Multiple Use and Abuse?

On an all-day hike on one of the lesser-used trails in the Lakes Basin, we shared the trail at times with cows, and cowboys, and YUPPIES, but mostly hiked alone.  Friendly encounters withe the few humans we met.  But evidence of the presence of humans, cows, and horses along the trail between times raised questions about multiple use and abuse.  On this particular hike, mountain bikers were not a part of the mix, but elsewhere in the Lakes Basin they would have been.  The above photo was taken by my wife as I held our dog to keep her out of trouble.  As Emma exhibited symptoms of her approach/avoidance conflict with cows, mixed with her urge to meet up with the cowboys' dog, she was also obviously aware of the presence of Marmots living under the rock in the background.  Earlier in the day we passed by this same rock and she got to chase a Marmot.  The increased popularity of this gorgeous area that embraces parts of adjacent national forests, the Plumas and the Tahoe, is motivating different sorts of preservation efforts at the same time it is destroying it.  I think the solution could be found in more walking without the accoutrements of urban living, electronic and otherwise, but I'm just dreaming.  I had a great time, but returned home with troubling questions.