|
Yesterday the Chief of the US Forest Service was the guest of the American Recreation Coalition and the groups listed here:
American Association for Nude Recreation
American Horse Council
American Motorcyclist Association
Association of Marina Industries
BoatUS
Kampgrounds of America
Motorcycle Industry Council
National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds
National Recreation and Park Association
Personal Watercraft Industry Association
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association
Recreation Vehicle Industry Association
ReserveAmerica
Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association
Over lunch, Chief Bosworth laid out his vision for outdoor recreation in the 21st Century. An account of his presentation, as prepared by the American Recreation Coalition, is provided below.
Simply and plainly stated, almost nothing in Bosworth's presentation is worth supporting. Although couched in warm, fuzzy, and sometimes positive sounding language, Bosworth lays out an ambitious agenda that will result in further commercialization, privatization and commodification of those recreational opportunities which will remain available upon our public lands. Bosworth lays out plans that are predicated upon shifting the primary funding of outdoor recreation away from tax-receipts and to increased user fees, concessionaire fees, volunteer labor, and more.
What Bosworth touts as ACHIEVEMENTS are nothing of the sort. Bosworth's achievements represent some of the greatest failures in the history of Forest Service recreation management.
The good news is Bosworth was only laying out an agenda and his agenda has yet to be FULLY implemented. The bad news is, the organizations listed hold the inside track with respect to outdoor recreation management and Bosworth is their man. The bad news is, Bosworth's agenda is currently being implemented.
Who will stop them!?
Scott
--- begin quoted ---
Forest Service Chief Announces 2007 Recreation Forums, New Challenge Cost Share to Benefit Recreation
Washington, DC -(October 17, 2006) -Dale Bosworth, Chief of the USDA
Forest Service, told the Recreation Exchange that his agency is making
progress in its effort to reposition itself for the 21st century,
including a much higher role for recreation -in spite of budgetary
constraints caused by the war on terror and unprecedented wildfire
activity. These achievements include:
- development of the Travel Management rule in response to the threat of unmanaged recreation and now being implemented;
-
passage of the Recreation Enhancement Act to sustain recreation
management and to provide for stakeholder input into the use of
fee-generated funds through Recreation Resource Advisory Committees; and
- Recreation Site Facility Master Planning, a process to combine
analysis of use trends with financial analysis to provide, in
consultation with the public, “the best recreation opportunities in the
right places.”
These accomplishments, he said, “are helping us reposition ourselves
during tough times by reducing impacts on the land and conflicts
between users, providing sustainable funding sources and making
efficient use of available funds to respond to changing demands and
opportunities.”
An additional challenge for the Forest Service, he noted, is the need
to re-establish the relevance of national forests and grasslands to all
Americans, especially urban populations and youth so that the Forest
Service can continue “to provide great memories to this and future
generations.” To address this emerging need, Mr. Bosworth announced a
new Challenge Cost Share project, “More Kids in the Woods”. The pilot
project, he said, “will encourage national forest units to develop new
efforts or amplify existing ones to connect kids to the woods in
meaningful and enduring ways.” Initially funded at $50,000, the
competitive program will require a minimum 1:1 cost share partnership.
Winners will be announced at a special event in the spring. This
program was developed by a cross-deputy area team working to implement
ideas that resulted from the Forest Service Centennial in 2005.
Chief Bosworth also discussed a series of regional and national forums
with recreation partners to continue to collaboratively identify key
recreation issues and potential solutions. The regional forums will be
held in February-March 2007, with a national forum later in the spring.
Additional focus will be provided at two additional events organized by
the American Recreation Coalition: Partners Outdoors in January 2007
and Great Outdoors Week in June. These forums will help to develop
ideas for “Our Recreation Future”, the framework for redefining
sustainable recreation and repositioning the Forest Service for the
21st century.
The forums will bring focus to two specific areas challenging the
Forest Service: access and relevance of national forests and grasslands
to all Americans, especially youth and urban populations.
Key to access issues are:
-
the condition, maintenance and funding of road and trail systems;
-
the loss of open space caused the subdivision and development of
private land which leaves large tracts of public land inaccessible;
-
adopting modern technology for dissemination of visitor information and interpretation; and
-
developing equitable approaches to access for competing interests
that recognize the common interest over the special interest.
Key to relevance issues are:
-
helping Americans develop a connection to national forests and grasslands so that they care about forest health; and
-
incorporating new technologies to involve youth including digital
photography, GPS adventures, webcasts, podcasts and downloadable
interpretive materials.
