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<br />176 r Preserving the Recrearion Environment <br /> <br />.- <br />'011 Ilatural resources, made up of members of Ihe four separate committees in <br />each house th<lt now consider resource malters. Unfortunately. opposed by <br />strong lobbies and vested bureaucracies, this bill has little chance of passage at <br />pr~senl. <br />Bur the need for such action grows daily. For unless we stop managing our <br />r~sources in ('Ie present fragmentized way. we will SOOI1 run out of things worth <br /> <br />lighting to keep, h,\)( \.~ <br /> <br />.~~ <br />. ~PA ).. . <br />~ ~c,'" ~ f, ~Ca,,\J' <br />. ~1"" 'Xc, ..~. <br />__'.~' 6 tV <br />_ ' ,\~' ~)..'f!:J.tJ ""fJ., tJ <br />~ ~., - 'ill'" t .. '\ . . \J \ <br />~.t ;) q, '\. <br />")fl'"'" <br />) ~\. c,)..' <br />.,. J\1' <br />") Q...~ <br />l~ <br /> <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />~. ~ ~~~ <br /> <br />. <br />.......... <br />.,t-:-. <br /> <br />b-177 <br />f'Q <br />WRECKREATION IN OUR NATIONAL PA@.s <br /> <br />Robert 8, Ditton <br /> <br />Recreation is usually considered an unlimited opportunity, the economic <br />backbone of marlY states, the frosting on the American DreJm, and rarely a <br />problem. Yet the impact of providing for people's reactiun ac:tivities Iws It:ft <br />and continues to leave its m:.Jrk on our already beleaguered environment-often <br />with the official blessing of the government agencies involved. <br />First, many recreation resources have been acquired by [he federal gu.....ern. <br />ment with little thought as to how they will sustain the massive human impact <br />10 which they are being and will continue to be subjected. <br />Second, we find that many federal resource development schemes sold on <br />their recreation values are in fact ecological disasters. The true rel:reatiol1 values <br />of iTl<lny of our n"turill resources are being misused today in the brutal process <br />of project justification. As a result, regional grassroots organiz<ltions are <br />springing into existence to prevent further destruction of the environment in the <br />name of leisure and recreation. <br />II may be dirticult to consider recreation as a pollutant, bcc<luse we h<lvc <br />been s:Jying <lU along that recreation is the first to suffer from water pollution <br />and other environmentaJ degradations. Uut the increasing numbers of recreators <br />eng<lged in diversitied recreation purSllits (many with a high environmental <br />impact such as camping, snowmobiling, all.terrain vehide use, powerboating, and <br />trail-bike use), together with many of the developments specifically planned for <br />lheir use, are <lctually furthering the deleriof<ltioll of natural resources. <br /> <br />LOVING OUR NATURAL RESOURCES TO DEATH <br /> <br />Madison Avenue advertising organizations, ecologically-insensitive resource <br />planners, communities bent on economic windfalls from our public lands, <br />conservation groups with narrow self.satisfying objectives, and the develop. <br />ment.minded public are all actively promoting the leisure misuse of our natural <br />resources. They are unknowing)y encouraging over-use or improper use. In <br />everyday language, we are encouraging peopk to love our natural resources to <br />death. This was first recognized and reilected in the policy of the Americ:.J1l <br />Waterworks Association-a group of water supply administrators who restrict rhe <br />recreation use of water supply reservoirs, regardless of treatment and enforce. <br />meIlt levels. They recognize the leisure impact Oil water quality, but do not have <br />the means to mitigate the impacts. <br />In his 1970 St,te of th< Union message, President Nixon proposed new <br />financing methods for purcbasing open space and parklands "now before they <br /> <br />Reprinled from Parks alld RecreQlion, Vol. 6. June 1971, pp. 22.26, wllh perJ1lis~ion <br />fronllhe N:.Ilionill Recreation and Park Associ:lIion. <br />