Science in Practice Portal

Alternative futures planning is the generic name for a number of planning approaches which recognize that the future is uncertain and that there is
not one future, but rather a variety of possible futures, any one of which may occur. The Coal River game presented here is a version of a game "Mystic Mountain," developed by USDA, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. Mystic Mountain is described as an educational game which teaches wildland planners and managers important concepts in alternative futures planning while they attempt to manage a hypothetical national forest for 75 years (five 15-year periods) . Coal River builds on this basic concept, however instead of having competing uses of camping, primitive recreation activities, skiing, timber production, and spiritual values, this game deals with managing (1) coal mining by surface methods, (2) primitive recreation activities, (3) camping, (4) river floating and, (5) domestic livestock and wild horse forage production. The game is played for five 10-year periods, in which the players attempt to meet different competing use production targets under various alternative future scenarios.