Decline in American Outdoor Recreation
25 Feb
With the Midwest enduring some of the coldest, snowiest and stormiest winters in recent memory, it’s no wonder we aren’t recreating outdoors very much these days. But in the greater scheme of things, nobody’s getting out much at all, according to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and reported HERE, on the web site Science Daily.
American visits to national and state parks have declined, as well as participation in backpacking, fishing, hiking, and hunting. The study also reports a corresponding increase in video and internet recreation.The good news for conservationists: Our parks’ ecosystems aren’t being strained by an over-abundance of visitors. The bad news: The less people get outdoors, the less people care about protecting the natural world.For regional evidence of decreasing outdoor recreation, check out the Canoeing News post HERE from October 24th, where even the Minnesota DNR reports lower participation rates or THIS article from Brigham Young University’s NewsNet that reports a decline in hunting and fishing in Utah.
