Fewer happy campers

A generation of environmental opposition to the expansion of quality visitor opportunities in the National Parks is having an effect. The quality of the visitor experience continues to deteriorate. Not surprisingly people are finding other things to do. Environmentalists ought to be very worried that this will weaken the environmental constituency. If people continue to be driven away the sustainability of the whole movement may be threatened along with the quality of life of our fellow citizens.

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Fewer happy campers
Declining overnight stays signals worrisome trend
Boulder Daily Camera
September 27, 2006

Camping in the national parks is apparently losing popularity, and while that might be temporarily beneficial for the overcrowded parks themselves, it signals a worrisome political trend.

Between 1995 and 2005, overnight stays in national parks dropped by 20 percent, CDenver Post reported Monday. Overnight visits fell about 4.3 percent in the first eight months of this year, perhaps showing that the decline is accelerating. Those numbers reflect campground stays (both tents and RV) and backcountry visits.

The national parks have just under 14 million overnight visits a year. That's no small number, but in context of the demographic and political realities that sustain the parks, the decline is a concern.

"Let's face it: It's hard to protect the parks if no one is interested in them," Butch Street, a statistician for the National Park Service, told the newspaper.

Explanations for the trend vary. Some note that U.S. population growth is fueled in large part by ethnic minorities, who have traditionally been "underserved" by the parks. Others suggest an inverse relationship between park visitation and video games, DVDs and other gadgets.

Additionally, some worry about the danger from humans in the parks. As some note, though, the parks aren't alone in being neglected. Large numbers of people choose not to go outside much or at all.

That may be hard to remember here in Colorado, whose residents are unusually outdoorsy. And it may be hard to believe on brilliant autumn days like Tuesday, which lured legions of locals outside.

But it's worth remembering that the protection of national parks, like other national treasures, depends on the abiding support and good will of citizens. Such advocacy is weakened when parks are merely two-dimensional abstractions, pretty pictures flashing on a screen or passing by a window.

So get out there. Breathe the crisp air. Grow deaf in the silence. Drift off under a billion stars. And perceive the parks as they really are: worthwhile.