Nature Based Recreation in Decline?

Here is part of the abstract of a report entitled “Evidence for a fundamental and pervasive shift away from nature-based recreation” by Oliver Pergams and Patricia Zaradic.

After 50 years of steady increase, per capita visits to U.S. National Parks have declined since 1987. To evaluate whether we are seeing a fundamental shift away from people’s interest in nature, we tested for similar longitudinal declines in 16 time series representing four classes of nature participation variables: (i) visitation to various types of public lands in the U.S. and National Parks in Japan and Spain, (ii) number of various types of U.S. game licenses issued, (iii) indicators of time spent camping, (iv) indicators of time spent backpacking or hiking. The longest and most complete time series tested suggest that typical declines in per capita nature recreation began between 1981 and 1991, are proceeding at rates of –1.0% to –1.3% per year, and total to date –18% to –25%. … In conclusion, all major lines of evidence point to an ongoing and fundamental shift away from nature-based recreation. (The full paper is available for a fee at PNAS ) I have not read the paper(at ten dollars for the privilege to do so I’ll pass). The study reveals what many people have suspected all along – people are probably spending more time online, watching TV or playing video games than they did in the past thus allowing less time for nature based recreation.

I don’t know that this is really all that alarming, or surprising.

I would have to do a fair amount of number crunching to figure out if our troop has seen any such downturn in the past 20 years. What I do know is that the average number of Scouts still go on the average number of camping trips from year to year.

I rather doubt that the boys who choose Scouting end up staying home are to stare into a screen rather than go camping.

I imagine there are a good number of Scout-aged boys who are more sedentary than the average Scout. Such studies will be often (mis)quoted and some people will throw up their hands and blame video games, TV and the internet for the shrinking national numbers of Scouting. (That the downturn started the same year as the disastrous Supreme Court decision will be lost on nearly everyone in the BSA’s corridors of power.) What does remain true are the principles that have applied to scouting since its founding; provide an quality opportunity for boys to be Scouts, preserve their autonomy, maintain the challenge of adventure, don’t keep it a secret and boys will become Scouts.

Numbers will rise and fall, there will be fat and lean times but the movement somehow remains alive despite competing technologies or the sometimes aggravating decisions of the denizens of our National Organization.