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This morning I stumbled upon a news story, the headline of which read, "Get Outdoors PA program may expand" and my interest was immediately aroused. I hope yours will be as well. The article is available here.
Having read it and as many others as I could find on this topic, I've selected two brief selections to share. One is the news release from 2004 in which the launch of this recreation campaign was announced. The other is the Mission Statement of Venture Outdoors, the "Get Outdoors PA" private-sector partner. I've appended both and while the later is more instructive that the former, the former is needed to appreciate the later.
I share these because they illustrate an important and far-reaching trend in outdoor recreation that should be of interest to you. The example comes from State lands in the EAST, but it will apply equally to federally-managed lands in the WEST, and that is important to remember. Looking at this campaign is like peering deeply and broadly into the future of outdoor recreation. I hope you find the view educational.
Scott
---- Begin Press Release ---------
Issued: 04/27/2004 03:00 PM GMT
Launches New Recreation Program For Western PA State Parks and Forests; Get Outdoors PA to Offer More Than 160 Programs This Spring and Summer
HARRISBURG, Pa., April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Michael DiBerardinis today announced the launch of Get Outdoors PA, a pilot program in Western Pennsylvania designed to connect visitors to guided recreation programs in state parks and forests.
"The concept behind our Get Outdoors PA program is to help people discover state parks and forests in a new way," said DCNR Secretary Michael DiBerardinis. "The expansion of the services offered in Pennsylvania's parks and forests is just one way DCNR is hoping to connect more citizens with the outdoors. This program takes visitation to the next level, by encouraging people to discover new outdoor activities and learn new skills on the public lands, all while having a great time.
"Get Outdoors PA is for people who always wanted to try an outdoor activity but didn't have the equipment or know-how to get started," Secretary DiBerardinis said.
The pilot program, which is being introduced in more than 20 state parks and forests in Western Pennsylvania, will offer visitors a chance to learn an outdoor skill in an organized setting with trained professionals. More than 160 programs are scheduled during the next four months, beginning May 1. Get Outdoors PA is a cooperative program between DCNR and Venture Outdoors, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting outdoor recreation and Western Pennsylvania as a great place to live, work and play outdoors. Venture Outdoors guides will lead the programs, with support from DCNR staff. Programs on camping, kayaking, canoeing, fly-fishing, rock climbing and mountain biking will teach visitors technique and provide the equipment to participate in the session. Organized day hikes and nature treks combine discovery of the natural world along with invigorating exercise. Outdoor courses in Leave No Trace(TM), Wilderness survival and geocaching combine fun with learning. Get Outdoors PA also offers programs designed for women on biking, canoeing, hiking and fly-fishing.
"This is a great new partnership that builds on the best of what both organizations do well," said Mike Schiller, executive director of Venture Outdoors. "We look forward to helping a lot more people enjoy the outstanding recreational opportunities in our state parks and forests." The Summer 2004 program runs from May through August at Allegheny Island, Blue Knob, Clear Creek, Cook Forest, Hillman, Keystone, Laurel Hill, Linn Run, MK Goddard, Moraine, McConnell's Mill, Ohiopyle, Oil Creek, Point, Presque Isle, Prince Gallitzin, Pymatuning, Raccoon Creek, Ryerson Station and Yellow Creek state parks; Forbes State Forest; and Jennings Environmental Education Center.
Prices of the sessions vary; some are free. While most programs are for beginners, some are tailored for advanced learning experiences. They range from half-day to two-day outings. Some programs offer discounts for children.
To register for a Get Outdoors PA program call (412) 255-0564. More information is available at http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/ or http://www.ventureoutdoors.org/ .
CONTACT: Gretchen A. Leslie of Pennsylvania Department of Conservation
and Natural Resources, +1-717-772-9101
Web site: http://www.state.pa.us/
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/
http://www.ventureoutdoors.org/
===NEXT====
http://www.ventureoutdoors.org/mission.asp
Our Mission Statement
Venture Outdoors, by increasing participation in outdoor recreational activity, seeks to create a sense of community among participants and a better understanding of and a deeper appreciation for the environment and wilderness among the residents of and visitors to Western Pennsylvania.
Philosophy
The Approach
Venture Outdoors believes that more people will get outside when their choices of outings are.
- As accessible as the movie and concert listings
- As well organized as the Great Race
- As welcoming to novices as the Race for the Cure
- As safe and insured as a Gateway Clipper cruise
- As varied as booths at the Three Rivers Arts Festival
- Some comfortable and relaxed like a concert at Hartwood Acres
- Others challenging, with a sense of achievement like the Pittsburgh Marathon
- As appealing as an evening sitcom or a Saturday afternoon TV sporting event
- As socially engaging as a tailgate party
- As dynamic as a popular bar, where people can expect to find their friends
- and make new ones
<continues>
PS.... Did you recognized the "Get Outdoors" name???
As best I can tell, "Get Outdoors" is a name recognition campaign that has a great many sponsors and is itself very far reaching. It goes FAR beyond just the little example I provided. Some sponsors come from within the commercial recreation community. Some come from within the conservation community, others from within the recreation community and still others, interestingly enough, come from within the conservation FUNDING community. Venture Outdoors, for example, is a project of the Tides Center.
