The Road-RIPorter, Autumn Equinox 2006
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© 2006 Wildlands CPR
Wildlands CPR works to protect and restore wildland ecosystems by preventing and removing roads and limiting motorized recreation. We are a national clearinghouse and network, providing citizens with tools and strategies to fight road construction,deter motorized recreation, and promote road removal and revegetation.
P.O. Box 7516Missoula, MT 59807(406) 543-9551 www.wildlandscpr.org
Director
Bethanie Walder
Development Director
Tom Petersen
Restoration ProgramCoordinator
Marnie Criley
Science Coordinator
Adam Switalski
NTWC Forest CampaignCoordinator
Jason Kiely
Transportation Policy Coordinator
Tim Peterson
Program Assistant
Cathy Adams
Newsletter
Dan Funsch & Marianne Zugel
Interns & Volunteers
Anna Holden, Noah Jackson
Board of Directors
Amy Atwood, Greg Fishbein, Jim Furnish, William Geer, Dave Havlick, Rebecca Lloyd, Cara Nelson,Sonya Newenhouse, Patrick Parenteau
Advisory Committee
Jasper Carlton, Dave Foreman,Keith Hammer, Timothy Hermach,Marion Hourdequin, Kraig Klungness, Lorin Lind- ner, Andy Mahler, Robert McConnell, Stephanie Mills, Reed Noss, Michael Soulé, Steve Trombulak,Louisa Willcox, Bill Willers, Howie Wolke
T
he Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) made headlines in August with a new eco-nomics report: “The Active Outdoor Recreation Economy: A $730 Billion AnnualContribution to the U.S. Economy.” (http://www.outdoorindustry.org/pdf/FinalOut-doorRecreationReportEC.pdf) What is “active outdoor recreation?” According to OIA,it includes hiking, biking, boating, camping, fishing, hunting, snowsports, and wildlifewatching. Basically, it’s another name for non-motorized recreation. In addition, WinterWildlands Alliance also released a report in August (see New Resources – p. 17) entitled“Winter Recreation on Western National Forest Lands: A Comprehensive Analysis of Mo-torized and Non-Motorized Opportunity and Access.” The two reports together providean interesting perspective on public lands recreation.First, motorized recreationists argue that their form of recreation is an economicboon to communities. While this might be true, it doesn’t mean that active outdoor recre-ation is less of a boon. In fact, the OIA report shows that non-motorized recreation likelystimulates more economic activity at a national level than motorized recreation, though itdoes not make a direct comparison. The report cited direct sales of $289 billion per yearrelated to active outdoor recreation, with $441 billion generated through the multipliereffect. Even if you discount the multiplier and only count sales of gear, transportation,lodging, etc., the impact is still profound. The entire movie/video economic sector, forexample, generated only $80 billion during the same period.Second is the question of access. The Winter Wildlands report reveals that 70% ofnational forest land in the 11 western states is open to snowmobiling. Two-thirds of theremaining land is designated wilderness, leaving only about 10 million non-wildernessacres designated for non-motorized recreation (keep in mind that wilderness lands aredifficult to access in winter conditions). Furthermore, the report finds that only 8% ofgroomed winter trails are for non-motorized recreation, even though active winter recre-ation accounts for 28% more visits than motorized winter sports.Taken together, these reports make clear that active outdoor recreation generatesmore revenue and appeals to more users than motorized recreation. While the economicdata is compelling, it would be a shame if land managers strove to increase dividends forpublic and private profit. Instead, they must protect the entirety of our natural resources(not just recreational access) for current and future generations.On access, we commend Winter Wildlands for acknowledging the potential conflictwith resource protection. Their report concludes that “protection of wintering wildlifeand critical winter habitat should prevail over all recreation use, whether motorized ornon-motorized.” Few recreational access organizations have taken such strong, publicpositions in favor of resource protection over access. In recent years, the outdoor indus-tries that profit from active outdoor recreation have become more active in promotingprotection of public lands. It’s up to us to make sure that the values they seek to protectare based not just on the economy, but also on ecology.
The Wrangell Mountains in Alaska. Photo by Dianne Taliaferro, National Park Service.
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