Study: Outdoor Recreation Sinking

[Len Backus]

A new study indicates that people in the U.S. and other “developed nations” are spending far less time outdoors than in past generations. The results of a study appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences looked at participation in hunting, fishing, camping, backpacking, hiking and visitation to national and state parks and forests.

The research was funded by the Nature Conservancy. Oliver Pergams, assistant professor of biological sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, served as lead researcher in the study. He was joined by fellow researcher Patricia Zaradic, a fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program.

“We are seeing a fundamental shift away from people’s interest in nature, not just in the US but in other countries, too,” said Pergrams. “The consequences of this could be deep and far-ranging for health, for human well-being”

In 2006, the researchers released a study showing that per capita visits to national parks have been declining for the past two decades.

Zaradic said the decline is critical not only for this generation, but for future generations as well.

“For the last 20 years we’ve raised children with less and less interest in nature recreation--we are likely to see the repercussions in conservation and human health for decades to come,” she said.