In summing up, Chief Bosworth reiterated that the Forest Service
recognizes that outdoor recreation and ecological restoration are
central to repositioning the Forest Service for the 21st century.
National forests will continue, he said, “to supply the vital
recreation opportunities that support the economic vitality of so many
gateway and rural communities.” He pledged that he will continue to
address the growing disconnect between people and the land which is a
threat to the relevancy of the Forest Service. He challenged the
recreation community to join in defining “Our Recreation Future” by
contributing its ideas, energy and partnerships so “together we can
make the leap to the future.”
Following his prepared remarks, Mr. Bosworth took questions. An
audience member observed that field staff are feeling “maxed out” and
asked how the recreation community can assist them. Mr. Bosworth
responded that the Forest Service has indeed been challenged by a
static budget during five years when fire suppression has grown to
consume 42% of its appropriated funds -up from 22%. Because of this,
the Forest Service has $750 million less to spend on other programs.
The agency is addressing this by introducing management efficiencies
currently saving $77 million, with a target of $99 million to ”make
dollars work better for us and focus on what makes the biggest impact.”
This makes partnerships increasingly important, he noted.
In answer to a suggestion that increased timber sales could replace
appropriations, Mr. Bosworth noted that global competition has made
timber sales less lucrative than in the past. Timber sales on national
forests today, he said, are “to improve the health of the land.” He
described a promising program called “stewardship contracting” which
allows for restoration of resources within the timber harvesting
process. Income from timber sales is used to pay for ecological
restoration, trails, visitor facilities and roads -the only cost to the
Forest Service is for project planning.
A concern was raised that significant dependence on volunteers on
national forests for routine maintenance was unsustainable. Mr.
Bosworth expressed a strong belief in volunteer programs which
currently provide the majority of trail maintenance on national
forests, so long as they are managed by well-trained staff. Volunteers
enthusiastically provide a wide range of services, he noted, from
boundary-scouting to archeological excavation. Currently, the most
successful volunteer programs are almost always field staff
“personality-dependent”, and he acknowledged that “we can do more on
the national level to develop those skills on the forests.”
Asked if lack of maintenance is a essentially a barrier to access when
reclassifying trails to a lower standard removes them from equestrian
use, Mr. Bosworth stated that trails are reclassified not for lack of
maintenance but to achieve more appropriate use.
An audience member observed that the Forest Service mission and
activities include much more than natural resource management, and it
should seek to receive funding from other sources, such as federal
transportation, public health, education and economic development
funds. Mr. Bosworth agreed that the Forest Service needs to do more to
develop additional congressional committee allies beyond its
traditional supporters in the full range of its program areas.
Reacting to the suggestion that the Forest Service should shift its
focus in the West from back country to urban forests, Mr. Bosworth said
this will be addressed in the 2007-2012 Forest Service Strategic Plan
now in development. “The rural orientation has been who we are” he
said, “but 80% of Americans now live in urban areas and we are
shifting.”
Also speaking to the group was Gary Kiedaisch, president of The Coleman
Company, which, he said, is “committed to building a cause to get
people recreating outdoors.” In a recent meeting with President Bush,
Mr. Kiedaisch urged the President to extend the mission of the
President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports to include outdoor
recreation explicitly. The outdoor industry, he said, needs to join
with the recreation industry to “get people active and grow our
business.” He suggests that the WOW camp out on the White House lawn
should become a national camp out implemented by the private sector on
national parks and forests.
Recreation Exchanges are hosted in Washington, D.C. by the American
Recreation Coalition ten times annually, featuring guests who are
influencing recreation policy in America. Information on past and
future programs is available at www.funoutdoors.com.
For more information about the Forest Service “Stewardship Contracting” program: click here.
If you would like to contact Mr. Bosworth, he can be reached as follows:
Chief Dale Bosworth
USDA Forest Service
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250-0003
202-205-1661 Fax:202-205-1765
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Recreation Exchanges are made possible by the following sponsors:
American Association for Nude Recreation
American Horse Council
American Motorcyclist Association
Association of Marina Industries
BoatUS
Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Reclamation
Kampgrounds of America
Motorcycle Industry Council
National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds
National Park Service
National Recreation and Park Association
Personal Watercraft Industry Association
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association
Recreation Vehicle Industry Association
ReserveAmerica
Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association
USDA Forest Service
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
|
BLOG 
