# Presentation: 682436

## RECREATION IN THE SOUTH

- Will Harlan
- Editor-in-Chief, Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine

## The Big Picture

- U.S. Forest Service Mission:
- “*To provide the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people in the long run*.”
- 						-Gifford Pinchot
- Greatest amount of people using national forests are recreationists

## Recreation Trends

- 71% of Americans (159 million) participated in human-powered outdoor recreation activities in 2004.
- 6% increase (15 million) in outdoor recreation over past six years.

## What recreational activities?

- 1. Hiking/Backpacking
- 2. Mountain Biking
- 3. Trail Running
- 4. Canoeing/Kayaking
- 5. Rock Climbing
- 6. Whitewater Rafting
- 7. Fishing
- 8. Cross-country skiing/snowshoeing
- 9. Skiing
- 10. Bird Watching/Naturalism
- DOES NOT INCLUDE HUNTING, HORSEBACK RIDING, MOTORIZED RECREATION

## Recreation Trends

- Growing fastest among women, youth, and minorities
- Close-to-home recreation is increasingly popular
- Growing most in mountain regions: Rockies, Sierras, Southern Appalachians
- 35% of outdoor recreationists (56 million) in the South

## Recreation & National Forests

-    Recreation comprises 60 % of U.S. Forest Service's contribution to GDP
- 		-Almost 4 times more than mining
- 		-2.5 times as much as timber harvests
-    Recreation spending is less than 10% of the U.S. Forest Service budget.

## Top Five Recreation Concerns in the South

- 1. Commercial logging and mining
- 2. Motorized recreation
- 3. Overcrowding/overuse
- 4. User fees
- 5. Resource protection

## Outdoor Enthusiasts in the South Support:

- 92% support protecting more national forests as recreation areas, old-growth study areas, and wilderness
- 88% support ending commercial logging in national forests
- 77% support banning ATVs and other forms of motorized recreation in national forests

## Success Stories in the South

*Bent Creek*: Including recreationists in planning and decision making
*Tsali Recreation Area*: Rotating user groups by day/season
*Virginia Wilderness Bill*: Cooperation among user groups for bike-friendly wilderness
*Appalachian Trail*: Utilizing recreation volunteers to build and maintain footpaths

## Sustainable Solutions 

- End commercial logging in national forests
- Designate more recreation areas on public lands, especially forests closest to population centers
- Establish unfragmented wild corridors and more wilderness areas in the South
- Improve ecological monitoring and resource protection
- Devote more U.S. Forest Service resources and personnel to recreation

## Recreation and Sustainability

- 1. Economic Sustainability
- -74% of jobs in National Forests related to recreation; 6% related to resource extraction
- -Alaska: Jobs related to environmental quality outnumber wood products jobs by a ratio of 16:1
- -Local communities benefit more from recreation and resource protection than resource extraction
- -Federal logging program losing over $1 billion/year (not counting environmental costs to local communities)
- -Recreation is fast-growing, renewable, non-extractive, sustainable, locally-focused, and long-term revenue source

## Recreation and Sustainability

- 2. Ecological Sustainability
- 	-Wilderness and wild corridors
- 	-Old-growth study areas
- 	-Air, water, ecosystem monitoring and protection
- 	-Biodiversity

## Recreation and Sustainability

- 3. Human Sustainability
- 	-Healthy local communities
- 	-Healthy air, water, soil
- 	-Healthy people

## How Can Outdoor Recreation Help the Forest Service?

- Education
- Funding
- Trail construction and maintenance
- Cooperation among user groups
- Ecological monitoring
- Broad-based public support

## Recreation Challenges in the South

- 1. Scrutinize and monitor recreation industry
- 2. Cooperation among user groups
- 3. Access issues