People love their National Forests

[Kudu 186]

Contrary to Wood Badge propaganda:

 

US Forest Service Visitors Report released: People love their National Forests

 

Written on August 12, 2011 by Sarah McIntyre in News

 

This week, the US Forest Service released their National Visitor Use Monitoring report, illustrating the value that our national forests provide to both recreational visitors and the economic impact they have on nearby communities. In the past year, our national forests attracted 170.8 million visitors, sustained 223,000 jobs in rural communities, and helped to contribute $14.5 billion to the US economy.

 

About the report, Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell says, This data shows once again just what a boon our forests are to local economies. Because of forest activities, thousands of jobs are supported in hundreds of rural communities. We are proud of helping to put a paycheck into the pockets of so many hardworking Americans. As the land of many uses, national forests not only contribute to our economy, but also provide economic relief for visitors. Less than half of the 17,000 Forest Services developed sites charge a fee to visitors.

 

Last year, the Forest Service interviewed 44,700 visitors to national forests, and found that approximately 94% of those surveyed were happy with their experience of the national forests. Thats probably not a surprise to many, as the national forests provide a place where we can enjoy our favorite outdoor activities, whether it be hiking, skiing, camping, or backpacking.

 

Other facts gleaned from the report:

Recreation activities help to sustain 223,000 jobs in the rural communities within 50 miles of the national forests and grasslands, thanks to visitors that purchase goods and services.

Visitors spend $13 billion directly in those communities within 50 miles of the national forests and grasslands.

For those that do have to pay fees to access national forest lands, approximately 83% are content with the value received.

Almost 95 million visitors (over 55%) visit a national forest to engage in an recreational activity.

 

http://www.dailyhiker.com/news/forest-service-visitors-report-released-people-love-their-national-forests/

[Basementdweller 608]

Remove the anti wood badge propaganda.

 

We camp a lot in the national forest as a troop and family. ZERO cost and we rarely see another person. The boys love the cool factor and fantastic stargazing. It does take a little more planning, water treatment, human waste disposal and LNT ethics.

 

A resource under utilized in our region

[skeptic 1000]

Yep; cannot see ANY connection between this and Woodbadge. We all know where you stand. Your trying to relate it to everything does nothing but marginalize your other views.

 

Forests are overused in our part of the country, with the most popular locations full during the peak camping months from late spring through late fall. We pretty much can camp where we want during the winter, though a warm spell is an issue because they often close the overflow areas of the larger camps. But, they also now have hosts, and the price keeps growing for those with basic facilities and hookups. More remote ones, often now are closed much of the year due to access issues and weather damage.

Still, most are great places, and almost too popular.

[Basementdweller 608]

skeptic

 

In our area, once you get out of the designated rec areas you can camp anywhere in the national forest. the designated campgrounds with hook ups are full and a mess. I am talking back country, we don't need permits or anything, our problem is vehicle break ins......so we need a drop off and pick up at a designated location.

[Kudu 186]

I wonder if we could find a hundred (100) threads in which the decline in BSA membership is attributed to the belief that Americans no longer go camping?

 

We lost two million (2,000,000) Boy Scouts when Wood Badge stopped training Scoutmasters how to think like outdoorsmen:

 

Dr. John W. Larson, by now Director of Boy Scout Leader Training for the National Council, adapted the White Stag leadership development competencies and wrote the first syllabus for the adult Wood Badge program. Shifting from teaching primarily Scoutcraft skills to leadership competencies was a paradigm shift, changing the assumptions, concepts, practices, and values underlying how adults were trained in the skills of Scouting.

 

Some members were very resistant to the idea of changing the focus of Wood Badge from training leaders in Scoutcraft to leadership skills. Among them was Bill Hillcourt, who had been the first United States Wood Badge Course Director in 1948. Although he had officially retired on August 1, 1965, his opinion was still sought after and respected.

 

Larson later reported, "He fought us all the way... He had a vested interest in what had been and resisted every change. I just told him to settle down, everything was going to be all right."

 

http://www.whitestag.org/history/history.html

[skeptic 1000]

And how does this relate to National Forests?

[Kudu 186]

170.8 million people visited the National Forests to learn "leadership skills"?

[83Eagle 11]

"Propaganda. Noun: the systematic and repeated dissemination of slogans and phrases designed to shape people's points of view."

 

Woodbadge sucks, cub scouts sucks, "Webelos IIIs" are killing the program.

 

Pot, meet kettle...

[Kudu 186]

It is refreshing to see Eagles openly defend Webelos III.

[CalicoPenn 729]

Good thing I read this thread or I would still have been laboring under the, now obvious, misconception that the BSA's membership losses were tied in to the anti-war sentiments of the Vietnam War era, the explosion of youth sports, the continuing trend of the population moving from small towns to big cities and their suburbs and the change from one-wage earner familes to two-wage earner familes.

 

Nope, all along it's because the BSA stopped teaching "Scoutcraft" in Wood Badge in favor of leadership development.

 

I guess I never would have thought that the folks that went to Wood Badge when I was a youth, who had usually been in Scouting for much longer periods of time than are typical today - 5 to 10 years or more, rather than 1 to 2 years as seems to be fairly common these days - needed more instruction in "Scoutcraft" because they didn't have enough experience in it yet.

 

Silly me.

[Basementdweller 608]

So Kudu........what do you think about this fellow airplane and buses and all.

 

http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=322938&p=1

[83Eagle 11]

I don't believe in Webelos III...your propaganda, not mine.

[Kudu 186]

CalicoPenn, yes silly you.

[83Eagle 11]

I started reading this thread under the mistaken impression that it had something interesting to say about national forests. Instead it's just a ruse designed to recycle the same anti-scouting propaganda from someone with an axe to grind. Then that same someone waits in the wings to lob ad hominem attacks against any who present counterpoints. Same ol', same ol'.

 

I don't have time for this, and I certainly don't have time to troll through the forum archives to bring up years-old comments...so I'm done with this one.

[Basementdweller 608]

guess kudu missed his meds yesterday