the traditional fields of outdoor recreation and wildland recreation no longer exist – that all nature-based recreationists are “customers,” who want and are willing to pay for services, and have little desire to be self-reliant in the outdoors. However, while the fields have certainly merged as society has become more affluent, there are still several distinctions to be made among many outdoor activities.

For example, consider a man who throws his beagle in the back of his pick-up truck, drives 200 miles to his out-of-state farm to hunt rabbits, while sleeping in his pick-up camper and eating food he brought from home – is he engaging in outdoor recreation or ecotourism? And what about a couple who get in their car, drive four hours to the nearest wilderness area, and backpack for the weekend – are they engaging in wildland recreation or ecotourism? On the other hand, if two hunters go to a rustic hunting lodge and pay for a guide, lodging and meals to hunt elk, are they wildland recreationists or ecotourists? Many nature-based, leisure activities could perhaps be considered as either wildland recreation or ecotourism, depending on how self-reliant an individual wants to be when recreating in the outdoors.

This book, then, deals primarily with the recreational use of publicly owned and managed lands. Although many different activities are involved, they are generally dispersed over large areas, resulting in relatively low use density as compared with designed recreation areas. This dispersal makes management difficult, because such a large area is used. Moreover, because the maintenance of natural or natural-appearing conditions is so important, considerable management of both users and resources is required to avoid excessive resource damage.

1.2 WHAT IS RECREATION RESOURCE IMPACT?

Disturbance to natural areas as a result of recreational use has typically been defined as resource or ecological impact. As pointed out by Lucas (1979), the term impact is a neutral one. It simply denotes change. When combined with ecological, it refers to an objective description of the environmental effects of recreational use. Objectively, an impact can be a positive or negative change. In wildland recreation, a value judgment is usually placed on the term impact, denoting an undesirable change in environmental conditions. Of concern to the recreation manager are the type, amount, rate, and duration of undesirable change occurring to the resource base as a result of recreational use. We define undesirable change to the resource base as degradation to the soil, vegetation, wildlife, water and associated resources of a wildland area.

Recreation resource managers are understandably concerned with ecological impacts because many of them have the responsibility of maintaining the quality of recreational resources. This is particularly true for wildland recreational areas, as many are national parks or designated wilderness areas where a major goal is to preserve natural conditions. To deal effectively with the problem of environmental disturbance in recreation and natural areas, resource managers need to understand recreational impacts in sufficient detail to determine how much and what kind of change is occurring and is acceptable under given management prescriptions and policies for an area.

1.3 ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF WILDLAND RECREATION

All wildland recreation activities disturb the natural environment. Although the specific impacts associated with each activity differ to some extent, they all potentially can affect soil, vegetation, wildlife and water. Figure 1.3 illustrates the complexity of these effects and their interrelationships. Some activities can also affect basic geology and air quality; however, these impacts are less direct and often originate on areas adjacent to wildlands. In this section, we present an overview of the major resource impacts that will be discussed in more detail in subsequent chapters. In particular, we want to stress the interrelated nature of these different types of impact. One theme that should emerge in this book, particularly when we get to management, is that impacts do not occur in isolation; single activities cause multiple impacts, and each impact tends to exacerbate or compensate for other changes. Management solutions to impact problems must recognize this, or the solution to one problem is likely to be the cause of another. Impact to soils starts with the destruction of surface organic matter and the compaction of soil or snow (Cole 2004b). Each of these changes alters basic soil characteristics related to aeration, temperature, moisture, nutrition, and the organisms that live in the soil. These changes, which adversely affect the ability of the soil to support plant life, are most visibly obvious in the barren, compacted soils of campsites (Fig. 1.4). Compaction, by reducing water infiltration rates, increases runoff and, therefore, erosion. Erosional impacts are particularly severe on trails and in off-road vehicle areas (Fig. 1.5).

Fig. 1.3 Recreational impact interrelationships in wildland areas.

(Source: Wall and Wright 1977.)

Fig. 1.4 Campsites in wildland areas are typically characterized by a heavily impacted zone of compacted soil and the absence of vegetation.

