Quality
outdoor recreation is vital to the economy and character
of the Northern Forest Region. It provides the "second
paycheck" that keeps people here and unique experiences
that draw visitors from away who support the economy.
On the other hand, the U.S. Forest Service has identified
public recreation as one of the four greatest threats
to forests in the U.S. Hence, controversies about what
constitutes appropriate recreational uses are becoming
more frequent on both private and public lands.
Private
lands in northern forest region have historically provided
a significant portion of the land base available for recreation.
Here, the conflict is between landowners concerned about
recreational impacts, and recreational groups seeking
to maintain or expand their recreational access. On public
lands, the environmental community is concerned about
how the ecological impacts of recreation are managed.
For ecological reserves on public lands, there has been
a contentious debate as to increase, grandfather, or reduce
motorized access.
On
both public and private lands, different recreational
groups compete with each other for trail space. Tensions
everywhere are made worse by competition among recreational
groups for trail space, declining public access to private
lands, and vulnerable rural economies.
At
the heart of all these conflicts are negative perceptions
about recreational impacts on the forest ecosystem, but
there is little hard data to bear that out. Manomet's
Recreation Stewardship Scorecard will provide
users with a science-based tool for estimating and monitoring
the overall ecological impact of trails within a recreational
area. The key to having trails on public and private lands
is to assure good stewardship so that trails are maintained
without damaging the environment.
|
