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Potentials for Developing New Sources of Recreation Supply

The 2000 Renewable Resources Assessment of Outdoor Recreation and Wilderness (Cordell 1999) and public agency Web sites were the principal sources of information used to address this topic.

It seems clear that a great deal of forest land is suitable for uses that would expand the supply of recreation opportunities. Forests provide the natural settings sought by people for most land-based activities. The probability that a given piece of land will be used to expand supply, however, depends heavily on who owns it. Individual private owners may spend considerable sums to purchase and make a tract of rural land suitable for their own recreation, but they are not likely to spend much for the benefit of others. On public land, the prospects for expanding recreation opportunities depend on the mandates and policies of the managing agencies.

National forests—National forests in the South are significant contributors of forest recreation, but only in areas where national forests exist. Management has given greater emphasis to providing recreation opportunities over the last decade. The Secretary of Agriculture under the Clinton Administration announced a proposed plan for protecting nearly 60 million acres of roadless areas in national forests across the country, including nearly a half million acres in the South. Early in January 2001, President Clinton made perpetual protection of these roadless acres official policy of the Forest Service. Depending on how this decision is administered through the Bush Administration, this policy would:

• Eliminate most road construction and reconstruction on 445,000 acres of inventoried roadless areas on southern national forests.
• Limit timber harvesting to that needed for meeting defined stewardship objectives in roadless areas.
• Allow road construction only when necessary for public safety and resource protection.

Recreation is increasingly finding its way to the top of the priority lists for management of national forests. The Agency’s National Recreation Strategy, approved by the Clinton Administration and applying to the entire Nation, is designed to:

• · Assure sound stewardship of forest resources by making sure recreation activities are compatible with targets for sustaining ecosystem health.
• · Provide safe, natural, well-designed, and well-maintained recreation opportunities for visitors.
• · Provide opportunities for the public to learn about the values of conservation, land stewardship, and responsible recreation.
• The Forest Service recognizes that maintaining high-quality landscape settings in the South is essential to providing high-quality recreation opportunities. The priorities for managing settings in the South, as well as across the Nation, as described in the national strategy, include:
• Identifying attributes of natural, social, and built environments essential for ecological sustainability and recreation opportunities. Recreation activities will be managed within the range of natural variability in ecosystem composition, structure, and function.
• Investing in some facilities and removing others. There is a standing need on national forests to upgrade facilities to meet health, sanitation, and accessibility standards, as well to remove buildings and infrastructure no longer needed.
• Emphasizing high-quality motorized opportunities and experiences, but managing motorized uses to maintain acceptable and balanced environmental impacts on trails and open forest areas.
• Reducing criminal activity and enforcing compliance with laws and regulations to protect forest settings.
• Working with local governments and private landowners to assure public rights-of-way onto national forests. As a part of this strategy, universal accessibility will become increasingly important (U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service 2000).

National parks—The National Park Service encourages recreation activities that (1) are consistent with its applicable legislation, (2) promote visitor enjoyment of parks, (3) are consistent with the protection of natural areas, and (4) are compatible with other park uses. Recreation activities that are usually allowed include boating, camping, bicycling, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, outdoor sports, picnicking, scuba diving, cross-country skiing, caving, mountain and rock climbing, and swimming. Aircraft use, off-road bicycling, hang-gliding, hunting, off-road vehicle use, and snowmobiling are covered by special regulations. The National Park Service manages recreation activities and southern park settings to protect park resources first, and then to provide for public enjoyment. Each park develops and implements visitor use management plans. Visitor use management plans contain specific, measurable management and resource protection objectives related to the activity or activities being addressed.

Unless mandated by statute, the National Park Service will not allow an activity if it would be inconsistent with the park’s enabling legislation, nor if it would erode the values of or purposes for which the park was established. Unacceptable are activities that interfere with other visitor activities, consume park resources, impact natural processes, or endanger the welfare or safety of visitors.

