Participation in Outdoor Recreation Dropping

many outdoor participation is down. The hunting, fishing, shooting sports as some. It's a shame too that these who do not take part in outdoor activities will never really experience the resources & why we are so blessed to have them.
 
Looking at the data they used, I'm pretty sure their methodology is exceptionally flawed.

Their sample size was 20,069.

In this report, outdoor activities include adventure racing, backpacking, bicycling (BMX), bicycling (mountain/non-paved surface), bicycling (road/paved surface), birdwatching (more than 1/4 mile from home/vehicle), boardsailing/windsurfing, camping (backyard or car, within 1/4 mile of vehicle/home), camping (recreational vehicle), canoeing, climbing (sport/indoor/boulder), climbing (traditional/ice/ mountaineering), fishing (fly), fishing (freshwater/other), fishing (saltwater), hiking, hunting (rifle), hunting (shotgun), hunting (handgun), hunting (bow), kayak fishing, kayaking (recreational), kayaking (sea/touring), kayaking (white water), rafting, running/jogging, sailing, scuba diving, skateboarding, skiing (alpine/downhill), skiing (cross-country), snorkeling, snowboarding, snowshoeing, stand up paddling, surfing, telemarking (downhill), trail running, triathlon (non-traditional/off road), triathlon (traditional/road), wakeboarding, wildlife viewing (more than 1/4 mile from home/vehicle). Team sports include baseball, basketball, cheerleading, ice hockey, field hockey, football (touch), football (tackle), football (flag), lacrosse, rugby, soccer (indoor), soccer (outdoor), swimming (on a team), softball (regular), softball (fast-pitch), track and field, volleyball (court), volleyball (grass) volleyball (sand/beach). Indoor fitness activities include aquatic exercise, calisthenics, cardio kickboxing, pilates training, stretching, yoga, tai chi, barbells, dumbbells, weight/resistance machines, rowing machine exercise, stationary cycling (group), treadmill exercise, stair-climbing machine exercise, barre, boot-camp crosstraining, cross-training style workouts, elliptical/cardio cross trainer, high impact/intensity training, kettlebells, stationary cycling (recumbent or upright), swimming for fitness and walking for fitness.
Click to expand...

This doesn't take into account folks who are more acutely aware of privacy with regard to surveys than they were in 2017 or 2016. I bet a lot of folks didn't respond accurately and of those that did respond, it was a different group year over year.
 
I guess if you're talking about outdoor recreation hobbies specifically (mountain biking, kayaking, hunting, etc) then yes, participation is dropping for certain niche sports. However eco-tourism is through the roof now. Sadly people think saying in a hotel, driving to a national park for 3 hours, and then driving back to a hotel makes them "into the outdoors." That's the sad reality of how popular national parks are. Day use is up, but overall recreation activities/sports usage is down (in some areas, but not all).

It seems like the experiences of many people at national parks is more about going there, checking off a selfie, and then moving on to the next item/location on the bucket list. It's not a very immersive experience. I remember sitting at Arches for a solid hour or two taking in the scenery watching a converybelt of people stream in and out spending little more than a minute or two while they took their pictures and moved on. Even after the time spent I felt like I hadn't done it justice, and yet in the time I sat down 100's or maybe even 1,000 people went by more focused on their phones than the world around them.
 
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