To learn more about another, massively important, leg of "Get Outdoors" here an important link to information provided by the Outdoor Industry Association.
You might also GOOGLE for "Get Outdoors" and start plowing through the 120,000 hits that will greet you. For those wanting to learn more but not wanting to plow so deeply, I've appended highlights from a third article that pulls together a few more of the pieces into a tidy package.
-- begin quoted excerpts --
Aug. 09, 2004
For many vacationers, lure of campfire is dimming
Fewer people are using national parks and sites in Pennsylvania. Changes in lifestyle are cited.
By Paul Nussbaum - Inquirer Staff Writer
The rustic family vacation, a staple of American summers for much of the last century, appears to be losing its appeal. Drawn to other activities, strapped for time, put off by the rigors of roughing it, fewer Americans are packing up the tent and heading for the hills.
"Some forms of outdoor recreation, such as camping, particularly tent camping, have declined fairly precipitously," said Geoffrey Godbey, a professor of leisure studies at Pennsylvania State University. Godbey cited an aging, more urban population, shorter vacations and that familiar culprit - changing lifestyles - for the shift.
"The lure of the outdoors is not faring well, compared to the lure of electronics," said Derrick Crandall, president of the American Recreation Coalition, a Washington-based organization of recreation companies and trade associations. He said recent surveys for the Recreation Roundtable showed young people, especially, were less likely than in the past to camp or otherwise get outdoors frequently.
"For the first time, we saw the percentage of people in their 20s who are frequent recreationalists drop below those in their 30s, 40s, and 50s," Crandall said. "That's a real departure from the past. We have never seen the relative paucity of recreational participation by younger Americans."
America's national parks, long a favorite camping destination, have been losing campers for years. In 1981, about 8.9 million people camped in tents and RVs in national park campgrounds. In 2003, the number was down to 5.7 million.
Part of the reason may be that national park campsites are relatively primitive, usually without such amenities as hot showers or electric or water hookups for recreational vehicles. And it may be that, ever in a hurry, modern vacationers don't have time to camp.
"Things have changed in the ways Americans recreate," said David Barna, chief of public affairs for the National Park Service. "It used to be that a family would go to a campground in a park and check in for a week. Now, they hit five parks in a week and spend a day at each.
"It used to be that 80 percent of our visitors spent the night. Now, 80 percent are day-use visitors.
"Unfortunately, they don't tend to get out and enjoy the areas of more solitude. They're more interested in just seeing the icons - everybody wants to see Old Faithful, the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Yosemite Valley."
"That changes the facilities you need; we may need less campgrounds and more parking lots."
A recent survey by the Outdoor Industry Association showed 53 million Americans reported "car camping" last year, down from the record year of 1998, but up from a year earlier. The survey also reported a declining number of outings by non-car campers: 83 million outings last year, compared with 106 million in 2002 and 141 million in 2001.
Pennsylvania state parks saw about a 10 percent decline in campers last year, to 1.7 million from a record 1.9 million in 2002.
Kampgrounds of America, which has about 470 privately operated campgrounds around the country, reports a 10 percent decline in camper-nights over the last decade: about 5.5 million in 2003, compared with 6.1 million in 1994. Much of that decline, said KOA spokesman Mike Gast, is due to fewer campsites and changes in land use.
Not all indicators are down. Some private campgrounds, with more elaborate amenities for RV campers - now often including not only water, electric and sewage hookups, but cable television and high-speed Internet connections - say their numbers are up in recent years.
And not all surveys agree that camping is on the wane. The government's National Survey on Recreation and the Environment, which periodically asks Americans about their outdoor activities, has shown a continuing increase in the numbers who say they camp and participate in most other outdoor recreation.
The survey's lead author, Ken Cordell, of the U.S. Forest Service, said this year's survey showed an "increase in the numbers of people who report that they camp, but a slight downturn in the numbers of days that they camp."
And, Cordell, said, "a tent is not the way they do it."
"People have lost the urge to rough it - they're moving toward motorized recreation," he said.
Among those who have embraced the ease of motorized camping are George and Joan Hess of Toms River, N.J. On a recent morning, they were enjoying a home-cooked breakfast of eggs and bacon and toast at the picnic table outside their 28-foot Four Winds recreational vehicle at the Buena Vista Camping Park, in Buena, N.J.
With their granddaughters and two of the girls' friends, they relaxed under an awning. Surrounding them were the amenities of a modern campground: gigantic double water slide, swimming pool, miniature golf course, movie theater, mini-zoo, amusement rides, video arcade, baseball field, basketball court, antique auto museum and bass-fishing pond. Their RV is comfortably equipped with a stove, oven, microwave, bathroom, shower, queen-size bed and two TVs.
"When we tell people we're camping, they say, 'No, you're RV-ing,' " Joan Hess said with a laugh. "But we'd be dwarfed by some of those $300,000 RVs."
"GET OUTDOORS"
... A brand name that provides you, the customer, with a wide range of Disneyfied, Pay-to-Play, Edu-, Eco- and Wreckre- -tainment Products, Goods and Services.
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- Outdoor recreation 
