Carrying Capacity, Values, and the Satisfaction Model: A Reply to Greist

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Abstract
David Greist contends that ratio measures of satisfaction are necessary in order to establish carrying capacity on the basis of a model which aims to maximize aggregate satisfaction. While this measurement problem may lead to invalid estimates of carrying capacity in the context of the satisfaction model, it does not in the study criticized because satisfaction does not vary with use level. While satisfaction scores should not be treated as ratio, they may safely be treated as interval so that curves relating satisfaction to density (and other variables) can be estimated. Such estimates may answer questions posed by managers. Other conceptual problems with the satisfaction model are noted, which are more serious than the measurement issue noted by Greist. Carrying capacity cannot be established by data from sociological or biological studies alone; value judgments about management goals are also necessary. The lottery procedure proposed by Greist is not a device for establishing carrying capacity but, rather, a creative way to allocate use once capacity has been established.