http://www.yakima-herald.com/page/dis/286463743712608

If statistics were sitting around that same campfire, they would also have a tale to share — that sometime soon this imaginary family might be the only one left in the woods.  

The rise in video games, television, the Internet and fuel costs are the main contributors to a significant drop-off in the numbers of people visiting U.S. national parks, according to a Nature Conservancy-funded study to be published this month in the Journal of Environmental Management.

But it’s not just the nationals seeing declining rates.

Interesting article. Visitation to state parks are also way down. Why? What is contributing to this decline? Another quote from the article:

He’s pretty early in his findings, but he says “absolutely, hiking for pleasure and camping, those types of leisurely activities are way down.” Instead, families who play together do so by snowmobiling and downhill skiing in the winter months, and then heading out on all-terrain vehicles when it gets warmer. 

It looks like several things are contributing to this. Gas prices I am sure play a large role. It also seems we are getting fatter and lazier. Why spend the time to prepare a camp meal when you can hit the Arby’s drive through? Why have to talk to your kids in a quiet campground, teaching them about the outdoors when you can just drive around with the roar of ATV’s? I know that some of the more hard core campers out there will say ” good, that’s less people and a more quiet campground for me”. That would be true, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that this is a serious problem. As the years pass, fewer and fewer campground users means less funding and more ORV and Arby experiences. The truth is that parks and campgrounds do need to be promoted. Our outdoor heritage does need to be promoted. True, we cannot force our experiences in the outdoors on the younger generation, but we can let them experience it on it’s own merit, rather than from the seat of an ORV. Simply taking youngsters to camp is probably the single most effective way of passing on this outdoor heritage. Once a kid has a good camping experience in a quality location ,it’s tough for that to get out of their blood. Blend the camping experience with a good campfire story, some fishing, some wildlife watching, hiking and exploring, and you have the kind of experience that kids won’t forget. And when I say “take a kid camping” the experience I am referring to is one in a semi-wild location, with at least some sort of decent scenery. It also shouldn’t involve lots of adults standing around bonfires drinking, shouting and hollering ( or with bad nu-country music blasted on a radio). It should be a quiet experience, a time of reflection and lessons and exploring.

After all, nothing in video games or the internet can compare with a clear bright view of the Milky Way.