Beat the Crowds: Go Outdoors

Fewer people are feeling close to nature, said a report on PhysOrg.  According to a study done by Oliver Pergams (U of Illinois) and Patricia Zaradic (Environmental Leadership Program, Pennsylvania), a decline in visitation at national parks corresponds to an increase in sedentary activities like playing video games, surfing the Internet and watching movies.  They see a fundamental shift away from nature and toward “videophilia” – an unhealthy trend, being associated with obesity, lack of socialization, attention disorders and poor academic performance.
    Statistics they gathered showed declines over the past 70 years in outdoor activity.  For instance, in the decade from 1981 to 1991, there was a drop of up to 1.3 percent per year in outdoor activities such as backpacking, fishing, hiking, hunting, and visits to national and state parks and forests.  Since then, the typical drop has been 18-25 percent, the article states.
    The researchers are worried about another consequence: less interest in conservation.  “We don’t see how future generations, with less exploration of nature, will be as interested in conservation as past generations,” they said.

There was never a better time to Escape to Reality than now.  While everyone else is having a mythical second life, get out into creation – you’ll have it all to yourself!
    One thing the states and the federal government could do is to lower fees.  Camping used to be a very economical activity.  For many years, park entrance fees were either $5 or even zero.  Now, it is typical to pay $20 or more, with more restrictions on where you can go and what you can do.  Campground fees used to be in the $3 to $5 range per night; now they are typically $17 to $20 and up.  National forests and wilderness areas also put steep fees and quotas on backpackers.  Fishing licenses and hunting tags are astronomical.  It becomes unattractive for would-be woodsmen to pay a high annual fee for just one or two expeditions into the wild.  America has become the land of the fee and the home of depraved video addicts.
    The high prices for recreation would not be necessary if governments would cut back on wasteful socialist programs and pork-barrel projects.  They would probably find that lower fees at parks would also attract visitors and actually increase revenues.  Governments need to realize that the land belongs to the people, not to the Capitol.  The power to tax is the power to destroy.  Taxes and fees drive away participation.  In recent years, governments have even charged fees (badly named “adventure passes”) for merely parking your car in a national forest so you can take a walk in the woods.  What on earth do they think they are doing?  If they are concerned about declining visitation to nature reserves and lack of interest in conservation, who is to blame?  The main critics of the adventure pass laws were the backpackers, hikers and fishermen who were most likely to appreciate and conserve the land.
    In their defense, park management districts are having to deal with increased litter, carelessness with fire, crime in the parks, the cost of rescues due to carelessness, and litigation from sue-happy campers.  This hurts everyone.  It becomes easier for the parks to prohibit everybody from doing anything.  In one national park, for instance, a popular swimming hole on a creek is now off limits.  The trail to it was covered, and the rangers refuse to tell anyone where it is.  Why?  Too many careless people would go over there and fool around, get hurt, require a rescue, and sue the park.  No wonder park rangers often feel they are trapped in a no-win situation.
    One solution might be for the government to certify hikers according to knowledge and ability.  The one-size-fits-all policy, essentially “if an obese elderly person in a wheelchair can’t do it, then nobody can do it,” is very frustrating to eager, fit, knowledgeable outdoorspeople.  Private conservation groups could offer courses that the government could approve, allowing the park visitor to earn a passport-like identification that would allow additional access to park resources.  Certificates could be stratified according to risk level, from beginner to advanced: day hiker to ice climbers or cave explorers.  The courses could include conservation ethics, survival skills, filing of trip plans and affidavits of personal responsibility.  This would filter out the careless but allow the knowledgeable to enjoy the freedom all Americans once took for granted.  Undoubtedly it would attract young people to learn the skills needed to get to the highest level – like the appeal to become an Eagle Scout.  The outdoors would again hear the songs of human beings in their native habitat: rational beings who love the outdoors and know how to interact with the environment without harming it.
    These are very real issues with no simple solutions.  A certification program would bring its own share of problems, for sure.  Regardless, it is still worthwhile to get into the wilderness and experience nature close up.  Camping out is still cheaper than a hotel.  Freedom is precious: use it or lose it.  So is health.  Start at your skill level and challenge yourself.  There is no substitute for a real experience in the created world: sleeping under the stars, hiking through a forest, hopping rocks along a wild stream, watching a bird or deer in its natural habitat.  These are experiences no HDTV can match.  Your body will thank you.