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When I created the Wild Wilderness website in 1997, at the top of the home page I placed the following statement
On this website you will discover how conservative Congressmen, cash-strapped land managers, and recreation industry leaders are working cooperatively to create an entirely new land management paradigm. Their efforts are being directed toward maximal "commercialization, privatization and motorization" of our natural heritage. The name best used to describe their vision for the 21st century and beyond is: "Industrial Strength Recreation"
 During the next 10 years I wrote and distributed to the Wild Wilderness network some 4000 updates detailing the progress of this Industrial Strength Recreation agenda.
It was never my intention to be a chronicler of the loss of what had once made the National Forests and other public lands so special -- though it often times feels as if that is what I am doing. I was my belief and expectation that through a combination of outreach, activism and education, the Industrial Strength Recreation agenda could be derailed.
Pasted below is an article from today's Oregonian titled "Rethinking Camping." Its subheading reads "A Forest Service plan could dramatically change Mount Hood's offerings." It is about the final stages of the implementation of the Industrial Strength Recreation agenda I first described a decade ago and it involves much more than merely rethinking CAMPING -- it involves Rethinking Recreation.
Similar plans have already, or will soon be, being drawn up for each and every one of the 155 national forests in this country. What you will read below affects you no matter where in the USA you live.
I may not be too late -- not if people are willing to stand in the way of this agenda and to turn it back.
Scott
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September 20, 2007
Rethinking camping
A Forest Service plan could dramatically change Mount Hood's offerings
MICHAEL MILSTEIN - The Oregonian
GOVERNMENT CAMP -- The Mount Hood National Forest's White River Station
campground offers a no-frills deal: 10 bucks gets you a picnic table
made from a split log, a fire pit, a dusty patch to pitch a tent, a
nearby outhouse and a mesmerizing view of the gurgling White River and
forested slopes glowing in the sun.
But it's a deal that may not last.
The U.S. Forest Service is rethinking how many recreation facilities it
can keep up as funding for campgrounds, picnic areas and trails dries
up. As the Mount Hood forest considers its choices, smaller, less-used
sites such as this one may get farmed out to concessionaires or
volunteers -- or even closed.
At the other end of the scale, bigger and popular forest campgrounds
such as those around Timothy Lake might see the addition of yurts,
showers, RV hookups -- who knows, maybe even Wi-Fi someday -- to better
compete with other attractions of a high-tech age.
That could change the nature of the traditionally bare-bones national
forest campgrounds. Although some campers may prefer few frills,
officials suspect primitive facilities may be less attractive to
electronically connected teenagers and baby boomers who prefer the
comfort of RVs.
"Maybe more people would come to our campgrounds if we provided
electrical hookups," said Malcolm Hamilton, who manages recreation for
the forest. "There's an ongoing debate, and we haven't resolved that
debate, as to whether it's our role to provide that."
The Mount Hood forest ranks as one of the most heavily visited national
forests in the nation, and it will likely see more use as the
Northwest's population rises.
Lee Creager and his son Paul, both of Portland, the only ones camped at
White River Station on a recent weekday, said the campground is one of
their favorites, because it's out of the way.
"That's what's nice about coming over here," said Paul, in front of a
1982 Winnebago shaded by the pines. "You're not camped right on top of
each other."
Nationwide issue
Other national forests completing similar recreation reviews are
proposing to close and shorten the seasons of some sites, and raise
fees at others.
The initiative drew national criticism when it started. Watchdog groups
were suspicious the Forest Service was quietly shuttering sites that
don't bring in enough money. Agency leaders responded in July by giving
the process a less-intimidating name and committing to involve the
public more closely in its choices.
But its general strategy remains the same: National forests rank
recreation sites with a system that generally gives priority to the
most popular campgrounds and other facilities that serve the most
people at the least cost.
They also must look at how closely each site matches each forest's
central recreation pursuits, or niche. The Mount Hood forest defined
its niche vaguely, with the phrase, "A mountain of possibilities," but
says it centers around easily accessible recreation for the largely
urban population of Portland.
The idea is that forests should focus their limited money on the
highest ranked sites. They'll look for other ways to run lower ranked
sites that their money can't reach. Volunteers may maintain some, for
instance, or private concessionaires could take some over.
If all else fails, officials might eliminate services such as trash pickup or close a site altogether.
Mount Hood officials have ranked all 170 developed recreation sites in
the forest, but they refuse to reveal their results until sometime this
fall. They said they will then hold public meetings to discuss their
plans.
The goal is to better orient the sort of recreation facilities the
forest offers with what the public wants, Hamilton said. Many
campgrounds were built decades ago, when tent camping was popular,
without sites large enough to accommodate today's large RVs.
Forest Service officials lack detailed statistics about how people use
the forest and trends in that use. They know more than 4 million people
visit Mount Hood each year, but fewer than 5 percent camp.
"Perhaps half of our visitors drive to Timberline Lodge, get out, look
at the scenery, go inside and use the bathroom and leave," Hamilton
said.
Visitors' demands change
Forest staff hear from many visitors that they would like utility
hookups for RVs in campgrounds, and want more large, group camps that
could handle family reunions and club get-togethers. Hookups might make
campgrounds more attractive to aging baby boomers not as keen on
pitching tents as they used to be, and teenagers, who may be more tuned
in to electronics than the outdoors.
Such improvements would most likely be undertaken by private
concessionaires who already run most of the forest's campgrounds,
rather than the cash-strapped forest service.
Top recreational activities around Mount Hood over the next years
include sightseeing, day hiking, wildlife watching and downhill skiing
-- but not camping, Hamilton said.
So forest officials must scrutinize the money they spend on more remote
campgrounds, especially those with low occupancy rates, he said.
"Every place is special to somebody -- we realize that," Hamilton said.
"But there are a number that don't make sense to keep operating the way
we've been doing it."
The Forest Service's approach has the uncomfortable ring of
commercialization to some groups, who say the rustic nature of public
lands is what makes them special. They say the underlying problem is
reduced federal funding for recreation, even as Northwest national
forests get more money to ramp up logging.
"It does not take much money to maintain a dispersed campsite with a
little outhouse," said Alex Brown of Bark, a Mount Hood watchdog group.
"So why get rid of it and replace it with a bigger one with hookups?"
The Creagers, who have camped all through the Mount Hood forest since
Paul, now 48, was a toddler, usually now camp during the week to avoid
crowds.
"This is really one of our favorite spots," said Lee, who knows the
spot along the historic Barlow Road so well that he explained how logs
in the White River have shifted since last year. "We look forward to it
all year."
They have camped in concessionaire-operated campgrounds and don't see much difference, besides the higher price.
"If I could see a lot of improvements, I might feel differently," Lee said. "But I don't."
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