(Source: W. E. Hammitt.)

Fig. 1.5 Hiking and off-road vehicle trails on steep slopes and at higher elevations where greater rainfall occurs are easily eroded.

(Source: W. E. Hammitt.)

Most of these changes in soil condition inhibit the establishment of new plants and adversely affect the growth of existing vegetation. Moreover, trampling by feet and horses’ hooves and abrasion by skis and off-road vehicles directly injure and kill existing plants. Plant cover, growth rates, and reproductive capacities are all diminished. For trees, in particular, this alters the age structure of the population. On many campsites, for example, tree populations consist entirely of middle-aged and older trees; reproduction is totally lacking. Even these older trees are often scarred by ax marks, lantern burns, and nails (Fig. 1.6). Understory vegetation varies greatly in its ability to tolerate recreational impact. As more tolerant species are more likely to survive on recreation sites, changes in species composition shift toward these more tolerant species. An ability to grow close to the ground is one important survival mechanism that partially explains the reduced height of most vegetation on recreation sites.

Fig. 1.6 Trees on older campsites are often scarred by the burns of gasoline lanterns. This tree has 13 lantern scars.

(Source: W. E. Hammitt.)

Although the indirect effects of soil impacts on vegetation are particularly obvious, the same is not true for the indirect effects of vegetation impacts on soils. Loss of vegetation cover exacerbates such impacts as loss of organic matter and increased erosion. It is also related to wildlife impacts, particularly through alteration of habitats. For large animals, the most serious impacts of recreation are direct, either outright killing or unintentional disturbance (harassment). Disturbance can reduce reproduction, such as when a disturbed bird leaves her nest, lead to migration to more remote areas, or result in adaptation, such as when a bear learns to rely on garbage as a food source. Smaller animals are more affected by habitat alterations. For example, soil impacts, such as loss of organic matter, remove a home and food source for many insects, and vegetation impacts, such as a chopped-down tree snag, eliminate homes for cavity-nesting birds. Many of these animals have important effects on soils and vegetation, due to their roles as decomposers and grazers and their place in ecosystem nutrient and energy cycles. Altered population structures, spatial distribution and abundance, and even behavior will, consequently, have an influence on soil, vegetation, and water as well.

Water quality is reduced by inputs of nutrients, other pollutants, including increased sedimentation resulting from erosion, and contamination with pathogens. Pathogenic contamination may result from improper disposal of human waste; more commonly, contamination is caused by wild animals that carry disease organisms. Nutrients and pollutants may enter waters as a direct result of recreational use, such as when surface films of oil and gasoline pollute lakes with heavy motorboat use. More insidious are the indirect sources, such as the reduction in water quality caused by erosion triggered by recreational use. Again, this erosion is promoted by soil and vegetation impact. Water pollution, from many sources, depletes dissolved oxygen and alters aquatic plant and animal growth and survival.

In considering interrelationships among soil, plants, animals, and water, the concept of an ecosystem is important. An ecosystem consists of all the organisms in an area, their environment, and the linkages and interactions between them. Ecosystems vary in size from small ecosystems (such as your stomach) to the largest wilderness. Human activities can affect many key attributes of ecosystems. First, they can affect the functional ability of the ecosystem, the capacity to perform key actions – to fix and cycle energy, conserve and cycle nutrients, and provide suitable habitat for an array of inhabiting species. Secondly, they can affect the structure, or spatial arrangement of the parts, of the ecosystem – whether it is a savanna, meadow, even-aged or uneven-aged forest, or some other type. Thirdly, they can affect the composition and population structure, that is, the number of species and their relative abundance as well as the densities and age- and size-class distributions of individual species. Finally, human actions can alter the basic successional patterns, or trajectories, characteristic of a given site.

