Outdoor Recreation Is Dying?

The Scoutmaster blog points out an abstract of a report entitled "Evidence for a fundamental and pervasive shift away from nature-based recreation" by Oliver Pergams and Patricia Zaradic, in their post called Nature Based Recreation in Decline?

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.

While I believe that overall they very well may have a point. As our children become more and more sedentary, preferring to spend time in front of the Xbox or Playstation to playing sports the neighborhood kids outdoors, it only makes sense that fewer of them venture outside for recreation once they become adults.

Thus adding yet another reason that Scouting is more important than ever to the boys it serves. Scouting may be a boy's first and only experience with Outdoor Recreation give the facts sited in the report and if our National Parks are to be fully enjoyed by future generations then Scouting needs to hook them on the outdoors and its wonders.