Recreation Issues to be Addressed by National Forums

Washington, DC - The American Recreation Coalition and the National Forest Foundation announced a series of regional recreation issue forums to be held around the country beginning in early 2007. A national forum also will be held in Washington, DC in April 2007, reported Derrick Crandall, president of the American Recreation Coalition, which is coordinating the events. The regional meetings are planned for Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles, a location in the Pacific Northwest and Chicago.

The day-long forums are designed to solicit recommendations and challenges regarding recreational activities on national forests and other public lands, and to collect suggestions for addressing these concerns. Presentations will be sought from diverse interests, including recreationists, tourism organizations, transportation and academic interests and others. Access concerns will be one of the areas addressed – looking at issues ranging from the condition and trend in roads and trails on public lands to land ownership patterns that may inhibit access to public lands. But other key issues are also expected to be raised, including use of new technologies to enhance visitor experiences and manage recreation, as well as ways to link children to the outdoors.

Reports from the regional meetings will be presented at the National Forum, which will also solicit information and ideas from national representatives of recreation, conservation, sportsman and other organizations. One or more white papers will be developed on important recreation issues by diverse panels assembled by the forum organizers. Participants in all the forums will cover the full range of public and private sector outdoor recreation stakeholders, including motorized and non-motorized recreation interests, state and local tourism, sportsmen’s organizations, watch-able wildlife interests, recreation businesses active on public lands, the interested academic community and federal, state and local government and transportation interests. Recognizing a now-universal concern with getting children actively engaged in outdoor recreation, youth service rganizations will also be asked to participate.

In addition to the American Recreation Coalition and the National Forest Foundation, the forums are being co-sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management, Tread Lightly!, the USDA Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

To learn more, please visit: www.funoutdoors.com or www.nationalforestfoundation.org.