1.4 RECREATION ECOLOGY

The study of wildland recreation resource impacts and their management has its academic grounding in the field of recreation ecology. This deals with the impact of wildland-outdoor recreation, usually on natural or semi-natural environments (Liddle 1991, p. 13). Although this field of study has only gained major recognition since the mid-1960s, its antecedents go back to at least 1759 when Stillingfleet reported differences in the survival of plant species in trampled paths of England (Stillingfleet 1759, as in Liddle 1991). Cole (1987, 2004a) suggests that the field as we know it today began about 45 years ago with Wagar’s (1964) work concerning trampling experiments and carrying capacity. Many of the early studies in recreation ecology dealt with the effects of trampling on trails, the morphological and physiological characteristics of plant species and plant growth forms in impacted areas, and hiking and camping impacts in wilderness areas (Bayfield 1973; Liddle 1975; Cole 1978). The last 30 years have seen considerable research in recreation ecology and recreation resource impacts, leading to the development of impact monitoring protocols, management strategies, and low-impact education messages (e.g., Cole 1981,1989; Marion, 1995; Brame and Cole 2011). This accumulation of knowledge led to our publication of the first recreation ecology textbook in 1987 (Hammitt and Cole 1987). Since then, three other related texts have been published (Knight and Gutzwiller 1995; Liddle 1997; Newsome, Moore, and Dowling 2013).

Liddle credits Neil Bayfield (1971) as being the first systematic student of recreation ecology, based on his many years of work in United Kingdom. Much of the trampling impact research has been concentrated in Europe, examining the effects of trekking and picnicking in the countryside. David Cole, a co-author of this book, has been the leading recreation ecology researcher during the last 35 years in the US. Jeffrey Marion and his associates are the second most active group in the US. In Australia, Liddle’s work on sand dune communities, tropical areas, biological features and strategies of resistance, and impact theory is well recognized (Liddle 1988). His contributions in the area of impact theory are particularly welcomed in an applied field such as recreation ecology. Interested readers are encouraged to refer to Cole (1987, 2004a) for a more detailed historical development of recreation ecology.

1.5 THE IMPORTANCE OF ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS

All of the aforementioned impacts occur, but so what? We can go out and measure most of the impacts, determining the magnitude of environmental change. It is a very different matter, however, to assess the importance or significance of these impacts. We might all agree that 95% of the spiders on the forest floor of a campsite have been eliminated by recreation use, but we are unlikely to agree about how important a change this is. We might not even be able to agree on whether this is a positive or a negative change. In a recreational context, impacts become good or bad, important or insignificant, only when humans make value judgments about them. Those judgments are determined primarily by the type(s) of recreation an area is managed to offer, the objectives of various user groups, and the objectives of resource management.

Different areas offer different types of recreation. This fact has been formalized in the recreational opportunity spectrum, a classification of land based on the types of recreational opportunities they offer. More will be said about this in Chapter 10. The spectrum distinguishes, for example, between the opportunities for primitive recreation of a wilderness area and the ball-playing opportunities of an urban park. Both areas may have experienced, in some places, a conversion from native vegetation to a turf of Kentucky bluegrass. In the wilderness, this presents a problem because the loss of natural conditions is undesirable. The importance of this change is probably related to the size of the area that is affected and the uniqueness of the vegetation that was lost. In the urban park, the conversion is both important and beneficial because it greatly improves the quality of ball playing. As we move along the recreational opportunity spectrum from developed and urban areas to remote and primitive areas, the same impact is likely to become increasingly negative and significant.

Even within the same area, people vary in their opinions about impacts. Different recreationists have different ideas. A hiker, confronted with erosion of a hill used by motorcyclists, is more likely to react negatively than the motorcyclists themselves. Conflict resulting from different perspectives on ecological impact is common between motorized and non-motorized recreationists whether recreation occurs on land, water, or snow. Similar conflicts and differing perspectives occur between hikers and users of horses and pack animals.

It is also interesting to compare the perspectives of the ecologist, recreationist, and manager. The ecologist is most likely to be concerned about impacts that impair the function of ecosystems or destroy unique features. Examples include removal of dead woody debris to burn in fires or elimination of an inconspicuous endangered plant, neither of which is likely to be noticed by many recreationists. Ecologists are also likely to evaluate the importance of a change in terms of how long it takes for recovery to occur. Using this criterion, erosion is extremely serious because it will take centuries to regenerate soils to replace eroded ones.