Wildlife refuges—As in national parks, public recreation in fish and wildlife conservation areas must be compatible with refuge conservation purposes, and with any other primary objectives established by law or policy. Conservation areas include the National Wildlife Refuge System, national fish hatcheries, and other areas administered for fish and wildlife. Recreation is viewed as an incidental or secondary use of refuges. None of the refuges, hatcheries, game ranges, or other conservation areas allow forms of recreation not directly related to the primary purposes and functions of these areas.

The Division of Refuge Planning facilitates comprehensive planning on refuges. In this planning, the impacts of recreation visits are considered. Planning contributes to informed decisionmaking that recognizes the needs and interests of all parties, while keeping in sight the primary mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Supply on State land—The South’s State land has been an important source of outdoor opportunities for a long time, and it continues to be a highly important source. While never ceasing to grow, adjust, and adapt as times and demands change, State land systems, especially State parks, have seemed to reach a point of maturity (Landrum 1999). Little further expansion of park acreage is anticipated. What is expected is continued development of new facilities, especially the more upscale types, using more private than State capital, in order to draw visitors from greater distances and generate greater park revenues. Unlike Federal systems, States seem highly motivated to increase their in-State and out-of-State client base.

The greatest uncertainty facing State systems in the foreseeable future is unstable funding. Most seem likely to be required to generate an ever larger share of their operating budget through revenue-producing facilities, services, and programs. It is expected that State park systems especially will employ innovative measures to obtain sufficient funding to maintain or expand their operations. The challenge remains, however, for States to manage their land in ways that will maintain the quality of the outdoor recreation settings they offer, even as they plan to meet demands for fast-growing new activities.

Trail programs are highly significant in the makeup of most State programs. But managing State trail systems comes with a number of challenges. When asked in the National Survey of State Trail Administrators (Moore 1994), “What are the most significant roadblocks to getting and keeping trails on the ground in your State?” over one-fourth of the responding State officials identified funding as number one. Various threats to trails and connecting lands made up the next largest group of responses. Many trail administrators also reported that there was a major problem with lack of awareness of the value of trails and too little demonstrated support for trails by the public, by legislatures, and by State government in general.

When asked to identify the most pressing issues currently facing trails in their States, the most frequent responses related to specific threats to continued existence of trails and trail land. Many of these concerns involved landowner opposition to land development, obliteration of existing trails, and losses of potential trail locations to land use changes. Lack of funding and concerns about trail conflicts and other issues related to multiple use were the next most pressing issues identified. Ability to provide trails close to where people live is also a serious issue for trail administrators. Across the South, State agencies can play a critical role in trail supply by conducting and maintaining an inventory of the number, length, and condition of trails so that trends and problems can be identified and addressed.

Supply on private land—Privately owned land dominates southern forests. Corporate private owners typically provide recreation access by leasing their land to clubs, counties, or others. Individual owners usually have little to none of their land open, either through lease or other means (Teasley and others 1999). The number of southern owners allowing the public to recreate on their land has been decreasing (Cordell and others 1999). It appears that less land will be open to public recreation in the future (table 11.3).

Without some intervention, then, it appears that the amount of private land available for public recreation will decline. There may be opportunities to change that trend, however. Many owners are highly interested in improving the natural conditions of their land. One motivation might be collaborative stewardship with interested potential users. Four of the nine fastest growing recreation activities involve viewing and learning. Partnerships seem possible between owners and those interested in having opportunities to see, study, and photograph wildlife, wildflowers, birds, and other natural attributes of forests. In exchange for such use, owners might be helped to achieve their goal of improving the natural conditions of their land. Planting food species for wildlife, improving and protecting habitat, and monitoring users and mitigating their impacts may open a vast opportunity for owners and interested users alike.

Public land will likely offer better opportunities for new supply, but only to a limited extent. Lack of fiscal resources, movement toward low-impact uses, and a greater emphasis on ecosystem health on Federal land will bring more attention to the issue of visitor capacity than in the past. Increasing attention also may have to be directed at avoiding conflicts among uses.