Outdoor Recreation Resources
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
OUTDOOR RECREATION RESOURCES . Carter J. Beta1 Donald B. K. English H. Ken Cordell Invited Papers: Kimberly H. Anderson, USDA Forest Service Cheryl S. Beeler, Florida State University V. Robert Leeworthy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Douglas McEwen, Southern Illinois University Daniel D. McLean, Indiana University Hugh Morris, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Gary L. Rankel, USDI, Bureau of Indian Affairs George H. Siehl, Congressional Research Service (Retired) Joan W. Tanner-i, National Scenic Byways Clearinghouse George L. Peterson and James M. Williams, USDA Forest Service Donald W. Fisher and Lyle Laverty, USDA Forest Service Rodger Schmitt, Michelle M. Dawson, Hal Hallett, and Cal McCluskey, Bureau of Land Management Merle Van Horne, National Park Service Terry Villanueva, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Richard A. Crysdale, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Retired) R. Scott Jackson, David J. Wahuqand H. Roger Hamilton, US Army Corps of Engineers James DeLoney, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Roger L. Moore and Mark I. Ivy, North Carolina State University Ney C. Landrum,National Association of State Park Directors John F Dwyer, USDA Forest Service Robert D. Bixler, Cleveland Metroparks Edward T. McMahon, The Conservation Fund Wilfred E. Richard, Outdoor Ventures North, Inc., and Lloyd C. Bland, The Irland Group Forestry Consultants Connie Coutellier, American Camping Association Stacy Gardner, National Ski Areas Association Chris Frado, Cross Country Ski Areas Association Gilbert M. Clark, International Inline Skating Association Acknowledgments: The authors appreciate the valuable suggestions of Dr. Dean F. Tucker and Dr. Robert D. Bixler and important contributions made by Chris Gray, John Hayes, Cassandra Johnson, and Virginia Lasly. ‘Carter .I. Betz is Outdoor Recreation Planner, Donald B. K. English is Research Social Scientist, and H. Ken Cordell is Research Forester and Project Leader, all with Outdoor Recreation and Wilderness Assessment Research, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Sta- tion, Athens, Georgia. 40 Outdoor Recreation in American Life INTRODUCTION Outdoor recreation is as broad and diverse as America itself. It covers a wide spectrum of resources, from the most pristine wilderness setting to urban streets and playgrounds. At its broadest definition, outdoor recreation is any leisure activity that takes place out-of-doors, regardless of setting. Under this definition, most outdoor recreation in the United States probably occurs very close to where people live-in backyards, on streets and playgrounds, and in local neighborhoods. Much of this recreation can be characterized as unstructured “play” or relaxation. This chapter examines the outdoor recreation resources and settings that are provided and managed by both government and the private sector. Outdoor recreation on rural private land is covered more thoroughly in Chapter IV. The traditional view of outdoor recreation focuses mostly on natural resources in rural settings such as parks, forests, lakes, and rivers. However, recreation resources also exist in urban environments where they are extremely important in meeting urban demand for recreation experiences. This chapter attempts to pro- vide a broad-based overview of the current status of outdoor recreation resources in the United States. The focus is on the availability, distribution, and general description of the outdoor resources rather than on their quality or condition. We examine recreation resources and opportunities by the four types of providers: federal, state, local governments, and the private sector.? We also discuss the trend of partnerships in the provision of outdoor recreation opportunities, especially two types that emerged in the 1990s: Scenic Byways and Watchable Wild- life opportunities. Where possible, we discuss changes and trends in recreation resources since the mid- 1980s. Those trends, in turn, point to anticipated future trends. Also included are brief articles from government agencies, environmental organizations, and recreation industry groups. The authors of these articles address issues and trends that have emerged over the past decade or so and offer their outlooks for the future. Near the end of this chapter, we offer summary indexes that describe categories of recreation resources and how they have changed over the past 10 years. These indexes provide a more general indication of how resources are distributed with respect to population, and how their availability has changed in recent years. The final section of this chapter presents observations about the outdoor recreation resource base in the United States by summarizing the current status, trends, and future outlook. FEDERAL LAND AND WATER RESOURCES FOR OUTDOOR RECREATION The Federal Estate The most widely held images of outdoor recreation are probably those of adventurous backcountry visitors trying to “get away from it all” and of families camping and sightseeing. Much of the land and water where these