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There is one motorized recreation threat to our public lands this is going largely unnoticed and almost unopposed. Yet the impacts to the traditional outdoor recreation experience is, in my opinion, on a par with the impacts associated with dirtbikes, jetskis, snowmobiles and the like. While the physical impacts are not as obvious, the affects upon WILDNESS and upon the expectation of what type of recreational experiences can be expected on America's public lands, is every bit as great.
The threat I am talking about is the Recreation Vehicle --- the 40' long, $150,000, Winnebago.
Perhaps you've noticed a great deal of recent media and advertising about the RV Life-style. What you are seeing is part of a $20,000,000 national advertising/marketing campaign by the RV Industry.
The campaign consists of paid advertising and "planted" media stories such as the one excepted below. The campaign is being orchestrated chiefly by David Humphreys, President of Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (Chairman and Founder of the American Recreation Coalition) and by Michael Molino, President and CEO of the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association and ARC Board Member.
What is a stake, is that the American camping experience is being redesigned and, with it, so National Park Gateway Communities as well our our National Forest camping facilities.
Our National Parks are quickly being turned into "anchor attractions" to support the most crass of commercial, industrial-tourism laden gateway communities. What is happening at and outside Yosemite, Grand Canyon and Zion are three striking examples of this new phenomenon.
The Parks themselves are being intensively developed with visitor services, some upscale accommodations, restaurants, interpretive centers, gift shops and the like. Family camping is being moved out of the Parks and on to adjacent commercial campgrounds.
On the National Forests, however, there is an ever growing attempt to build KOA-style, full-service, RV campgrounds right within the forests. The result will be National Parks that are run as theme parks and National Forests that are run as playgrounds.
It's called: "niche marketing and brand differentiation" and unless the environmental community does something to stop this trend, it will be upon us before you know it.
Scott
--- begin excerpted quoted ---
August 22, 2000
ROOM WITH A VIEW: Modern Campgrounds Have Scenery
BY ANNA CEKOLA -- THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Forget about roughing it.
Many of today's campers are pulling up to 50-amp hookups with enough
juice to power a double air conditioner on the most luxurious of
recreational vehicles. Need a connection for cable TV or to check
e-mail? No problem. How about ditching the tent or trailer altogether
and sleeping over in a cozy log cabin or cottage?
And all this is just a short distance from some of the most scenic and
rugged areas in the western United States. Welcome to a new wave of
private campgrounds hitting southern Utah.
"We wanted to build a park of the future," said Ron Smith, an owner and
managing partner of the year-round Zion River Resort, which opened
April 1 with 133 sites and three cabins along state Route 9 in Virgin,
the first new private campground in that part of the Zion National Park
area in four decades.
John Holland and his partners opened their KOA Kampground May 22 on
state Route 12 in Cannonville, down the highway from Bryce Canyon
National Park and next door to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National
Monument.
Growing Popularity: Industry officials say several factors are contributing to the growth.
Visitor numbers, although perhaps off slightly in some areas this
summer, have climbed steadily in the region, and camping remains a
relatively affordable option for families and seniors, and even a
growing number of younger adults without children. Studies by the
Recreational Vehicle Industry Association show the majority of
recreational vehicles are owned by people 35 to 54 years old, according
to KOA.
A growing number of tourists to southern Utah also are from Europe.
Many rent luxury RVs that require full camp hookups and spaces large
enough for a coach to pull through or set up a large slide-out room,
the types of space configurations many older campgrounds lack.
Management Shift: It was a different picture when most of the major
Western parks were established: "There was no business built up,"
Peterson said. "There weren't private investors willing to open motels.
Park services did that . . . We got used to these things being provided
in the park."
With the changing mind-set, large national parks in other states have
started what they are calling a commercial service planning process,
trying to determine what things could be removed and handled privately
and what should be added, he said.
But the trend is not without its "dark side," Peterson warned. The
organization is concerned private development will be allowed to
dominate park boundaries, creating noise and light pollution. "It
spoils the feeling of grandeur, the feeling of isolation," he said...
But business has been down this summer, she said. Competition is tough
from bigger resorts closer to the national parks, and higher entrance
fees seem to be taking a toll, she said.
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- Outdoor recreation 