activities occur are managed by the federal government. Despite the continually increasing de- mand for recreation opportunities close to home, the federal government manages thousands of special places throughout the country, many remote and distant, that are highly popular. Often, however, federal resources (especially water) are close to population centers. The popular perception of the “Great Outdoors” is that of national parks, national forests and other federal land. All estimates put the amount of federal land in the United States at around 650 million acres (Table III.1).3 This acreage represents about 28 percent of the total land area in the United States of just under 2.3 billion acres. All Western states, except Hawaii, have more than 25 percent of their total area in federal ownership. Nevada, Alaska, Utah, and Idaho each is more than 60 percent of their area in federal ownership. Federal acres in the United States are roughly equal to an area the size of the seven largest contiguous states-Texas, California, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado. ZThe authors assembled a national, county-level database (called the “National Outdoor Recreation Supply Information System”) cov- ering the four types of recreation providers from a variety of source datasets. “Because of the enormous size of the Federal estate and the dynamic nature of land sales and swaps, inholdings, etc., it is difficult to get an exact total of Federal land at any given time. In this chapter, “Federal land” refers to only the resources held by the seven principal land-managing agencies of the Federal government and does not include Department of Defense land, land managed by the General Services Administration and other miscellaneous agency resources. Defense Department land is covered elsewhere in this chapter but is not included in general references to “Federal land.” Outdoor Recreation Resources 4 I Table 111.1: Land and Water Area’ Administered by Federal Land-Managing Agencies by Agency and Region, 1995 Region (1000 acres) Agency North South Rocky Pacific Coast* U.S. Total Mountains USDA Forest Service 11,957 12,900 100,093 66,665 191,615 National Park Service 1,882 5,412 10,830 65,072 83,196 Fish & Wildlife Service3 1,209 3,809 7,193 78,239 90,450 Bureau of Land Management 388 796 144,237 122,219 267,640 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2,907 5,634 2,475 540 11,556 Tennessee Valley Authority 0 1,032 0 0 1,032 Bureau of Reclamation 0 197 5,470 854 6,521 All Agencies 18,343 29,780 270,298 333,589 652,010 ‘Numbers may not sum exactly to totals because of rounding. Table does not include Department of Defense land or other miscellaneous Federal agencies with minor land holdings. ‘Alaska accounts for 242.4 million of the Pacific Coast’s 333.6 million acres. Agency breakdown is: FS, 22.0 million; NPS, 54.7 million; FWS, 76.8 million; BLM, 88.9 million. There is one COE project in Alaska with 19,709 acres. 3U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acreage includes National Wildlife Refuges and Waterfowl Production Areas. About 23.6 million acres of the 90.5 million acres of FWS managed land are not open for recreational use. Sources: Land Areas of the National Forest System, As of September 1995. National Park Service, Master Deed Listing. State and County Report by State. As of October 31, 1995. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Natural Resource Management System (NRMS). 1994. Bureau of Land Management. Public Land Statistics. 1993. Annual Report of Lands Under Control of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As of September 30, 1995. Bureau of Reclamation. Recreation Areas on Bureau Projects. 1992. Development of TVA Recreation Facilities Cumulative Through September 30, 1992. TVA Areas Above Full Pool Level, By County, September 30, 1987. The West (Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast regions), including Alaska, accounts for just under 93 percent of federal land or about 604 of the 652 million acres. Excluding Alaska, the West still accounts for over 88 percent of the federal land. By contrast, the East (North and South regions) has only about 7 percent, even though it contains over 75 percent of the U.S. population-199.6 of 262.8 million people based on a 1995 Census estimate. Despite the fact that the West has the fastest current and projected population growth rates, the great disparity between the location of federal land (a product of historical settlement patterns) and the population distribution of the United States is not likely to change significantly in the near future. Generally, the least populous states-e.g., Alaska, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming-have the greatest amounts of federal land. Many of the most heavily populated states-e.g., New York and New Jersey-have very little federal land. California is a notable exception. It is the largest state in population, yet has a consid- erable amount of federal land. Because of topography, geologic features, and historic land uses, many outdoor recreation experiences that depend on alpine elevations and vast stretches.of unroaded land are available only in the West.